Every Dungeons & Dragons player can relate to a sadistic Dungeon Master who’s hell-bent on making life as miserable as can be for you. And, while this can make your campaign a living hell, you’d have to admit that it makes it a lot more fun. If this is more up to your speed, Larian Studios might just have something for you with the release of Baldur’s Gate 3’s most ruthless difficulty setting, the Tactician.
If the recent Panel from Hell is any indication, Baldur’s Gate 3’s Tactician difficulty is the virtual embodiment of a vindictive DM – one who’s not just out to ruin your in-game day, but keen to remind you that it’s entirely your own fault.
While Explorer mode offers a gentle stroll through the game, and the default Balanced mode promises a fair blend of fun and challenge, Tactician is something else entirely – an intricate and brutal ballet of complex combat, intelligent AI, and meticulously designed encounters that Larian’s devs promise will leave you gasping for breath and begging for mercy.
Larian’s recent Panel from Hell stream shed some light on Baldur’s Gate 3’s difficulty levels. Senior combat designer, Matt Holland, in particular, was there to give us the skinny on this new mode, likening it to a merciless DM, one that takes joy in pushing players to their absolute limits. It’s been dialed up to levels that Holland and the creative director, Swen Vinckem, describe as “brutal.” This means that when the AI is in control, the heat of the battle ratchets up several notches, with the enemies exhibiting a savage smartness, environmental hazards becoming more lethal, and different loadouts transforming routine encounters into high-stakes tests of strategy and skill.
Rather than simply increasing enemy HP or boosting their accuracy rolls, Tactician mode redesigns every encounter in the game, ramping up enemy placements, environmental factors, and AI complexity. As a result, all of the encounters become less like skirmishes and more akin to intricate puzzles, fraught with danger and bursting with strategic opportunities.
Be prepared to encounter unexpected goblin snipers raining down fire arrows from rooftops, explosive traps at every turn, and enemies that make full use of their environment to turn the tables on you, because that’s what it’ll be like – and more.
The challenges of Tactician mode aren’t confined to the battlefield, however. The ruthless AI permeates the entirety of the game, forcing players to exploit every available tool, tactic, and ability to survive. Enemies will target vulnerable characters to interrupt their concentration spells, instead of mindlessly charging into the Cloud of Dangers spell you’ve laid in their path. You’ll need to outsmart and outmaneuver your foes, making full use of the game’s ruleset to gain every possible advantage, lest you get obliterated, as Vincke puts it.
Playing on Tactician isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s a level of difficulty that will truly test your mettle, requiring a deep and intricate knowledge of the game’s mechanics and a sharp strategic mind. As Vincke cautioned, “You’re going to start playing on Tactician because you can handle it, then you’re going to start crying. You’re going to say our game is bad. It’s not our fault – it’s you!”
To all the brave adventurers thinking about waltzing into Tactician mode, know this: you’re in for a hell of an experience. It isn’t just a game mode; it’s a full-on test of your RPG skills, knowledge, and strategic acumen. And yet, if you’re like many who found Divinity: Original Sin 2 challenging on the standard difficulty, you might want to reconsider.
Then again, where’s the fun in backing down from a challenge? For those who yearn for that razor’s edge of difficulty, who crave the joy of overcoming insurmountable odds, the Tactician mode in Baldur’s Gate 3 promises an experience unlike any other. The question is, are you ready for the dance?
To quote Vincke, “Just go back to Balanced, that’s how it’s intended to be. If you go to Tactician you’ve got to know what you’re doing, because otherwise you really do get creamed. I speak from experience.”
The Nine Hells of difficulty await you in Baldur’s Gate 3’s Tactician mode from August 3. Until then, you better prepare your strategies, sharpen your skills, and brace yourself for the dance of your life.
And remember: If you find yourself weeping at the brutality of it all, remember that it’s not the game’s fault – it’s you.
