If you’re experiencing a glitch where your character is unable to move in Baldur’s Gate 3, then you’ve come to the right place as we’re going to get it fixed. Most times, the character will be hard stuck in one location, unable to move or jump – but capable of using spells and items.
It should be mentioned that we’re talking about the primary character here, the one you’re controlling. If you’re having problems with companions not following you around, then I recommend our guide that fixes that issue instead.
Those who played early access are probably familiar with this bug, but it seems like the bug has lived far longer than one had anticipated. Thankfully, it isn’t very difficult to fix.
So, what’s the solution to a character not moving in Baldur’s Gate 3 then?
If your character isn’t able to move, try teleporting or fast-traveling to another location or swapping to another character to see if you can move that character. Also, make sure your character isn’t encumbered. If it persists, verify the game files and restart the game. This might fix the problem. Should it not, consider loading an earlier save where your character wasn’t stuck.
Make sure you’ve downloaded the latest updates as they might contain hotfixes.
Hopefully, this should fix the problem for you. Continue reading as we’ll go into greater detail on how these steps can be applied. I’ve also included additional solutions to the problem if none of the above seem to work.
How To Fix Baldur’s Gate 3 Character Won’t Move Bug
As mentioned earlier, the problem appears in different ways. Sometimes, you’ll be notified by the game that your character has “0 movement” out of nowhere, while other times there will be no indication whatsoever – except for the character being unable to move, of course.
Swap Characters
A few of the times when I’ve happened upon this issue, I’ve been in luck because I was able to fix it by simply swapping to one of my secondary characters by double-clicking its portrait and moving it around. This has worked when it seems like your “clicks” aren’t being registered on the map.
For instance, I would left-click on the ground but no marker would appear and the character wouldn’t move. Swapping to another character would fix the issue and the stuck character could be controlled once again.
Verify Game Files
Another common reason why this error occurs is because of corrupt game files. Sometimes, files within the game folder will be damaged, causing the game to act out. The issue can persist even after reinstalling the game, but verifying the game files seems to fix it.
Here’s how you do it.
- Right-click the Game in your Steam library
- Select Properties
- Select Installed Files on the left-hand menu
- Click Verify Integrity of Game Files and wait for the process to finish.
Once done, the game files have been verified. You’ll be notified if any corrupt ones are found. Steam will replace those files automatically for you. Boot up the game to see if the issue has been fixed.
Teleport or Fast-Travel
You could try teleporting the character who is stuck by using spells or scrolls and positioning the character in another location. Alternatively, try fast-traveling to another location with your party to see if the character is able to follow you there.
If the character follows you to camp, taking a long rest might solve the issue. If fast-traveling can’t be used when that specific character is being controlled, swap to another character and access the map with that character.
Make sure all characters are linked together before porting, this can be done by connecting their portraits or clicking G on your keyboard.
Bonus: Try shoving your character as well.
Kill Your Character Then Revive It
Another solution that has worked a few times (but one that hurts your roleplaying) is to attack your own character until it falls then revive it at another destination. Sometimes, I’ve been able to simply place the character in another spot in close proximity to where the character was stuck.
Other times, I’ve had to go to Withers and have him resurrect the character in order for the character to be freed from the glitch. You can try both, I’d recommend going to Withers if you can move your other characters.
If not…. well, then you’ll have to get rid of all of them one by one and then revive them.
Remove Items From Your Inventory
If the character has been carrying too much weight, it will become encumbered, crippling the character partially. Depending on how much weight the character is carrying, it might prevent the character from moving altogether.
You can see if the character is encumbered by looking at the icons next to the character’s portrait. When you become encumbered, a large bag will appear next to the portrait. The color of the bag will change depending on how encumbered the character is.
Slimming the character’s inventory should remove the encumbered debuff, allowing you to move again. But we know for a fact that it doesn’t always work as intended.
Sometimes, the encumbered status will remain even after the items are removed from the character. Therefore, try moving your items to another character then slowly transfer them back to the encumbered character but stop before it becomes encumbered.
Dismiss the Character
If the character that’s stuck is a companion and your other characters are close to it, then talk to the immovable character with one of your other characters and tell it to go back to camp and wait for you there. Now, port back to camp and recruit the character to your party again.
When you leave camp, the character should be following you once again. This does not work if the stuck character is a custom character, as they can’t be dismissed to camp.
Should the character spawn in the same spot again once recruited, try moving away from that place within the open world before you recruit the character and leave camp.
Load an Earlier Save
If you’re out of luck and none of the solutions above have worked out, I hope your last save was around the corner as you might have to load that save in order to continue the game.