Summary

• Honor mode in
  Baldur’s Gate 3
  can be an effective lesson in how to best use spell combinations.
• Strategic use of spells by combining crowd control and area attack abilities can give players an advantage in combat.
• Completing Honor Mode is made easier by understanding and planning spell usage in advance.

Although I enjoyed my first few runs of Baldur’s Gate 3it took some getting used to before I finally started paying attention to all my spells. I usually play a rogue Tav because I like being able to pick locks with my main character, but I don’t want to miss Neil Newbon’s excellent voice performance as Astarion. When I play solo, I just cast powerful summoning spells on Gale’s wizard build and healing spells on Shadowheart. In multiplayer, I leave the spellcasting to my friends.

I played quite a lot Dungeons & Dragonsso I was pretty confident that my basic knowledge of fifth edition combat strategy would get me through the game. That, coupled with my relentless collecting of all available XP in each area, made it pretty easy to switch my magic on autopilot and just throw Fireballs in groups of enemies. This worked pretty well for most of the game in Balanced Mode, and even worked in Tactician Mode, although it meant reloading the save game more often. However, in Honor Mode I eventually hit a wall and realized I needed to expand my spellcasting strategies.

Honor mode forced me to be more tactical when casting spells

Honor Mode is reset when the player’s party dies

Baldur’s Gate 3Honor Mode can be quite punishing for players who are new to the game and don’t take the time to carefully plan their character development and tactics. It offers the same difficult battles as Tactician Mode, with the added challenge of do not allow the player to restart his game from a previous save. When I heard about this game mode, I knew it would be a serious problem for me because of the way I played.

Several fights in Baldur’s Gate 3 always seem to give me trouble. I was pretty confident that I could make it to Act II using the same basic strategy as before. However, once I had to face Balthazar or failed my Insight check that would have allowed me to skip the Yurgir fight, I knew I was going to be in trouble.

Before starting any of these fights, I would scout the arena and make sure I placed my party members in strategic positions. I thought about how I would normally die in the fights and tried to reduce the risk of that happening. Most importantly, I thought about these fights a few levels in advance and made sure I had learned and prepared the right spells when the time came.

Using the right spells can make certain battles in Baldur’s Gate 3 easier

The right combination of spells reduces the risk of death

One thing I knew from playing DnD is how important action economy is. Even if one side in a battle has more powerful creatures, the other side usually has the advantage as long as they take more actions. For my playthrough in Honor Mode: I primarily used spells that would give me an advantage in this area.

Area attack spells like Fireball are a good way to influence the action economy in the player’s favor, as they damage multiple enemies with a single spell. Another option is to create an area that enemies have difficulty moving into, with spells like Guardians of the Faith or Cloudkill . This allows passive damage that can essentially convert the opponent’s movement into your own action. For example, use Spirit Guardian When fighting the Phase Spiders in Act I, this is a great way to take out the Baby Spiders when they come to attack.

Combining crowd control spells with passive damage spells is another great way to get the upper hand in terms of action economy. One fight that gave me trouble on my first playthrough was storming the Moonrise Tower. In Honor Mode, I took my time to think of a better strategy rather than just charging headfirst into waves of enemies.

By standing at the top of the entrance and throwing ice storm I was not only able to damage many enemies at once, but also reduce their action advantage, as many of them fell to the ground on the ice every round when they tried to get to me. With a scroll to place Cloudkill on the ice made it even more dangerous. Any opponent who slipped would spend several rounds taking damage at the bottleneck. Finally, I would use Thunderstorm wave to knock back enemies who have made it through and force them to start over.

By taking the time to learn how my spells work together, they became much more effective than if I had simply used the spell that does the most damage in one action. These types of plans may take longer to implement, but they ultimately ensure that the players survive a dangerous fight. There are also certain boss fights where the right spell could make the whole thing much easier.

A spell from Baldur’s Gate 3 can make the fight against Balthazar incredibly easy

Counterspells can prevent most enemies from appearing in battle

One of the fights I was scared of in Honor Mode was the fight against Balthazar in the Shadowfell. I died countless times during this battle in tactical modesometimes in an embarrassing way when a large skeleton kicked my character into the void with full health. I had a good idea of ​​where I wanted to place my party to make things easier, but I never imagined how easy the fight would be because I had the right spells prepared.

I started by using Dimensional Door to teleport Shadowheart and Gale to a raised platform that enemies would struggle to reach once they appeared. Next, I placed Fly on Karlach to put her in the perfect position to protect my casters. Finally, I sneaked up behind Balthazar with my Assassin Tav, hoping to start the fight with a huge critical hit.

If you trigger the fight in this way, Balthazar will not speak to him, but will speak first Reviving the dead to spawn any skeletons that join him in battle. However, since Gale was already in battle when I used Sneak Attack on Balthazar, I had the opportunity to respond to Reviving the dead with Gales Counterspell By using a single third-level spell slot, I was able to prevent any more enemies from entering the fight. Since Balthazar only Reviving the dead Once a day I was able to neutralize the spell and challenge him in a man-to-man fight.

If you take the time to understand each spell, Baldur’s Gate 3 will be much easier

Baldur’s Gate’s extensive spell list is similar to that of D&D

The victories I have had in Honor Mode would not have been possible if I had not taken the time to carefully read through all of my spells and plan my battles in advance by preparing the right ones. Although it may seem daunting, Baldur’s Gate 3‘s extensive spell list – especially for players who are not yet familiar with D&D – it ultimately saves time and effort. Instead of having to reload saves or constantly restart Honor Mode, a good understanding of the game’s spells can help players win on the first try.

Of course, knowing the spells is only part of the battle when it comes to beating Honor Mode. A big part of my ability to choose the right strategy for each fight is because I already knew what to expect thanks to playing through the game on easier difficulties. Players who are Baldur’s Gate 3To reach the most challenging mode, you should probably complete the entire game at least once first.