What is Custom Mode in Baldur’s Gate 3? Explained

Baldur’s Gate 3 has continued to receive a plethora of patches, with Patch 5 adding some unique new features. One of these features, Custom Mode, looks to fundamentally change the game, so let’s find out what it all entails.

What is Custom Mode From Baldur’s Gate 3 Patch 5?

If you’re a fan of playing Dungeons & Dragons, the new Custom Mode may be exactly what you’ve been waiting for. Allowing you to tweak your experience to be exactly what you’ve been searching for, Custom Mode gives you that reigns to be your own Dungeon Master of sorts. While selecting Custom Mode, you can tweak the Enemy Aggression, Character Power, Enemy Loadouts, and everything in between to make it as easy or as difficult as you would like it to be.

And if that wasn’t enough, the ability to toggle Enemy Critical Hits, death-saving rolls, and anything in between makes this one of the most versatile upgrades since the launch of the game. If this is your first time playing a CRPG, being able to turn off some of the more daunting features until you can fully learn and understand what they mean makes Baldur’s Gate 3 even more accessible than it was beforehand. I made a lot of dumb mistakes my first time playing, so I may need to start a new save and run through it with Custom Mode.

All Custom Mode Options

The sheer number of changes made with this Custom Mode is truly astonishing, and you can find all of the swappable features below:

• Enemy Aggression
• Character Power
• Enemy Loadouts
• Additional Combat Mechanics
• Proficiency Bonus
• Enemy Critical Hits
• No Death Saving Throws
• Disable Free First Strikes
• Camp Cost Multiplier
• Short Rest Full Heal
• Trader Price Modifier
• Multiclassing
• Always Prompt Reactions
• Hide NPC Health
• Hide Failed Perception Rolls
• Hide Passive Rolls in Dialogues
• Preview Dialogue Check Difficulty Before Rolling
• Hide Difficulty Class During Rolls

Should You Try Custom Mode?

If you struggled to get into Baldur’s Gate 3 because of its intimidating difficulty and complexity or found the game to be a little too easy, then Custom Mode seems to be the perfect option for you. The ability to fundamentally change the way that the game plays makes it more accessible for newer players, and the chance to turn off external checks makes it feel more like an authentic Dungeons & Dragons adventure for those who grew up and continue playing the popular tabletop game.

No matter what, it doesn’t hurt to dive into this particular mode and see what awaits you, as you may find that Baldur’s Gate 3 goes from a game that isn’t your cup of tea to one of your all-time favorites. The choice, both literally and figuratively, is up to you to make this adventure exactly as you’d like it to be.

Best Custom Mode Options in Baldur’s Gate 3

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of options in the new custom mode for Baldur’s Gate 3. But which ones should you try out first? Here’s a list of settings we think new players should try:

• Hide NPC Health (Off) – This is fairly self-explanatory, but being able to see enemy health is very helpful, so keep it off.
• Camp Cost Multiplier (1) – This keeps the experience fairly balanced, as camp costs will remain default as intended.
• Single Save (Off) – Another self-explanatory one. You’ll want to keep this one off so you can make plenty of backup saves.
• Hide Failed Perception Rolls (Off) – Keep this one off, so you’ll know when your characters failed a perception check or not. This comes in handy when trying to spot dangerous traps or hidden treasure
• Enemy Loadouts (Balanced) – This will make fights fair and balanced, which is essential for newcomers.
• Short Rest Full Heal (On) – Keep this on so you can heal back up to full HP whenever you want with short rests.

No matter if you’ve already played and beaten Baldur’s Gate 3, or you’re still trying to figure out what you did wrong to make Karlach angry, we’ve got you covered in our section below. From status ailments to getting an overpowered weapon at the start of the game, we’re here to guide you along your adventure and make it the most thrilling experience you’ve ever partaken in.