Skip To...
In the tradition of D&D 5E, Baldur’s Gate 3 offers players a vast arsenal of weapons and spells for each class and a diversity of damage types for different game situations. For example, Barbarian in Rage gains resistance to all Physical attacks, or if you need to destroy cracked walls, you must deal Bludgeoning damage.
What Is Non-lethal Damage in Baldur’s Gate 3
First, it is worth noting that Non-lethal is damage that does not kill the enemies but disarms and knocks them into an Unconscious state. You can then freely rob the enemy, tie it up for further interrogation, or take it to a specific location as part of a quest or capture order. This type of damage is not a mechanic you will need too often but will become indispensable in rare game situations.
Baldur’s Gate 3: How To Deal Non-lethal Damage
To deal Non-lethal damage to the enemy in Baldur’s Gate 3, you only need to activate this mechanic in the Passive tab. To do this, you must go to the Passive tab at the bottom of the screen and click the Toggle Non-Lethal Attacks icon to activate this ability. After that, all of your melee and unarmed attacks that could have killed the target now put them into an Unconscious state. However, ranged attacks and spells still kill your enemies.
This passive ability is available to players from the beginning of the adventure, regardless of character class, so you don’t have to unlock it. But note that this skill does not work on undead and constructs.
While non-lethal damage is a classic mechanic in D&D, it received a powerful buff in Baldur’s Gate 3. After all, in a tabletop RPG, players had to rely on luck, D20, and Medicine skills to not accidentally kill an enemy. While in Baldur’s Gate 3, you can activate or deactivate this ability at will.
Baldur’s Gate 3 releases on August 3rd for PC and September 6th for PS5.
