Quick Links
As aparty-based isometric role-playing game,Baldur’s Gate 3features an extensive cast of characters, each with their unique feelings, characteristics, and disposition towards the player’s actions and dialogue choices. Those that accompany you are known as companions, and feature an even more fleshed-out story. Over time, their approval rating will vary, depending on what the player does or does not do during gameplay. This approval score can influence the cohesiveness of your party, what sections of the story unlock, and even cause some companions to leave the group altogether.
Players must walk a fine line withtheir companions. Ideally, you’ll want to please each often enough that they stick around. But, at the same time, this is the player’s story. Not only will your desires vary from those of your companions, but often the companions want things in direct opposition to each other. Here’s how to check the attitude of your companions and their approval of your decisions in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Updated by Peter Hunt Szpytek on August 14, 2025:This article has been updated to include a video version (featured above.)
Baldur’s Gate 3
What Is Companion Approval?
First and foremost, it’s best to understand what companion approval is in Baldur’s Gate 3. Every party member is a unique character with a different outlook andmoral guidelinesthat affect how they react to the world around them. When the player performs any story actions, like completing a quest a specific way, one or more party members may not agree with the outcome or process. In such cases, areaction messagewill appear in thetop left corner of the HUD.
The higher their approval rating, the more sympathetic the character is to the player. As such,relationships will improve or degrade over timeand may eventually lead to a falling out within the party. This is so important to some players, thatthere is a modavailable which shows the effect of dialogue options on approval.
Why Approval Matters
Approval in Baldur’s Gate 3 is not only a reflection of how sympathetic the character is to the player but also how easily the player can influence that character. Companions who have a more positive opinion of the player will have lower DCs for dialogue-related checks. This becomes important if you’d like to convince a companion to use theirIllithid Powersor tobreak up fights.
Additionally, companions with low approval values will not open up about their backstory – effectively removing the possibility for romance or completing a number of interesting side quests. In some cases, a companion may even leave the party entirely when their approval is low. While it is nearly impossible to make every companion like you at the same time, multiple playthroughs to enjoy each of their stories is part of the fun. Alternatively, allowing a companion’s approval to leave the group can sometimes unlock additional content for players to enjoy, such as Gale’s goodbye letter.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, increasing your approval rating with a companion will influence the choices they make on their own. Companions with high approval are more likely to align themselves with the demonstrated values of the player during important moments (such as Shadowheart’s choice about the Nightsong, or Karlach’s decision regarding her heart). As such, high approval is an excellent way to ensure you are headed toward your desired ending for each companion.
As of Patch 4, some companions have had their dialogue options changed when being romanced by the player, locking off options after certain points of the game. The most affected companion was Lae’zel, who has now had a personality makeover in Acts 2 & 3.
Baldur’s Gate 3: How To Romance Karlach
Learn how to get close to Karlach, the barbarian with a heart of fire, in Baldur’s Gate 3.
How To Check Companion Approval
When playing through Baldur’s Gate 3, players may have a specific party composition in mind, along with a playstyle that fits their desires and game morals. For example,being a villain is entirely possible.
But, no matter which side of the line players falls on, it’s essential to keep track of party approval. To do this, players will open thecharacter sheet tab, navigate to the party member in question, and check theirapproval indicator halfway down the menu. This allows you to see how a companion feels about you at a glance - each person’s approval begins as Neutral.
Since the game’s release, Larian has also added a way to view approval as a numerical rating. To see this number:
That said, the companion approval system isn’t binary. The characters in Baldur’s Gate 3 don’t simply see good and evil; they see more gray than anything else. While a party member may dislike the player’s actions at one stage, they may approve another in the same questline. Some actions also matter more to a character than others. Usually, the actions related to a companion’s personal questline matter the most.
