Baldur's Gate 3 modder haphazardly adds lone wolf mode inspired by Divinity 2: 'I have not playtested this mod for more than an hour'

(Image credit: Larian Studios)

If I got to redesign Baldur's Gate 3 to fit my specific preferences, the first thing I'd do is get rid of the party system. My posse of Shadowheart, Astarion, and Karlach is great, but my favorite character to roleplay is the wandering ronin—the problem solver with an air of mystery who can take care of himself (Geralt of Rivia, essentially). But alas, BG3 is built with a full party of four in mind. You could try to fly solo, but difficulty doesn't scale to smaller parties, so fights would inevitably become impossibly punishing. Unless mods can save the day.

A new mod from Nexus user Mordread256 aims to make solo play viable with buffs inspired by a perk from Larian's previous RPG, Divinity: Original Sin 2. "Lone Wolf" attempts to even the odds in fights by giving the player character extra opportunities to attack and a quicker leveling curve.

Here's the full list of changes:

Double main actions, bonus actions, spell slots, and sorcery points
Double XP gained
Level cap raised to 20 (but you must multiclass after reaching 12 with one class)
Increased carry capacity
Extra feat at level 2 for all classes

OK, I'm leaning in. The extra actions would go a long way toward not getting overwhelmed by uneven fights early on, but the real kicker here is double XP. By the end of Act 1 you should, in theory, be twice the level of everything you're fighting, which sounds overpowered to the point of unfun, but maybe that's exactly what it takes to lone wolf entire goblin camps. Being overpowered might break immersion in new ways, but it's all a matter of perspective: Witcher 3 shows it's fun to play as someone who has already mastered their craft to the point that very few things can kill them.

A half-orc Monk in the character creator in Baldur's Gate 3. — (Image credit: Larian Studios)

The mod is similar to the Lone Wolf perk from Divinity 2, which also gives players more actions if you have one or zero companions with you, but also grants 30% extra HP and 60% extra armor. It also raises a bunch of your skills, which effectively boosted your level without technically raising it. The goal is the same: be more powerful as an individual, then test your mettle against ridiculous odds.

Though admittedly, Mordread hasn't done much legwork to make sure their new lone wolf mode is balanced.

"I have not playtested this mod for more than about an hour, but it seems stable," the mod page reads. "Although you should easily be able to remove the mod and carry on."

Just don't forget to backup saves before installing it, and don't try to load an existing save once the mod is on: like many Baldur's Gate 3 mods that concern XP, you must start a new game to activate its effects without causing issues.

Morgan has been writing for PC Gamer since 2018, first as a freelancer and currently as a staff writer. He has also appeared on Polygon, Kotaku, Fanbyte, and PCGamesN. Before freelancing, he spent most of high school and all of college writing at small gaming sites that didn't pay him. He's very happy to have a real job now. Morgan is a beat writer following the latest and greatest shooters and the communities that play them. He also writes general news, reviews, features, the occasional guide, and bad jokes in Slack. Twist his arm, and he'll even write about a boring strategy game. Please don't, though.