Masochists only: You have to try these brutal Baldur’s Gate 3 custom rules

Even for a seasoned gamer, acclaimed CRPG Baldur’s Gate 3 can be devilishly difficult—but what if it was downright soul-crushing? One streamer sought to find out and has now beaten Baldur’s Gate 3 using the strictest possible set of self-imposed rules. This isn’t your average D&D campaign.

BG3 streamer Luality has previously completed challenge runs such as beating the entire game solo and smiting Raphael in a single turn, but this latest feat puts all of those to shame, making her worthy of the Crown of Karsus.

In addition to playing on Honor Mode, which is Baldur’s Gate 3‘s almost impossibly hard maximum difficulty, Luality also restricted herself from using any companions, resting in any capacity, buying, selling and stealing, using tadpoles to power up, and talking to Withers.

On top of that, all healing was limited to potions found in the world, and spell slots were simply gone once they were expended—no more Magic Missile. It almost goes without saying, but a single death would have ended the run.

Just to recap, the BG3 rules Luality imposed were:

• No companions
• No resting
• No buying, selling, or stealing items
• No tadpole power-ups
• You cannot speak to Withers
• All healing limited to potions found in the world
• Spell slots cannot be refreshed
• Death ends the run

Still, against all odds, Luality was able to take down the Nether Brain, striking the final blow with a magic arrow rather than a heroic swipe of the sword or ultimate spell. Desperate times call for desperate measures, it seems, and the mental image of a sleep-deprived hero lobbing an arrow at this massive brain to take it down is admittedly very funny. If you’re a gaming masochist that would make Loviatar blush, it’s worth trying these rules.

Not content to rest on her laurels, however, Luality has already been talking about making the next run even harder and is already cooking up ideas about how. I shudder to imagine what that could possibly mean, or how any more difficulty could possibly be squeezed out of the game. Playing without any weapons whatsoever, maybe?

Whatever the future of BG3 challenge runs looks like, it’s a good bet Luality will be there on the front lines, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in Faerun.