Rest is a unique mechanic in Baldur’s Gate 3. Your characters can relax, sleep, and recover health and spell slots. You can also talk to your companions and attempt to pursue relationships. All this is done via the menu on the bottom right of the screen. To rest, you must be outside combat and in a safe space.
The game has two kinds of rest: short rest and long rest. Both have specific uses and mechanics. Knowing how to rest in Baldur’s Gate 3 and their differences is important to taking full advantage of them.
FYI
There are some locations from where you can’t go to camp and rest. These include Mind Flayer Colony, Murder Tribunal Hideout, and Shadowfell.
Short Rest in Baldur’s Gate 3
Short resting is a great way to quickly regain half of your health in Baldur’s Gate 3. It is the topmost option on the camp menu, and you can take a short rest twice after a long rest.
The Warlock class can recover its spell slots by short resting, but other casters may not. To use it, First, open the rest menu by clicking on it. Then, you will notice an icon with two green glowing dots at the top. That is the short rest option. Select it to begin your short rest.
But be wary, as you can only take two short rests in a day. After that, you must replenish them by taking a long rest.
The following are the class-specific bonuses for short rest.
| Class | Bonus |
| Barbarian | Relentless Rage DC (level 11 or above) |
| Bard | Restores Bardic Inspiration (level 5 or above) |
| Cleric | Restores Channel Divinity Charges (level 2 or above) |
| Druid | Circle of the Land druid recovers spell slots half in number to character level (at level 2 or above) |
| Fighter | Recovers Second Wind and Action Surge (level 2 or above). Battle Master subclass also regains their Superiority Dice (level 3 or above) |
| Monk | Recovers Ki points completely |
| Paladin | Recovers Oath charges completely |
| Ranger | No bonus |
| Rogue | No bonus |
| Sorcerer | Wild Magic sorcerer subclass recovers Tides of Chaos |
| Warlock | Recover all spell slots and subclass features |
| Wizard | No bonus |
Taking a long rest in Baldurs Gate 3
Long rest as you make proper camp and sleep the night. This will recover all your hit points and spell slots. To take a long rest, first, click on the Rest Menu. Select the option that has a crescent moon symbol on it.
Once you do this, you will be returned to your campsite—where you can interact with your fellow companions and rest. To start a long rest, select your bedroll and interact with it. This will let you snooze and wake up refreshed with your health and spell slots recovered.
Long rests end the current day cycle, so be aware of any timed events or time-sensitive quests you may have undertaken. You will also need 40 camp supplies for long rest, so ensure you have them before rest. Moreover, you cannot complete Baldur’s Gate 3 without a long rest, as many important events, like the transition from Act 2 to 3, are tied to it.
Partial Rest
You can allow the game to select camp supplies automatically or you can do it manually. If you try to rest without camp supplies, you will experience partial rest. This type of rest restores half of your health and spell slots but doesn’t restore short rest slots. It also progresses the day, making it useless if you have enough camp supplies.
Differences between short and long rests
These are the significant differences between long and short rest in Baldurs Gate 3. Both have their uses, so it’s important to know when and where to use them.
Short Rest
- Can only be used two times per day
- It can be used at any point, out of combat
- Regain a small amount of health for every character
- Allows warlocks to regain their spell slots
- Resets certain limited-use abilities
Long Rest
- It can be used at any point out of combat
- Requires 40 supplies to reap full benefits
- Regains all health and spell slots for all characters and classes
- Progress time by one day
- Resets all limited-use abilities
- Allows you to change your party composition
- You can have in-depth dialogue with companions
- You can revive dead characters at the campsite
