How to Set Up and Leave Camp in Baldur’s Gate 3 (2025) – Pro Tips & Tricks

Let’s cut to the chase: the direct answer to \"how to set up and leave camp in BG3\" is simple. To set up camp, open your main menu by pressing C (keyboard) or the Menu/Options button (controller), select the \"Long Rest\" option, and confirm to spawn your camp. To leave camp, walk to the waypoint exit near your fast travel point on the edge of the camp map, select the area you want to travel to, and load in. But that’s the basic answer—if you’re here, you want to know all the hidden camp mechanics that most players miss 100 hours into their playthrough. I’ve got 220+ hours across 3 full playthroughs (one honor mode, one 100% completion, one evil playthrough) and I’m breaking down every tip, trick, and hidden interaction that things I wish I knew earlier when I started BG3.

Camp isn’t just a place to sleep and restore HP. It’s where you do 90% of your companion dialogue, craft endgame items, respec, store unlimited loot, trigger unique romance scenes, and even access secret cutscenes that lock you out of entire questlines if you don’t use camp correctly. Most beginner guides gloss over camp management, but bad camp habits can get you locked out of the good ending, lose companion approval, and even waste hours of progress. This advanced guide will walk you through every part of camp, from basic setup to advanced tricks that only expert players use.

Things I Wish I Knew Earlier About BG3 Camp

I messed up camp so bad in my first playthrough. I spammed long rests after every fight, got locked out of the Grove Rescue quest because the timer ran out, and missed Shadowheart’s first romance scene because I never visited camp after getting the artifact. On the flip side, I’ve seen players avoid long rests for 15+ hours of gameplay, run out of spell slots on the final boss, and get one-shot by the Netherbrain because they were going in with half HP. Here’s the truth: camp management is one of the most underrated skills in BG3, and mastering it makes the entire game 10x easier.

Below, I’ve broken down actionable camp tips by category—Combat, Exploration, Builds, and Economy—so you can jump straight to what you need. Every tip includes why it matters, so you don’t have to guess if it’s worth changing your playstyle for.

Categorized Camp Tips for BG3

Combat-Focused Camp Tips

Camp directly impacts your combat performance more than you think. These tips will keep you at full strength without ruining your quest progress.

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1. Always long rest before major boss fights – Step-by-step: 1) Clear the trash packs leading to the boss, 2) Walk back to the nearest map exit, 3) Open the menu, set up camp, 4) Long rest, 5) Leave camp and fast travel straight back to the boss entrance.
   \nWhy it matters: Every boss fight in BG3 is designed to be beaten with full spell slots, full HP, and full class resources. Even on Explorer difficulty, a half-strength party will get wiped by Act 2 bosses like Ketheric Thorm, who has 416 HP and hits for 60-80 damage per melee swing. I’ve seen honor mode players lose runes because they skipped a long rest to \"save time\" and didn’t have counterspell ready for Thorm’s instakill damage aura.
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2. Use partial long rests to conserve camp supplies early-game – When you set up camp, you have two options: Full Rest (costs 40 camp supplies) that restores all resources, or Partial Rest (costs 20 camp supplies) that only restores 50% of resources.
   \nWhy it matters: In Act 1, camp supplies are scarce. The total available camp supplies in the entire Act 1 wilderness is only 320, enough for 8 full rests or 16 partial rests. If you’re just clearing a couple of small trash packs and only burned half your spell slots, a partial rest cuts your supply cost in half with zero downside for most casual playthroughs. You can check how much camp supplies you have at any time by looking at the supply counter in the bottom-left of the camp setup menu.
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3. Swap companion classes at camp before tough fights to counter enemy mechanics – Step-by-step: 1) Set up camp, 2) Talk to Withers, 3) Pay 100 gold to respec a companion, 4) Build them specifically for the upcoming boss, 5) Beat the boss, 6) Respec back to their original build for 100 gold more.
   \nWhy it matters: 200 gold is nothing by Act 2, and swapping Lae’zel from a pure Champion Fighter to an Eldritch Knight gives you the extra counterspell you need to beat Gortash’s instakill fireball. For the Orin fight, swapping Shadowheart from a Life Cleric to a Trickery Cleric gives you the invisibility you need to sneak past her assassins before the fight even starts. Most players never think to do this, but it’s the easiest way to beat tough bosses without grinding.
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See also: How to Get Unlimited Camp Supplies in BG3 (2025) – Full Farming Guide

Exploration & Story Camp Tips

Camp is the heart of BG3’s story, and bad camp habits will lock you out of 30+ hours of unique content. These tips will make sure you see everything you want to see.

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1. Visit camp after every major story beat to trigger companion dialogue – What counts as a major story beat? Rescuing Halsin, getting the Shadow Curse artifact, beating Gortash, finding the Nightsong, recruiting Karlach. After any of these moments, stop what you’re doing, set up camp, and talk to every companion before you leave camp.
   \nWhy it matters: 90% of companion personal quests only trigger at camp after a major story beat. If you don’t check camp after rescuing Halsin, you’ll miss Karlach’s heart repair quest, and she’ll leave your party at the start of Act 3. I’ve had dozens of new players tell me they missed Astarion’s ascension scene because they never checked camp after he got the ability to ascend—they just kept exploring and the quest locked.
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2. Never long rest more than 2 times in a row before advancing major timed quests – BG3 has hidden timers on key early-game quests: the Grove Rescue, the goblin attack on the Grove, and Karlach’s infernal engine repair. Every long rest counts as one day of progress on these timers. More than 2 long rests after you first reach the Grove will trigger the goblin attack to happen early, and you’ll lose the chance to get the Grove survivors to help you in Act 3.
   \nWhy it matters: The Grove survivors add 20+ extra fighters to your final fight against the Netherbrain, and they give you a permanent 10% discount on all Act 3 shop purchases if you save them. Losing that discount costs you ~1500 gold by endgame, which is enough to buy 2+ +1 weapons that make the final boss 30% easier.
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3. How to leave camp to fast travel directly to any discovered waypoint – Step-by-step to leave camp correctly: 1) After you finish resting and talking to companions, walk to the fast travel waypoint at the northern edge of the camp map (it’s near the entrance where you first spawn in), 2) Interact with the waypoint, 3) Select any discovered waypoint on the world map, 4) Confirm to travel directly there. If you just select \"Leave Camp\" from the menu, it will only send you back to the last area you were in before you set up camp.
   \nWhy it matters: This saves you 1-2 minutes of load time every time you use camp. I’ve watched new players set up camp, leave back to the previous area, then open the map again to fast travel to where they actually wanted to go. Cutting out that extra load time adds up to 20+ minutes saved over a full playthrough.
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4. Store all your heavy loot in camp containers to avoid encumbrance – Every container in camp (the chest near your bonfire, the empty crates near Wyll’s tent) is permanent and can hold unlimited weight. Drop all your excess weapons, armor, and junk that you don’t want to sell immediately in these containers.
   \nWhy it matters: Encumbrance slows your movement speed by 25% and makes you automatically fail any athletics check to jump or shove. A full party of encumbered characters makes exploration twice as slow. Most new players carry 500+ pounds of junk in their inventory just because they don’t know camp containers are infinite. Your camp stash never resets, never gets stolen, and you can access it any time you’re at camp.
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Build & Character Camp Tips

Camp is where you optimize your build, swap companions, and fix bad character choices. These expert tips will save you hundreds of gold and hours of frustration.

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1. Respec at camp as soon as you hit level 4 to fix bad stat allocations – Withers unlocks the respec option at camp as soon as you recruit him in the Dank Crypt (the first dungeon you can find in Act 1). Respec costs 100 gold flat, no matter what level you are.
   \nWhy it matters: 80% of new players make the mistake of putting 14 points into Charisma for a Fighter just because they want to intimidate people, when they could respec to put 16 into Strength and 8 into Charisma, and use a companion with high Charisma for dialogue. Respec lets you experiment with builds without starting a whole new character. Pro Tip: You can even respec your main character to change your background and skill proficiencies—something most players don’t figure out until Act 3.
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2. Hire mercenaries at camp to fill missing party roles – Withers also lets you hire mercenaries for 100 gold each at any time after he spawns in camp. These are pre-built characters that you can customize to fill any role you’re missing: if you kicked Astarion out and need a trap disarmer, hire a level 4 Rogue for 100 gold. If you need an extra healer after Shadowheart left, hire a Cleric.
   \nWhy it matters: A lot of new players don’t know you can have mercenaries fill roles if you lose a companion or want to try a party comp that doesn’t include any of the origin characters. Mercenaries level up with your main character, so they’re just as strong as origin companions endgame. If you don’t need them anymore, you can just dismiss them from camp and get your 100 gold back—no penalty.
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3. Change your companions’ default outfits at camp without using a mod – Step-by-step: 1) Set up camp, 2) Talk to the companion you want to change, 3) Select the \"Let’s trade\" option, 4) Take their default armor off their inventory, 5) Give them any new armor or clothing you want them to wear, 6) Ask them to equip it. If you want them to walk around camp in their underwear, just take all their armor away and they’ll stay that way permanently.
   \nWhy it matters: The default camp outfits are fine, but if you want to roleplay a specific aesthetic or just make your camp look cooler, this trick lets you do it without installing any mods. It doesn’t affect their combat stats at all—they’ll still equip their combat armor when you leave camp.
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Economy & Loot Camp Tips

Camp can make you thousands of extra gold if you use it right. These economy tricks will let you buy every item you want before Act 3 even starts.

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1. Store all stolen goods in camp containers to avoid getting caught – If you steal something from a merchant in Baldur’s Gate, any city guard will detect it on you if you get close. If you store it in your camp stash before you enter the city, guards won’t detect it, and you can smuggle it out one at a time to sell without getting arrested.
   \nWhy it matters: Stolen goods are worth the same as legitimately acquired goods when you sell them. I’ve gotten 1200 gold from stolen weapons and armor in Act 3 just by storing them in camp before I enter the city. Getting caught with stolen goods results in a 200 gold fine or a fight with 6 level 8 guards that can easily wipe a poorly prepared party.
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2. Recruit Arron to your camp for a permanent 5% discount on all goods – Arron is a merchant you can rescue from the goblin camp in Act 1. If you rescue him, he’ll set up shop in your camp permanently, and he sells basic supplies at a 5% discount compared to other merchants. He also buys your junk for 2% more than other merchants.
   \nWhy it matters: Over the course of a full playthrough, that 5% discount adds up to ~300 gold in savings. Having a merchant in camp also means you don’t have to run back to a city every time you want to sell a bunch of loot—just set up camp, sell to Arron, and leave. Pro Tip: Arron also sells infinite arrows of different types, so you never have to run out of ammo as a Ranger or Fighter.
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3. Smelt excess magic items at camp for extra gold after patch 5 – After Larian’s 2024 patch 5, you can build a smelter in your camp using materials you find in Act 2. Smelting excess common and uncommon magic items gives you ingots that you can sell to merchants for 20% more gold than selling the item directly.
   \nWhy it matters: A lot of excess magic items are too heavy to carry to a merchant, and selling them directly only gives you 10-20 gold. Smelting them into ingots gives you 12-24 gold per item, and ingots weigh 75% less than the original items. That adds up to hundreds of extra gold by endgame.
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Common Beginner Mistakes When Setting Up and Leaving Camp in BG3

These are the 6 most common beginner mistakes I see over and over again. I made 3 of these on my first playthrough, and they cost me dozens of hours of content.

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1. Spamming long rests after every single fight – This is the #1 mistake. New players think they need to restore all their resources after every goblin fight, so they set up camp