Baldur’s Gate 3 guide: How to light a torch

Being able to see in the dark in Baldur’s Gate 3 is important, and not every character or race has Darkvision. Lighting a torch is more complicated than you might expect, though.

In this Baldur’s Gate 3 guide, we’ll explain how to light torches with the Dip mechanic. We’ll also go into other ways to use Dip to deal extra damage during combat.

How to light torches

When you move your mouse over things like candles or braziers, the cursor becomes a set of gears. Clicking will light them (or right-clicking and selecting Use), and illuminate a small area nearby. Torches, however, don’t work like that.

Image: Larian Studios via Polygon

With a torch equipped, use the Dip Bonus Action. This Bonus Action has a 10 foot range, so you’ll need to be relatively close to what you’re dipping into. Select a fire source — anything burning works — and your torch will be lit.

Other uses for Dip

It’s not just Torches that can be dipped into things. Any weapon (or equipable item) with the Dippable tag can be dipped.

Dip is also a great use of your Bonus Action during combat to deal a few points of extra damage.

Dipping a weapon into fire will add 1d4 (a roll of a four-sided die) Fire damage to your attacks. The added Fire damage seems to last for about two or three rounds (12 to 18 seconds). This is a great way to light things on fire (like spider webs or oil) when you don’t have a Firebolt spell handy, or just to add a little extra oomph to your attacks.

You can Dip weapons into other surfaces as well. If you get hit by a Phase Spider’s poisonous spit, for example, you can dip your weapon into the pool of poison to add 1d4 Poison damage to your attacks.

You can’t Dip into another character’s equipped item, though. You wouldn’t be able to, for example, Dip a Torch into a fire and then Dip a weapon into that Torch. You have to Dip into a primary (rather than secondary) source.