With the release of Baldur’s Gate 3 Patch 5, Larian Studios has introduced a new game mode with even more challenges to overcome. Honour Mode is a new way to play Baldur’s Gate 3 with its own delightful risks and rewards, and this guide will walk you through how it works.
What is Honour Mode?
Introduced in Patch 5, Baldur’s Gate 3 on Honour Mode, or Honor Mode if you prefer that spelling, is kind of like an Ironman Impossible playthrough for you XCOM fans out there. Everything bumps up, and the safety restraints fall off. You can only start an Honour Mode run from a new game; you can’t swap to the difficulty setting with campaign you’ve already started.
Everything, according to Larian, is bumped up in difficulty. Alongside the usual Tactician difficulty increases, the action economy and bonus damage rules are stricter towards the end of BG3 in Honour Mode.
Most importantly, bosses get an increase in power, though new abilities and special Legendary Actions. These are imposing new moves that, especially if you’re approaching them fresh, will probably keep you on your toes.
Is this mode permadeath?
Another crucial factor to consider, when debating a Baldur’s Gate 3 Honour Mode playthrough, is that it is a Single Save File option. No making alternate saves, and no save-scumming. So you can’t just fail a roll and reload. We all know you did it in the base game.
Additionally, if your entire party is defeated in combat, your Honour Mode run will come to an end. This does mean that you can still resume your adventure afterwards, but your file will be converted to a Custom Mode adventure, rather than an Honour Mode.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Honour Mode clear rewards
If you manage to finish the massive, sprawling RPG that is BG3 in Honour Mode, you won’t be walking away with just some bragging rights. Clearing the game on Honour Mode will net you a special, bespoke set of dice to use in future playthroughs.
I’m not sure whether, after such an arduous journey, you’d be particularly keen to play more of Baldur’s Gate 3. But hey, if and when you do, you’ll have a nice set of die. Good luck and watch out for that ghost-jerk in Act 3, he seems like a real Honour Mode run-killer.
