13 Must-Have Mods for Baldur’s Gate 3

The game has been drowned in accolades and critical acclaim, but that doesn’t mean that there’s no room for improvement. More Baldur’s Gate 3 mods are being released for the title daily. We’ve taken the time to compile our favorites, from those offering simple quality-of-life improvements to more unique alterations.

How to Mod Baldur’s Gate 3

Thankfully, modding your game doesn’t require much technical know-how. While Baldur’s Gate 3 can be modded manually by interacting directly with the game’s files, using a mod manager is a much easier and safer method.

After running your game at least once, ensure that you close it completely. There are two main mod managers to choose from: the Vortex Nexus Mod Manager and the Baldur’s Gate 3 Mod Manager. The former can be used to mod many different games, while the latter is exclusively for handling Baldur’s Gate 3 mods.

If using the Vortex Nexus Mod Manager, click Games on the left side of the manager and find Baldur’s Gate 3. Select ‘Manage’ on the game’s cover to prepare it for modding. If using the Baldur’s Gate 3 Mod Manager, all mods will be automatically installed.

Warning

Modding your game can potentially cause issues, such as sudden crashes or issues with saving. It’s important to read the instructions for each mod, as they may include particular instructions to avoid compatibility issues. Additionally, some mods require other tools or mods to be installed to work correctly.

Once you find a mod you’d like to install on Nexus Mods, be sure to carefully read the installation instructions. When downloading a mod, it will instantly appear in your mod manager. No further action is needed in most cases.

Bags, Bags, Bags

Trying to keep your inventory organized in Baldur’s Gate 3 quickly becomes a losing battle. The sheer amount of loot dotting the world can make your head spin, but Liareth’s handy Bags, Bags, Bags mod eliminates the stress of an inevitably cluttered inventory screen by adding 21 labeled containers. To make things even more handy, some of these containers feature autostack, meaning that certain items will be automatically sorted.

Many containers can be particularly useful when placed in the treasure chest at camp, which can easily become an anxiety-inducing mess. These include bags for armor, dyes, cloaks, valuables, weapons, jewelry, and more.

Once downloaded, these containers can be found in the Naiutiloid tutorial chest at the start of the game. They can also be purchased from vendor NPCs in all three acts if initially missed, and the mod is compatible with existing saves.

Daughter of Lolth – Minthara – Good Recruitment

Minthara is a fan-favorite companion, but recruiting her to your camp isn’t an easy task. Players need to walk an evil path to impress this Drow who has sworn herself to the service of the Absolute. However, with Rukongai’s Daughter of Lolth – Minthara – Good Recruitment mod, you’re now able to recruit this powerful Paladin without betraying your morals.

Warning

This mod will not work if installed after starting Act 2.

Without this mod, you cannot recruit Minthara without siding with the goblins against the Tieflings. After adding it to your game, defeating Minthara will not kill her, and she will later appear at Moonrise. Your other companions may not be fond of her presence, but having one more friend on your side can’t hurt.

Tav’s Hair Salon

There are plenty of unique hairstyles to choose from when creating your character, but a few more couldn’t hurt. Tav’s Hair Salon, a mod by Toarie, adds nearly 100 new hairdos to the game, letting players be even more picky and creative when designing the hero—or villain—of their dreams.

Most hairstyles included in this impressive mod are for Human, Elf, Half-Elf, Drow, or Tiefling characters.

In Patch 3, Larian Studios finally allows players a way to change their character’s look mid-game. Interact with the Magic Mirror in camp to alter your appearance, voice, and pronouns whenever you like.

Party Limit Begone

Do you love all of your companions equally? Want more firepower on the battlefield? Sick of swapping characters in and out? Want to assault the gates of Moonrise Towers with a small army? Sildur’s Party Limit Begone mod enables you to have a party with more than four companions. In fact, this mod lets you have a party with up to 16 members and create multiplayer games with as many as eight of your closest friends.

While this handy mod works the majority of the time, certain in-game events are hardcoded for parties of four only. If you hit an error, dismiss any additional members, and the problem should be solved. Also, feel free to ignore the little warning on the Larian game launcher complaining of a data mismatch.

Immersive AI

When one modder felt displeased by the enemy’s predictable AI in Baldur’s Gate 3, he devised a solution. Eric’s Immersive AI mod effectively rewrites all of the combat AI in the game, making every fight more varied and unique. Enemies may work more closely with one another, use more stealth, or more effectively utilize the environment in battle. Overall, the foes you fight will have a little more personality.

This mod is still in the testing phase, but its creator can be seen constantly chatting with members of the community and responding to feedback on a daily basis. Given that he wrote nearly 10 times the amount of code found in the game’s combat logs, it’s clear that this is an ongoing labor of love.

Carry Weight Increased

As you explore the world of Baldur’s Gate 3, you’ll quickly realize that treasure is everywhere. Whether you’re lockpicking chests or looting downed enemies, your pockets are bound to fill up quickly. As with many other RPGs, your character can only carry so much before they become overburdened. Thankfully, Mharius’s Carry Weight Increased mod can bolster your carry weight into the thousands.

If you’re a player who can’t help but pick up everything in sight, downloading this mod along with Bags, Bags, Bags will surely transform you into the loot goblin you always knew you could be.

Highlight Everything

When holding the Left ALT key (or R3 on a controller), items in the environment that can be interacted with will be highlighted. However, some of the camera angles in the game can make seeing certain useful items difficult, and the default game won’t highlight everything—only the absolute essentials. Shalzuth’s Highlight Everything mod remedies this by, as you’d expect, highlighting absolutely everything in the environment that may be of use. 

This is a must-have mod if you’re afraid of missing some valuable loot on your adventures. However, you may want to download the aforementioned Carry Weight Increased mod to handle all the new goodies you find.

5e Spells

Baldur’s Gate 3 includes a lengthy list of spells for magic users to work with, but many more were left out of the game’s official release. Fans of Dungeons & Dragons will be pleased to know that the 5e Spells mod by Celes adds many familiar spells to the game’s list, including Beast Bond, Unseen Servant, Healing Spirit, Erupting Earth, and dozens more.

While the default game only reaches Level 6 spells, this mod includes incantations up to Level 9. If you’re familiar with official D&D 5e materials like Xanathar’s Guide to Everything and Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, you’re in for a treat.

Fast XP

The level cap in Baldur’s Gate 3 is 12, and given that relatively low number, gaining XP and leveling up can take a fair amount of time. Fast XP, a handy mod from Malcroix, lets players reach Level 6 soon after escaping the Nautiloid ship. If you played the game in Early Access and don’t feel like spending another second as a low-level character, this can be a lifesaver.

Recently, the mod was updated, halving XP requirements for every level. This effectively doubles the experience you earn, meaning that getting to Level 12 will be a walk in the park.

Camp Event Notifications

Some quests and companion relationships can only progress by returning to camp for a Long Rest. It’s not always clear when this is the case, but the Camp Event Notification mod by Kvalyr takes the guesswork out of this aspect of the game. This clever mod adds a floating exclamation point above the main character’s head when new dialogue or events are available at camp.

The game sometimes requires you to Long Rest at specific times to see certain scenes or have unique conversations, but these moments are easy to miss. If you want to get the most out of relationships with your companions and see every possible cutscene, this mod shouldn’t be missed.

WASD Character Movement

If you’re accustomed to using the WASD keys to move your character when gaming, Ch4nKyy has created a mod to make your life much easier. WASD Character Movement allows you to move your character using these familiar keys and also adds auto-move and the option to switch between jogging and walking.

The mod’s creator recommends that users play in Borderless Window mode when this mod is enabled for the best possible experience. Additionally, the following mod on our list is essential for WASD Character Movement to work properly.

Native Camera Tweaks

Ershin’s Native Camera Tweaks mod adds numerous options to the in-game camera, including the ability to override the FOV, change the vertical and horizontal offset, increase the camera’s rotation speed, and much more. This is a must-have if you’re using the WASD Character Movement mod.

By customizing the camera options, players can transform the gameplay of Baldur’s Gate 3 into something more reminiscent of Bioware’s Dragon Age: Origins. We’d recommend playing this mod to see how much you can transform the game’s visuals.

Faerûn Utility

If you’re looking to break the rules and cheat your heart out, this tongue-in-cheek mod is your one-stop shop for pure chaos. The Faerûn Utility (or FU) mod by clintmich adds over 400 cheat spells to Baldur’s Gate 3 that can be cast anytime.

By equipping the mythical FU ring, players can do just about anything. Boost your stats in an instant, make yourself invincible, spawn any rare item you can imagine—the list goes on and on.

With more and more mods being uploaded daily, it’s likely that this list will be expanded in the near future. Larian Studios have been supportive of players modding Baldur’s Gate 3, giving their blessing and even occasionally taking to Twitter to highlight some of the best mods in the bunch.

Due to the title’s popularity still continuing to surge, we can’t wait to see what the community comes up with next.