Given the flexibility afforded to players in , it stands to reason that many would use this freedom to create some truly punishing challenges but perhaps one of the most brutal has just been conquered. Without players self-imposing any limitations upon themselves, the most punishing way to play through Larian Studios' RPG is Honor Mode, a setting that's designed to eliminate most of the exploits players often use to work around some of the difficult encounters. Still, even with only a single save and permadeath, that just wasn't enough for some.
What may be 's most punishing self-imposed challenge has just been completed by streamer Luality, who shared a video of their success on X (formerly Twitter).
They managed to complete the entire campaign without any Companions, Long or Short Rests, Trading or Stealing from NPCS, using Tadpoles, and talking to Withers to respec their build or recruit hirelings. Luality's excitement for completing the run is certainly warranted given the number of restrictions in place, especially when the challenge was completed within Honor Mode, meaning they weren't allowed to die once.
Karlach has a bittersweet fate at the end of Baldur's Gate 3, and this is why she won't go back to the hells alone to save herself from overheating.
Despite their incredible success, Luality isn't yet ready to call it a day on, suggesting that they already have some ideas on how to design an even more punishing campaign. What they are remains to be seen but it's difficult to imagine making the experience even more challenging. In explaining how they completed the most recent run, Luality notes that their character was never able to regain Spell Slots, due to their inability to Rest, and all healing had to be done with potions found naturally in the world.
Without taking into consideration the lack of resources and assistance that can generally be found in a normal game of, what further adds to the complexity of Luality's Honor run is the element of luck.
Read more on screenrant.com