Battles in Baldur’s Gate 3 can take a pretty hefty chunk of time away from your adventure, so taking a moment to breathe and get your bearings could be necessary. The last thing you want to do during a crucial moment is botch the landing, but if you’re rushing into things, that may be the result that you get. However, if you’re able to take a moment and pause the action before jumping into the next step, you may be able to save yourself from getting absolutely trounced. Is there actually a way to pause Baldur’s Gate 3, though?
Can You Pause In Baldur’s Gate 3?
For those of you with a hectic life, being able to pause a game is crucial to your enjoyment levels. Unfortunately, you cannot hard-pause Baldur’s Gate 3, no matter where you are. Thankfully, much like games in the Souls series, there are a few ways that you can save yourself when you need to run a quick errand or take a small break.

You could always activate the Turn-Based mode if you’re hoping for a brief moment of respite, which can be done by pulling in the Right Trigger if you’re playing on a controller and heading to the hourglass icon. For those playing via Keyboard and Mouse, you’ll just want to click on the hourglass, and it will swap to a battle-ready position. Even if you aren’t in battle, this will at least keep things from getting too hairy.
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You could also return to your Camp and take a little bit of a break, swap out your party members, replenish your supplies, and heal up before heading back out on the adventure of a lifetime with your ragtag group of acquaintances. You should at least be safe here, and it may give you a chance to speak to your Guardian if you’re hoping to spice things up.
As long as you’re in a safe spot, you can breathe easily and not need to worry about getting jumped by a band of creatures that are hoping to bring an end to your whole career. While it’s unfortunate that there is not a hard pause button for those that are hoping for a completely safe spot to relax, knowing how to hide out when things get dicey can at least take some stress off your shoulders.
If you’re taking a break, don’t forget to pet the dog before embarking back out on this epic quest. Be sure to check out our Baldur’s Gate 3 section below to learn more about this impressively large adventure, and get yourself ready before you head out into the world.