Baldur’s Gate 3 difficulty settings explained

There are a number of difficulty settings to choose from in Baldur’s Gate 3 so players can adjust their gameplay experience, here’s a guide to all the available options in the game.

Baldur’s Gate 3 is a massive RPG packed full of content from unique companions to meet, enemies to battle, and all kinds of quests to go on, you’re never short of something to do in The Forgotten Realms.

There are multiple difficulty settings in Baldur’s Gate 3 so you can either enjoy the story unfolding or experience a tougher challenge depending on how experienced you are with Dungeons and Dragons.

From the easiest to the most punishing, here’s everything you need to know about the difficulty options in the game.

Baldur’s Gate 3 difficulty settings explained

There are a total of four difficulty settings available for players to choose from in Baldur’s Gate 3 and each mode offers a different experience for players. The options are as follows:

• Balanced
• Explorer
• Tactician
• Honour Mode

Balanced mode is the default normal mode for the game, which offers a nice blend of challenging encounters while allowing players to mainly focus on the story. While combat isn’t as challenging in this mode, Matt Holland – senior combat designer for Baldur’s Gate 3 – has previously described the game’s battles as “a puzzle for players to solve” so you’ll need to keep strategy in mind no matter the difficulty.

For players who would prefer to focus on the story, Explorer mode is a great option. This mode is more of a narrative experience where players will have to worry less about combat. As well as easier battles in Explorer mode, trader prices will be discounted and characters will automatically receive an additional +2 to their proficiency at the start of the game.

Tactician mode is the perfect choice for anyone looking for a tougher playthrough. Enemies will have increased AC and hit points in Tactician mode battles, as well as stronger weapons and ammo. Environments will also play a bigger role in Tactician mode with the developers changing up some of the stages to include more hazards like exploding barrels.

Finally, Honour mode is the most punishing difficulty in Baldur’s Gate 3. It ramps up the challenge even more by introducing a permadeath system. If your entire party is wiped out in Honour mode your save file will be deleted, and you only get access to a single save file throughout your run. Due to this, we’d suggest only trying Honour mode out if you’re already a seasoned BG3 player. While the permadeath may be brutal, it creates even more replayability if you’re up for the challenge!

For more Baldur’s Gate content, check out our coverage below:

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