Baldur's Gate 3 update hints at a new difficulty mode built for the most hardcore D&D fans of all

(Image credit: Larian Studios)

A new achievement has appeared in some versions of Baldur's Gate 3, seemingly hinting at a new difficulty mode built around permadeath.

Earlier this week, a number of players who own Baldur's Gate 3 on the GOG PC storefront found that a new achievement for the RPG had been added on that platform. Called 'Foehammer,' the achievement asks you to "complete the game in Honour mode." Equivalent achievements or trophies have not yet appeared on Steam or PS5, but it seems likely they'll soon follow.

Of course, the 'Honour mode' referenced in this achievement description has not yet been added to Baldur's Gate 3, so we don't know exactly how it'll work. But since developer Larian Studios included a mode with an identical name in its previous CRPG, Divinity: Original Sin 2, we can make some pretty good guesses.

In D:OS2, Honour mode is basically a hardcore permadeath option, similar to an XCOM-style Ironman mode. You only get a single save slot, the game autosaves regularly, and that save gets permanently deleted when you get a game over. You can, of course, replicate Honour mode by simply never reloading a save, but it feels more real when there's an actual mode to select and an achievement to earn, right?

Larian fans have been asking for an Honour mode option in Baldur's Gate 3 for some time, and for those of you who think even the maximum Tactician difficulty is too easy, well, it looks like the stakes are getting raised.

Baldur's Gate 3 players are sharing the game's rarest and best-hidden magical items, just in time for you to start planning your Honour mode playthrough in one of the best RPGs out there.

Dustin Bailey joined the GamesRadar team as a Staff Writer in May 2022, and is currently based in Missouri. He's been covering games (with occasional dalliances in the worlds of anime and pro wrestling) since 2015, first as a freelancer, then as a news writer at PCGamesN for nearly five years. His love for games was sparked somewhere between Metal Gear Solid 2 and Knights of the Old Republic, and these days you can usually find him splitting his entertainment time between retro gaming, the latest big action-adventure title, or a long haul in American Truck Simulator.