My Baldur's Gate 3 no weapons challenge is well and truly underway. Having finally inched my way into Act 2, things are starting to get spicy – and oh boy, am I suffering.
Join the GamesRadar+ RPG Club: Every month we pick a new RPG to play together. In August we are diving back into Baldur's Gate 3. So gather your party, stock up on supplies, and get ready to share your stories around the RPG Club campfire
If you're new to the RPG Club, welcome. You might want to start with my first entry in this four-part series if this is your first time joining us. For returning adventurers, you'll know the score. I'm going back through one of my favorite games of all time and applying a strict new set of rules: no weapons, ever. The consequences of this restriction are starting to rear their ugly heads in the most unexpected ways – including impacting the areas I choose to explore versus ignoring entirely.
In a regular playthrough, my path of choice to the Shadow-cursed Lands would take me through the Underdark. There are a few cool tools to pick up in the gloomy depths, from sussur bark needed to craft a masterwork weapon to the Phalar Aluve longsword. But weaponry is the farthest thing from my mind this time around.
Quest Log
1. Weapons-Free
No melee or ranged weapons. If you can hold it in your hand and hurt someone with it, it's a no.
2. Lighten Up
Torches may be used, but only to light dark areas or combat shadow curse.
3. Be Kind
Sometimes you need to respec your character – we all make mistakes. But only once per Act.
4. Safety First
Shields can be equipped but only to buff armor class, not as secret melee weapons.
Monastic crimes in hands-free times
Instead of powerful blades, glaives, and crossbows, I'm opting for scrolls, grease, and tavern brawling. Which means I've made the executive decision to skip the Underdark completely and take the mountain pass shortcut into Act 2, even though it means losing out on more opportunities to level-up.
Since my last post, I've successfully cleared Act 1. The goblin camp was a doozy (dropped Minthara down a hole with a trusty firebolt, poisoned the goblins' beer supply) and I made my way to Rosymorn Trail shortly after. There, I killed Lady Esther for The Graceful Cloth monk robes, successfully broke the zaith'isk at Crèche Y'llek, and managed to slip out of the monastery without succumbing to the siren song of the Blood of Lathander mace lurking beneath it.
I know, I know. It feels close to sacrilege to skip one of the coolest dungeons in the game – if not the coolest. But this is just one of many moments that is rendered completely superfluous when weapons are out of the question.
Instead, I'm all about speed and efficiency. I hit Level 5 right as my party heads up the Mountain Pass toward the Shadow-cursed Lands, and I already know what to expect. Two Death Shepherds will be roaming ahead, alongside a handful of ghast minions, so I have Shadowheart with me to take Spirit Guardians out for a spin. I'm already regretting not doubling back to grab the Luminous Armor from the Selunite temple beneath the goblin camp, but truthfully, I hadn't trusted myself to be able to turn back once making it that far – the entrance to the Underdark is close by after all.
Luckily, a cleric's spells are incredibly powerful with or without that one piece of kit. Spirit Guardians is the kind of spell I refuse to do without in Baldur's Gate 3. Who needs a weapon when I can just have Shadowheart dash into the battlefield while the undead charge dumbly into her personal space, bursting into holy flames one by one? Between being well-prepared with Shadowheart at the ready and pelting any stragglers with Fireball, I manage to decimate these Level 6 nemeses with relative ease.
It reminds me just how simple it is to get to Act 2 when you skip the Underdark and all its fascinating distractions, opting instead for a practical approach I'd usually shy away from.
Dark and dangerous
Contrary to many, Act 2 is my favorite part of Baldur's Gate 3. I love the menacing darkness of The Shadow-cursed Lands, especially when I have a cleric in tow. However, my challenge difficulty goes up quite a few notches very quickly.
Well, the FOMO side of it does. Reaching Last Light Inn and seeing all of Quartermaster Tali's delightful swords and axes on display is just the beginning – Act 2 is going to be hard without the reliable tools I'd ordinarily depend upon.
I regretfully sell a powerful helmet found in the Mason's Guild basement since it buffs weapon attacks I don't have access to. I can't buy a piece of Barbarian armor for Karlach at Moonrise Towers since its main perk is buffing melee weapon damage, so I'm glad I took time to check the tooltip before purchasing. I even hesitate for a moment before letting Shadowheart cut herself with a dagger in the secret Sharran sanctuary, but since she never actually equips it in more than a cutscene, I let it slide.
While there are some things I am missing by skipping the Underdark, there are plenty of workarounds. I take extra care to be thorough in Act 2, seeking out opportunities I'd usually skim past in order to speed things up. The one that stands out the most in the Selunite Resistance.
For the first time ever, I discovered Selunite outposts dotted across the map, from the basement of the Last Light to a forgotten chest nearby those pesky Meazels that ambush you outside the bridge towards the Towers. This side quest leads me to find the Luminous Gauntlets and Coruscation Ring, each applying stacks of damage output-reducing Radiating Orb to all enemies hit by radiant spells.
It immediately makes all the fights against shadow-cursed enemies much snappier – especially the one against Flaming Fist Marcus, where I successfully protect Isobel thanks to the Turn Undead spell, Guiding Bolt, and Karlach throwing the traitor at his Winged Horror minions.
Later, I manage to find the Ring of Spiteful Thunder to pair with the Gloves of Belligerent Skies, creating an excellent Reverberation build for my draconic lightning sorcerer. I've never been so specific in my build-crafting before, and now I don't even feel bad about missing the Boots of Stormy Clamour down in the Underdark.
Throwing down the gauntlet (of Shar)
The finish line is well in sight, folks – at least as far as finishing up in the Shadow-cursed lands. I didn't expect a no weapons run to change up my approach to the story path itself, but taking stock of my journey so far, it's affected far more than just combat encounters.
While I'm feeling good about my choice to take the Mountain Pass to Act 2, I know that the journey to Baldur's Gate itself will be much more straightforward. I don't have to choose my path as wisely this time (there's just the one after all), but I've learned some valuable lessons about choosing my side quests and party makeup more carefully.
I try to keep to the usual structure of balancing spellcasters with melee fighters, and I'm delighted to report that watching Karlach and Lae'zel throw Shadow-cursed Harpers at one another is just as effective as hitting them with a giant hammer. I do, however, find myself wanting to respec my party yet again from time to time, though I've only done so once in Act 2 so far, as per my ruleset.
Gale's our new Necromancer, for no other reason than I was finding very little use for his talents when a sorcerer is so powerful, and as I inch toward the RPG's biggest maps, I'm planning some fairly sweeping respecs for my team very soon. But we'll save that for next time, after my battle against Ketheric.
