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Baldur’s Gate 3 Controller Shortcuts: PS5 and Xbox Controls

A practical guide to BG3’s PS5 and Xbox controller shortcuts, radial menus, missing button mappings, and Larian’s Steam Deck layout recommendation.
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Here’s how to find the most useful Baldur’s Gate 3 controller shortcuts on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, and where to look when an action has no dedicated button. Many functions live in customizable radial menus rather than on a single button. Button labels below follow a community-maintained mapping table; prompts and behavior can vary by platform and game version.

How controller shortcuts work

Baldur’s Gate 3 adapts many PC-style functions to controller radial menus. You can organize actions, spells, cantrips, and items across customizable wheels, adding, removing, and rearranging them to suit your character and play style. Larian product manager Emily Gera described the controller interface as a way to reach a broad set of tools through radial menus; her PlayStation Blog explanation lists the map, journal, spellbook, character sheet, combat log, alchemy, rests, camp, level-up screen, and Illithid Powers among the main radial’s contents.

A community-maintained BG3 Wiki controls table provides the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S button mappings below. Its blank controller cells mean there is no direct shortcut for that action in the table; access it through a menu instead. The table is not an official Larian control manual, and it should not be treated as a complete mapping for every version or controller.

Navigation and camera

These entries are listed in the Wiki’s controller table. PlayStation and Xbox labels are shown separately; the d-pad is also used for some context-sensitive shortcuts.

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The table includes additional camera controls, but check its current entries for the full list rather than inferring a missing controller binding from keyboard controls.

Interaction and information

Jump and Examine

Larian’s controller overview says Jump and Examine are mapped to the d-pad. The exact prompt can depend on platform and context, so use the on-screen prompt if it differs.

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Dialogue History and Tactical View

Dialogue History can be opened during a conversation. To enter Tactical View, fully zoom out with the right stick, according to Larian’s controller overview. These are interface behaviors rather than universal, single-button shortcuts.

Ping and other interaction controls

The Wiki mapping table also covers ping, character and item highlighting, and other interaction functions. Consult its PS5 or Xbox column for the relevant prompt. If a controller cell is blank, use the appropriate menu; do not substitute a keyboard shortcut.

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Actions, combat, and party controls

End Turn

The community mapping table lists Triangle on PS5 and Y on Xbox Series X|S for End Turn.

Group Hide

Hold down on the d-pad to use Group Hide, as listed in the same table.

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Actions and abilities

Actions, spells, cantrips, and items can be placed on customizable radial menus. This matters in a game with a large pool of abilities: Emily Gera’s 2023 PlayStation Blog article described a combined total of 600 spells and actions to experiment with. That figure describes game content, not the number of controller shortcuts.

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Menus and radial shortcuts

Main radial and customizable wheels

The main radial provides access to tools such as the map, journal, spellbook, character sheet, combat log, alchemy, short and long rests, camp, level-up, and Illithid Powers. You can organize actions, spells, cantrips, and items across wheels by adding, removing, or rearranging radials.

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  • VERSATILE CONNECTIVITY — Connect via USB-C for plug-and-play on console and PC, or quickly pair and switch between supported devices with XBOX Wireless and Bluetooth support.
  • BUILT-IN AUDIO SUPPORT — Plug in compatible headsets using the 3.5mm audio jack for direct voice chat and immersive in-game sound.

Shortcut Radial Menu

Larian’s Patch 7 notes say that pressing both controller triggers at the same time opens the Shortcut Radial Menu and hides the Party Line. This is a Patch 7-documented behavior; later updates may have changed it.

Character sheet and spellbook changes

Patch 7 also added an Equipment Options menu to the controller Character Sheet and let players switch the spellbook between grid and list view. These details are specific to the Patch 7 notes, not a guarantee that every later version uses identical menus.

Steam Deck setup

Larian recommends the Steam layout named Official Layout for Baldur’s Gate 3 – Gamepad with Joystick Trackpad on its Steam Deck support page. This is a setup recommendation, not a button-by-button shortcut list; the cited page does not enumerate every Deck control.

When a shortcut is missing

  • Check the PS5 or Xbox column in the community-maintained controls table for that platform’s prompt.
  • If the controller cell is blank, open the relevant in-game menu instead of assuming a direct button or borrowing a keyboard binding.
  • Use the game’s on-screen prompt when it differs from a general reference, since context and later updates can affect displayed controls.
  • For Steam Deck, select Larian’s recommended official layout; do not expect its support-page entry to document every button individually.

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