The Shove action is incredibly useful in Baldur’s Gate 3, in many cases. As such, knowing how to make the best use of this action is crucial - and luckily, today, we’re taking a deep dive into how you can utilize the Shove action in your BG3 combat to good effect.
Remember, though: the best uses of the Shove action in Baldur’s Gate 3 are often incredibly situational, and this isn’t something you should necessarily try to implement into your normal battle strategy. With that being said, though, many Baldur’s Gate players find that shove offers a useful tool as either a back-up move or a handy situational strategy to turn a potentially losing fight into a winning one.
What is the Shove Action in Baldur’s Gate 3?

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Shove is an action in Baldur’s Gate 3 that allows you to - as the name suggests - shove another character out of the way. In short, it’s exactly what it sounds like: it’s an action that effectively allows you to push heavily into someone else, which can (unsurprisingly) lead to a range of different effects. Don’t worry - we’ll get into how you can use the shove actions in BG3 shortly.
As a bonus action, Shove uses up one Bonus Action Point with each use. Of course, this does mean you’ll be limited on how often you can use Shove; your character class will determine this, as certain classes naturally have more Bonus Action Points than others.
We should of course stress here that, if you have enough Bonus Action Points, you will be able to use the Shove action several times in a turn. However, the applications for shove are generally quite specific, so it’s worth noting that you may not always want to use the action even if you have enough Bonus Points to do so.
How Can I Use Shove in BG3?
Now we’ve considered what Shove is in Baldur’s Gate 3, it’s time we take a look at how you can use this particular action to your advantage. Fortunately, there are actually several ways to benefit from Shove, and while they’re somewhat niche, it’s a handy action to have available all the same.
Pushing Enemies Off Of a LedgePerhaps the most obvious use of the Shove action - and one that usually comes to mind first - is the ability to push an enemy off a ledge. Indeed, fall damage can do a pretty good deal of damage to an enemy in BG3, especially if they’re not properly equipped to tank it. As such, if you find yourself in a position where pushing an enemy off a ledge might be possible (and if you’re safe to get close to them), it’s worth considering as a viable option.
Pushing Enemies Into a Zone of DamageAnother option for how to use the Shove action in Baldur’s Gate 3 also relates to damaging enemies - although this one is even more niche than pushing them from a ledge. Indeed, it is actually possible to shove a foe into an area of effect to cause damage - but the limitations here are pretty obvious. Of course, this does mean you’ll both need to be quite close to the AoE for it to work; otherwise, the shove might miss its mark. It also requires there to be such a spell on the ground capable of impacting an enemy. Similarly to this, shove can also be used to push an enemy into a trap; however, this can be a little fiddly in terms of logistics.
Waking Sleeping AlliesIf you have allies in your team, there’s a good chance you’ll be counting on their contributions. However, if they get put to sleep, this can be a major nuisance. Luckily, shoving a sleeping ally offers an incredibly simple and easy way to shock them back to reality, so they can continue to help rather than sitting idly around.
Moving Allies Out of DangerWe’ve all been there: setting up a new multiplayer game (hopefully with a secure
private server) and inviting friends to play along, only for one to go AWOL in the middle of an all-important fight. It’s often exceptionally annoying, especially when they have a particular skill your team really can’t do without. This can leave you almost having to babysit their character until they return to the action - but what if you’re not sure how to keep your friends safe?
Well, the Shove action can help a lot with this. Shove allows you to quickly push an ally out of the way of danger. Definitely useful - even if you’re just playing with NPC allies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Shove is a Bonus Action in BG3. As such, in order to use it, you’ll first need to unlock the action. The action can then be used by using the dedicated keybind, V, or you can alternatively access it from your ability bar. Keep in mind that using shove doesn’t guarantee a successful action; instead, selecting Shove will instead bring up a probability display that can help you understand the chance of success.
Technically speaking, Shove can kill an enemy in BG3. This is mainly accomplished in one of two ways: by shoving a foe off a ledge or from a height or by pushing them into an area of effect. However, the action alone cannot kill an enemy without environmental assistance.
If you have summoned units, they will also be able to use the Shove action. However, there is no guarantee that your party will be able to use Shove just because you can. Fortunately, the Shove ability is widely available for almost all humanoid characters, so your team may be able to unlock it.
Final Thoughts
If you’ve been looking to add a new repertoire of actions to your game in Baldur’s Gate 3, considering the Shove action is definitely useful. Indeed, the shove skill allows players to quickly and easily interfere with an enemy or even an ally, in turn giving you the chance to break an ally out of a status condition or knock an enemy away from you. Definitely worth knowing about, then!