Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback Honor mode still too easy

BG3, by its very nature, cannot be genuinely difficult to play.

BG3 is very different from chess. The chess analog for BG3 is NOT applicable here. The difficulty of Chess can go infinitely high, without us changing anything. BG3? No way! BG3 is really just a role-play game, meant to be played by ordinary people for fun.

BG3 is more like high-school math. For those who have never received good education at the high-school level or higher, high-school math can be an impossible subject without getting another chance in their next life. However, for the majority of the human population who have received quality education, especially those who have additionally earned a college degree in math, physics, economics, engineering, etc., high-school math can be way too basic to them.

BG3 is similar: if you don't know much about it, it's so complicated and can be overwhelmingly difficult. However, once you have learned enough, especially after you have "solved" every battle and every quest in the game, you have learned at least one solution in each and every situation. What can still be difficult?

At the high school level, once we have learned enough, we may try out some really hard questions, such as those used in math competitions. However, as long as the questions can be solved at the high school level, given enough time and efforts, most high schoolers should be able to know how to solve those questions. Once they know the solutions, none of the questions can still feel hard.

BG3 is similar: once you have learned enough, you may try harder modes. However, after you have learned enough to beat the game on a higher difficulty level, like this Honor Mode, what can still feel hard?

Just like high-school math is only at the high school level. No matter how hard it can feel, it's not college math. if a high-school math question requires college-level math knowledge, it will be simply dropped completely by all high schools in the world, or only given to most gifted and talented students.

BG3 is similar: the difficulty of BG3 cannot go high beyond a certain limit. If a BG3 quest becomes impossible to handle by ordinary game players, this quest will be either dropped or changed.




That's exactly what happens to players who come back to replay BG3. The player as well as their skills stay the same, the game also stays the same, but the players' perceived difficulty of this game keeps dropping.

How so?


BG3 primarily only involves a test on player knowledge and it is meant for fun (so, there isn't anything beyond the common sense and everyday skills and abilities of most players). It does not involve any test on the players themselves.

To help explain that, let me talk about the "Veteran" mode in Call of Duty again.


"Veteran" of the Call of Duty is not just a test on a player's knowledge. Far more than that. It's, first and foremost a most stressful test on the player's reflex in using their gaming gear. The majority of players in the world are not supposed to be able to handle "Veteran" with ease. It's like running a Marathon under 3 or 4 hours. The majority of the 8 billion human population cannot handle a Marathon in their entire life, let alone completing it under less than a few hours. The same can be said of the "Veteran" mode.

"Honor Mode" remains to be primarily only a test on player knowledge and it's meant for fun too. On the player's part, the game only requires basic skills in using gaming gear to play video games. Given enough time (up to 1000+ hours, if necessary) to explore and practice, the majority of the players should be able to eventually handle the Honor mode with ease. After all, this Honor mode is meant only to relieve players of the burden of saving/reloading. Very little else, other than some "legendary" actions meant to scare off inexperienced players and help marketing this game.



Conclusions:

1) There is no way to logically and factually prove BG3 is difficult to play. Everything required to play this game reasonably well is well within the reach of most game players who have acquired basic gaming skills. To play BG3 well, players only need to find out a solution to each and every quest that they are supposed to deal with in the game. And these solutions, just like solutions for high-school math questions, can be shared among players in the same way as we share human knowledge. If one player can't figure out a solution, they can ask for it from others and then apply it in their own gameplay. As long as it's a good solution, everyone can use the same solution to complete the same quest and beat the same game on whatever difficulty level they choose.

2) Chess is totally different in that it puts up a test directly on the players themselves: their skills, talents, even genius in playing the game. The difficulty of the chess game itself never changes. But to play it well, one has to be really good at it. Although tips and solutions can be shared and taught to a certain extent, those few chess masters, even when blind-folded, have no trouble always figuring out a solution to defeat the majority of chest players on earth.

3) The Veteran mode of certain games also includes a test directly on the players themselves: their skills and reflex in using their gaming gear. The game stays the same and the Veteran mode is the same to all players. Yet, this is a mode supposed to be beyond the (easy) reach of most players on earth. Although tips and tricks can be shared among different players, one has to prove themselves truly good (and better than most) to beat the game on Veteran. They have to be super fast, super accurate while under enormous stress in order to defeat the game on Veteran. On the other hand, there have never been such demanding and stressful requirements on any of BG1, BG2, BG3 players.