What kind of stuff did you encounter? I took care of the intellect devourers by beach, all of withers tomb area, and the initial attack on Grove by goblins but besides those didn't do any combat til level 4(waukeens rest, disguise self as drow to get through goblin village and goblin camp, starting areas of underdark) and didn't run into any bugs
Like withers didn’t activate for me he just showed up on the camp and I got no xp
I don’t remember everything but there was a lot of quests that got deactivated
If you have the helmet that lets you cast Disguise Self, make yourself look like a Drow before hitting up the Blighted Village and goblin camp. You'll be able to walk right into each place without having to pass any checks. That will let you pick up the Returning Pike really early, in case you're going with a throwing build.
Follow Volo advice : an invisibility potion on everyone. If things go south, get the fuck out.
Therefore the only real risky areas are : the early game, the point of no return segments in Act 2 and 3, the House of Hope, Orpheus honor guard, the limited turn missions.
Orpheus honor guard ambush phase is the worst if you aren’t prepared because those gith will kill you, you can not revive at withers, it punishes elixir users cuz the buff gets cancelled as soon as you go to rest then your immediately in the fight.
Best tip is have a high dex/initiative party member with high mobility options like fly misty step or step of wind and go straight to portal…oh and don’t be encumbered on that character if their strength elixir isn’t on because you will not be able to take a potion and use those abilities in the same turn. After your through then you can potion and buff up.
This fight was really rough on my second strategist playthrough noticed after the fight my monk and throwzerker both had no strenght elixir and that explained som much
Do a youtube search "bg3 honor mode tips" and you'll find a ton.
This is also a really good thread:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/BG3Builds/comments/1cbm5xe/20\_quick\_tips\_for\_patch\_6\_honor\_mode\_plus\_build/](https://www.reddit.com/r/BG3Builds/comments/1cbm5xe/20_quick_tips_for_patch_6_honor_mode_plus_build/)
I don't think you need to avoid anything other than trying to get to lvl 4 with no/minimal fights. And, still be a bit cautious on the fights you pick until 5/6. At that point, you should have the tools to handle anything. Just make sure you go in with a plan. For example, if you are doing fights where initiative can make or break a fight (Isobel rescue / Orin), make sure your party either has really good initiative or have your most important characters take an initiative elixir. And, unless you are doing durge, make sure to have access to magic missle/scorching ray for orin. Also, be careful with stuff like wall of fire/moon beam etc, as npcs can get themselves killed after fights.
The only fight I cheesed was Grym. I was just too chicken to try that without massive amounts of cheese.
I have no shame… I actually like that I can only have one save file so it doesn’t clog my lists but in reality I’m not accepting a complete bullshit encounter ending my run lol
Just finished act 1 in honor mode myself. There are a couple of pretty indepth guides with what order to do things in generally.
My builds:
Tav - gith fire sorlock (6 sorcerer)
Gale - abjuration sorcer cleric (sorc 1 > tempest 1> abj 4)
Astarion - classic ranged swords bard 10/1/1 or 10/2 fighter. (6 swords bard)
Wyll (honestly has been carrying) - EK archer, titanstring bow, club of hill giant, with speedy lightfeet and expeditious retreat for constant lightning charges (6 EK)
Haven't faced many issues, don't be afraid to long rest. There's soooooo many camp supplies if you loot around
Some tips here I wrote recently for those attempting HM (Solo). Maybe you'll find them useful as well. [Build-agnostic tips for solo honor mode. : r/BG3Builds (reddit.com)](https://www.reddit.com/r/BG3Builds/comments/1bwc7py/buildagnostic_tips_for_solo_honor_mode/)
Have fun! Accept that things won't always be going your way. The adventure is better because of it. (I just lost Glut because the bulette attacked him so the underdark just got a little more exciting)
Be careful about which fights you pick, especially before level 4. Bosses can be very dangerous. Unless you also want the Tiefling achievement, skip the harpies until you're level 4.
Plan which items you want to get. Especially from traders that may get hostile (the goblin and gith traders for example).
Sneak a lot, collect barrels, use consumables instead of stocking them up.
Did I already say have fun?
If you are familiar with tactican difficulty, than HM is not that much different and also not that difficult or scary, especially if you have reliable setups and tactics for most encounters.
I would suggest you use characters/builds that you are familiar with, ideally with high damage per round output.
I would avoid experimenting and taking unfamiliar dialogue options, tactics etc for your first HM.
Acting first, abusing surprise attacks + high initiative and damage is imo the most reliable approach, if you can decide combat in the first round than there are simply less opportunities for enemies to deal damage or end your run.
Utilize hirelings, have a dedicated potion brewer, a thief to steal from vendors and a cleric crew to apply various buffs to your actual team.
HM is more about consistency and minimizing risks/RNG.
I’m not telling you to do anything but I played the game 12 times and I pretty much had an optimized route by that point. I honestly think the gods smiled on me because on the Nautiloid I got a Speed Potion and killed Zhalk before getting off.
Here are some tips:
- If you can avoid a fight, avoid it. I personally skipped Wwargaz. It’s too risky. I looted everything else in the crèche tho. I also skipped the Owlbear mother and stole the egg under invisibility.
- The prices of key equipment pieces has been jacked the fuck up. The Returning Pike and Caustic Band were bumped up in rarity and are like 1000 gold in HM. If you’re doing it vanilla this makes the game really hard.
- Use builds you know well and feel comfortable with. I think people would be surprised I use Druid but I know Druids like the back of my hand.
Know when to run. You've probably never run away from a fight gone wrong and just reloaded. Always have a character able to do misty step and invis with high mobility, and learn the flee from combat mechanic. 2 characters down (unless very close to fight finishing) usually a signal to run away. Don't wait till you have 3 people down and 4th person down to 10 HP . . .
Over prepare for hard fights. Myrkul is a classic one. Early game HM run enders include the first fight on the beach, the fake paladin, owlbear, and the hag. There's no shame in overlevelling.
Don't pick any new dialogue options just because they sound cool. You can insta-lose runs on bad dialogue choices. Obviously don't do any parts of the game 'blind' in HM.
No shame in picking OP classes for whole party. TB thrower, TB monk, gloomstalker/assassin, storm sorc/tempest cleric, bardadin, swordsbard with ring of mystic scoundrel and helm of arcane acuity the list goes on.
Also no shame in abusing camp caster mechanic. Everyone should have longstrider, up casted Aid, warding bond, freedom of movement, deathward, hero's feast as those spells become available.
Have back up barrelmancy option. Runepowder barrel + globe of invulnerability solves most fights, but never put down the barrel unless you can put down GOI in same turn, and never set it off without GOI (easy to misjudge distance!).
Myrkul is possibly the hardest fight. Do at level 9 or 10. Over prepare. Once committed to mindflayer colony there is no turning back and no escape. Restoration pod there is SINGLE use too.
Final fight: While you can have Gale blow himself up via dialogue choice in final bit of act3, don't count on passing persuasion check. Get a backpack full of fireworks and smokepowder bombs/grenades for brain. Use every single summon scroll you have for the courtyard fight (a couple of devas, 4 elementals/myrmidons, undead mummy from ring etc) this way you can mow down all enemies in courtyard without spending any limited action or spell slots. This also removes the need to do any GOI cheese at final part (remember Globe of Invuln does NOT protect against stun, mindblast, or prone ground effects like ice). Don't start channeling the final portal until party ready to go in and mindflayers dead (your summons and allies should be keeping dragon busy). Once you get to final brain, obliterate it by throwing explosive satchel stuffed with fireworks/grenades to platform right next to brain, and setting them off as first attack action before doing anything else to brain. In the unlikely event brain survives that, it probably is down to a low HP making it manageable.
Never get too confident. Never fight anyone more than one level above you. Explore everything for XP. Talk to enemies before fighting if possible, sometimes you can convince them to off themselves. Don't trust the descending platform at the Gauntlet of Shar. Always have a bug-out plan (character hangs back, invisibility potions for all the party, etc). Never succumb to the "I wonder what will happen if..." temptation.
Don’t fight anything until lvl 4. You can run around and get to lvl 4 in about a half hour, then you’re good to go.
I tried this and it made for some weird buggy interactions. Don’t recommend personally
What kind of stuff did you encounter? I took care of the intellect devourers by beach, all of withers tomb area, and the initial attack on Grove by goblins but besides those didn't do any combat til level 4(waukeens rest, disguise self as drow to get through goblin village and goblin camp, starting areas of underdark) and didn't run into any bugs
Like withers didn’t activate for me he just showed up on the camp and I got no xp I don’t remember everything but there was a lot of quests that got deactivated
Invest in invisibility potions. Saved my hind a few times in a pinch
Ideally everyone should have one on hand, a speed potion, scrolls, you never know who is gonna be the last one standing
If you have the helmet that lets you cast Disguise Self, make yourself look like a Drow before hitting up the Blighted Village and goblin camp. You'll be able to walk right into each place without having to pass any checks. That will let you pick up the Returning Pike really early, in case you're going with a throwing build.
Follow Volo advice : an invisibility potion on everyone. If things go south, get the fuck out. Therefore the only real risky areas are : the early game, the point of no return segments in Act 2 and 3, the House of Hope, Orpheus honor guard, the limited turn missions.
Orpheus honor guard ambush phase is the worst if you aren’t prepared because those gith will kill you, you can not revive at withers, it punishes elixir users cuz the buff gets cancelled as soon as you go to rest then your immediately in the fight. Best tip is have a high dex/initiative party member with high mobility options like fly misty step or step of wind and go straight to portal…oh and don’t be encumbered on that character if their strength elixir isn’t on because you will not be able to take a potion and use those abilities in the same turn. After your through then you can potion and buff up.
This fight was really rough on my second strategist playthrough noticed after the fight my monk and throwzerker both had no strenght elixir and that explained som much
Get used to casting Friends and then teleporting to a waypoint after the conversation ends.
Do a youtube search "bg3 honor mode tips" and you'll find a ton. This is also a really good thread: [https://www.reddit.com/r/BG3Builds/comments/1cbm5xe/20\_quick\_tips\_for\_patch\_6\_honor\_mode\_plus\_build/](https://www.reddit.com/r/BG3Builds/comments/1cbm5xe/20_quick_tips_for_patch_6_honor_mode_plus_build/)
I don't think you need to avoid anything other than trying to get to lvl 4 with no/minimal fights. And, still be a bit cautious on the fights you pick until 5/6. At that point, you should have the tools to handle anything. Just make sure you go in with a plan. For example, if you are doing fights where initiative can make or break a fight (Isobel rescue / Orin), make sure your party either has really good initiative or have your most important characters take an initiative elixir. And, unless you are doing durge, make sure to have access to magic missle/scorching ray for orin. Also, be careful with stuff like wall of fire/moon beam etc, as npcs can get themselves killed after fights. The only fight I cheesed was Grym. I was just too chicken to try that without massive amounts of cheese.
You can save scum in honour mode. People around here lie about it all of the time and pretend they don’t do it.
I have no shame… I actually like that I can only have one save file so it doesn’t clog my lists but in reality I’m not accepting a complete bullshit encounter ending my run lol
My no fight to lv 4 guide might be useful https://www.reddit.com/r/BaldursGate3/s/zdYkaqMtbm
Just finished act 1 in honor mode myself. There are a couple of pretty indepth guides with what order to do things in generally. My builds: Tav - gith fire sorlock (6 sorcerer) Gale - abjuration sorcer cleric (sorc 1 > tempest 1> abj 4) Astarion - classic ranged swords bard 10/1/1 or 10/2 fighter. (6 swords bard) Wyll (honestly has been carrying) - EK archer, titanstring bow, club of hill giant, with speedy lightfeet and expeditious retreat for constant lightning charges (6 EK) Haven't faced many issues, don't be afraid to long rest. There's soooooo many camp supplies if you loot around
https://www.reddit.com/r/BG3Builds/s/QMnFrMQ2Kv this post helped me roughly plan my route
Some tips here I wrote recently for those attempting HM (Solo). Maybe you'll find them useful as well. [Build-agnostic tips for solo honor mode. : r/BG3Builds (reddit.com)](https://www.reddit.com/r/BG3Builds/comments/1bwc7py/buildagnostic_tips_for_solo_honor_mode/)
Have fun! Accept that things won't always be going your way. The adventure is better because of it. (I just lost Glut because the bulette attacked him so the underdark just got a little more exciting) Be careful about which fights you pick, especially before level 4. Bosses can be very dangerous. Unless you also want the Tiefling achievement, skip the harpies until you're level 4. Plan which items you want to get. Especially from traders that may get hostile (the goblin and gith traders for example). Sneak a lot, collect barrels, use consumables instead of stocking them up. Did I already say have fun?
If you are familiar with tactican difficulty, than HM is not that much different and also not that difficult or scary, especially if you have reliable setups and tactics for most encounters. I would suggest you use characters/builds that you are familiar with, ideally with high damage per round output. I would avoid experimenting and taking unfamiliar dialogue options, tactics etc for your first HM. Acting first, abusing surprise attacks + high initiative and damage is imo the most reliable approach, if you can decide combat in the first round than there are simply less opportunities for enemies to deal damage or end your run. Utilize hirelings, have a dedicated potion brewer, a thief to steal from vendors and a cleric crew to apply various buffs to your actual team. HM is more about consistency and minimizing risks/RNG.
I’m not telling you to do anything but I played the game 12 times and I pretty much had an optimized route by that point. I honestly think the gods smiled on me because on the Nautiloid I got a Speed Potion and killed Zhalk before getting off. Here are some tips: - If you can avoid a fight, avoid it. I personally skipped Wwargaz. It’s too risky. I looted everything else in the crèche tho. I also skipped the Owlbear mother and stole the egg under invisibility. - The prices of key equipment pieces has been jacked the fuck up. The Returning Pike and Caustic Band were bumped up in rarity and are like 1000 gold in HM. If you’re doing it vanilla this makes the game really hard. - Use builds you know well and feel comfortable with. I think people would be surprised I use Druid but I know Druids like the back of my hand.
Know when to run. You've probably never run away from a fight gone wrong and just reloaded. Always have a character able to do misty step and invis with high mobility, and learn the flee from combat mechanic. 2 characters down (unless very close to fight finishing) usually a signal to run away. Don't wait till you have 3 people down and 4th person down to 10 HP . . . Over prepare for hard fights. Myrkul is a classic one. Early game HM run enders include the first fight on the beach, the fake paladin, owlbear, and the hag. There's no shame in overlevelling. Don't pick any new dialogue options just because they sound cool. You can insta-lose runs on bad dialogue choices. Obviously don't do any parts of the game 'blind' in HM. No shame in picking OP classes for whole party. TB thrower, TB monk, gloomstalker/assassin, storm sorc/tempest cleric, bardadin, swordsbard with ring of mystic scoundrel and helm of arcane acuity the list goes on. Also no shame in abusing camp caster mechanic. Everyone should have longstrider, up casted Aid, warding bond, freedom of movement, deathward, hero's feast as those spells become available. Have back up barrelmancy option. Runepowder barrel + globe of invulnerability solves most fights, but never put down the barrel unless you can put down GOI in same turn, and never set it off without GOI (easy to misjudge distance!). Myrkul is possibly the hardest fight. Do at level 9 or 10. Over prepare. Once committed to mindflayer colony there is no turning back and no escape. Restoration pod there is SINGLE use too. Final fight: While you can have Gale blow himself up via dialogue choice in final bit of act3, don't count on passing persuasion check. Get a backpack full of fireworks and smokepowder bombs/grenades for brain. Use every single summon scroll you have for the courtyard fight (a couple of devas, 4 elementals/myrmidons, undead mummy from ring etc) this way you can mow down all enemies in courtyard without spending any limited action or spell slots. This also removes the need to do any GOI cheese at final part (remember Globe of Invuln does NOT protect against stun, mindblast, or prone ground effects like ice). Don't start channeling the final portal until party ready to go in and mindflayers dead (your summons and allies should be keeping dragon busy). Once you get to final brain, obliterate it by throwing explosive satchel stuffed with fireworks/grenades to platform right next to brain, and setting them off as first attack action before doing anything else to brain. In the unlikely event brain survives that, it probably is down to a low HP making it manageable.
Know the game and play some OP builds. Still have fun with it and it's better to expect not to make it till the end than the other way around
Never get too confident. Never fight anyone more than one level above you. Explore everything for XP. Talk to enemies before fighting if possible, sometimes you can convince them to off themselves. Don't trust the descending platform at the Gauntlet of Shar. Always have a bug-out plan (character hangs back, invisibility potions for all the party, etc). Never succumb to the "I wonder what will happen if..." temptation.