Hardcore gamers are no strangers to challenge runs in their favorite titles, especially when it involves games like Baldur’s Gate 3 which boasts a robust system rife with opportunities to create crazily-difficult encounters with equally-bizarre ways of overcoming them. As an adaptation of the D&D 5e ruleset, Baldur’s Gate 3 sets itself apart from the typical RPG experience with stricter mechanics that Larian Studios expanded enough to accommodate tactical finesse.

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With Larian Studios notable for Divinity: Original Sin 2 and its highly-adaptable combat system, Baldur’s Gate 3 players know they have the option to skip the game’s overarching narrative and head straight to its engaging combat. However, what challenges can players do to their Baldur’s Gate run to test their tactical mettle?

10 Kill Everyone

Infamous players in D&D are the ones who love to murder-hobo or commit the act of killing everyone they meet for the purpose of looting them. Dungeon Masters often punish these players for their recklessness, but Baldur’s Gate 3 gameplay has an entire evil route that specifically ties into these tendencies. And players can pursue being truly evil by trying to murder everyone - provided they’re strong enough to pull it off.

This challenge is heavily suited for the Dark Urge Origin, as this Custom Origin is rediscovering exactly why they have an unreasonable craving for murder and violence. Regardless of the build of choice, players are encouraged to try and kill everyone they meet, sparing only the ones that help them make progress throughout the Main Story.

9 Stealing Is Healthy

Pickpocketing becomes one of the most lucrative ways to earn money in a game like Baldur’s Gate 3, especially when Magic Items that players can use tend to become extremely expensive. With the right play, a character can simply put an NPC to Sleep while they’re being pickpocketed, getting away with easy cash they can spend for valuable items.

In Stealing Is Healthy, this behavior is the only way players are allowed to grab items. Regardless if they need basic supplies or Potions of Health, this challenge forces them to steal their way out of poverty. Provoking a hostile response out of this attempt is not allowed, just to add complexity to the challenge.

8 Improvised Weapons Only

It’s not all the time that characters in Dungeons & Dragons have the privilege of fighting with a full set of weapons, and this is where Improvised Weapons come into play. As adapted in Baldur’s Gate 3, the Improvised Weapon Attack encourages characters to find a random item they can grab and use as an offensive armament. While this may strike at less damage, players may be able to pull off miraculous plays when done right.

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This is where the Improvised Weapons Only challenge comes in. As the name implies, this challenge only allows players to use Improvised Weapons in combat. It’s up to players whether they will allow spells or have their characters stick solely to Improvised Weapons, with item throws being part of their options.

7 Stealth Is Wealth

Astarion is likely the first Baldur’s Gate 3 character players would encounter that fits the stealth archetype, especially if they stick with his Rogue preference. Thanks to Sneak Attack, Astarion can dish out massive damage to enemies provided he has Advantage over them, emphasizing the value of surprise via this Rogue Feature.

As the name implies, Stealth is Wealth is a challenge that relies on this maneuver. This challenge requires all characters to rely on stealth-based attacks to secure their kills. Characters may opt to become Rogues or rely on spellcasters that can continuously blind or hinder a foe’s vision.

6 Exclusively Magic

Spellcasters are some of the most powerful beings in Baldur’s Gate 3, with their access to some of the most devastating D&D spells making them especially potent damage dealers. In the Baldur’s Gate title, creatures have access to spells not just through their Classes but also through Scrolls and Magic Items.

In this regard, the Exclusively Magic challenge forces players to rely solely on spells to defeat opponents. This challenge becomes easier to bear with using an all-spellcaster troupe that has access to damaging Cantrips, as they don’t cost Spell Slots. With the right Magic Items that grant spells as well as Feats such as Magic Initiate, Exclusively Magic can make for quite the interesting challenge.

5 Ranged Delight

Thanks to quick-swap options, Baldur’s Gate 3 gameplay now allows characters to alternate between melee and ranged weapons whenever the situation fits. This allows even melee specialists to try their hand at attacking from afar should enemies try to get away while still having Movement left to outmaneuver foes.

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Players looking for a challenge, however, may want to try Ranged Delight. This forces players to exclusively attack from ranged distances, regardless of their Class and if they’re using a spell. Players can mix things up by forcing all characters to use ranged weapons.

4 Deadly Melee

Melee fighting forms a crucial part of Baldur’s Gate 3 combat, especially since all creatures are able to equip both long-ranged and close-ranged weapon options. This Proficiency is also why close-ranged specialists such as the Fighter and the Barbarian are must-haves as tanks, especially since they can pull off high-damage rolls with armaments like Versatile Weapons.

The Deadly Melee challenge focuses on this specialization, as this forces players to only stick to attacks within melee range. Spells that buff or heal allies could be used from afar, but not for debuffs and status-granting effects. However, players can make the challenge more interesting if even allowable spells are also ones that only affect melee.

3 The Lone Wolf Play

Players who enjoyed Larian Studios’ previous work Divinity: Original Sin 2 would remember the “Lone Wolf” Talent, essentially a perk that boosts a character’s stats provided they play solo or have at most one companion. This encourages extreme tactical prowess on a player’s part, especially since they get easily outnumbered in most of the game’s encounters. Such is the case of the Lone Wolf Play in a player’s Baldur’s Gate 3 playthrough.

Serving as a similar take on the “Lone Wolf,” this challenge encourages players to rely on their character’s individual prowess to take on most of the game’s encounters alone. This can get difficult rather quickly, especially since players are almost always outnumbered at the onset. Players can tackle this challenge through hyper-optimized builds with a lot of crowd control opportunities or through strategic hits-and-runs.

2 Unknown Hirelings

When players unlock Withers in their Baldur’s Gate 3 playthrough, they get the option to respec their characters, revive dead Companions, and even recruit Hirelings. Instead of experimenting with Companions who have their own stories and themes, players can experiment builds with Hirelings they can hire at a cheaper rate.

One challenge players can do involving Hirelings would be an entire playthrough running just Hirelings. A setup for this challenge could involve players getting their first Companions and not progressing through the main story until they unlock Withers, earn enough gold, and fill their party with Hirelings. With the number of side quests and areas to explore in Act 1, players may have a fully-kitted Hireling party to resume the rest of the playthrough.

1 No Offense

Unlike other RPGs, players can enjoy Baldur’s Gate 3 with a Face Character designed specifically for entertainment. In D&D and other TTRPGs, a Face Character is built to serve as the spokesperson of the party, packing enough Charisma and points in conversational Skills (Deception, Intimidation, Persuasion, Performance) to talk their way out of (or into) trouble.

In the No Offense challenge, players are encouraged to build a character designed to get their way out of troublesome situations as much as possible.

While there are conversations that result in nothing but combat, players aware that a dialogue that can lead to non-combat should be pursued all the time. In this challenge, players are allowed to reload saves as often as possible to choose the least-violent option, testing whether there’s truly a way to avoid having to kill their way to remove the Illithid parasites in their heads.

Baldur’s Gate 3 is currently available on PC and is slated for a September 6, 2023 release for PlayStation 5.

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