I’m playing through the early parts of Baldur’s Gate 3 and curious about the strategy around downed companions. At first, I tried helping them up immediately after they go down, but it feels inefficient. You lose out on damage because reviving takes an action, and the companions come back with just 1 HP, making them easy to knock down again. Healing spells are very limited early on—I’ve only got a weak healing spell that restores around 7 HP. Healing potions seem like a better option, but I still feel like wasting actions on reviving in a fight might be a bad idea, especially when quick damage output could be the difference between winning or losing. Maybe it gets better later with stronger healing options? I’d love to hear how others handle this in terms of gameplay rather than roleplaying or emotional attachment.
4 Answers
From what I’ve found, throwing healing potions to downed party members is a solid move early on, especially since it doesn’t require a spell slot and gets them enough HP to not be immediately knocked down again. The Help action feels super inefficient since you lose an action, and they only get 1 HP which usually isn’t enough. If you have Healing Word, that’s ideal since it only costs a bonus action and revives someone fast. Overall, getting your ally up is usually worth it so they can contribute again, but be mindful of the fight situation — sometimes it’s better to focus on damage if the risk is too high.
Good tip about the Healing Word spell. I’ll keep an eye out for it and try to grab it when I can.
It really depends on the context of the battle and which companion is down. If that companion has important abilities or skills that can turn the tide, I prioritize getting them back up with potions or Healing Word. Otherwise, I let them stay down until the fight is finished to avoid wasting actions and risking a wipe. Sometimes it’s just better to keep fighting and take your chances. Also, having a ‘throwzerker’—a character specialized in chucking potions—is a fun and effective strategy to keep the team up and running.
In my experience, the key is to prevent your companions from going down a lot in the first place by playing carefully and using strategies to avoid damage. But when they do fall, I usually prefer tossing a health potion over the Help action because it can bring them back up and heal them without using up precious actions that could be used for attacking or buffing the team.
Honestly, using the Help action to revive downed teammates feels like the least efficient choice early on. Throwing a healing potion at them is way better because it revives them from a distance and gives them more than just 1 HP, so they can survive longer once back in the fight. Plus, if you stack party members close together, you can heal multiple folks at once with splash effects. Healing Word is also amazing since it only costs a bonus action and gets your ally up quickly.
Thanks, that matches what I’ve been feeling. I guess I’ll try to stock up on potions more and save spells for critical moments.