Baldur’s Gate 3is not an easy game to 100%. Apart from how generally massive the game is, there are 54 different achievements to be gathered. While many of them are fairly simple, related to completing certain (unmissable) story eventsand completing companion storylines, many of them are hyper-specific, requiring you to commit to a particular playstyle. Some of the requirements aren’t exactly clear, especially if it’s your first time playing - although you may know your end goal, the particular conditions required to get there may be a lot more complicated than they seem.
Certain achievements, though, really stand out. Whether it’s because of their highly specific requirements that demand you use a particular playstyle, or their nature as easily fumbled tasks,these ten achievements are the hardest to pull off in a singleBaldur’s Gate 3playthrough.
10Busker Is Only For The Hardcore Bards
Gain 100 Gold From Playing Music
Busker may seem like a relatively easy achievement to get on its face. Simply put,it requires you to earn 100 gold simply from performing in public placesover the course of a single playthrough. However, there are many variables involved in this achievement, the first being that you’ll need Proficiency in a musical instrument: i.e., you’ll either have toplay as a bard, or to make certain specific choices in your first interaction with Alfira.
Besides that, there’s the simple fact thatmoney from busking is never guaranteed- and when it does come in, you don’t get much of it. You’ll have to play your chosen instrument in all sorts of public squares, and simply hope that there are enough NPCs around to reward you.
9Escapologist Requires A Demanding Escape
Break Out Of Prison After Being Arrested
Crime and punishment is complicated inBaldur’s Gate 3. If you’re caught committing a minor offense in public, you’ll be hauled off to jail, and will need to mount a daring escape before resuming your playthrough. This one varies a bit based on the jail you get placed in, butall of them have unique and complex conditions for escapethat can be quite difficult to satisfy.
Sneaking past the guards itself can be quite difficult, unless you havean excellent stealth build. Couple that with the fact thatyou lose all your weapons when you go to jail, and you’ll find yourself in quite a pickle. Plus, you need to verify you’re committing crimes in places where you won’t just be immediately attacked.
8Reading Is Fundamental For The Bookworm Achievement
For the Bookworm achievement, you’ll have to read 100 books over the course of your playthrough, which is much more difficult than it sounds. First, there’sthe trouble of finding 100 books; you’ll be scouring shelves almost everywhere you go, cursing whenever you find a duplicate edition ofA Is for Azuth. In a touch of mercy, most letters and documents also count towards your total, so you’ll rack up a few points just completing the campaign.
There are well more than 100 books inBaldur’s Gate 3, so you don’t need to find every single one.
Next, there’sthe actual act of reading all 100 books. Look, you don’t necessarily have to read them, but you should - it’s against the spirit of the achievement to do otherwise. Just don’t get mad at me when you’re bogged down inVolo’s Complete Guide to the Behaviour of Nymphs.
7Devil’s In The Details Is An Early-Game Show Of Strength
Beat Commander Zhalk On The Nautiloid
Near the end ofBG3’s tutorial, you’ll come upon the cambion Commander Zhalk, who’s decidedly out of your pay grade. You’re explicitly instructed to ignore and avoid him in your mad dash to the Nautiloid’s controls - butif you don’t, and manage to defeat him, you’ll be treated to the Devil’s in the Details achievement.
It’s not entirely impossible, butZhalk is level eight- much stronger than your puny, level one character at the point you encounter him. If it’s your first playthrough, and you’re still getting used to the ins and outs of combat, you’re in for an especially tough fight. You’ll need to buff your characters, debuff Zhalk, and let Lae’zel tank, then hope for the best.
6She Cannot Be Caged Can Have Serious Consequences
Free Sazza, Thrice
We’ve all wondered what to do with Sazza when we first encounter her at the Druid Grove. First, there’s a prickly conversation with the tieflings who guard her - if you’re trying to stay diplomatic here, you’ll find it difficult to navigate, especially if you don’t know the particular political ins and outs of the Sword Coast yet. Successfully escort her out of the grove, defending her from either tieflings or goblins, andyou’ll have completed the first step of She Cannot Be Caged - but you still have a long way to go.
To fully complete this achievement,you’ll have to vouch for Sazza in two separate places: the Goblin Camp, where you’ll defend her from Minthara’s wrath, then Moonrise Towers, where she’s threatened by Ketheric Thorm. Miss a dialogue check or progress the story too far, and she’s dead.
5Crash Landing Demands Perfect Timing
Kill Ansur While He’s Flying
Completing the Crash Landing achievement first requires you to engage withBG3’s most underdeveloped companion questline - Wyll’s. (He deserved so much better.) That’s hard enough on its own, but when you get to the end, you’ll face the undead dragon Ansur, a difficult boss fight in its own right. But that’s not all - you’ll also have toknock Ansur out of the air while he’s gathering powerin order to get this achievement.
It’s tough to get the timing righton this one. If you’re not perfectly poised to deal enough damage to Ansur while he’s flying above you, then you can easily miss your opportunity. You can’t use this brief respite to heal or buff up, and instead have to focus all your energy on attacking.
4Jack-Of-All-Trades Requires A Specific (And Unusual) Build
Multiclass Into Every Class
In order to get the Jack-Of-All-Trades achievement,you’ll have to multiclass into every single class available in a single playthrough, without ever asking Withers to respec your character. This isn’t necessarily difficult to do -there are 12 classes, so by the time you hit the game’s level cap, you should have enough time to achieve it.
What is hard, however, is playing the rest of the game withthe weird franken-build you wind up with by the end. You’ll only have the first-level perks from every class, each of which is so radically different from the next that you won’t be able to master most weapons, your spellbooks will be limited, and you’ll be weighed down with all the gear you have to carry around.
3A Grym Fate Puts Unnecessary Restrictions On An Already Difficult Fight
Beat The Adamantine Golem Without The Forge Hammer
The battle against the adamantine golem Grym is already a difficult one. Resistant to basically everything, its only weakness is the lava that you can funnel into the arena, which softens its exoskeleton and opens it up to damage, but is also deadly to your characters. The trick to this fight is to lure Grym onto the anvil, then activate the forge hammer, slamming it down for a massive hit. However, in order to get the achievement A Grym Fate,you can’t use the hammer at all- you’ll have to beat it using only the weapons and spells you have on hand.
Grym always attacks the character who most recently damaged it, so plan your attacks well.
Really,the only way to pull this off is to have a good party with lots of tanky characters wielding bludgeoning weapons, which Grym becomes weak to once exposed to the lava. I got caught here with Gale and Shadowheart in the party, which was, simply put, a problem. You’ll also need a decent healer, because Grym does a lot of damage, and can easily kill you in a couple of turns. This fight may also take a few tries - if you slip into the lava, your HP will melt away before you even realize your mistake.
2For Foehammer, You Must Play On The Highest Difficulty
Beat BG3 On Honour Mode
Baldur’s Gate 3has four preset difficulty modes, the most difficult of which is Honour Mode. In order to get the Foehammer achievement,you’ll have to beat the entire game on Honour Mode, which is far easier said than done. Most obviously, it makes the enemies - especially the bosses - significantly more difficult, with unique attacks that only exist on Honour Mode. You’ll also see a difficulty spike in the action economy and damage bonuses near endgame.
But by farthe hardest part of beatingBG3on Honour Modeis the fact thatyou only get one save file. If you make a mistake, you’re stuck with it; and if your party wipes, your Honour Mode run is over. You can keep playing with adjustable difficulty settings as a practice run, but it doesn’t count for the achievement.
1Leave No One Behind Is BG3’s Hardest Achievement
Save All The Tieflings
The hardest achievement inBaldur’s Gate 3, far and away, is Leave No One Behind. In order to get this achievement,you have to save every single tiefling in the game. This means taking a particular route, siding with the tieflings in the Druid Grove and Moonrise Tower, which is easy enough. However, you’ll also have to verify you don’t let any of them die when they rush into combat, which is tough. NPCs are stupid and will often get themselves killed, so you’ll find yourself spending a lot of time healing them, and restarting fights pretty often.
To make matters worse, there are several hidden tieflings throughout the game. If you miss the tiefling kid being attacked by harpies, or don’t find the imprisoned tieflings at Moonrise, you won’t get this achievement, setting you back on your long journey to the platinum inBaldur’s Gate 3.
