Baldur’s Gate 3 is essentially the pinnacle of RPG gaming right now. Since it was released, it has taken the gaming world by storm – and not many people saw that coming. It has proven to be a monumental success for developer Larian Studios, and it shows no signs of slowing down in terms of its popularity. In this guide, we’re targeting a small but important part of the game, breaking down the Baldur’s Gate 3 max level information, and letting you know what the ceiling in this game is.

It’s a classic RPG – you make a character, set about questing, and inevitably, you level up. There are a few caveats and complexities to that process, but that’s the high-level overview, anyway. It might surprise you how low the Baldur’s Gate 3 max level is, but there’s a bit of context we’ll need to apply to the figure for it to make complete sense.

So, what’s the max level in Baldur’s Gate 3, and how do you level up effectively enough to reach it?

Baldur’s Gate 3 ‘Level Up Guide’

Image Credit: Larian Studios

Baldur’s Gate 3 encourages open exploration and discovery. It’s a very lenient title that empowers players to carve out their own path, whether that lasts one hundred hours or ten hours. It’s driven by choice, consequence, and freedom, and it is built in a way that – if you make strategic choices – you’ll never have the same playthrough twice. There are many ways to level up in Baldur’s Gate 3, but how do you hit that max level as quickly as possible?

There are plenty of incentives behind levelling up. As you climb the ranks, you’ll boost your health, unlock new features for your class, and periodically, you’ll unlock new improvements for your character. As you explore Faerun, you’ll earn XP, and it’s that XP that contributes to you levelling up with a regular cadence. It can feel a little loose in Baldur’s Gate 3 as there are some inconsistencies in how XP is earned early on, but you’ll quickly get to grips with it.

Here are some of the best ways to hit the Baldur’s Gate 3 max level as soon as possible:

Combat – If you win your fights, you’ll earn XP, and more often than not you’ll earn more than if you would have resolved a dispute in a non-lethal manner
Questing – As with any RPG, quests are king. If you complete tasks (including side content), you’ll rack up the XP
Inspiration – If you successfully perform an action that’s linked to your character’s background, you’ll earn ‘inspiration’ in speech checks that can generate XP

Related: Is Baldur’s Gate 3 Crossplay?

What’s The Baldur’s Gate 3 Max Level?

So, we said that you’d be surprised by how low the Baldur’s Gate 3 max level really is. By default, the max level cap is set to 12 – that’s it. Once you reach level 12, you’ll unlock tasty goodies – including some powerful spells – but that’s where it ends. It was mentioned that, during development, the level cap was initially set at just 10, but this was increased to allow players to unlock more content at a more consistent pace.

That might not be the end of all things, though. In Dungeons & Dragons, the maximum level is 20, and that leaves room for Larian Studios to align at a later date. They could bring the Baldur’s Gate 3 max level cap up to 20 in a subsequent expansion that would bring players flooding back to the game.

Related: Learn About The Best BG3 Companions

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