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Baldur's Gate 3 Characters
Image Source: Larian Studios

All Baldur’s Gate 3 Difficulty Options, Explained

Start your journey the right way!

Baldur’s Gate 3 harnesses various levels that can ultimately shape your journey across the Forgotten Realms. So, if you aren’t sure which one to pick, we’re here to explain BG3’s difficulty options to get the best possible experience for you.

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What Are the Difficulty Options in Baldur’s Gate 3? Answered

When players begin their journey across the Forgotten Realms, they must decide between five difficulty settings:

  • Explorer
  • Balanced
  • Tactician
  • Honour
  • Custom

Those who have already played Baldur’s Gate 3 Early Access version will be familiar with the Balanced option, given that this was the previous default setting. Honour and Custom Modes have also been added from BG3’s Patch 5.

Honour Mode in Baldur's Gate 3
Image Source: Larian Studios

Based on your gaming experience, you must choose the best selection to help you through your adventure, and we’ll go over each one to assist you during the beginning stages.

Explorer

The Explorer difficulty is designated for beginner RPG players, primarily for those who aren’t familiar with Dungeons & Dragons. This mode will focus more on the story aspect of Baldur’s Gate 3 and will have less combat than the other choices.

Balanced

If you don’t mind a little challenge, you can choose Balanced to take down more robust enemies while still enjoying the story. Enemies won’t be as tricky as the last selection, but you’ll need to be quick on your toes when it comes to battle strategies.

Tactician

Tactician previously held the title of the most challenging mode, but that has since changed with Baldur’s Gate 3 Patch 5. Those who have played past games in the series or RPGs, in general, can choose this option to live through an almost never-ending battle.

Honour

Honour has taken over Tactician as the highest difficulty level, making bosses much more challenging. Veteran BG3 players can also expect a new Legendary Action system for even more brutal fights. On top of that, you can test your strength by earning the latest Golden D20 item through this mode.

Custom

Baldur’s Gate 3’s Custom difficulty offers a more personalized side to the game, allowing you to tweak its settings with your own input. For instance, Short Rests can now fully heal your party if you want to ease back on the game’s devasting battles.

Customizing difficulty in BG3
Image Source: Larian Studios

D&D players can also customize BG3’s difficulty to cater more toward its table-top-like content, including hiding successful dice checks.

Can You Change the Difficulty in Baldur’s Gate 3?

Fortunately, you can change the difficulty level in the In-Game menu, where you can alter your previous decision. You can likely adjust this at any point in the game, but there may be specific times when it is unavailable. Thus, players can see if they want to change it or not to either increase the challenge or lower the difficulty.

Now that you know the difficulty settings in Baldur’s Gate 3, you can learn about the best Multiclass for your character creation. Be sure to also explore the relevant links below to discover more game content.


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Author
Image of Kristina Ebanez
Kristina Ebanez
Kristina is a Staff Writer and has been with Twinfinite for more than a year. She typically covers Minecraft, The Sims 4, Disney Dreamlight Valley, anime, Call of Duty, and newly released games. She loves the Metal Gear Solid series (Snake Eater especially), Rockstar's Bully, the Horizon franchise, What Remains of Edith Finch, and many more. Her dog is also an avid video game watcher, primarily when there's a horse or a cat. She has a Bachelor's degree in English from the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo and grew up gaming on the islands.