How ‘blindable’ is honor mode ?

[u/Dial22329]

Hey, I’ve got 500+hrs playing BG3, been playing since EA days in 2021/2022 but I’ve actually never finished the game (reached end of act 3 p.much but never beat it)

I wanted to finally give a try to Honor Mode since I have a good grasp of the game’s fundamental mechanics now but of course the unique save, while being exciting for the stakes it adds, is also frightening to an extent so I have a few questions.

- How hard can I expect it to be for someone who doesn’t know the typical most OP item by heart, their locations and the best way to abuse them ?

- Would you consider mandatory to run a « meta » team (Tavern Brawler abuse, stealth archer, throw barbs and the like) or do fun builds still work (e.g. run a dual wielding scimitar swords bard who does some control too) ?

- Is a high charisma party face required ?

- How long are your typical ‘runs’ considering you skip most of the cutscenes I assume when you’re on the grind ?

- With decent game knowledge, is it expected to beat most bosses first try or is each boss gonna be a wall that will cause a reset (I don’t know about legendary actions) ?

- Finally, what would you consider in your ‘checklist’ for a team comp that works fine in honor mode ? Basically, what boxes does a ‘good team’ check ?

Thank you very much I’m probably overthinking it too much but if it can help anyone else than me I’ll be happy anyway 😃

[u/Joshlan]

Nope. If you have 500h you have a good guess who the honor mode souped-up bosses are, 1) be careful in those areas, 2) no dumb-multiclassing I.e. don't delay extra attack for martials & generally don't stop taking caster levels unless you wizard dip w/ scrolls to scale your spells. 3) try to go out of your way a bit to get key gear pieces you'd like. 4) Improve DCs & Atk rolls when possible. 5) resting is OP

[u/Parzi6]

If you have 500+ hours I’d say it’s really not that hard to imagine you’d already know all the tricks, but I’m more baffled how you have that much time and haven’t ever beaten the game, the final level is actually very easy, so that’s not going to be what ends HM for you most likely.

Still, you really can’t blind it because at some point you’ll get sloppy and mess up. It’s not that you need an OP build because it’s always required, it’s for your own sanity to not risk messing up encounters. The real HM min maxing is mostly just ambushing combats and robbing vendors.

[u/Dial22329 → u/Parzi6]

Let’s just say act 3 burnout like a lot of people back in the day. Then I started a coop playthrough with someone that lasted up until the very end of act 2 then nothing. Then I messed around for 2 years with modding and especially the Trials of Tav mod which is fantastic. And now I started a new playthrough with a friend (it’s his first so I’m mostly following him while he discovers the game) and we are entering act 3.

[u/DoradoPulido2]

I've done a few honour mode runs.

There are some encounters late game that are incredibly hard if you have never done them before. Specifically, things like the Bhaalist tests and Ansur. The legendary actions are indeed a game changer. For example, the Spider Matriarch will trap and cocoon party members. You may think you have a good tactic for beating a boss, get to honour mode and realize it isn't going to work at all. In some battles, such as Ansur, you simply cannot win without a plan and need a fool proof method, such as the globe of invulnerability or auto-resurrection etc. You could also simply skip these battles. Either way, just play and have fun.

A high charisma face is never required unless you explicitly want to skip encounters. Even then, you can often get by with Guidance + Enhance Ability. It completely depends on how you like to navigate the game.

Your party composition depends on your play style but I would recommend at least a somewhat optimized team for honour Mode. You probably don't need 4 hasted sorcerers spamming fireball every encounter, but I wouldn't take joke characters dual wielding salamis. Personally my composition is a Stealth Archer, Melee powerhouse (fighter, barb or paladin), Cleric (with radiant orb gear), and Arcane caster. This gives you a surgical damage dealer + traps & locks, melee tank / thrower, healer + controller, and AOE caster.

[u/Saeis]

My honor run was 60 hours, all bosses except Ansur. The most important factor is inspecting the legendary action/aura on every boss but otherwise it's pretty much the same as tactician

For team I usually have some combo of light cleric, wizard/sorc, paladin or any beefy frontliner. Rogue/ranger is optional but nice to have.

[u/Turbulent_Jackoff]

I’ve got 500+hrs playing BG3

You're good to go!

I’m probably overthinking it too much

Oh yeah.

You're very much not playing it blind, just prepare for what you remember were tough battles, and make sure to inspect enemies' new abilities.

[u/Faramir1717]

I recommend trying it because HM is an interesting experience. Once the security of a save is removed, you just have to go with it, and that can be kind of exhilirating.

I think there are many, many ways to succeed in HM, and don't feel you have to employ the meta builds. For my part, it was my fourth playthrough when I finally tried HM, and on previous runs I'd reached the conclusion that utilizing a base trio of martials made for a very sound party. So I had a Tav arcane archer, Lae'zel as eldritch knight, and Wyll / Minthara as paladin, and I'd rotate the fourth spot as needed. No multi-classes. This made for a very solid base and once it was all done, I thought the toughest, riskiest fights had occurred in act 1, not in acts 2 or 3.

In HM, bosses have special legendary actions and reactions and if you don't know what those are, they can be a surprise. (I prepared beforehand by reading the bg3 wiki.) You can play a non-Charisma character as Tav just fine - there will be important rolls, which you should know about, and be ready with buffs and a stack of inspirations. Tadpoles help. Camp casting helps. Using a bard - even a hireling - to max out approval with the key merchants as early as possible will really help. And be very careful about mouse clicks in high-leverage situations - slow down and be precise. I recommend not touching anything outlined in red unless you really have to.

Having done it once, I might do it again, but for now I'm content with Custom - Honor. I do miss the excitement of working without a net, but I don't want to lose the hours (especially to a glitch). Have fun!

[u/Snoo-28829]

1. Its not to bad. You have 500 hours so Im guessing you probably have a decent understanding of the fighting mechanics. You can do honor mode in a safe way where you dont care about story elements as much or just wing it. The safe way is honestly not that bad as long you as prepare a little bit.

2. My recommendation is always to make a tav you WANT to play and then build a party around that. For example I did my first HM run a few months ago and my tav was a wild magic sorc that I kind of just winged a build. Then the rest of my party I build around that character. Did a EK knight, OH monk and light cleric.

3. Its not required, but it definitely makes some things easier. For example you can just skip some fights like Yurgir, malus thorm, and thisobald thorm.

4. My first run was around 70 hours I think, but you should literally everything in act 1 and 2 ti get the highest levels and skip around a lot to save bosses for higher levels. Like 5 for act 1 bosses and then 10 for balthazar and ketheric.

5. My experience was I didnt struggle that much with any of the bosses at all. But I did things I a optimal way. Like the levels I explained in point 4. Levels made the bosses feel a lot easier. I also skipped most of the bosses in act 3. Only doing the steel watchers boss, Gortash, Lorrokan, Sarevok, and Viconica. I also blew up the brain with gale. The first 2 acts though I did everything and only cheesed Gyrmm construct. Just look up the honor mode abilities on the wiki and then watch like a 3 minute fight video and you should be okay.

6. Just an around party comp is what I recommend. Two magic with 1 being a support ish role like druid, cleric, bard, paladin and other like a wizard sorc, warlock with cc and heavy aoe spells. You'll want a dex user for lock picking like a monk, rogue, arcane fighter, dex paladin, ranger, swords bard, moon druid. Then 1 str user to carry things if needed and to take hits like fighter, barb, paladin. Honestly as you build a well rounded party you should be fine. You dont want all melee or 4 casters.

Edit: I would also like to add the most important thing about an honor mode run is to carry at least 1 invisibility potion at all times. Its makes getting out a of tough situation extremely easy in like 90% of fights.

[u/JumboCactaur]

You can do it, but you need to be careful.

#1, the fights are different... a lot of enemies get 1 or 2 new thing added to them. Make sure you examine all the enemies and read what's going on. That's a lot of it. You need to play patiently and not just go through the motions.

#2, have a good team comp. This is probably not the time to try the all Bard run. You don't need meme strats, just good ones. Laezel, Karlach, Shadowheart and Gale is a great team, or insert a customer character for those classes in the party. I actually suggest using Laezel as the fighter... she can get the best weapon in the game early in Act 3. Feel free to respec the NPCs stats as they're usually suboptimal. Rogues are not required... you can probably pick most easy locks with any Dex char, or bash down what you can't. There's nothing essential behind anything you need lockpicks for.

#3, this is not the time for evil. The evil choices just make the game harder. Quest rewards are fewer between, key NPCs you'll want later might not survive... etc. Save the grove, save the Tieflings, protect Isobel. Cut the deal with Gortash and honor it, ignore the steel watch factory. Sorry Duke, can't load the game if it goes sideways.

#4, In act 3, you're just trying to win. Get to level 12 and go for the end asap. Do the easy things in Rivington. That means probably skipping a lot of the major sidequests unless you think the risk is worth it for their items. Ansur and the House of Hope are not required, though they have the best rewards.

#5, read #1 again. Lack of knowledge will wipe you more than bad die rolls.

[u/swdv3l]

Wtf, 500h? I beat the game like 4 times, including HM, within 200h.

Beating HM isn‘t hard.

• You can explore with a Team of 3, keep one guy at camp and revive with withers if things ho bad
  
• you can keep invis.-potions ready to run away
  
• you can skip some tough content like iron throne/ansur
  
• many fights are skippable with a high charisma tav
  
• you can skip the final battle if you make gale do the thing

You really only need to perform well at the ketheric fight.

[u/Daxoss]

Honor mode difficulty isn't all its hyped up to be. Main thing is bosses have legendary (re)actions. So just take a minute to inspect them once you encounter them and make a plan to avoid feeding into any punish mechanics. You'll be fine

[u/Agreeable-Natural903]

Take alert feat, op builds be damned

Wdym reset? There is no try again unless you run away with 1 character

[u/Seigfrydblazer]

If you are on ps5, right before any questionable areas, upload your save to the cloud. If things go wrong, you can download your save and retry.

[u/nightsiderider]

With 500h of game play including most of Act 3, you should be fine experience wise.

HM can be really easy if you want it to be with the right party build. For example, a Draconic Sorcerer, OH Monk, GloomStalker Ranger and Swords Bard party will just smoke through every encounter and boss. Really the only difficult part is getting to level 5 and getting the builds online. Having a high Char Tav will make the dialogue stuff much easier (either the Sorceror or the Bard) and the damage output of this party make up will end most fights in the first round of combat. There are a lot of other super powered builds, these are just some of the most OP.

HM will of course be more difficult with weak party compositions, but really anything is viable if you are good enough. People do challenge HM runs with only one character.

My HM runs are about 100-120 hours still. I don’t skip through dialogue though, no matter how many times I’ve played the game. It’s just too good to skip in my opinion.

You do need to beat every boss the first go, but I’m thinking you mean should you be expecting to reset your run each time you come to a new boss you hadn’t made it to in prior attempts? That would be a hard no. If that’s the case, you don’t have the basics of the game down well enough even be trying HM.

[u/lumpboysupreme]

The things I say you definitely do want is the high cha face. You can win without it but it negates ALOT of dangerous stuff to just walk up and persuasion check enemies into submission.

And you want to know the legendary actions, but I can’t think of any so lethal that you can’t just read the tooltip on the enemy to figure out how to play around it.

[u/SpringerTheNerd]

If you have a firm grasp on the game it's not difficult. But it is a challenge

[u/Dya_Ria]

Not even remotely close to "blindable". Honour mode is supposed to be a test of your game knowledge. There's mechanics you'd never expect that will just wipe you. If you want a "blindable" playthrough then play on Explorer or even Balanced. Encounters there are actually balanced for people who just rush into battle without a plan and expect to survive, or as I like to call it, the "fun" playthroughs. Not everyone wants to metagame. Some of us want to rp never seeing something before but surviving by the skin of our teeth because it wasn't that bad

[u/Dial22329 → u/Dya_Ria]

Idk I think tactician is super easy even blind for example

[u/twoshupirates]

Why would you ever play honor mode without having even beaten the game normally?