Baldur’s Gate 3is a game with a ton of depth, and at first, it can feel overwhelming to new players when they see just how much information there is on the screen. As with any complex game, learning certain hotkeys can make the experience easier and save time since players will not have to click on the packed HUD as often.
Theseimportant hotkeys forBaldur’s Gate 3may even highlightfeatures of the game that players have missed, as the title mostly leaves players to figure things out for themselves.
Updated July 04, 2025, by Joe Grantham:Baldur’s Gate 3 is a game with incredible depth, and for players new to the genre it can be fairly hard to get into. With this in mind, making anything easier, no matter how small, is always going to be a good thing. The following list has been updated to include morekeyboard shortcuts for BG3, which should streamline the combat and other gameplay aspects of the RPG.
Hotkeys for saving the game, and even for temporarily removing the HUD are also important. Of course, players can customize their hotkeys to their liking, and the following are the default options, which have been designed with ease of access in mind.
1Shove
V
After using their main attack or abilities, many characters will have a Bonus Action left at the end of their turn, but with few options for what to do with it. Available to anyone in melee range, however, is the ability to Shove, or at least try. Characters such asBarbarians inBG3with high a Strength stat will have a higher chance of succeeding.
The best-case scenarios are shoving enemies off cliffs or into persistent effects such as a Cloud of Daggers. As this is an ability that some characters may use on most turns, it’s best to learn the hotkey ofVand remember it to keep combat flowing, especially when friends are waiting for the turn to end.
2Cancel Actions & Spells
Escape
Actions and spells have two parts. First, players click on the desired action at the bottom of the screen, and then depending on the action or spell in question, they will need to click on a target or choose an area. With there being two parts, if players initially misclicked an action or changed their mind, they can cancel it.
To do so, players can either click a red cross at the bottom of the screen or they can remember the far easier option of clicking theEscapebutton on their keyboard. This hotkey speeds up the entire process, especially when players want to play around with which actions would be best, as they hover over targets to see the success chance or see how many targets would be hit by certain AOE spells. When a skill hasn’t been selected, theEscapebutton will instead bring up the game’s main menu, a standard feature for most PC games.
3Take All When Looting
Space
There’s a lot to be looted inBG3, and while players will find lots of empty crates and the like, they will also find chests with multiple items inside them. If loot hoarders already know they will want to pick up everything they can, it’s best to get into the practice of using theSpacehotkey to take all.
This simple shortcut speeds up the entire looting process and ensures that players don’t miss anything. Of course, by looting every item, players will soon find their inventories full and cluttered, meaning they will need someinventory management tips forBaldur’s Gate 3.
4Bring Up The Alchemy Menu
H
Alchemy is an underutilized aspect ofBaldur’s Gate 3, with many players forgetting about its existence. However, perhaps by learning the hotkey for it,H, players will remember to craft more potions, elixirs, and oils.
Before heading into a big fight, it can be a good idea to bring up the alchemy menu and see if anything can be crafted with the new ingredients and resources players might have collected on their travels. They should then distribute any potions and the like among party members. Getting in the habit of doing so can be the difference between life and death, especially for those attempting to beatBG3’sharder difficulties.
5Toggle HUD
F10
Baldur’s Gate 3isan absolutely stunning gamewith cutscenes that feel like mini-movies. For further immersion in these scenes, it can be a good idea to toggle the HUD off by pressingF10. This will remove all text and menus at any point in the game, allowing players to feast their eyes on the beauty of Faerun and the realistic characters who inhabit the world.
F10is also a good hotkey for taking beautiful screenshots inBG3, even outside of cutscenes. If players are in active dialogue, however, they will need to remember to turn the HUD back on to choose what to say or do. This can cause some fairly humorous situations in co-op at the expense of the player with their HUD turned off.
6Toggle Tactical Camera
O
Sometimes, and especially in combat, it can be a good idea to get a more tactical view of the battlefield, and this can be done by pressingOto toggle the Tactical Camera. This overhead view will allow players to properly click on some characters who may otherwise have been hiding in the regular view. They will also be able to get a better read of the combat that is about to ensue.
In certain rooms or locations, even just momentarily switching to the Tactical Camera can solve problems. For example, players might only be able to make a specific jump or pick up an awkwardly positioned item by switching.
7Split The Party/Regroup
G
Most of the time, players will move their four-character party around as one, with them all following the currently selected leader. However, there will also be plenty of times when players will want to send off individual characters on their own for a plethora of reasons. For example, they might want to positiona Rogueor Ranger on the flanks or high up before combat starts.
Whatever the reason, to achieve this and split up the party, players can pressG. Players can then click on individual character’s cards on the left-hand side, which will now be separated, and move them around without anyone following. To regroup the party, simply pressGagain, and any actions will be followed by the group as a whole.
8Jump
Z
WhileBaldur’s Gate 3is by no means aplatformer game, there are times when lots of jumping is required, and remembering the hotkey can make the gameplay feel smoother. To bring up the jump action, players simply need to press theZkey, and then click on a spot that they wish to jump to. This spot must be in range, which is indicated by a white circle around the character. Characters who aren’t in range will move closer, but this could have detrimental effects if enemies are close.
Jumping can be used in combat to reach vantage points, and players should always jump over hazardous patches of ground where things like ice, grease, and fire are. They can also jump over traps that have been revealed.
9Center Camera On Character
Home Or F1, F2, F3, And F4
Baldur’s Gate 3has a camera system that can take a while to get used to. It allows players to zoom in and out, but they can also pan over to wherever they wish to look. As great as this freedom is, sometimes the camera can get stuck or players simply momentarily forget where they left their character.
In this case, players can press theHomekey on their keyboard and the camera will instantly return to the character they currently control. Alternatively, and somewhat easier, they can also use the first fourFkeys,F1,F2,F3, andF4to select any fourcharacters currently in the party.
10Enter Turn-Based Mode
Shift + Space
Combat inBaldur’s Gate 3mostly takes place in turn-based mode and this will typically initiate when a battle begins. However, what some players don’t know is that it can be hugely beneficial to enter turn-based mode outside of combat for many reasons.
For example, when trying to avoid enemy patrols or sneak up on targets, players can enter turn-based mode for better control. To do this even faster, players can pressShift + Space, and doing the same will exit turn-based mode.
