Differences Between Long and Short Rest in Baldur’s Gate 3

Short and Long Rests are essential mechanics in Baldur’s Gate 3. Both types of rest allow you to replenish health, spell slots and other limited resources. However, you may be confused about why there are two types of rest and how to use them effectively.

Like many mechanics in Baldur’s Gate 3, resting originated in Dungeons & Dragons fifth edition. In the tabletop game, a short rest was the equivalent of stopping for a quick lunch while a long rest was a full night’s sleep. Larian Studios has kept this faithful while making a few changes while translating these mechanics to video game form.

What’s the Difference Between a Short and Long Rest in Baldur’s Gate 3?

In Baldur’s Gate 3, a short rest now acts as a simple party heal button. Instead of rolling Hit Dice like in the tabletop version, you simply heal 50% of your total HP. For example, if a character has 14HP, a short rest will allow them to recover 7HP.

In addition, any ability that the game lists with “Short Rest” on the description will also replenish. Warlocks will also recover all their Spell Slots, the only magic class that have this benefit. Short rests can only be performed twice, after which you will need to take a long rest if you need restoration.

A long rest in Baldur’s Gate 3 adds a new element to represent the original intent of the mechanic. Clicking Long Rest will send the whole party to your campsite. This is a special map with no enemies that offers the ability to retrieve stored items, chat with your party members (or special NPCs such as Withers) and rest.

A long rest at the camp will replenish everyone’s Hit Points, Spell Slots and limited use abilities. However, this requires the use of Camp Supplies, with 40 supplies used up with each long rest. These supplies can be replenished during the main adventure by finding food items marked with “Camp Supplies” in their description.

Baldur’s Gate 3 is available now for PC. A PS5 version will be released on September 6, 2023.