The default companions in Baldur's Gate 3 have a great deal of love put into them. They cover a variety of roles and are perfectly capable of leading a team to victory. But sometimes players want to play a specific way and need a more flexible party to fill the rest of the party duties.
In tough combat situations, having the right party composition is critical in Baldur's Gate 3. Instead of trying to change roles to match the companions for an encounter or two, consider getting some hirelings of a particular class to stand in and perform the needed tasks.
How To Hire New Party Members
- Have 100 gold in the character's inventory.
- Make room for an additional party member by asking at least one companion to stay at camp.
- Talk to Withers and choose "I would like to talk about hirelings."
- Choose "Recruit a hireling. (100)"
- Select the desired hireling.
While hirelings are party members, they are not full-on companions. They don't have their own voice lines in conversation, can't be romanced, and have no approval bar. But as far as combat goes, they're as good as anybody else. After answering Withers' question, they can be some of the best.
Like the main character, they can't change race but they can change class. Switch party members and have them talk to Withers. Then grab a respec for another 100 gold. In this way, players can ensure they have a party member that is exactly what they need in combat instead of just trying to get the existing companions to fill the need.
There is one hireling for each class and it's not limited to one hireling at a time. Those who play on the highest difficulty can take advantage of this, hiring three hirelings to form a perfect party composition and letting the companions stick to roleplaying and quest elements.
Baldur's Gate 3 is available now for PC. The PlayStation 5 version will be available on September 6th, 2023. A version for Xbox Series X/S is still in development.