Do you enjoy a challenge, or are you more in it for the story? No matter your playstyle, Baldur's Gate 3 delivers with three unique difficulties. These are Tactician, Balanced, and Explorer. As for which one to choose, there is no real right or wrong answer. They all bring something fun and unique to the game.
Explorer mode is for those that want to go through the story without experiencing the brunt of the grueling combat. If you're no stranger to RPGs and enjoy thinking on your feet, Tactician mode will allow you to test the limit of your skills. The Balanced setting will give you the best of both worlds. What does all of this mean? Keep reading to find out.
Balanced Difficulty Differences
Balanced is the game's default mode. It creates a challenge for veteran RPG players while not being so punishing that a beginner can't enjoy it. Shop prices are average, you have a decent chance of succeeding ability checks and attack rolls, and enemies won't catch you off guard with new strategies.
The Balanced difficulty will also allow you to multi-class if you wish to do so. If you find yourself struggling to get through fights on this mode, you can switch to the Explorer difficulty with one downside.
Explorer Difficulty Differences
Explorer mode is for those that only care about getting through the story of Baldur's Gate 3. Enemies don't have as much health, and you have a high chance of getting a +2 to your ability checks and attack rolls.
When you need to gear up, you can do so without completely emptying your coffers. The downside is that you can't multi-class while in Explorer mode.
Tactician Difficulty Differences
If you find that the default difficulty is too easy, Tactician mode will give you more of a challenge. Enemies have more health, and they're harder to hit. They're also more likely to hit and will strategize against you.
For example, if Gale has a negative status effect and is at a disadvantage, opponents may focus target him until he's down. Enemies will also have equipment they didn't have in the Balanced and Explorer versions of the fight.
In the other game difficulties, you can complete a long rest with 40 camp supplies. If you switch over to Tactician mode, you'll need 80. As you can see, this difficulty is not for the faint of heart.
Are You Stuck In Your Choice?
While you'll choose your difficulty at the start of the game, you're not stuck with it. If you want to try the Tactician difficulty, you can test the waters by going into the menu and switching to it for a single fight. If you can't handle it, you can load a previous save and switch back to Balanced as easily as you moved away from it.
If you've been beating your head against an impossible fight for hours, you can change the difficulty to Explorer, get through the encounter, and switch back after. You can manipulate shop prices in the same way.