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Baldur's Gate 3

Short Rests and Long Rests Explained in Baldur's Gate 3

By
Nathan Garvin

Adventuring is hard work, dangerous work, and as you brave the perils of this vocation you may find yourself running low on Hit Points, Weapon Actions, Spell Slots, various Class Abilities and other resources. In the case of most of these, getting a bit of shut-eye is all you need to recover them. This page will discuss camping, short rests and long rests in Baldur’s Gate 3.

(1 of 2) Check the icons for various Weapon Arts, Class Abilities and Spell Slots to see if they recharge with a Short Rest,

Check the icons for various Weapon Arts, Class Abilities and Spell Slots to see if they recharge with a Short Rest, (left), or a Long Rest. (right)

Recharging Spells and Actions in Baldur’s Gate 3

Actions come in two forms in Baldur’s Gate 3 - free, and limited. Most basic actions - moving, jumping, making normal melee and ranged attacks, casting Cantrips are all free; you can do these as many times as you wish. More powerful abilities are typically limited-use, balancing out their relative effectiveness by attaching a use-cost to them. In most cases, when you expand your allotted uses of these actions, you can recover them by resting, and here these limited actions are further divided into two camps - ones that require long rests to replenish, and others that only require short rests.

You can check the icon for pretty much every weapon action, class ability and spell in the action bar at the bottom of the screen. On the popup info box for said action it’ll list whether it takes a short rest or long rest to replenish. Below you’ll find a list of some actions and the sort of rest you’ll need to take to recharge it.

Action Recharges With
Action Surge Short Rest
Bardic Inspiration Long Rest
Channel Divinity Short Rest
Channel Oath Charge Short Rest
Lay on Hands Charges Long Rest
Rage Charge Long Rest
Second Wind Short Rest
Spell Slots Long Rest
Warlock Spell Slots Short Rest
Weapon Actions Short Rest

Press the campfire icon to the right of the action bar to bring up icons for Short Rests and Long Rests.

Short Rests in Baldur’s Gate 3

Short Rests are quick little naps with limited restorative power, but they cost nothing to perform. When you perform a Short Rest, you’ll recover half your Hit Points (rounded down), Weapon Arts will recharge, as will some class abilities, like the Fighter’s Action Surge, the Paladin’s Channel Oath Charge, and Warlock Spell Slots. While performing a Short Rest doesn’t require any resources, they themselves are limited by charges - you can take two Short Rests, after which you’ll need to take a Long Rest, which will recover expended Short Rest uses. To take a Short Rest, check out the two orbs to the right of the action bar - the smaller one, with a campfire icon, will bring up the rest menu. Click on the campfire icon and two more icons will pop up, the top “closed eye” icon is the Short Rest icon. Just click it and you’ll take a little nap.

(1 of 2) Interact with the campfire at camp,

Interact with the campfire at camp, (left), and expend the requisite Camping Supplies to take a Long Rest. (right)

Long Rests in Baldur’s Gate 3

Things used to be simple - you’d press a little shut eye icon or hit a hotkey and, assuming monsters weren’t nearby, you’d sleep and recover your spells and abilities. You could even set your Clerics to auto heal your party before resting! Long Rests replace the old resting mechanic in the original Baldur’s Gate games, and they’re somewhat more involved. To perform a Long Rest, click on the campfire icon to the right of the action bar and two icons will pop up - pick the lower of these two to teleport to your camp where you can take a Long Rest. You can also open the map by pressing the M-Key key and selecting the “Camp” waypoint on the right side of the screen.

Either way, you’ll be transported to your camp. Interact with the campfire to take a Long Rest. Long Rests will recover your Hit Points fully, and recharge all Weapon Actions, Class Abilities and Spell Slots, and you’ll recover any expended Short Rest charges (you can perform two Short Rests after taking a Long Rest). Taking a Long Rest isn’t free, however - you must have sufficient Camping Supplies (40) to perform a Long Rest. Camping Supplies are a catch-all term for various forms of sustenance - food, in other words, and you can get various amounts of Camping Supplies from Supply Packs and all manner of nommies you find on your adventures, be it fish, apples, cheese, or just about anything else with calories. If you take a Long Rest without sufficient Camping Supplies, you’ll only regain up to half of your Hit Points and expended Spell Slots, and you won’t recharge any expended Short Rests.

For more information about various features you can take advantage of while in camp, like stashing loot, party management and talking to companions, check out the page [Campsite Features in Baldur’s Gate 3].

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Guide Information
  • Publisher
    Larian Studios
  • Platforms,
    Mac, PC, PS5, XB X|S
  • Genre
    Adventure, RPG
  • Guide Release
    6 April 2023
  • Last Updated
    26 March 2024
    Version History
  • Guide Author

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Baldur’s Gate 3 is an immersive roleplaying game set in the Dungeons & Dragons universe. It features a rich story with multiple outcomes for almost every encounter, and plenty of character customization features including more races, classes, subclasses and party combinations than you are ever likely to explore. The seemingly endless possibilities and numerous choices that you can make throughout your journey make a helping hand always welcome, and that’s where we come in! This guide features the following:

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