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In the rich and dynamic combat ofBaldur’s Gate 3, victory hinges not only upon the obvious factors of your foes and allies but also on the intricate battlefield environment. Factors such as items, structures and terrain—even the ground beneath your feet!—can affect the flow of combat just as much as your spells and swords.
RELATED:Baldur’s Gate 3: Guide To Companions
Among these factors, Elemental Surfaces are perhaps one of the most prevalent. They can occur naturally—or as a result of your (or your enemies') actions—and can introduce a complex new layer of damage, control and debuff options that could completely change the course of battle.
What Are Elemental Surfaces?
If you’ve played the game at all, chances are you’ve encounteredElemental Surfacesbefore—maybe evenused one to your advantagewithout knowing it. Even as you crawled out of your awful little torture podon the Nautiloid, you might remember immediately coming face to face with ablazing firethat spanned much of the room.
Elemental Surfacesare substances that coat the surface of the terrain, inflictingbuffs, debuffs, or damageon those who come in contact with them. Elemental Surfaces canfurther react with other elements—transforming intoentirely new surfaces, or culminating insome sort of final effectas a result: like an explosion!
A thorough understanding theelemental reactions of Baldur’s Gate 3andclever usage of elemental combinationscan swing any skirmish in your favor, and fast—whereas ignoring the terrain can lead todisastrous accidents at your expense.
Oil / Smokepowder
When a creature steps into aFire Surface,it appliesthe Burning condition,which deals1d4 Fire damageat the start of the creature’s turn.It alsoremoves any Wet condition.
You can use the elements ofwater(for instance, in a barrel) orice(for instance, with theRay of Frostcantrip) toextinguish these surfaces, leaving behindsteamor awater surface, respectively.
Whenfirecomes into contact withoilorsmokepowder(for instance, in barrels), it’ll create amassive explosion.
When a fire isnaturally extinguishedover time, it leaves behind an ash surface that eventually fades away.
Fire
Whilenot innately damagingor destructive,Ice Surfacescan still make ahuge differencein the heat of battle. If a creature steps onto it, not only does it count asdifficult terrain(halving their movement speed), but the creature may alsofall prone.
Prone creatures aresusceptible to melee attacks, as well asStrengthandDexterity saving throws.
Ice
AWater Surfacecan transform intosteamwhen it comes in contact withFire, and canfreeze solidinto anIce Surfacewhen it comes into contact withIce.
Moredangerously, however, Water surfaces will turn into anElectrified Water Surfacewhen it comes in contact withLightning.
Creatures
Creatures that come into contact with anElectrified Water Surfacereceive theElectrocuted condition, which deals1d4 Lightning damageto them at the start of their turns.
Mud Surfacesarenaturally occurringsurfaces in wetland and swamp areas. They createdifficult terrain,halving the movement speedof any creature trying to traverse it.
Acid Surfaces apply theAcid condition, reducing the creature’sArmor Class (AC) by 2. This can be a potential game-changer in a close battle.
Naturally, this is also ahuge detrimentduring both combat and exploration.
Caustic Brine Surfacesinflict theCaustic Brinecondition, causing1d4 Acid damageper turn to creatures who step onto it.
Blood Surfacesare, as you might expect, produced whenharm comes to a creaturewith blood (aMud Mephit, which is an elemental, would not bleed, for instance). Much likeWater Surfaces,they canextinguishFireand can befrozenintoIce Surfaces. Theycannot be electrified, however.
