The most recent patch for Baldur’s Gate 3 adds two new gameplay settings, one of which is the ultra-difficult Honour Mode. It’s one of two new modes added in Patch 5 of Baldur’s Gate 3, in addition to the highly flexible Custom Mode. In many ways, it’s similar to the hardest default difficulty setting in BG3, Tactician Mode, but is far from a simple expansion thereof. In fact, it’s so much harder, it includes a lengthy pop-up window warning about all the ways it can screw players over. It’s less than ideal for a first playthrough, but could be interesting for a repeat or challenge run.
Now, most games that include extra-hard difficulty modes follow pretty much the same strategies. Give enemies more HP, make them harder to hit, and add more of them, all while making the player character wimpier. Occasionally, enemies get new moves, and loot may be shuffled around to avoid players finding overpowered items too early. But BG3 is a little different. Honour Mode is a whole new way to experience the game, and here’s why.
Life and death are determined by a roll of the dice in Baldur’s Gate 3, but thankfully, in most game modes, save scumming can ensure an always-favorable outcome. But Baldur’s Gate 3 completely cuts out save scumming in Honour Mode. There’s only one save file available, and it’s deleted as soon as it’s loaded. It’s an interesting conceit: things often don’t go as planned, especially on the higher difficulty settings. In other game modes, it’s always possible to reload a previous save and try, try again. But in Honour Mode, players are forced to play the hands they’re dealt, for better or worse. Usually worse.
Another sweeping change in Honour Mode is that all the hardest bosses in Baldur’s Gate 3 have access to an additional arsenal of Legendary Actions. These may sound like super-powerful moves, and they are, but there’s one further wrinkle in how Legendary Actions work. Bosses can use Legendary Actions even on the player’s turn, as soon as their unique triggers are activated. What each Legendary Action does is, of course, unique to the boss who can use it. They may deal damage, inflict nasty status effects, or summon allies – there’ll be more on the specifics later.
But what happens if a player loads their single Honour Mode save file, walks into a fight, and immediately gets the entire party killed? Simply put, a party wipe in Honour Mode means game over, forever. While individual companions can be resurrected as long as someone survives, if the whole party falls, the run is over. Players will get a short status screen describing how far they made it, before returning to the title screen. That’s one reason why Honour Mode isn’t ideal for a first playthrough: imagine dying at the end of Act Two, and being forced to start the game over to see the ending.
2023-12-09 09:00:04
Article from screenrant.com
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