I stayed at all 17 of Baldur’s Gate 3’s unique campsites and painstakingly rated the accommodations like some kind of Forgotten Realms bon vivant
I was completely blown away the first time I visited Baldur’s Gate 3’s party camp in the Underdark and arrived at a unique, underground version of this RPG’s home away from home. It’s magical that Larian put so much effort into making bespoke little safe zones corresponding to Baldur’s Gate 3’s unique areas, and the variety on display helps your campsites feel less like the pocket dimension of Dragon Age Origins’ single party camp location.
The Baldur’s Gate 3 wiki notes 16 unique campsites throughout the game, but that’s excluding a special, one-off bivouac between acts two and three. With that in mind, I have ranked all 17 of Baldur’s Gate 3’s campsites, based on my fond memories from over 180 hours—I’ve considered factors such as coziness, coolness, fun layouts, hangoutitude, and the occasional unique killer app that sets one campsite apart from the others. With that in mind, let’s review some camps, starting with the worst and making our way to the best hang of the game. Location Spoilers ahead!
17. That generic cave or “The Owlbear Annex”
Image 1 of 4
Where? Act 1: Owlbear Den, Zhentarim Hideout, Ancient Passage
CampzScore: 49%
Yeah man, it’s a cave. This unadorned hole has practically nothing to recommend it, and I never organically encountered it in all my time playing—I saw it for the first time while popping into an old save to take screenshots for this very article. There’s just no decoration or personality to recommend you spend a night here. Chat up your companions or refresh your spell slots in this surprisingly sunny sandstone pit only if you really must.
16. The Whispering Depths’ other generic cave
Image 1 of 4
Where? Act 1: Whispering Depths
CampzScore: 55%
If you want to catch your breath before the absolutely diabolical Phase Spider Matriarch boss, your party finds this allegedly giant spider-free section of cave to set up shop. Not much here elevates The Whispering Depths from the Owlbear Den’s bonus room, but a jaunty pile of skulls over in the corner lends just the slightest bit of pizazz to the proceedings.
15. Moonrise Towers basement
Image 1 of 3
Where? Act 2: Moonrise Towers
CampzScore: 62%
The basement of bad guy fortress Moonrise Towers isn’t anything to write home about, but I do appreciate the strong clutter game going on here. The cobwebs, covered up furniture, and piles of boxes give the sense that this is where the dread Thorm family stores their holiday fine china and unwanted gifts from the in-laws.
14. The pinky of the Gauntlet of Shar
Image 1 of 4
Where? Act 2: Gauntlet of Shar
CampzScore: 70%
I keep saying man: The cult of Shar really needs to get its priorities straight. The worship of primal entropy and the death of everything could benefit from stronger youth outreach and maybe a Vatican II-style revision of its backwards-looking doctrines like torturing people until they forget their entire lives. Instead, the Sharrans’ll just keep kidnapping little girls, constructing massive underground holdfasts, and declaring war on those in the world above.
The Gauntlet of Shar’s campsite is pretty neat though, with cool architecture and a cheeky statue of the titular goddess rising out of a pit in the corner. It’s just a little cramped, and I’d argue outshined by the other ancient Sharran campsite you can visit.
13. The fairly Blighted Basement
Image 1 of 3
Where? Act 1: Blighted Village’s Blacksmith or Apothecary interior
CampzScore: 73%
For a cellar in a place called “The Blighted Village,” this campsite placed surprisingly high—what is it about this vermin-infested basement that entices me so? The cobwebs, giant barrels, and yes, swarming insects all just have a certain je ne sais quoi that takes me back to Kirkwall in Dragon Age 2.
The Blighted Basement strongly invokes Generic Undercity Interior #4 from that game’s tragically limited and oft-repeated list of environments, and when I rest here I’m transported to the underground cesspit where I watched Hawke’s mother die, fought an interminable enemy wave battle, broke up an anti-mage clandestine meeting, and fought at least a few more interminable enemy wave battles.
A special shout out to The Blighted Basement’s ‘Raised in a Cult Alley’ where you can find Shadowheart and Lae’zel’s tents bunched up next to each other. Who’s in charge of logistics here and decided they should be so close together and out of sight where no one can make sure they don’t murder each other?
12. Creche Y’llek rumpus room
Image 1 of 4
Where? Act 1: Creche Y’llek
CampzScore: 76%
Hey, who turned out the lights? Creche Y’llek’s campsite definitely has some character to it, I just don’t think it’s the best showcase of Rosymorn Monastery’s gorgeous architecture. Granted, it was probably difficult for the party to find a corner of this desecrated Lathanderite temple that didn’t have a bunch of Githyanki in it hissing at each other and just generally being weird little freaks.
11. The Grymforge rec room
Image 1 of 4
Where? Act 1: The Grymforge
CampzScore: 80%
Don’t you think the perpetual lava flow underneath the tiles of this campsite (the one forming the spectacular lava waterfall just behind Gale’s tent) would make this place way too hot to pop a squat and hang out in? Regardless of whether or not it’d be comfortable, the Grymforge campsite is a nice little microcosm of the dungeon itself: breathtaking vertical drops and the Sharrans’ alien stonework juxtaposed with the bright orange lava flows, it really is stunning.
10. Overgrown Chapel
Image 1 of 4
Where? Act 1: Overgrown Ruins
CampzScore: 82%
The Overgrown Chapel really does something for me with its ratio of artistry to how likely you are to see it in an average playthrough—this is another one I completely missed in almost 200 hours. Unlike the Zhents’ bonus room, this is one I’m sorry I missed. There’s a real melancholy ambience here, and I love how much your party members and their tents feel like little vermin nesting among dead giants. Shout out to my boy Wyll, cramped behind the main statue—no one forget him back there!
9. No room at the Last Light Inn
Image 1 of 6
Where: Act 2, Last Light Inn
CampzScore: 83%
It’s starting to get hard to place these campsites, given the level of quality, and the campsite for the Last Light Inn certainly has a lot going for it. First, it manages to undercut that “pocket dimension” feel of so many of the camps—you can see the Last Light Inn itself just to the south of your campsite, placing its location somewhere just to the north of the Shadow Cursed Lands’ explorable map.
It’s also got a high likelihood of being where you trigger your Baldur’s Beau’s Act 2 romance scene, and you’ve got the fun little detail of Gale having pitched his tent in the middle of a running stream for some reason, leaving him permanently damp whenever you set camp here. Other than that, though, it’s largely just an admittedly pretty stretch of wilderness, one that’s outshone by Act 2’s other main campsite. Hey, why weren’t we allowed to just stay at the Last Light itself anyway?
8. Rivington Airbnb
Image 1 of 5
Where? Act 3: Rivington
CampzScore: 84%
While investigating Baldur’s Gate’s suburb of Rivington, the remainder of your party can be found at an abandoned farm on the outskirts of town, and the Rivington base of operations is a charmer. It’s suitably bucolic, with your Owlbear Cub hanging out by the chicken coops and a lovely little windmill just over the fence.
Like the Last Light Inn, the Rivington Airbnb also gets points for having a very specific location in the game world—you can observe it just to the south of Rivington proper from one of our more highly-ranked campsites.
7. The Underdark
Image 1 of 4
Where? Act 1: The Underdark
CampzScore: 87%
Ah, the one that first got me jazzed for Baldur’s Gate 3 camps. Just like BG3’s Underdark writ large, your camp down there is just so colorful, with giant orange mushrooms and vaguely bioluminescent grass making what’s traditionally been a real grey and purple affair so lively and fun to look at. You get a lot of time to really appreciate this one too, since the Underdark has so many sidequests.
6. Baldur’s Gate Harbor
Image 1 of 6
Where? Act 3: Lower City
CampzScore: 89%
Pretty nice harbor you got here, be a shame if my polycule were to colonize it. On first bunkering down in Baldur’s Gate, your party miraculously comes across an unused strip of prime waterfront real estate to set up their tents. It’s a little grimey out here, sure, but you get good views of the Lower City, as well as a fair bit of room to stretch your legs.
Shout out to the abandoned chapel you get in the deal—it’s just kind of there, and you can hang out in it if you don’t mind the spooky vibes.
5. Shadow-Cursed Camp
Image 1 of 5
Where? Act 2: most of the Shadow-Cursed Lands overworld
CampzScore: 90%
Of the two party camps in the Bloodborne-lite Shadow Cursed Lands, why is the one outside the protective bubble provided by the goddess of the moon so cozy and lovely? There’s definitely a bit of that classic Shadow Curse spookiness, but really, the blood-red grass and bare trees give the Shadow-Cursed Camp an autumnal vibe I can really get behind.
I’m also fond of the little cabin that comes with this one. I’m curious if any camp events or romance scenes take advantage of it, otherwise it joins a few of our other top-ranked camps in having a silly little side building you can poke around in but doesn’t serve much purpose elsewise.
4. Wyrm’s Lookout
Image 1 of 6
Where? Act 2-3 interlude.
CampzScore: 92%
Wyrm’s Lookout is an oddball: when I first reached it, I assumed this would be the party’s home base for all their adventures in Baldur’s Gate proper. It turns out, though, that this hilltop fortress is merely a one night inter-act stopover for some important story beats, and then you can never visit it again.
And that’s a darn shame, because it’s gorgeous up here! You get stunning, panoramic views of the city of Baldur’s Gate itself, the suburb of Rivington, and the imposing fortress of Wyrm’s Rock.
Wyrm’s Lookout wouldn’t be a half-bad home base either. It’s one of the largest, if not the largest campsite by area, with a good amount of verticality thanks to the fort’s bastion, and discrete zones like the courtyard, battlements, and exterior green. Farewell Wyrm’s Lookout, we hardly knew ye.
3. Rosymorn Chapel
Image 1 of 4
Where? Act 1: Mountain Pass
CampzScore: 94%
This mountaintop ruin immediately won me over with its mossy stonework and scenic view. It feels romantic and mysterious, calling to mind abandoned abbeys in England or their videogame progeny like the Church of Vows in Elden Ring. Verticality always wins some points from me, and I love how the Rosymorn camp is laid out on a little winding trail from the destroyed Chapel at the top of the mountain to a little rocky outcropping where Lae’zel has pitched her tent.
2. Wilderness (aka “The Main One”)
Image 1 of 4
Act 1: Main open world area
CampzScore: 95%
We could have gone the whole game with just this one, similar to the Dragon Age: Origins party camp that undoubtedly gave Larian some inspiration. The Wilderness camp is roomy and sunny, the platonic ideal of a low-level D&D party’s temporary shelter, but it also impresses with some distinguishing features like an abandoned building in the back, a small rocky rise in the center, and a beach abutting a placid river.
I also associate this site with the little shindig event that can occur a little over halfway through act one, and similarly the Wilderness camp plays host to a number of essential early game story beats and budding romances. Really, I don’t think anyone would have minded if this was the only party camp Larian built for the game, and you can do far worse than hanging out “down, down, down by the river.”
1. The Elfsong Tavern
Image 1 of 11
Where? Act 3: Lower City
CampzScore: 97%
Let’s start with the actual “camp” itself: Your party doesn’t have to rough it anymore! The Elfsong Tavern’s state room is this lovely wood-paneled and high back chair type deal, stately and regal. I get this sense of your adventuring party being these college spring breakers coming through to absolutely wreck the place. Some of my favorite details include the conversation pit in the center, the little hookah setup off to the south, and a portrait of a Githyanki on the wall in the style of a Dutch master.
The Elfsong is also another one of those campsites with a concrete location in the game world. The state room matches the dimensions of the rest of the tavern in Baldur’s Gate proper, and there’s even a usable side door on the outside that corresponds to one right next to Astarion’s spot in the interior. This “honest” architecture helps the Elfsong feel like part of the game world, and not some other dimension.
I also dig how the Elfsong works mechanically. Until you rent it out (with a one-time gold spend or a persuasion check), you’ll be slumming it at Baldur’s Gate Harbor. The Elfsong has this same feeling of ownership or progression as buying a house in The Elder Scrolls.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the little dumbwaiter you can use to order room service from a particularly rude chef in the kitchen—the Elfsong really sells the idea that you’re living the good life now (in-between killing Bhaalists) after months of roughing it. The Elfsong’s peerless union of aesthetics and mechanics is what led me to award it a CampzScore of 97%—the highest in PC Gamer’s 30-year history.
Source link
