Skip To...
The most devastatingly difficult mode in Baldur’s Gate 3 is here. Honor Mode takes no prisoners. It’s brutal, exhausting, and stressful. With only one save file to cut back on any save-scumming and permadeath if the entire party gets wiped, you’ll need all the help you can get to conquer it. With luck, our BG3 tips should give you a better chance at withstanding danger at every turn in Baldur’s Gate 3 Honor Mode.
10. Scout Ahead
When you play Baldur’s Gate 3 in Honor Mode, it’s more important than ever to expect the unexpected. If there are sneaky traps in the path ahead, you should send whoever is best at disarming ahead and leave the rest behind. This way, there’s no risk of anyone accidentally disturbing a trap. And at this difficulty, traps can hurt. You don’t want a party wipe before you even reach the battle.
9. Respec The Party
One of the simplest BG3 Honor Mode tips is to respec your companions ASAP. You can always track down Withers to add him to your camp early on. However, this can prove to be too dangerous a feat. Otherwise, wait for him to show up naturally and use him as often as possible. He only costs 100 gold per head, so you can use him whenever you need to adjust for different battles.
8. Focus On Your Initiative
Acting first is key. If you can act first and hit hard, you have a solid chance of wiping up enemies as fast as possible. Speed is one of the many vital tips you want to always remember as play BG3 Honor Mode. If your character doesn’t have a high Dexterity score, then you can focus on using Initiative-boosting items.
7. Learn Thy Enemy
Before you fight the enemy, you should learn the enemy. This means that it’s not the best idea to take on the hardest difficulty without completing the game on the lower difficulty levels first. Doing so will teach you how the enemies fight and how they can debuff your team so you can prep. Also, BG3 Honor Mode adds Legendary Actions to enemies. These can kill you before you know it, making it yet another feature to keep in mind.
6. Strategize Healing and Reviving
We know by now that this mode can decimate you and your party. You can blink and Gale over there is down to 1 HP. Don’t be quick to always jump to healing your companions though. Sometimes, it’s simply not worth forcing their HP back up only for it to drain on the next enemy move. It’s a waste of healing items and actions.
Instead, focus on whether or not it’s worth keeping that companion in action. The same goes for reviving. If you know your companion will drop in an instant, don’t use up your moves on them and instead finish the battle. Alternatively, you can keep lower-health companions around as sponges to take enemy attention so you can kill them. A cheap shot? Sure, but in BG3 Honor Mode, cheap shots are worth it.
5. Lean On Camp Hirelings
Camp hirelings can greatly improve your chances during Honor Mode. Is it a cheese-strat? Of course. But do we care at this point? No. We’re trying to survive here, not impress the Lords of Dungeons and Dragons. The right camp casting can give your party the best buffs to make it through any battle. Clerics especially can boost your durability and even protect from debuffs like Poison, Paralyzed, etc. Even Withers can revive fallen companions without you wasting time doing it in battle.
4. Avoid Optional Fights
Every fight doesn’t need to be a fight, and in BG3 Honor Mode, that statement couldn’t be truer. If you can charm your way out of confrontation, do it. Be sure to lean heavily on any spells or items that can boost your rolls. The less you focus on optional fights, the greater your chance of surviving.
3. Utilize The Best Potions and Items
After your first few battles in Act 1, you’ll learn quickly how handy potions are. And this isn’t just about healing or removing debuffs. Throwables can turn the tide of battle in Baldur’s Gate 3 Honor Mode just as quickly as consumables. Get yourself a solid throwable to toss in as a way to slow down, trap the enemy, or even force them off the nearby cliff.
2. Balance Your Party
Party balance is always vital regardless of what mode you’re playing. In Honor Mode, it’s life-or-death. This is why it’s important to use Withers to respec as needed. You want a solid balance in your party that can drain enemies as well as stay alive long enough so you don’t stumble into a party wipe. It doesn’t hurt to look up guides about character builds to discover who works best together.
1. Plan Accordingly
Plan. And plan some more. Even if you’ve played through BG3 before, you need a plan to live through Honor Mode. You can lose the game in Act 1 if you’re not careful. Some areas are just not ideal before you reach higher levels, so focus on sticking to boss fights like the Owlbear near the beginning while you can take on enemies like Nere once you’re at least Level 5.
Remember though: they all have those Legendary Actions now. So, even the Owlbear can pack a heavy punch. Because of this, another good thing to carry are Potions of Invisibility. A few of these can do the trick if things get dicey and you just have to flee the battlefield. With the rest of your party down, chug a Potion of Invisibility and you can slip away and return to camp.
BG3 Honor Mode is as challenging as intended, so you can improve your odds of making it to the end with the right tips. Of course, you can always go in blindly and hope for the best. You may die in Act 1, but it can be just as fun while being educational at the same time. So, prepare to lose a few times. It can help you better learn the new mode and enemy skills so that you can survive longer the next time.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is available on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox.
