Baldur’s Gate 3’s hirelings are a “blessing” in Honor Mode runs

Baldur's Gate 3 Concert Symphony of the RealmsLarian Studios

Baldur’s Gate 3’s Honor Mode is the game’s penultimate challenge but players have given their tips for hirelings that soften the experience.

It doesn’t get much tougher than Baldur’s Gate 3’s permadeath gauntlet Honor Mode. The slightest slip-up can end in a TPK that sends you straight back to the start of your adventure.

Tales of heartbreak are common from players attempting the challenge. Scratch is the biggest offender for bizarre Honor Mode failures thanks to a propensity for deadly games of fetch and a noted dislike for paintings.

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It’s not just the combat that makes Baldur’s Gate 3’s Honor Mode runs precarious of course. A number of mechanics receive alterations to make things more difficult. The game’s economy in particular takes a major hit but players have their tips to mitigate this using hirelings.

During Honor Mode, the Forgotten Realms get hit with a nasty bit of inflation and not only is gold harder to come by, item prices shoot up a fair bit. Fortunately, Reddit user HawkeyeP1 has a workaround and has explained why a particular type of hireling makes things a little more manageable.

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“Having a bard as a hireling who serves no other purpose but to go shopping with her +14 persuasion makes the prices bearable,” they elaborate. “It’s nice to not be short on anything because of the cranked-up gold system and not have to change the default classes of any of my companions.”

Yes, Bard Shadowheart is hilarious but she definitely makes a better Cleric in our experience. If you grab yourself a teammate for hire who’s been a Bard from the get-go, you can be “rich” by the third act. Even in Honor Mode.

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Honor Mode’s combat is always going to push you to the limit but at least with a Bard hireling, you’ll die rich. We’ll definitely be trying it out the next time we work up the courage for a run.