Before playingBaldur’s Gate 3, I heard a lot about the power of Shove. It was billed as a secret weapon in early access by the community, and then when the game was finally out, a key to victory. Anyone complaining about the difficulty - and there were a few, givenDungeons & Dragons’innate complexity and Larian’s decision to have two medium difficulties and a hard mode over an easy, medium, and hard selection. But Shove can’t hold a candle to Jump.
When I first got into combat in Baldur’s Gate 3, I was a little overeager to use Shove. At my first attempt, I failed the Athletics check - an inauspicious start to my career as a shover. Given I’m a Warlock with 8 in Strength, maybe that’s not too surprising. Later in that same battle though, the odds were in Astarion’s favour, and he shoved our opponent… who budged back a few yards and took zero damage.
Related:Baldur’s Gate 3: Where To Find Karlach
Obviously I knew a ledge was required, but I hoped that, like Flourish or Pommel Strike, a good old Shove might do some minor damage that would help chip away or even clean out the relatively weak fodder you deal with early on. But no. Thankfully, while in the Goblin Camp, I came across a battle with a ledge. Having already killed two of the leaders, I found the third sitting in his throne, and decided (as a Warlock) to attack from a distance first.
His followers began to swarm me, so I shoved one in the edge of the cliff… and failed the Athletics check. It was their attack next, and they promptly shoved me off the cliff themselves, into a den of spiders. That’s just not sporting. One quick save scum later, and I changed my plan, this time opting for the raised beams above the battlefield. This made combat safer and simpler, and even saw one of the foolish goblins climb up and stop right in front of Lae’zel. One quick, successful shove later, and the goblin crashed down two storeys, beyond the platform they had climbed up from and down into the spider pit of doom, dead.
I did get a rush from dispatching an opponent so easily, and as someone who has played D&D for a long time but never really bothered with combat flair like Shove, I see the appeal. My current team has Karlach and Lae’zel, so maybe I will take up shoving as a hobby. But where I’ve been let down by Shove, Jump has always had my back.
The whole reason I have Karlach is because I can Jump. I know she can be recruited as part of a quest, but I did not want to wait that long, so I searched for her myself. I knew her rough location, and once I found Scratch, I knew I was on the right trail. But, as often happens in open world games, the world is not quite so open as it seems.
I’m not trying to be a dick about this. I don’t want to go to the edge of the map and then wander beyond. I don’t care if I can’t loop around an empty planet in Starfield. But in Baldur’s Gate 3, as I’ve noticed inHorizon,Dragon Age,The Witcher, and pretty much any open world game you can list, the world restricts you inside of it. You can’t climb down this cliff. You need to circle back around to this path. You can’t cross that river. In my first few hours of Baldur’s Gate 3, it annoyed me that I was so hemmed in when my quest markers were so far away. Now I have a solution - Jump.
To reach Karlach, you have to cross a broken bridge: Jump. Then you have to make your way down a craggy ledge: Jump (I later learned there was a climbing section, but Jump cut out the searching). Then you have to cross a river: Jump. This is the most important one, as you can only cross at low points or bridges, and you can’t follow the creek on the side Karlach is on so you will need to either cross or head the long way around the back. Here, rather than just leaping over the river - too wide - I needed to aim for a rock in the river itself, nudge to the edge of it, then Jump again to make it all the way over.
Jump is essential for exploration, and not just as a way of dropping into pits. It helps overcome barriers and the world responds positively to your attempts to use it, rather than punishing you for thinking outside of the box. In combat, the higher ground is a vital advantage and, especially for your ranged fighters, you want to find a good spot and jump to it if you can’t start the battle there. Who knows, once you’re up there, you might even find Shove useful.
Next:Amelia Tyler On Being A Dungeon Master For Millions In Baldur’s Gate 3
