As if anyone needed another reason to play Baldur's Gate 3 again, the recently released Honour Mode provides as good an incentive as any, especially for masochists. Veterans of Tactition, formerly the most difficult in the game, are finding Honour Mode — where a story-focused run will last regular players around 50 hours — to be a different beast entirely.
Honour Mode adopts the Ironman mentality popularised by games like X-COM, where players are given a single save slot, which is constantly overwritten to prevent save-scumming. It's extra unforgiving in an RPG as expansive as BG3, especially when you consider how many cutscenes can kill you.
Honour Mode was added to the game on 30th November, and according to statistics released by Larian on 6th December, 158,000 players made the attempt, with only 464 dedicated players managing it. That number is rising, as evidenced by Trophy data on sites like PSN Profiles, where hunters are increasingly reporting dinging Foehammer, the Trophy associated with the feat.
Thankfully, Foehammer is not required for the game's Platinum Trophy, being added after launch, but represents the current pinnacle of challenge for the most dedicated of players. Have you attempted an Honour Mode run? What party composition is most efficient for the ordeal? Let us know in the comments section below.
[source reddit.com, via twitter.com]
Comments 16
Once i've finished my 2nd playthrough i'm straight on to this, losing access to save scumming will totally change everything.
I’m not sure I could handle this…
@DennisReynolds same, I'm gunning for the Plat and then a slow and steady Honour run is on the books... God, having to live with all those Nat 1's is going to hurt so good.
Breezed through tactician with L12 open hand monk, L12 Life cleric, L5 gloom stalker ranger / L4 thief / L3 champion fighter, and L6 berserker/ L3 thief / L3 champion. Put in around 350 hours so far, so might have a wee break before honour mode!
It’s a great idea. I can sometimes overthink my decisions and reload when I think I’d prefer a different outcome. Being completely accountable for everything and just having to stick with it, as stressful as it might be, would definitely make for a much quicker and a more weighted play through, which I quite like the sound of!
Still struggling massively with this game. Im about 9 hours in without having a clue what im really doing. I have no general direction of how im leveling my characters up with so many moves and spells thrown at me im just completely bamboozled by the game. This is the most frustrating thing for me as i like to know the best time to use certain moves etc. Im enjoying it to a point but something just isnt clicking in my brain to fully understand what im doing. I feel like im winging it and thats not how i want to play this game. Ive watched loads of youtube videos and yet i still cant grasp it. So frustrated.
I started with zero understanding, @Kidfunkadelic83, and am now pretty confident in the game having completed a 350 hour solo run.
My suggestion would be, decide what sort of character you want to play (caster, melee, ranger etc.) then find a character build on YouTube that fulfils what you wish to play as. That is precisely what I did. Find a build that literally explains what how to level up at each level, and maybe even what gear to use, etc. You do not necessarily have to stick to it rigidly, but having an idea of what your build is going to look like come the end is really useful. To a great extent, playing as a basic melee character can be very helpful, as all you really need to understand for that character is how to hit your enemies. You can then learn about classes with the other Origin characters that you take with you on your adventures.
Lastly, you want to locate Withers at the earliest opportunity, and have him go to you camp. Then, on speaking to him, you will have the opportunity to respec your character as often as you like, meaning that you can basically change everything other than you race.
It will click, mate. It can just take a while.
@Kidfunkadelic83 I watched a number of YouTube videos which really helped me get to grips with it. Having a slightly better understanding really elevated my enjoyment of it. If feeling a little lost, as I did, I highly recommend checking out some “thing I wish I’d known…” / “beginners guide to…” type of videos
@Ward_ting @Fiendish-Beaver
Cheers guys. Im sure i will get there and will definately persevere with it and follow your ideas and tips. I think another problem is that i love RPG's and tactical games but i just suck at them lol.
I got to the start of Act 3 and then put the game down after about 90 hours. I think I’ll definitely restart the game completely from scratch and replay this masterpiece. I’m still romancing Shadowheart, though — that will never change.
@Victor_Meldrew Would not do that. There is a chance you will ruin your console with or atleast ruin your save.
Just finished the game today (normal difficulty)
What a masterpiece of a game!!!
@Kidfunkadelic83 I like you have never played a game like this before and had no idea what I was doing and restarted the game a few times to figure out what class I really wanted but as the others have said the Youtube videos are a godsend and understand what to do. I'm still learning there is no straightforward way of killing anything in this game it's all outside the box.
Tactician was fun but I'm going to mess around with the custom options next playthrough before I even consider Honour Mode!
Just bought this and started my very first run on explorer mode. Don't judge me.
@Mintie Halfling's don't roll nat-1's.
Well, they can roll a nat 1 twice, I suppose, but the odds there are 1/400, so you'd have to be really unlucky.
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