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Baldur’s Gate 3: Why Limiting Yourself To Custom Origin Playthroughs Is A Mistake

Ashleigh Durden3 hours ago
4 minutes read
Baldur’s Gate 3: Why Limiting Yourself To Custom Origin Playthroughs Is A Mistake

Baldur’s Gate 3 has six companions who can also be played as the main character, as well as two custom origins. One custom origin is a completely blank slate, whilst the other – The Dark Urge, is mostly customizable with some fixed links to the overarching story. The majority of players will be inclined to choose a custom origin, but they’re really missing out by never giving the pre-made origin characters a chance.

For a first-time player, a custom avatar may be preferred to get an understanding of the characters before playing them. The main drawback to playing as one of the companion characters is missing out on the majority of their spoken dialogue and the fantastic performances of their voice actors. Though now that it’s been over a year since release, players looking to experience the game from a different angle should really consider a different protagonist.

Players Can Be A Vampire From The Start In Astarion’s Origin Run

Karlach’s Origin Encourages The Player To Stay In Character

Custom Image by Lee D’Amato

It makes sense that most players would prefer to play as a custom avatar. When it comes to fantasy games like Baldur’s Gate 3, people often prefer to create characters that are reflections of themselves in order to become fully immersed in the world. However, it’s no mistake that Larian put a lot of love into every aspect of the game, meaning that according to the one-year anniversary statistics, there’s lots of content 93% of players will never get to see.

Usually, if players have recruited Astarion, they’ll eventually get access to his Vampire bite ability – when playing as Astarion, they will be able to access this from the start. In his origin playthrough, players can take matters of his vamprisim into their own hands, and can choose to be as open or secretive as they like, which allows them to slightly divert from the default storylines. He also has several cutscenes that are only triggered in his origin run, such as a nightmare sequence about Cazador which gives some direct insight into his backstory players would not see otherwise.

Dark Urge with Lae'Zel and Karlach looking concerned in Baldur's Gate 3.

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Whilst Astarion’s origin run comes with unique cutscenes and is the most popular non-custom character, one of the best origins to pick for players who want a different experience is Karlach. She has some of the most dialogue unique to her origin playthrough, and even slightly takes over some of the narration with her own inner monologue. Though a Tav or Dark Urge playthrough may be more personalized to the player’s tastes, Karlach retains the most of her personality when played as an origin, which makes her a great alternative.

Shadowheart’s Origin Playthrough Allows You To Drastically Change Her Rivalry With Lae’zel

Characters Can Refer To The Protagonist On A More Personal Level

Most of the time, players will be a third party to Shadowheart and Lae’zel’s feud – however, playing as either of them will allow players to navigate it differently. Though when playing as Shadowheart, players won’t be able to get Lae’zel to trust them completely, they will still get a different perspective on their usual argument at camp. Instead of players intervening in the middle of their argument, they get to see it from the start. This altercation can lead to Lae’zel coming to a mutual agreement with Shadowheart, or a bizarre cutscene where the artifact detonates and kills Lae’zel.

Zevelor, Thulla, Kuo Toa In Baldur’s Gate 3

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Experiencing certain scenes as origin characters instead of a custom one can make the game feel more alive – for example, companions can call the player directly by their name, instead of just vaguely referring to them. For example, as shown in PinkPixelBunny‘s video on YouTube, Karlach affectionately refers to Shadowheart as “Fringe” in the dialogue after her confrontation with Lae’zel. This may also be the best way to do romance routes, since companions have a lot more to say about the player avatar.

Gale’s Origin Run Brings An Adorable NPC Into The Spotlight

Origin Playthroughs Can Unlock Items And Characters That Won’t Be Seen Otherwise

Gale has some of the most content only available to those playing as him – normally, in Act 3 players will meet Tara, Gale’s tressym companion. However, in Gale’s origin playthrough, Tara will come to camp in Act 1, and remain there like Scratch or the Owlbear cub. She’ll also provide Gale with a ring called “The Ring of Evasion” which cannot be acquired otherwise. Though she does this with the intent of Gale consuming the item to stabilize his orb, it’s one of the earliest “very rare” items that players can get their hands on.

The Ring of Evasion grants the “Dextrous Evasion” ability, which allows the wearer to use a reaction to succeed instead after rolling a failed dexterity saving throw.

If players are cruel enough to kill Tara, her loot will contain a “Tressym Collar” which allows the wearer to use Telekenesis. Whilst players will likely get a lot more enjoyment out of the character by keeping her alive, Telekenesis is a level five spell which could be very helpful in creating powerful builds early on. Though Baldur’s Gate 3 has some great options for character customization, by only playing custom characters, players limit themselves to much of the same content, whilst origjn playthroughs offer a much different spin on the story.

Sources: BG3 1 Year Anniversary Statistics/X PinkPixelBunny/YouTube

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Ashleigh Durden3 hours ago
4 minutes read
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