You may be confused at times in Baldur’s Gate 3 when you see a message in the corner of your screen saying “Save Failed,” but it isn’t because the game’s auto-save feature malfunctioned. One of the beauties of BG3, as opposed to Dungeons & Dragons, is that the game can quickly execute dice rolls for players without needing to manually roll.
While certain dialogue choices and interactive options make a large d20 die appear on-screen, there are countless other times that numbers are randomly generated behind the scenes to determine if we pass a certain check.
Here’s an explanation of what it means when you get a Save Failed message in BG3.
What does the Save Failed message mean in BG3?
A Save Failed message in Baldur’s Gate 3 indicates that one of the characters in your party failed a Passive Ability Check. Passive Ability Checks often happen during dialogue interactions when your character might be able to learn a little bit more about a situation based on previous knowledge.
For instance, if an NPC is telling your character about a magical power, your character might do a passive Arcana check to determine whether they have any background knowledge about the magic.
Particularly in Act Two, when traveling through areas filled with Sharran influence, you’ll likely notice Shadowheart passing a lot of passive checks for Religion. You might also notice that you’re getting some Save Fails as you go through Shar’s Gauntlet if you choose to go in without her.
If you get a Save Fail, you’ll see it in the upper left corner of your screen during dialogue or interactions, and it will be followed by a colon and a word that indicates what type of check it was (like Perception, Insight, Nature, Religion, or Arcana).
What to do if you get a Save Failed message in BG3
The point here is not to worry if you see a “Save Failed” message on your screen. It just means that you missed a passive check. It doesn’t mean that your game is breaking and you won’t be able to save your progress, or anything like that.
My best advice for those seeing a Save Failed message is to try and pass those passive checks on another character. For instance, there might be times when there’s a secret door or buried treasure somewhere, and you need to pass a check to notice it.
If I pass by an area with one character and get a Save Failed notification, I have all other party members walk by the same spot in case one of them passes the check.
Sometimes every character misses on their passive roll, and in these cases, you’ll sadly miss out on the buried treasure. Most times, though, there’s nothing especially important in buried chests, so don’t sweat it if you happen to miss out. Just proceed with caution if everyone fails a Perception check in a dungeon or cave, because you might be near a trap or ambush.
