Baldur’s Gate 3 is a game with an indescribably expansive world with enemies of varying degrees of difficulty, most of which tend to get significantly harder on higher difficulties. In Baldur’s Gate 3, the hardest difficulty in the game is Honour Mode, which not only challenges players by limiting them to only a singular save, ending the game upon death, but also giving bosses Legendary Actions. Legendary Actions act as a new passive or mechanic for most major and mini-bosses in the game that adds a new layer of depth to their mechanics.

With this added difficulty, there are fights that players will typically want to avoid. Whether it be due to the fight being nearly impossible to complete at their current gear/level, or it’s requiring too much time and effort compared to the rewards. There are plenty of reasons to avoid certain fights in Honour Mode, because at the end of the day, if the player isn’t having fun, there’s typically no reason to struggle if it’s not required.

Bulette

The Scourge Of The Underdark

Deep within Baldur’s Gate 3‘s Underdark lies a boss that most players meet early on in their journey into this new area, the Bulette. While in a normal run, this boss is more of an annoyance rather than an issue, the added Legendary Action he receives in Honour Mode makes him an absolute threat and run-killer.

This Legendary Action, known as Shredding Scales, allows Bulette to have an additional passive called Diamond Scales, which provides 100 temporary health. When the temporary health is active, Bulette will ignore any damage under 15, become grounded, and cast Shredding Scales which will damage and bleed nearby allies.

Not only is this battle quite difficult, especially for lower-level teams, but it also doesn’t provide any rewards to the player, which makes it not worth the effort. Bulette can also run away at any point during the fight and appear at different points in the Underdark, meaning that any attempt to fight him can be suddenly ended by his own will rather than by the player.

Grym

The Guardian Of The Forge

Grym is a powerful Adamantine Golem who lies within the Grymforge, waiting for any who dare to attempt to use the Adamantine Forge. This is a completely optional boss who already poses an incredibly difficult challenge normally, but this is made even harder within Honour Mode. The Legendary Action Grym receives is known as Adamantine Reverberation, which gives Grym 10 additional hit points the first time after taking damage each round.

When the temporary hit points are applied to Grym, his movement speed will double. But when the player manages to remove the hit points, Grym will release an AOE thunder damage attack around him in a small area, which hurts quite a bit.

While the loot from this fight is actually fairly decent, it’s incredibly risky and can easily end Honour Mode runs if any mistakes are made or if the player gets a bit unlucky. There are many strategies that players can take to make the Grym fight easier, but in general it’s not worth risking hours of Honour Mode gameplay just to attempt it.

Phase Spider Matriarch

The Queen Of Webs

The Queen of phase spiders, who lives deep inside the caves of Act 1, is known as the Phase Spider Matriarch. She presents quite a difficult challenge that can easily deter players, especially due to the presence of her spiderlings, which can require the player to have multiple AOE to take them out in a timely manner. This is especially important as, in Honour Mode, she gains the Legendary Action called Gossamer Tomb, which causes enemies who attack spiderlings to be infested (preventing moving or actions) and eventually explode after 3 turns, dealing poison damage to the target and anyone near them.

While this may not be the hardest fight on this list, it is still a completely avoidable fight that doesn’t really provide players with much in terms of value. It offers an alternate way into the Underdark, which isn’t that useful, and an orb which is used for the Necromancy of Thay, which is nice but inconsequential at best. Players at this stage would also be quite low-level and typically lack the tools to take down this boss without proper preparation, which isn’t quite worth it, given the rewards.

Inquisitor W’wargaz

The Psionic Swordsman

The head of one of Queen Vlaakith’s crèches in Baldur’s Gate 3 is none other than Inquisitor W’wargaz, who is a boss the player can potentially fight in the later parts of Act 1. Inquisitor W’wargaz is a boss which tends to be quite easy, but becomes a different beast when fought in Honour Mode. He gains the Legendary Action Mind-Claw of Tu’narath, which summons two psionic blades when he or his comrades are attacked by the player. This can cause the fight to feel like it’s on a timer to kill W’wargaz or else players will be quickly be overwhelmed.

Inquisitor W’wargaz will show up in Act 3 inside the Emperor’s Hideout if he’s not defeated in Act 1. This might be preferable to fighting him in Act 1 as players have more tools available to deal with him at that point.

Inquisitor W’wargaz is the final boss of the crèche, but he’s still technically an optional boss. The party doesn’t need to completely finish the crèche storyline to continue to Act 2, though there is the risk of Lae’zel leaving, but it is possible to keep her if the correct dialogue options are selected.

Viconia DeVir

The Mother Superior Of Shar’s Temple

Located inside the House of Grief, Viconia is an old face to fans of the Baldur’s Gate franchise, and she comes in the form of a very interesting boss fight in Baldur’s Gate 3. Unlike most bosses on this list, her Legendary Action only does anything if the player has a specific Mapping of the Heart status effect. This, however, can be avoided if you have Shadowheart talk to Viconia or simply pass an investigation check to find the button. That being said, this is a fight that can require a ton of preparation and can be quite risky even in normal runs.

If you choose to challenge Viconia, summons are greatly appreciated in this fight, as it lowers the pressure of facing numerous enemies. It’s also best to summon these before the fight begins, as summoning them mid-fight can cause issues.

This fight is closely tied to Shadowheart’s personal quest, so it might feel required to players who care about her character quite a bit. But, if clearing Honour Mode is the main and only goal, this fight is an easy choice to skip, both time-wise and due to the fact the loot is only decent compared to most Act 3 rewards. That being said, if Shadowheart goes down a darker path, and kills the Nightsong, this could make the fight much easier.

Cazador

The Vampire Lord

Cazador is a relatively straight-forward fight that tries to overpower the party with raw power and numbers. Though there are strategies to make the fight much simpler, any mistakes can quickly cost you a run. Cazador also has the option to use his Legendary Action called Vampiric Swarm, which knocks back allies and potentially inflicts the swarm status effect. This will not only deal piercing damage, but heal Cazador each turn, making it something that must be avoided at all costs.

Cazador, similarly to Viconia, is deeply tied with Astarion’s personal quest. It can actually be detrimental to bring him into the fight as well, due to the fact you must save him in a limited time or else he will permanently die. But if players wish to fight Cazador and keep Astarion in their party, he must be brought, as he will leave the party otherwise.

Sarevok

Head Of The Murder Tribunal

Sarevok is possibly one of the most vicious boss fights in Baldur’s Gate 3 and can end runs even if the player is well-prepared for the fight. His Legendary Action (which he shares with Orin) is Murderous Retort, which causes him to counterattack once every turn. While this may not seem like a very threatening Legendary Action, it can quickly devastate tanks or melee attackers if you aren’t careful. As the fight progresses, and his minions die, he’ll get even stronger based off the buffs they give him, but killing him first isn’t a smart option, unlike other bosses.

Sarevok is an encounter that actually has additional rewards for not fighting him and simply siding with him, though it is the morally incorrect option. This will also cause Jaheira and Minsc to leave the party if they are recruited at this point. While it can seem like a bad choice, you only really benefit if you are not planning on using Jaheira or Minsc.

Lord Enver Gortash

The Chosen Of Bane

Gortash is one of the main antagonists of Baldur’s Gate 3 and is chosen by the God of Tyranny, Bane. Gortash is a boss that requires multiple steps and a long questline if you want to fight him on fair ground, but that doesn’t make him easy. He’ll always have multiple allies surrounding him and fights in a way that not only supports his allies, but makes him incredibly difficult to kill.

He also has a Legendary Action called Tyrannical Branding, which will cause Gortash to curse anyone who attacks him once per turn. If this curse is not removed, it will deal an incredible amount of damage to the target, along with buffing Gortash and his allies.

Gortash, despite being a main antagonist, can be sided with (or his deal accepted, at least). This will cause the player to lose favor with most allies, especially Karlach, as she doesn’t take this revelation well at all. Unlike Sarevok, this wouldn’t cause her to leave automatically unless the relationship with Karlach was already fairly low. There’s also not much achieved in terms of loot from killing Gortash, as his Netherstone isn’t required if taking his side.

Ansur

The Heart Of The Gate

Ansur is possibly one of the most challenging encounters in Baldur’s Gate 3. He’s a giant dragon who definitely makes himself known with attacks that have a large AOE and that deal an absurd amount of damage to players and their teams. To make it even worse, Ansur has the Legendary Action Draconic Wrath, which allows him to counterattack anyone that hits him with his lightning breath once per turn.

Ansur actually has pretty good loot in the form of two legendary items, but due to the nature of the fight, it’s hardly worth it in an Honour Mode run. The fight itself also happens very late into Act 3, when the main goal at that point would be to simply beat Honour Mode. Players at that point will also typically have set builds, so the legendary items, despite their power, usually won’t be beneficial to players at that point.

Raphael

The Handsome Devil

Raphael is unquestionably one of the hardest bosses in Baldur’s Gate 3. He’s a constant looming threat even as early as Act 1 and his fight does this devil justice as it tests everything the player’s learned until that point. Raphael is also the only boss to gain two Legendary Actions in Honour Mode. This includes Beguiling Rebuke, with which the attacker and their closest ally are charmed, and Soul Ascension, which launches a column of souls that buffs his allies and does necrotic damage to enemies.

As long as Raphael’s deal isn’t taken, there will never be a reason to fight him at all. That being said, if the player does take his deal for the item he can give them, it will simply alter the ending. The worst part about not fighting Raphael is the fact that some pretty great items will be missed, but the fight itself is incredibly risky, especially since it can only be accessed late into Baldur’s Gate 3‘s third act.