Consider getting this Baldur's Gate 3 mod that makes Wizarding less annoying early on

Baldur's Gate 3 gandrel
(Image credit: Larian Studios)

I gotta respect Baldur's Gate 3 for so faithfully translating D&D 5e rules into videogame form, but honestly, some of those rules kinda suck.

Take low-level magic for instance: at the beginning of Baldur's Gate 3, most spellcasters can cast only two level 1 spells before they get tuckered out and need a long rest. I get why that's the case—spellcasters get way more powerful after reaching level 4 and beyond—but in those crucial beginning hours, when you're still getting a feel for combat and you have fewer health points than fingers, running out of gas after every combat can be more annoying than tactically interesting. Not to mention the waste of burning 40 camp supplies on long rests when most of your party is still healthy.

If you're running a party of mostly spellcasters and tedious long resting is bringing you down, consider giving this mod a test drive: "Short rest refreshes spells and some more" by Nexus Mods user kaijuu12345 makes it possible to completely restore your spell slots after a short rest.

It's essentially a supercharged version of the Wizard skill Arcane Recovery—which restores some spell slots on short rest once per day—except it also restores Rage slots for Barbarians and Bardic Inspiration, two other skill charges usually dependent on long rests.

baludr's gate 3 wizard

(Image credit: Larian Studios)

This mod is enticing me to start a spellcaster playthrough, but I'd probably decide to turn it off around level 4. At that point, Wizards have four level 1 spell slots and three level 2 slots, more than enough to get through a big combat or two without breaking a sweat. I wouldn't want to completely negate the resource management metagame, anyway—deciding when to let loose with a huge spell or save a slot to upcast Healing Word is part of the fun.

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Baldur's Gate 3 guide: Everything you need
Baldur's Gate 3 Soul Coins: Find them all
Baldur's Gate 3 infernal iron: Karlach collectibles
Baldur's Gate 3 owlbear cub: Befriend the bird
Baldur's Gate 3 find Halsin: Where's the bear?
Baldur's Gate 3 defiled temple: Solve the moon puzzle

And in case you're hesitating to mod Baldur's Gate 3 because it feels like cheating, consider that D&D has a long tradition of house rules. DMs will often ignore or tweak rules they don't like, and no two campaigns are ever playing with the same parameters. Years ago my DM decided landing critical hits was both easier to calculate and more fun if we just doubled our damage instead of rolling damage dice twice. A pretty major buff, but we all liked it so the rule has stuck in every campaign I've been in. I wouldn't be surprised if this exact Baldur's Gate 3 mod is already a house rule in thousands of homes.

Elsewhere in the Baldur's Gate 3 modding scene, one user is making "unleashed" versions of every class with across-the-board upgrades, and some users have decided the penises aren't big enough.

Morgan Park
Staff Writer

Morgan has been writing for PC Gamer since 2018, first as a freelancer and currently as a staff writer. He has also appeared on Polygon, Kotaku, Fanbyte, and PCGamesN. Before freelancing, he spent most of high school and all of college writing at small gaming sites that didn't pay him. He's very happy to have a real job now. Morgan is a beat writer following the latest and greatest shooters and the communities that play them. He also writes general news, reviews, features, the occasional guide, and bad jokes in Slack. Twist his arm, and he'll even write about a boring strategy game. Please don't, though.

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