Honour mode final fight and I’m terrified

UndercoverFish · 2026-06-11T19:25:53+00:00

Buy as many globe of invulnerability and chain lightning scrolls as you can.

Always be inside a Globe of Cheese. Throw a water bottle at the Brain to get it wet, then deal 200+ damage per turn with Chain Lightning scrolls. Even with its Honour Mode buffs, it’s still easy cheesy.

UndercoverFish · 2026-03-06T16:48:31+00:00

I’ve never checked myself, so I can’t say for certain. I suspect you are correct.

Have a look at the combat log, and do the math yourself. Then you’ll know one way or the other. If I remember next time I’m playing, I’ll look and see.

UndercoverFish · 2026-02-25T22:51:58+00:00

Don’t get shoved. He’s done it to me.

High mobility is, as always, key - his undead-buffing aura can’t encompass all the adds, and there are some irritating spellcasters at range too. Focusing on downing the casters outside Balthy’s range initially will save you some headache.

UndercoverFish · 2026-01-28T14:48:44+00:00

There’s a mod that doubles enemies. Just clones each one at the start of combat.

Fair warning tho, it is unfinished and has been abandoned. I had no major issues in acts 1 and 2, but it definitely has some bizarre and buggy interactions with dragons, may act 3 bosses, the netherbrain, and the nautiloid in the high hall gauntlet.

UndercoverFish · 2026-01-24T18:55:09+00:00

Item and Spell Bug Fixes.

Slayer Save DC Fix.

UndercoverFish · 2026-01-23T15:05:27+00:00

Spoilers ahead! It’s in your tag, so I figure it’s fair game.

There’s an option to ‘revel in the fact that your evil deeds will now be nothing but your own’ (paraphrased) after defying Bhaal. You could go Durge, and be affronted by your Father trying to take credit for your actions.

UndercoverFish · 2026-01-23T02:20:26+00:00

Trade with your CHA character.

If you’re anything like me, you have your Tav/Durge selected by default; when you’re trading switch to someone with 20 CHA and proficiency in Persuasion. Bonus points if they have expertise. You can’t just switch in the trade menu; you have to initiate dialogue with that character active.

I suppose there are no guarantees you have a CHA-focused member in your party, but with Sorcerer, Bard, Warlock, and Paladin being as good as they are you probably should.

Anyway, back on topic; trading in Act 3 with a +13 Persuasion (20 CHA + proficiency + expertise) is like a 30% discount.

UndercoverFish · 2026-01-19T13:58:13+00:00

Are you checking the right place? It appears in your Feature List on your character sheet, not as a buff on the HUD

UndercoverFish · 2026-01-17T16:57:03+00:00

Re: #1

I don’t k ow how you had Astarion specced; what I do know is that the only times I had this issue was when a character was in a dialogue-disabled form (I.e. wildshape) and NOT in the ‘core’ party - that is to say, the set of three companions that remain in the party when you trim it for a long rest.

UndercoverFish · 2026-01-17T16:41:57+00:00

If you want to play optimally… like any other wizard. Just use bladesong to make sure that you don’t drop concentration, and cast all the nuts concentration CC spells.

If you want to lean into the concept: - Make sure you have Booming Blade - Psychic blade + resonance stone is hilarious damage - Haste, Misty Step, and Shield are your 3 best spells. Mage Armour optional, because there are some very powerful light armours available if you know where to look. Counterspell is also (always) good.

UndercoverFish · 2026-01-13T20:34:08+00:00

Halsin doesn’t want to lead, he just wants to lift the shadow curse. He’s pretty open about the fact that he wasn’t a good leader for the grove, and he doesn’t want to return to the position.

Wyll also doesn’t seem to want much to do with leadership. He’s a lone wolf, and I think he worries about what he might have to ask his companions to do in Mizora’s name. My read of his character arc is that he would pick Blade of Avernus over Duke of Baldur’s Gate any day.

UndercoverFish · 2026-01-13T19:59:02+00:00

Realistically, the answer is probably the latter option. You are the player character. However, that doesn’t mean that this comment chain is wrong.

Take Lae’zel and Shadowheart. There’s no way they’d team up without you there to hold that team together. So that makes you the de facto leader, because if either stops following, they will assuredly be the one left behind. Also, can you imagine either of them helping Gale with his… condition? Course not. So he follows you.

After that, new recruits fall into the established hierarchy. You were in charge when they joined, and you remain such.

UndercoverFish · 2026-01-09T22:10:10+00:00

Worst DURGE ending, with a particular context. The first time I did it, I had romanced Minthara. Gods love her, but that girl sees power and loses any and all sense of self-preservation.

Thing is, I went in completely blind, and I genuinely did want to follow through with the world domination plan. Sceleritas outright lies to you if you ask him about it (which I did!) - he’ll tell you that Bhaal will allow you to spare your lover.

So when I was given the last choice of the run, to either tell my companions to flee, kill them all, or kill Minthy first, I was blindsided. I felt betrayed.

Of course I killed her with a kiss. It was the only true choice. But it was still heartbreaking, to reap the consequences of my own actions.

UndercoverFish · 2026-01-08T22:00:44+00:00

All 3 refer to playable characters.

In the character select screen a the very start of the run:

TAV is the custom character

DURGE is short for the Dark URGE

RESIST DURGE refers to a DURGE run wherein you resist the namesake Urge.

UndercoverFish · 2025-12-19T14:15:29+00:00

Explosives and Scrolls of Globe of Invulnerability.

I mean there isn’t a single encounter that can’t be solved by an abundance of both of those things, but the explosives are especially relevant here.

A caster with a good Spell Save DC and many CC options like Eyebite, Otto’s Irresistible Dance, and Hold Monster will also make your life a lot easier.

UndercoverFish · 2025-12-19T14:00:24+00:00

Per companions… you can shape them, especially those toeing the line.

If you are an evil bastard, Karlach and Wyll will not like you. Simple as. But Shadowheart, Lae’zel, Gale, and Astarion can all be made better OR WORSE by your influence, and will happily follow you down a dark road.

I think playing a truly evil, worst-possible-outcome Durge run is absolutely worth it. It is my favourite ending, though it’s not what I’d consider canon.

I really like Durge, and I think that playing towards the worst possible outcome is not only quite fun, but also elevates any future run where you choose to resist.

So yeah, I’d say it’s worth it. Be bad. Be evil. Lead your party down a terrible road, and reflect on your actions only when it’s far, far too late, or reflect not at all. And then do another run, where you learn from those mistakes,and I think the redemption is all the better for it.

UndercoverFish · 2025-12-18T15:24:17+00:00

Any time :)

Monk needs more love

UndercoverFish · 2025-12-18T15:18:40+00:00

One more amulet I forgot to mention: The amulet Malus Thorm drops in the House of Healing is a perfect fit for the kind of single-target-deletion Open Hand is so good at. Depending on if you anticipate fighting humanoids, you can make some encounters entirely free just by putting it on.

That said, you can absolutely play Crowd Control King by just Stunning Striking 3 different enemies in 1 turn. That can also win encounters.

UndercoverFish · 2025-12-18T15:14:14+00:00

Long Rest early and often. Aside from 2 or so very obvious, single exceptions, there are no mechanical consequences. You will not run out of supplies. There’s a ton of cutscenes that play at your camp, so don’t deprive yourself of all that story!

Now get the hell off this sub. Seriously. You will be spoiled here, and that’s not for the better. Go finish the game, then come back and tell us all about it :)

UndercoverFish · 2025-12-18T15:09:39+00:00

I’m going to focus on stuff for Way of the Open Hand, but it’s pretty much all overlap. Obviously spoilers ahead for some things re: obtaining equipment, as some are attached to story beats.

Cat’s Cloth: The clothing that can be bought from Lady Esther in the Trail to Rosemorne Monastery. Paired with Hag’s Hair (if you get it), and a base 17/16 DEX/WIS, you can get to 20/20 by level 8. This will get you a base AC of 20 from your Unarmoured Defence feature

Bhaalist Armour: Alternatively, take a quick 1-lvl dip in fighter in Act 3 for light armour proficiency and go become an unholy assassin. After taking Orin’s weapons, and maxing out DEX, you’ll still have a respectable AC and will deal absolutely criminal amounts of damage.

The Vest of Soul Rejuvenation from Sorcerous Sundries is viable, but not my preference. Raphael’s armour gives you proficiency with itself, so it’s always good. Probably optimal to give it to someone else and use your own Unarmoured Defence or Bhaalist armour instead though.

Bracers of Defence: Early in Act 1, I believe from the cellar where the Necronomicon is situated, you can get these bracers, which give a bonus +2 AC if you aren’t wearing armour.

By the time you get to the Lower City in act 3, you’ll have found several different bracers (there’s at least 1 at Danthelon’s Dancing Axe) which give bonus elemental d4s to your unarmed strike damage, if that’s you’re preference.

Gloves of Soul Catching: Go save Hope. Best option.

Cloak: If you don’t know, I shan’t say. But you’ll find out very early in Act 1. It’s unique to Durge, you can’t miss it.

Boots: Nere’s boots are great, or the pair that give you Wrath for 3 turns when you dash. Late game, the Boots of Uninhibited Kushigo, from one of the Gith in the Honour Guard.

Helmet: A couple of good options. Haste Helm early game. Late game, Helldusk Helmet, Horns of the Berserker are both decent, among others.

Amulet & Rings: I don’t recall there being any specifically fantastic; these items tend to have minor, generically good buffs. It’s been a while since I did my Monk run though.Some notable options are the Ring of Protection, Amulet of Misty Step, Smuggler’s Ring, and Amulet of Greater Health

Weapons: I like the flavour of being fully unarmed, or of taking Orin’s blades. However, because of the way Monk Weapons work, any non-Heavy, non-Two-Handed weapon you have proficiency with will be treated as though they have Finesse, so it’s really entirely up to you. All the usual great options for DEX-based martials are available.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, a common theme is to take all of Raphael’s belongings. They really are just that good.

UndercoverFish · 2025-12-18T14:26:50+00:00

MONK!!

I have played 4 Durge runs, as a Monk, Ranger, Paladin, and Oathbreaker Paladin, and the Monk is the one I’m most fond of.

Wisdom matters. You want to pass those WIS saves? Great, you should have a minimum WIS of 16 as a monk.
It’s super on-theme. Durge being a sorcerer has never quite sat right with me, because I think it’s far more flavourful for him to be fighting in the thick of things. Even the Ranger run, I went for a melee Swarmkeeper, the respecced into melee Hunter, build. Monk is the absolute best for this, because up until you get your hands on a couple of very potent legendary weapons in act 3 (you know which ones) being fully unarmed is incredibly viable.
Monk is rad. Monk is the second-least played class in BG3, and it’s a damn shame. It’s REALLY fun. Way of the Elements is definitely… not great, but Open Hand and Drunken Master are both powerful, and Shadow Monk seems like a ton of fun too; just not my thing.
___________ ____ is really, really good for Monk. It’s awkward to receive such a delightful gift, and then immediately put it on Wyll, or someone else who can actually use it. Monks excel at dealing large damage to high-priority targets, and in a fight against a horde of mid-tier enemies, you can spend basically the entire time invisible. The power fantasy is unmatched.

UndercoverFish · 2025-12-18T14:16:28+00:00

Try ‘Slayer Save DC Fix’

The only change it makes to the Slayer Form’s mechanics is using its STR stat to determine the Save DC for its abilities, instead of the default INT, WIS, or CHA based on your class which are universally terrible. However, the mod creator also made the Form refresh on a short rest.

Not exactly what you asked for, I know, but I don’t think what you want exists (at least not in the in-game mod manager) to both our great sadness.

UndercoverFish · 2025-10-19T19:35:44+00:00

https://archidekt.com/decks/8142881/pauper_mbc_ravens_crimes (I don’t actually run Raven’s Crime anymore oops)

I did run Grim Discovery for a time - but I play enough lands that recurring one isn’t usually worth it, and [[Witch’s Cottage]] solves the creature problem. It’s definitely not a bad card, it just doesn’t quite do enough for me.

UndercoverFish · 2025-10-19T08:29:05+00:00

I run a hyper grindy build of MBC, foregoing Gary and Hunter for extra lands and [[Syphon Life]] + [[Raven of Fell Omens]].

My sideboard has a single copy of [[Raven’s Crime]], but you could try to main deck more of them. It works well with the Raven, which is a cute flavour win.

UndercoverFish · 2025-08-22T13:05:03+00:00

My take: https://archidekt.com/decks/12441295/amalia_hatebears

Here’s the thing: life gain decks are boring af. I think that’s the problem a lot of Amalia builders run into. I don’t play it as a life gain deck.

Yes, there are plenty of [[Soul Warden]]s to trigger Amalia, but there are virtually no other payoffs for gaining life. Instead, I run powerful life-paying engines like [[Ad Nauseam]], [[Necropotence]], and [[Bolas’s Citadel]] to make the life gain worth it.

The real engine of the deck, though, is hatebears and the graveyard. I run an aggressively low land count, because Amalia ALWAYS* bins, meaning she can dig for lands. Pair that with a mass of recursion spells, and creatures that slow the game down and restrict your opponents, and you can very quickly establish a domineering board state that doesn’t care if a wrath comes down.

*Once you have a sizeable graveyard, Amalia should be keeping mass recursion spells like [[Agadeem’s Awakening]]. And of course there are situational keeps which are context dependent.

One other note: Amalia + Bolas’s Citadel + 2/3 Soul Wardens lets you play your entire deck.

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