Baldur’s Gate 3 difficulty settings: Balanced, Explorer, Tactician, Honour & Custom explained

Baldur’s Gate 3 has various difficulty levels that you can choose from, which not only suit your playstyle but also give you the perfect RPG feel you want. But before making the switch, here’s everything you should know about Baldur’s Gate 3 difficulty settings.

Thanks to its deep lore, extensive character creation, and diverse class and race options, Baldur’s Gate 3 is one of the most popular games of 2023.

Unlike RPGs like Elden Ring, which have a set difficulty level, Baldur’s Gate 3 lets you pick how hard you want the game’s rules to be. This means you get to choose whether you want to have a more easy-going experience or a tough one.

Here’s everything to know about Baldur’s Gate 3 difficulty settings such as Balanced, Explorer, Tactician, Honour & Custom explained.

• How many difficulty settings are there in Baldur’s Gate 3?
• Balanced difficulty in Baldur’s Gate 3 explained
• Explorer difficulty in Baldur’s Gate 3 explained
• Tactician difficulty setting in Baldur’s Gate 3 explained
• Honour Mode difficulty setting in Baldur’s Gate 3 explained
• Custom Mode difficulty setting in Baldur’s Gate 3 explained

How many difficulty settings are in Baldur’s Gate 3?

Baldur’s Gate 3 offers five unique difficulty settings:

• Balanced
• Explorer
• Tactician
• Honour Mode
• Custom Mode

Balanced is the default difficulty setting which provides players with a medium level of challenges. If you’re looking for a more relaxed and casual experience, then we recommend using Explorer, as it is the easiest setting.

Tactician was the hardest in terms of survival and combat, but after Patch 5, Larian Studios added two settings that amp up the intensity of the game with Honour Mode and Custom Mode. We’ll break down each of the Baldur’s Gate 3 difficulty settings in detail below.

Balanced difficulty in Baldur’s Gate 3 explained

Balanced is the default difficulty setting in Baldur’s Gate 3 that allows players to enjoy the story as well as face moderately difficult enemies. The combat will require you to brush up on your skills but it won’t overwhelm you.

On the flip side, the story will have a sensible amount of speech checks. Lastly, this difficulty setting affects saving throws in a manner that they won’t be game-changing or too insignificant. You can get used to the game as you progress through the story with a fair share of difficult enemies.

Explorer difficulty in Baldur’s Gate 3 explained

Explorer is the easiest difficulty setting in Baldur’s Gate 3 that drastically nerfs the enemies and lets the player dive deep into the story without any barriers.

The biggest features of the Explorer difficulty in Baldur’s Gate 3 include:

• Friendly NPCs are harder to kill.
• You get discounts while trading.
• You get +2 proficiency at level one.

With these advantages, you should not struggle to defeat enemies in Baldur’s Gate 3 and the story progression should be effortless.

Tactician difficulty setting in Baldur’s Gate 3 explained

Tactician in Baldur’s Gate 3 makes the combat more technical and challenging.

The biggest features of the Tactician difficulty in Baldur’s Gate 3 include:

• Enemies have higher HP and accuracy.
• Enemies can change their weapons and ammo, compelling players to come up with new strategies while facing the same enemy in a different mode.
• The environment has more elements to harm the players like explosive barrels.
• Brutal AI makes enemies more dynamic. They can come up with their own tactics such as targeting spellcasters or weak party members first.

Honour Mode difficulty setting in Baldur’s Gate 3 explained

Honour Mode increases the intensity of the Tactician modes and introduces new behaviors in Baldur’s Gate 3’s boss-fights. The biggest features of the Honor Mode in Baldur’s Gate 3 include:

• Legendary Action system, designed to catch players off-guard to include the challenge of battles.
• New actions and abilities to bosses.
• After dying, Baldur’s Gate 3 will present you statistics from your journey, showing how long and how far players have survived.
• After winning in Honour Mode, the game awards players the Golden D20.

Custom Mode difficulty setting in Baldur’s Gate 3 explained

Custom Mode in Baldur’s Gate 3 was designed for players who want to tailor their own experience while traveling through Faerun. This mode was made for those who want to live a more realistic D&D experience and master their own story.

While building a Baldur’s Gate 3 playthrough, players will be able to decide the level of Enemy Aggression, Enemy Loadouts, Character Power, Proficiency Bonus, Enemy Critical Hits, Camp Cost Multiplayer, Trade Price Modifier, Multiclassing, and more.

Well, this was everything to know about the difficulty settings in Baldur’s Gate 3. For more content on the game, make sure to check out:

Baldur’s Gate 3 companions list | Who are the Githyanki in Baldur’s Gate 3 | Can you multiclass in Baldur’s Gate 3? | How to get the Owlbear Cub in Baldur’s Gate 3 | How to add fire to weapons in Baldur’s Gate 3 | How to solve Baldur’s Gate 3 moon door puzzle | What are Origin characters in Baldur’s Gate 3? | How to change your party in Baldur’s Gate 3 | How to revive Baldur’s Gate 3 characters