BEST Party Compositions (Companion Guide) | Baldur's Gate 3

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Choosing your companions in Baldur's Gate 3 can be particularly tricky across all 6 of the origin companions and the 4 additional ones, you have 10 companions you can choose from. In this video, we go over the BEST Party Compositions (Companion Guide) | Baldur's Gate 3 to help you in deciding your evil party or good party compositions for BG3!
0:00 Intro & Summary
2:13 General Companion Info
8:45 Karlach Personality
9:51 Shadowheart Personality
11:27 Astarion Personality
12:38 Gale Personality
14:33 Wyll Personality
16:04 Lae'zel Personality
18:21 Evil Companions
20:57 Good Companions
23:24 Jaheria
25:44 Withers' Hirelings
27:51 Favorite Party Comp
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[@varasatoshi3961]

“Shadowheart can fit into a good aligned playthrough.” *I CAN FIX HER.*

[@realLagMaster]

fun fact, you do not need to convince her to spare you know who if you become friendly with her. Usuualy it's a dc 30 persuation that still appears, but you can fail it and if you give shadowheart to chose, she will naturally chose to spare.

[@umani9983]

Gale disapproved of me reading the necromancy book. But then he got two inspirations from me reading the necromancy book. I was like dude l guess just want to read it yourself 😅

[@philipgabriel2450]

I’m glad you can convince her to not kill Voldemort

[@ruriva4931]

Oh he reads it? I though he was going to eat it. I never gave it to Gale, I either gave it to Astarion or read it myself.

[@Aureilius2112]

Lae’zel isn’t evil at all. She’s a pragmatist. She doesn’t like weakness. You can have a totally good playthrough with max approvals with her.

[@Kunai-cz1zs]

Except when she disapproves every time you try to help someone instead of trying to get rid of your worm

[@SaDMSOfficial]

​@@Kunai-cz1zsI done a good playthrough and so far lae zel likes me the most out of all my companions lol

[@mickpratt8327]

Yes I've played a Good decision Monk and Lae Zel is the only "exceptional" approval in my party. All you need to do for Lae-Zel is be fair, firm and let her take the lead in her Creche plotting. If you do that you will be her bruisemaster for life.

[@Galdring]

She approves of many sadistic actions, and engages in some herself. In D&D terms, she's classically "Lawful Evil".

[@Aureilius2112]

@@Galdring I’d argue Lawful Neutral. She’s a Darwinian survival of the fittest exemplar. Her actions can also be justified with utilitarian philosophy since her culture is working for the greater good by preventing the illithid empires grand design and preserves freedom in the planes of existence. So yeah… not evil.

[@mastercadillactus]

Minor spoiler: when romancing Lae'zel, you have to roll an intimidation check, which is such a fantastic touch. I agree she's pragmatic, stoic, but not evil at all. She takes a 180 in her story arc because she recognizes BS while sticking to her principles. I think she's completely underrated.

[@w0lfdog]

i remember on my second playthrough, i accidentally romanced lae'zel with my fighter tiefling "natari". turns out though i love them together haha, i love her little "CHK"s. they're fighter girlfriends and they love each other very much

[@crtkazzj75]

Your evil party composition is mine on my good playthrough. It has been so fun seeing those characters develop. Lae zel has turned into one of my favs!

[@oerwhat]

Same, I love getting good outcomes but being a prick along the way lmao

[@shepherdlavellen3301]

same, Lae'zel was one of my least favorite, yellow as a toad, twice as ugly, and she's too edge but her character eventually grow on me and become one of my favorite

[@TheSeeker225]

Same here I converted Laezel and Astarion during my playthrough and it was awesome.

[@crtkazzj75]

Lae Zel also made me love the fighter class and the gith race! Put athletic on her and watch as she jumps everywhere and knocks people to their feet. It’s hilarious! Also made Astarion a mage slayer assassin and omg he destroys any mage trying to cast a spell that he didn’t backstab out right. My main was a bard and she just supported them both 💚💜💕

[@7549penguino]

Cheers friend!

[@jimmydoe8468]

Shadowhearth is more like neutral, she swings both ways. Asterion is mostly evil, but have one thing in common with Karlach, he hates slavery and forcing people into stuff.

[@shepherdlavellen3301]

@@diomedes7971 Minthara can be sympathetic but she only cares about power, both good and bad

[@f7rouge]

Not completely true, he does not care for the Deep Gnome slaves

[@Ali_ReBORN]

He is actually disturbed and twisted from his past experiences with Cazador.

[@masteroak9724]

Not sure about that. In my embrace evil Dark Urge playthough, she was against 90% of everything I did and I ended with her approval bar red at the end of Act I - something I could never recover, since if she goes down the dark path, she just becomes fully neutral about everything. While on my Ancients Paladin, she was at green at the same spot. Also, Minthara isn't evil, since she doesn't get approval from doing evil things, just by being nice to her and avoiding doing dumb or naive actions. Only true evil is Astarion, who get the most approval by being cruel and sadist. He had a great time along my murder hobo Dark Urge.

[@oroshi1375]

Astarion doesn't hate slavery; he even react positively at some point if you try to buy a slave.

[@shaungriffith9506]

Astarion has some of the most well written and well delivered lines in the game.

[@stryker7358]

Lae'zel has some very good ones towards Act 3 that completely change her character depending on your decisions. I loved the change in character...Astarion is always fun...he's great for someone embracing the dark urge because often he seems to enjoy your decisions.

[@sparkpoi]

Astarion is interesting cause if you treat him super well, romance him, and don't let him do anything TOO crazy late game, he really turns around and starts looking more chaotic good or at least neutral

[@Solus749]

you still have to deal with 2 acts of him wanting to stab you or any soft target in the back. Bg 2 was the same with vicona, she was a drow cleric for lolth ( REALLY evil diety as thrown into the hell planes evil) that either walk back to lolth, shift to shar and still evil ( as in bg 3 ) another one evil alingned one and a 4th one when she gets romanced by male player char and turned neutral. Even gets a family .....however lolth don't like defectors to live and asassinates her. Astarion is the same really....he is evil in the true sence of the word but 2 acts of "I can fix him" and he is more chaotic neutral if you romanced him....and even the devs and the voice actor himself will look at you with odd eyes if you choose to as he is outright evil and a vampire.

[@sparkpoi]

@Solus749 I'm not sure. I mean, I understand everything you're saying, and I don't even necessarily think you're wrong. However, my playthrough was a different experience than "2 acts of him wanting to backstab." Maybe it was bugged or something (entirely possible), but he turned really sweet and started approving of "good" decisions very early, like beginning-of-act-2 early. I know the D&D pantheon, and yea Lolth is super evil. My first run in bg3 was with a Lolth-sworn actually because I wanted a richer rp than Seldarine. In 5e, yes, vamp spawns are, by default, aligned neutral evil, but the system allows for vampire player-characters and only specifies that the pc MUST be lawful evil if the player character goes forward with transformation from spawn to vampire. The game is ultimately dictated by the DM, and as a DM it's ezpz to allow a player character to stop at spawn and change alignment, whether over time or through codified means like wish or death/resurrection. Larian is our DM in this adventure and it seems apparent to me that they coded Astarion to be appreciably affected by the player. Left to his own devices, you're absolutely 100% correct in that: vamps are categorically evil.

[@kaseyrollins7831]

Most importantly, astarion can turn tav into a vampire too.

[@frankiemartinez9802]

100% same with Laezel!

[@anska7475]

​@@sparkpoi Maybe thinking of it in terms of good and evil is the "bug". For me it seems that he mostly disapproved of outright heroic actions, such as sticking your neck out for strangers or helping the helpless. Strangely, some outright backstabby actions also gained his disapproval - and not only if they were directed against him. He did generally seem to approve of helping victims who tried to help themselves in my run, especially when they were after revenge. Apart from that he seemed to like kind or playful treatment of other monsters and moments of poetic justice. If anything, I'd say he has a bit of a righteous side to him that can get stronger and less sinister over time.

[@Troopertroll]

I always like to try to anticipate what companions would be best for any given point in the story and frequently swap them around. Makes for a very rewarding playthrough when you start learning everyone's personalities and they feel that you understand them. Also yes, Shadowheart has one of the best companion stories in a game, while Gale is deeper than he appears and truly best friend material. Every single companion is exceptional, but those two are the Morrigan and Alistair of this game.

[@jekkin8972]

I seriously haven't played a game with characters wish such indepth stories. Shadow heart literally hasa better and more in depth story than a lot of main characters in other games

[@taylorpeay8991]

Ya I've been doing the same lol. Really aside from astarion because I killed the gur guy on accident

[@Troopertroll]

@@jekkin8972 give DA:O a try if you get a chance

[@mlmii1933]

Just dont let him show you his "special magic trick" ... 😂

[@ecrradio7620]

​​@@mlmii1933WDYM? That's the best part. 😏

[@KyleHead]

I appreciate the TL;DW up front on every video, but i always watch until the end anyway. These videos have all been very helpful. I had a 6 hour round trip work trip the other day and just put your BG3 playlist on and was there before I knew it.

[@italianspartacus]

Hell yeha man!! That's so awesome. Thank you so much. I'm surprised you didn't fall asleep listening hahaha

[@minkua]

One of the best party comp and character explanation videos I've seen, nicely done. Thank you

[@italianspartacus]

My pleasure dude!! Happy it helped

[@Mootown211]

helpful vid with the the summary, content, and the avoidance of spoilers. thank you!

[@coorocrow]

Until Halsin entered the party, i basically kept 2 rotations. Wyll , Karlach, and Gale are the “Goodie Two-Shoes Brigade”. Lae zel, Shadowheart, and Astarion are the “Its Problamatic Collation”. And I guess I split it like that cause i got Lae zel, Shadowheart, and Astarion first so i got attached to them first. No room for Halsin :(

[@squirrel8397]

I also got attached to the Problematic Collation lol. Shadowheart and Astarion are the funniest companions imo so I had them in the party and added Laezel because Shadowheart and her got issues and I just wanted to see how they’d interact with each other. All 3 of them together are hilarious, and it’s sweet when Laezel and Shadowheart show some care for each other

[@charlessorocco2900]

With Jaheira why have halsin? I would like Minthara and fix karloch anf to save the tieflings.

[@clefsan]

@coorocrow, I like your names for those two teams. Have a like from me :)

[@fool3609]

I had the same issue, eventually I just turned turned Halsin into my camp buff and heal bot which helps save some spell slots for the others

[@tylergamer2695]

Man, I love your videos. You're well spoken, respectful of people's time and thorough. Couldn't ask for more. Thank you.

[@TrairFrair]

Yeah this isn't the first time I've thought the same thing, but I think this video pushed me into a sub. I really enjoy the alignment breakdown stating out right that the classes don't necessarily matter. I had been wondering about their personality even going into act 2, but this analysis cements my understanding of the characters, even the ones I don't use as much.

[@italianspartacus]

My pleasure brother! :)

[@freshmarex3538]

Yeah, he's great.

[@HaypiKake]

I respect this video so much, intro was respectful and you tryed not to spoil things and stayed on topic 10/10

[@kmaguire7161]

One thing to note with Astarion if you want to play with him in your party (and rogues can do a huge amount of damage so he is definitely worth having around) or if you even want to romance him but you are like me and you are a goody goody that hates making evil choices it is still possible. The important thing with him is he is sort of self absorbed and power hungry so if you gift him the Illithid tadpole powers it works wonders to make his approval rating going up despite making every "good aligned" choice early game.

[@BoinkrNanis]

I always felt Astarion was supposed to be given the tadpoles the moment he showed interests in the powers. I further leaned into it when I realize, mans aint really got any skills lmao. Whay if I don't want him in close, what if I want him doing something he couldn't do. Tadpoles.

[@Chris-fo9dg]

One of my favorite BG3 content creators. Thanks for another great video, sir!

[@moonboy5851]

Legendary content, mate! You’re killing it.

[@PrimetimeD]

Great stuff, and I appreciate your continued confirmation of "play what you think is fun". I get worn out with min/max videos and articles.

[@Xeaze1992]

Gale can actually fit an evil run. He’s got a power-hungry undercurrent to him and is morally grey when it comes to means for achieving the party’s goal to defeat the absolute.

[@renaldoawesomesauce1654]

Love that you said what I was looking for in the first 2 minutes. I've reimbursed you by liking the video and then shut it down. Much appreciated.

[@renaldoawesomesauce1654]

Just kidding. I watched the whole thing.

[@italianspartacus]

Hahahaha thanks brother!!

[@Bethgael]

Astarion may disapprove of "helping" people, but it's usually a plus or minus 1. The "big" ones for him are if you agree with the villain in his story or force him to do something he doesn't want to do after he has said he doesn't want to do it. Or if you try to kill him or diss him in certain conversations. He's more neutral than evil.

[@Onkeldoc1234]

Love your videos. 🎉 I Have come to this channel for CK3 videos a few years ago and you were incredibly helpful 😊 and so your videos are for Baldurs gate 3 ☺️

[@italianspartacus]

Glad I could help! :)

[@johannesreus5154]

Honestly I think Gale leans a lot more towards neutral as well. He's against violence but he is DEFINETLY power-hungry. And honestly I think being non-violent is a much more accurate description of his character. I'm playing Dark Urge and I've never really resisted it at all and he threatened to leave a single time(I think everyone knows when) and after then we never had any issues whatsoever

[@tommerker8063]

most of them are neutral, thinking of them in terms of good and evil is kind of pointless, since none of them are infanticide evil, nor couldn't hurt a fly good. they are complex characters.

[@ereviscale3966]

I was looking for a class party composition but this was so informative I stayed anyway!

[@manolispiperias7608]

I really like how you get to the point so early in the video. Having said that I watch your content in its entirety.

[@manaspajamas5071]

NGL, when you said "master of the fences," I imagined Wyll walking on top of a really tall fence brandishing his blade, proudly looking off into the distance. So... Master of the Fences works just as well, haha!

[@rainniu]

All of the characters will change approaches and stances. Lae’zel and Astarion soften up if you support them.

[@jfsebastian8499]

i really appreciate it, that you allways say this is not "the best" but under this circumstances can this be the best for you.

[@erikyz7036]

Best contact, creator, organized, thoughtful the way you just like if that’s all you want to go ahead and leave😂 love your videos bro

[@SpookyLipsAndFatHips]

I think Astarion, early game especially, is self serving and chaotic rather than evil. His whole alignment pretty much revolves around the fact that no one ever came to save HIM, and the thing that finally did was a mind flayer, so why would he help anyone else etc

[@Solus749]

that is called neutral evil in D&D terms

[@BoinkrNanis]

I actually rolled Astarion after I met him. Pain recognize game lol. Havnt gotten a chance to get his playthrough out of act 1, but it'll be cool seeing how he does with a good class and good morals.

[@Eris._.]

You Astarion girlies have to admit that he is EVIL, neutral evil period!

[@c12sprint]

Your favorite party composition is literally the one I’ve been running! I’ll have to try a different composition on my next play through

[@Hamburglar009]

I am eagerly awaiting the Xbox release so this video may help me upon release! Just at the intro section but I’ll keep watching. Thanks for the info and taking the time to put this together, looking forward to watching the rest!

[@Kaiohyeah]

you are one of the best channels, been following for a while you are so humble. good work my brother. Bell on.

[@italianspartacus]

Thank you so much dude that's such a great compliment

[@rvladimiro]

I did an evil playthrough with The Dark Urge where my char was a drow paladin with Minthara which is also a drow paladin. I hired two hirelings to finish the party and it was a lot of fun! Exploring Minthara's personality and a "succumbing" Dark Urge was probably the most interesting and diferent playthrough I had especially because I basically aligned against everything that was good. It's quite literally a whole new game considering how much it affects all acts.

[@TrairFrair]

I'm really wrapped up in my first playthrough, but I'm looking forward to flipping the entire script doing this exact sort of thing!

[@rvladimiro]

@@TrairFrair it's a lot of fun. Yesterday I started a new playthrough (my 6th!) again with The Dark Urge but this time not "succumbing" to the urge. There's also a devil theme going on, the party is me as a tiefling, Wyll and Karlach.

[@NannyOggins]

I am very impressed with all the comments explaining how the companions develop their character depending on their experiences in the player’s party. What a lot of coding that must take! I definitely want to see Shadowheart turn to the light so Im keeping her. Laezel has just propositioned me which was creepy and alarming so she is staying behind from now on! 🥺 A really well put together, informative and concise video. Your channel is going to be my compass for this first playthrough, heaven knows I need one! 😃

[@clamclosia]

Hell yeah this is what I asked for! Thanks brother!

[@italianspartacus]

i gothcu dude :)

[@setcamper]

What a great overview, glad I stumbled upon this video. I really like Astarion but I'm maining a benevolent monk as my first play-through and noticed him disagreeing with most of my decisions. I want a Ranger character, so I guess I'll just respec Will- a character I like but never enjoyed his base class so he always sat in camp during EA.

[@migjordanpayawal7856]

I have the same "best" party as you do, with a Paladin MC. They just fit so well together. I can keep their original classes mostly similar too.

[@nolancoolidge2756]

I just wanted to let you know I've become a decent supporter of your channel. Your bg3 depth is great. If your willing to read this I have an early game multiclass: Start tempest cleric take to level 2, sorc 1...to 11 later. Gear: a certain set of boots near a windmill adding 3 charges A staff from am area adding more charges. With all the lifting bonus you become God of the zappy zap With

[@jha7623]

Yessss been waiting for this thank you I tried this solo but act two shadowlands kicked my azz so I made a sorcerer team and don’t regret it

[@akaErma]

I set up my party based on combat variety. Based on what my class is, I keep a rogue, caster, and tank in my party at all times. Even playing a mostly moral character (albeit a bit mouthy) I have no trouble keeping approval pretty high on everyone. Astarion is *always* in my party, I always romance him, and despite the occasional disapproval, I still have him in good approval by the end of Act 1. I have noticed that my Warlock has some conversation options that net me extra Astarion approval, which I found interesting.

[@Chadius_Thundercock]

I try to do that but I just always end up with shadowheart, Astarion, and either Karlach or Laezel

[@DutchOrBelgian]

Your videos are ALWAYS so good!! This was really helpful for me as my style is traditionally quite good. It was super interesting to hear how Laezel and Shadowheart both have a lot of development. I’ve been respecting Shadowheart into a Light cleric just because I like their spells better. Starting to think it’s perhaps really against her initial character and perhaps her later development.

[@lordnelsonmc.billionberg9166]

Thank you very much. Very well explained & you have cool radio-voice !

[@Marx1684]

Went through all of the compositions to hear about your favorite & feel great about who I was rolling with. Let me just have a fun run!

[@evenfrank5223]

pointing out that you can respec companions/hirelings is a great idea. A few times i save scummed to load before an interaction that a companion should be in, like laezel going to the creche, gale with magic stuff or just to see other dialog/story outcomes

[@davidjuhl1174]

One of the best intros I've heared in a while.

[@kheres1978]

Great vidéo, lots of information👍

[@Valdrex]

Thanks dude, no one seemed to be focused on which companions go with which alignment/get along together etc. Appreciate it.

[@yaminfaruque9474]

For my playthrough, I played with almost all the main companions and finish their storylines. I generally like all of them, got to play and mess around with thousands of builds for each of these, got to try out literally all the best loot and their synergies. Basically, the most amount of content you can go through in one single playthrough is my moto. My constant has only been Shadowhart, apart from that I switched all of the companions at one point or another, simply to play out their story. But for most of the game, it has been Tav, ShadowH, Astarion and Karlach.

[@wheatloops4775]

I just bring whatever characters have the most invested in my current quest. My party comp is always changing and I’m making it through the game fine

[@FortunaMajorACappella]

I'm running around with Shadowheart, Wyll, and Karlach, too!

[@AccursedPaladin]

Honestly, despite the unfinished mess she is, Minthara is a surprisingly interesting character when it comes to both party composition and story. On the one hand, we have a supposedly evil companion you can gain by either ignoring the tieflings or sacrificing them and two of the good companions (potentially three if you fail to convince Gale) for a character with one of the best classes in the game as their main loadout. On the other, we have a character with a pretty cool redemption-esc arc that has cool and funny dialogue despite her attitude. She’s like a much calmer, more menacing Lae’zel. She can easily become a face character if you pump up the charisma and can serve as both damage dealer and tank in equal measure, taking up both Karlach and, to an extent, Wylls roles at the same time (at least in terms of stats and mechanics). If you ever run another play through, I recommend ignoring the Tiefling/Gobbo storyline in order to gain Minthara without losing Wyll and Karlach and have her run as your main tank. Very fun character to play as, hope someday they even have a unique origin character dlc they use with her.

[@AccursedPaladin]

Also as an addendum, you can now recruit her officially in a good playthrough by knocking her out.

[@MartinRebord]

Excellent video, appreciate it!

[@joshwhite1562]

I'm sticking with Gale and Shadowheart throughout and then rotating all the others in with a lot of Karlach. Will definitely have to get Minsc and Jaheira in together at some point though in honor of BG1 & BG2.

[@lkris21]

this was so helpful!!! thanks for sharing this

[@italianspartacus]

My pleasure!!

[@MichaelCampbell01]

I enjoy the overall vibe of your videos are "DO WHAT YOU LIKE", with hints.

[@sulaas]

I love the fact that you give First and last names to your character.

[@misslethal2355]

I will say, what companions approve of as you go along will change, Astarion being a major one

[@namelessminionveinreaver3763]

Nice to learn about some of these characters. Doing two playthroughs currently. One is with some friends and minimal origin char interaction, and the other is my solo Dark Urge. All I know about Gale is that he's delicious and always willing to... lend a hand.

[@jenniferdixson860]

I'm still on my first playthrough with my semi-good Wood Elf Ranger, but Karlach has been with me from the first I found her and is the one party member I never go anywhere without. For most of Act 1 and 2 I just used Karlach, Shadowheart, and Gale. Now in Act 3, I'm also really enjoying having Jaheira for her "I'm too old for this shit" outlook on life, and Shadowheart has been pretty much benched. I'm looking forward to my next playthrough to spend time with Astarion and Lae'zel.

[@tommerker8063]

why bench shadowheart? someone has to check for traps by triggering them or make the obviously wrong choice to see what happens :D

[@naomilangevin3944]

I see so many of these types of videos. Which companion line up is best, and like, I am so intrigued by the people that don't randomly choose your party every few hours. I get having favs, I do too. And yeah some characters are needed for so specific quests. But beyond that, if I am wandering around the world just exploring I go back to camp and switch the party members all the time. So interesting that people play so differently.

[@moonmessiah9368]

I plan every campaign and basically have a hard locked party for each one. I dont switch people out because there is never a need to.

[@sgtcockburn5824]

@@moonmessiah9368 Their is, if you want to experience their own questlines all the way.

[@red2977]

My first playthrough I am a druid and I run Karlach, shadowheart and Gale. My second playthrough I am a Paladin (will go into warlock later) and am running astarion, shadowheart and wyll (i'm still in act 1 so not sure how this group will hold in longrun). I bring the relevant characters on the quests that are part of their stories, because if you don't you really are missing out on a lot of exposition. Like its stupid not to bring Astarion on his quest (there is an exception tactically to this near the end of his quest where it can pay to have him hang back from the group) or Shadowheart on hers. They provide soo much more information about what is going on and it does indeed have very drastic impacts for some story choices as they relate to the characters.

[@moonmessiah9368]

@@sgtcockburn5824 I do bring characters for their specific quests but if its neutral or main quests i almost always run the same group its easier to funnel gear/parasites in the early game.

[@Marksman3434]

For my first playthrough I decided to stick with my main custom character as a Rogue with some magic spells and strong range attacks (dual wielding both blades and hand crossbows), Karlach as Barbarian with Frenzy, Wyll as a Warlock with strong Eldritch Blast, and Shadowheart with the Knowledge specialty. So far it’s worked out pretty great

[@karinbauer2541]

I wish I saw you video before I stated my playthrough. I kept my first 3 members in the party (shadowheart, astarion, gale) and got progessively irritated with Astarion (and he with me) to a point where I honestly got scared he got annoyed enough with me wanting to help everybody that he'd just go on a killing spree... I just kept him because I was afraid I'd not see more of his story if he was not in my active party. I now have my girl karlach instead of him and the only thing that annoys me about her is that I can't hug her NEARLY enough times

[@voidreact]

This is some badass content here!!

[@italianspartacus]

hahaha thank you dude!

[@voidreact]

@@italianspartacus Like really appreciate the no fluff approach, and the care you had by creating timestamps and all. I'll check the rest of your guides for sure!

[@ransomdekafenya2584]

Just to fact check you on one point, rest of the video was really good. Even Durge playthroughs where character death happens/you haven't met them yet, Withers will offer Hirelings once the PMC hits level 3. That's the only requirement.

[@italianspartacus]

Thanks so much for keeping me honest brother :)

[@ransomdekafenya2584]

@italianspartacus of course. The only reason I know this is I was having trouble balancing LZ and Astarion influence in a traditional good guy role, and did a run where I wanted to only appease them. So until I could get Minthara in A2, I used a custom scrub. From start, if you clear the Nautiloid and the Withers ruin, you'll wind up a couple hundred XP shy of 3. Clearing the Grove gate, doing the Komira sub plot, and killing the 3-4 goblins in the rune tunnel should get you to 3, and you can substitute your influence tampon for anyone who may object to your more...questionable decisions.

[@AM93000]

This is a good video to explain the companion choice

[@Ali_ReBORN]

Something to remember is that the companion’s approval rating will matter whether they will leave you or not! If you have very good to exceptional they will usually stay even if they disapprove at a given situation. But once it is low gradually you are in that risk zone of losing their accompaniment.

[@jeremydurdil556]

Good stuff. Thanks for the video. Is that small dogs yapping in the background? Do you use the background music to hide it?

[@deepbreeze9058]

Many thanks for this vid! A lot of focus on individual charctar builds, but not that much on party comp. Much appreciated. One thing I am curious about. Any contraints we need to know about playing an origin character outside of their usual morality? Say, play Will as a fully evil PC, or Astarion fully good as a PC character?

[@tobygrimes9633]

I roll with Shadowheart , Lae-zel and Karlach as I play a ranger. Fights aren't too tough , and I like the party banter.

[@anska7475]

I like to play with the origins, so Gale, Shadowheart, Astarion and Lae'zel have turned out to be my preferred main group, with Karlach coming along now and then and Wyll being on eternal camp duty. Gale's origin is extremely well done in my opinion (which softens the blow of having to miss out on a lot of his voice acting) and having Astarion by your side to tempt you towards power while coming to terms with Gale's personal situation and keeping his general disposition in mind works amazingly well.

[@olgabahirkina1286]

Wyll is just fine sipping his wine all the time xD I also keep him in camp mostly, unless I know his story will be triggered in a certain quest.

[@ladsr777]

When you were talking about Shadowheart I noticed the softness and passion in your voice 😅

[@italianspartacus]

I LOVE HER!! But Lae'zel?? Oh man.. That voice actress is gorgeous. She's also the voice of Lady Katarina in Warhammer 3!

[@ladsr777]

Yeah, actually Shadowheart was moving too slow for me, so I went for Lae'zel. LOL! It's funny because my character is a Wizard. And yes, even my wife commented how pretty the actress is!@@italianspartacus

[@jemiro5984]

For my wholesome good run I chose Karlach, Shadowheart and Gale. Really worked well for me as I was currently romancing Karlach and Gale turned out to be kind of my character‘s bestie. Really liked that setup for that run (Wyll is a little bit too lawful good to my taste) Though it probably won‘t work for the evil run I want to do next

[@redneck1st555]

You called their alignments exactly like I did when I started playing the game. Started with Lae'zel,Shadowheart, and Wyll and swaped out Karlach for Lae'zel. I'll replace Karlach for Lae'zel when I do the Creche and then will replace her again with Karlach.

[@Avery.77]

Thank you for the video, really helpful information. Before I saw this video, I stumbled into a Lae'zel/Shadowheart/Astarion. I'm at near the end of Act I and I really like it. One question. What does "leave your party" mean, are they gone forever or just at the camp and mad with me? 😅

[@TeddyB_RP]

Your best party is the exact one I naturally gravitated too also. I did like Gale fine also, but got tired of him asking about magic items so I left him at camp 😅

[@xTatsumix]

for minthara, you dont have to choose. just leave her alive, and "abandon" the grove (aka dont kill ALL the leaders, aka minthara.) you lose halsin tho

[@elijahmaples8130]

Good god man I've been needing to hear this for a while! I've always wanted to figure out how to have minthara in a good playthrough so thank you.

[@moonmessiah9368]

ya but the tieflings still all die and you lose access to so many quests. I love Mint shes the best romance in the game but it hurts you have to sacrifice so much for her. You lose Mol, Dammon for Karlachs quest and his loot, and without Halsin lifting the Shadows isnt possible.

[@charlesboots6508]

Now (post Patch 5,) you don't have to! Just make sure she's tagged "temporarily hostile" (don't aggro her in dialogue,) then knock her out with non-lethal, & she'll show up in Moonrise. Everything afterwards proceeds as though you'd left the Grove/Goblin issue unresolved.

[@BerryBooya]

Great video, thank you for keeping it spoilerfree! ❤

[@thevikingbcn86]

I, as a sorlock and Neutral Good, am using the good party combination, except I use Astarion instead of Wyll. I think Astarion is not as evil as he tries to make us see, except when he picks a lock or steals something interesting from us (always for a good cause xD)

[@mackniffy]

Title: “Best party composition” first words: Wyll, Shadowheart, Karlach Me: let this man cook

[@hdrag9]

Lae zel has been a staple heavy hitter in my Gale play through. Shadowheart is my best Gal and main healer. Karlach is another heavy hitter as a Tempest Paladin. I bring Astarion in only to Ninja loot. Minsc is easily my Solo nuker as a Ranger Assassin in Act 3. The man soloed the Gortash fight with ease.

[@alliu6562]

I think it’s nice that Shadowheart can go with everyone, bc cleric/healer is a very important role and I guess the devs predicted that cleric wouldn’t be a popular player choice lol (as usual, no one wants to be a healer)

[@Toasterkun847]

Listen we are not picking based off of silly things like, goals or alignment. No we are basing our companion choices off of who's the hottest!

[@jamminkeys]

I had Shadowheart, Astarion, and Wyll in my first playthrough, running with Gale, Karlach, and Lae'zel in my second one (both normal/good playthroughs). I'm planning an evil run next with Shadowheart, Astarion, and Minthara (Lae'zel until I can recruit Minthara).

[@olgabahirkina1286]

Some companions react to certain quests more than others, that trigger info on their backstory (even a little), and in general have an effect on your relationship with them. And I'm not speaking about character-related quests, for instance someone straight up asking you about Gale or a character telling you about a certain place they wanna visit in advance. I'm saying, for example, Karlach in Grove/Light Inn, or Gale in the Grove, or Wyll in Goblin Camp - I had no idea there would be additional info in those quests as opposed to someone just staying beside you looking at the wall while you trigger conversations/make decisions. Is there any info on that? I don't mind combining companions as my character is pala/warlock and can do with pretty much any set up, since I can heal, dps, tank or do ranged damage when needed.

[@teeboi.boudreaux]

Haven't tried Wyll, may have to give him a tryout.

[@ajipah]

coincidently, your favorite party comp are the same with my current party, kinda my favorite too. and it's true, that the personality is the most important aspect to choose. karlach is the most favorite for me tough. I think she is the most kindhearted. Currently, nearing the end of act II. i wish I do not need working so can play BG3 all day.

[@burnt-reynolds]

lol thought I started a ACG video when this started. Can def hear the influence.

[@italianspartacus]

What's ACG!?

[@boriquataino6983]

It's been updated to where you can recruit minthara so long as you did not kill her when defeating the goblin camp. You have to knock her out once you do kill the rest of the goblin leaders and then your next long rest her body will be gone, then in act 2 she will be standing trial for her failure and you can step in to save her by freeing her from the dungeons. You're gonna have to pretend to be an absolute in order to get to that part though😊

[@mathieuseres49]

very good videos, personnaly i picked lae zel shadowheart and karlach for majority of run. Good run and made Shadowheart and laezel change and see bight side. and i romanced the gyth because i side with gyths almost all game.

[@dmac7564]

Informative thanks

[@bear3384]

First another helpful, amazing video thank you sir, second how in the name of all that is holy do you get to the temple? I can reach the forge but not the temple.

[@erinxilchless7245]

I'm in Act 3 with my evil/dark urge playthrough. My party comp is GALE (whom likes me well enough to be my romance character this playthrough), Shadowheart, and Astarion. Just throwing that out there.

[@Hoigwai]

Other than the I'm leaving triggers it is possible to keep everyone and have most of them happy and a couple ecstatic with you. I had everyone but Minthara in the group and most were happy, some were very happy and 2 were maximum with me. Larian were very good about giving you the middle ground so you won't anger people and then other decisions that you can chip away at making them like you more. It is also possible to have Halcin and Minthara in the same group, I have no idea how long you would keep them both but it is possible.

[@anaqisyatbi5167]

I love how as evil protagonist we can persuade Gale to stay and use him as a doomsday nuclear bomb

[@blackshaddow5005]

I gave all my characters 3 points in rouge (thief), to get the additional bonus action... sprint and disengage are bonusactions now, which is useful too

[@criwall]

Tav as a Swords Bard/Warlock for passing every charisma and dex ability with ease, solid mele capability + Eldrich blast goes brrrrr, Shadowheart respeced into Life for support, Gale for crowd control and the big red golden retriever that jumps into the fray, throws one enemy onto another enemy and then rain down one of the boomerang weapons. Seriously Tavern brawler Karlach with the throw boosting items is so much fun. Wyll are on permanent making sure Owlbear and puppy are fed in camp duty (don't really need another warlock), the rest of the party get some sporadic time in the party whenever I want to switch things up.

[@Mjjrex100]

Is there a way to enjoy having all companions in rotation while experiencing most everything they provide? Or does sticking to 3 companions per save file offer a better gameplay experience? I like all the characters and always feel like i get FOMO not having them all in some sort of rotation.

[@chrisnicholson5974]

So I'm still on my first playthrough nearing the end of Act 1. This video makes me think that I may have encountered a rare plot pathway. The Githyanki creche is no more and I had Lae'zel enter the contraption, then afterwards I allied with an old crackhead stranger who entered my camp, and Lae'zel is alive with nearly maxed approval of my character.