Baldur’s Gate 3 players delighted by “awesome” battle-altering spell

Jessica Filby
Baldur's Gate 3 spellcasting

There are plenty of powerful damage spells in Baldur’s Gate 3, but one “awesome” utility spell has absolutely delighted fans, changing their battles forever.

Accompanying the tricky battles, unique companions, and variety of classes, are the hundreds of spells players can use in Baldur’s Gate 3. Sure, the amount of different damage, control, healing, and utility spells can be a little overwhelming for certain classes, but once you master them and know what works, it can make your game so much easier.

However, despite plenty of players knowing exactly what to use for their Druid, Cleric, Wizard or otherwise, one spell has revealed itself as potentially battle-altering, with tons of players sharing their experiences with Arcane Lock.

Baldur's Gate 3 Arcane Lock

Baldur’s Gate 3 players love “awesome” Arcane Lock spell

Much like the opposite to the popular Knock spell, Arcane Lock serves to lock someone in a location or stop them from getting through a certain door. Naturally, Baldur’s Gate 3 players have been comiing up with some incredibly creative ways to use this spell, with most using it to transform a tricky battle in their favor.

Sharing their story on Reddit, one Baldur’s Gate 3 player, aptly called ArcaneLocks explained how, while fighting Dribbles the Clown “his henchmen [went] and opened up the cages containing a displacer beast and a velociraptor. The displacer beast got out before my wizard had initiative, but the raptor was still within the cage so I took my wizard and misty stepped over to the cage, closed the door, and arcane locked it with the raptor inside.”

After doing this, “All he could do was roar and attack the cage door for a bit of damage before I took him out with ranged attacks after I killed all his friends.” Making what could have been a deadly encounter so much easier, all because of a simple second level spell.

Other players took to the comments to share their experiences with the spell, explaining how “when you fight Auntie Ethel inside her home before she flees to her base you can use Arcane lock to lock the fireplace, she won’t be able to run away.” This means you can take her down much quicker and in a safer location than many are forced to fight in.

One user reported the use of the spell in late-game battles, using Arcane Lock to separate enemies from each other: “Arcane lock made a certain Act3 massive battle somewhat trivial…got the one target I wanted out on a balcony, locked everyone else behind a door.” Such a small spell in terms of level, and the fact it’s not concentration certainly means users can adapt it to almost any situation.

One comment summed up the community’s realization after hearing those stories: “I was wondering where and when I’d use Arcane Lock but now it seems so obvious now that you explained one such scenario.”

It’s clear many players will be focusing on manipulating the battlefield rather than simply trying to deal as much damage as they can in Baldur’s Gate 3.

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About The Author

Based in Cumbria, England, Jessica is a Senior Games Writer who joined Dexerto after stints at Game Rant and The Gamer. You can find her covering everything from Minecraft, CoD, Disney Dreamlight Valley, Pokemon Go and more. You can contact Jessica at jessica.filby@dexerto.com