I’ve tried playing it safe and taking it slow, but no matter what, I keep sending my Tav to an early grave. But even after admitting defeat and crawling back to Tactician, playing on Honour Mode has changed how I approach Baldur’s Gate 3 and given me a newfound appreciation for the game. They’re slick, pop against the dull grays of the UI, and, most importantly, give you bragging rights. I would never ever shut up about it.
Lucky for you, I’m not as good at the game as I thought. My first attempt was pretty safegoing. I had a paladin Tav with Karlach *and *Lae’zel helping out as tanks, and I didn’t take on any major fights. Instead, I meandered around Act 1, winning small battles and completing very easy side quests.
I didn’t have a big plan other than carefully collecting XP and getting as overpowered as possible before the real fight began. Back to the Nautiloid we go. This time, I died to the little intellect devourers on the beach. Not my proudest moment, I’ll admit, but I hadn’t lost too much progress in either run so it wasn’t soul crushing just yet.
I tried to sneakily take down each of the goblin camp’s leaders only to get knocked into a pit of spiders where I helplessly watched as my party died one-by-one while I was busy fending off giant eight-legged freaks. In my next go, I died to the bandits outside Withers’ tomb, adding another embarrassing notch to my Honour Mode belt. Then I died in the Nautiloid Ship itself when I tried to get the devil’s sword. I’ve made it to Act 2 once so far, and losing at that point after so many other failures was enough for me to pack my bags and admit defeat.
I am not getting those golden dice, no matter how hard I try, because I frankly don’t have the time to keep starting a goliath CRPG like this over and over again. I wish I did, but there are only so many Tavs I can watch fall into an early grave before I get on with my backlog. Honour Mode is an incredible challenge, limiting you to just one save file so that you can’t escape situations you’d normally load out of. Failing dialogue checks can spell the end of your run, thrusting you into fights you aren’t ready for, and powerful spells missing when hurled at an opponent can cinch the battle in their favour.
It’s tense, and the golden dice at the end of the dark tunnel are hardly a fitting reward, because the true incentive is being able to say you conquered Baldur’s Gate 3 in the purest sense. It means I die a lot and get pushed back to the drawing board, forced to think outside of the box to overcome each scenario, rather than cycling through menus until I get the desired, ultimate outcome. It’s a more thoughtful way to play and one that Honour Mode has helped me cultivate. So while I may never beat the highest difficulty, I’m happy that I at least tried, because it’s given me a newfound appreciation for Baldur’s Gate 3 almost a year after it launched.
