Do not underestimate a good throw in Baldur’s Gate 3

Baldur’s Gate 3 is full of possibility — not just in the characters you create, but also in the ways these characters can move through the world. Sure, they’ll have different weapon affinities or dialogue possibilities based on their class. But there are a few basic actions that everyone can do, and they are not to be underestimated. “Dash” is obviously great for movement distance, and “hide” is great for surprise attacks — but I urge everyone not to sleep on “throw,” one of Baldur’s Gate 3’s greatest joys.

With throw, the possibilities are endless. You can break bottles on the floor next to party members for healing. You can throw a carafe, freeze the water, then render enemies prone, or you can throw grease and set it aflame. It’s incredibly entertaining to throw random things. I’ve also made it an effective battle tactic thanks to a Ring of Flinging, which gives me an extra 1d4 roll. Why manage my inventory when I can just throw it at someone instead?

Here’s an incomplete list of all of the objectively perfect things I’ve been able to do, thanks to my use of throw:

• Killed the last goblin enemy in camp by throwing a rotten tomato at him
• Healed Astarion by throwing a potion on the floor next to him, and having him walk over it
• Picked up a child and threw them
• Wild shaped my druid into a cat, and had Astarion throw her through prison bars in order to break in
• Tossed bottles of grease at a group of gnolls, then set them on fire
• Looted enemies, took their weapons — and then threw those weapons at their allies
• Played fetch with Scratch at camp

And some great advice from friends and colleagues:

• Cast mage hand and use it throw potions, or basically any of the above that the ability is strong enough to pick up
• If you’re strong enough (enraged Barbarian, anyone?), simply pick up enemies and throw them off a cliff or into lava
• Use random items around you like shoes or chairs — or even, uh, someone’s decapitated head — as weapons, in a pinch
• Throw teammates onto ledges they can’t reach on their own

I’m sure there are numerous other beautiful possibilities that none of us have even dreamed of yet. I’m still only in the first act, and I cannot wait for the dumb shit I attempt in the next ones.