Why Do Baldur’s Gate 3 Players Hate True Strike?

Baldur’s Gate 3 has its fair share of strange and funny spells, one of them being quite infamous, True Strike. Players have lots of fun with the aftermath of casting certain spells such as

Vicious Mockery,

Tasha’s Hideous Laughter, and Otto’s Irresistible Dance. The game takes hundreds of spells from its tabletop source, Dungeons & Dragons.

However, there is one ability that has a very bad name among the fanbase.

True Strike is widely known for being one of the most underwhelming spells in BG3, and its name is all but a joke to many long-time players. Why exactly is True Strike allegedly such a bad ability to use, even though it grants players Advantage on their next turn?

True Strike Ultimately Wastes A Turn Which Is Better Off Used To Attack

The Spell Lowers The Chance To Hit Instead Of Raising It

True Strike is a Divination Cantrip in Baldur’s Gate 3 that allows the caster to gain Advantage on their next attack roll against a chosen target. This lasts for two turns, provided the caster maintains concentration. Unlike its Dungeons & Dragons counterpart, Baldur’s Gate 3′ has a buffed range, making it more versatile in combat. In theory, True Strike should be useful for classes like Arcane Tricksters, as the Advantage can trigger their sneak attack ability, but it does not directly deal damage or affect the environment. Notably, the spell is self-targeted, meaning only the caster gains the Advantage.

True Strike is an action that takes up an entire turn to use. Players can then roll the next turn with Advantage to attack their opponent – this may sound like a good trade-off, but it really is not.

True Strike can be used by Bards, Sorcerers, Warlocks, Wizards,
Arcane Trickster Rogues
, Eldritch Knight Fighters, and Rangers with the Mage Breaker feature.

Rolling with Advantage means that two dice are rolled, and the one with the highest value is used, giving players a better chance to hit their opponent and possibly Crit them. However, it’s either roll with Advantage once, where one die is used, essentially wasting a roll, or try to attack twice, where both can hit.

Do Larian’s Changes To True Strike Make It Worth Using?

Larian Buffs True Strike By Giving It Increased Range

To put it simply, True Strike really is that bad. It’s not completely useless and could definitely be useful in some very specific situations, as shown in The Legendary Commander‘s YouTube video, but most of the time, players are always going to be better off using the turn they would have used to cast the spell on an attack roll instead. It’s probably not worth it to players to keep True Strike in their ability lineup if they can swap it out for something else, as any other cantrip or spell would prove more useful.

True Strike deserves its infamy throughout the fandom. More often than not, this ability will do nothing but hinder the player and is practically useless to any class outside of Rogue. There are many better options for players to choose from the wide variety of spells in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Video Credit: The Legendary Commander/YouTube