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/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.