What is the hardest difficulty in Baldur's Gate 3? Exploring the Tactician mode from Panel from Hell's livestream

The gaming community might be in a pickle if the Tactician difficulty in Baldur's Gate 3 works, as shown in the Panel from Hell livestream. Larian Studios’ CRPGs have a repertoire for throwing challenges at players to ensure they use their wits to win a battle. While these games are difficult, the harder tests always excite those who prefer to face a true challenge.

It has been known that Baldur’s Gate 3 will feature different difficulty levels. The Tactician level might not be available yet in early access, but it will be ready come August 3 when the global PC release occurs.

If the Panel from Hell is any indicator, this hardcore difficulty mode could truly challenge the very experts of this genre.

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How hard will the Tactician difficulty be in Baldur's Gate 3?

Baldur’s Gate 3, even at the weakest difficulty, will be challenging for beginners. Experienced players, however, will want to face a stronger hurdle, and Larian Studios has ensured that every community member can satisfy their skills.

According to senior combat designer Matt Holland, the Tactician difficulty will increase the challenge two-fold. On the one hand, it will make enemies tankier, improving their accuracy in Baldur's Gate 3. Conversely, this difficulty will also raise the odds against players.

"We have it in two layers: there's the base layer that all the characters in the game are gonna get⁠—that's the basics like just increasing HP or making it easier to hit you. Then there's the local layer. We've gone through every single combat in our game and we've added little bits of spice to make that combat shine just a little bit hotter and be that much harder."

During the Livestream, Larian Studios went on to show what exactly the difference will be. The developers played the same scene once in Normal and then in Tactician. What was a relatively simple job in standard became much more difficult. The goblins were stronger, and the environment was conducive to the weapons they were using.

This hardcore difficulty is as intended and meant to be played by masters of the genre. According to Larian, the AI might first target weaker enemies at this difficulty level. Based on what creative director Swen Vincke claimed, the highest difficulty of Baldur's Gate 3 could easily be the toughest test.

It remains to be seen who will be brave enough to try it. Baldur's Gate 3 is currently available on PC in early access, and the global release is scheduled for August 3, followed by a PlayStation 5 launch on September 6.