Skip to main content

How to use non-lethal attacks in Baldur’s Gate 3

If there's one thing you'll never be at a loss for while playing Baldur's Gate 3, it's ways to kill your opponents. From swords, axes, and maces to bows, magic, and poison, your potential arsenal is essentially limitless. While that's great for when you're faced with irredeemable monsters and forces of pure evil, sometimes a fight can break out with people you'd rather not kill. This could be due to a failed skill check starting a fight you didn't intend, to a misunderstanding, or because the people attacking you are connected to a group you want to stay on the good side of. When combat breaks out, you're not resigned to either killing your enemy or reloading a save thanks to a handy ability to non-lethally attack enemies, but how to activate it isn't clear. Here's how to knock out an enemy in Baldur's Gate 3.

Difficulty

Easy

Duration

5 minutes

What You Need

  • A melee weapon or unarmed weapon slot

How to use non-lethal attacks

The only restriction to non-lethal attacks is that they have to be melee. There's just no way to make an arrow or magic missile non-lethal, so prepare to get up-close and personal to knock out your target.

Step 1: Once in combat with one or more enemies you want to knock out, position any character with a melee weapon or who uses their fists within striking range of the target.

Step 2: On any character, go to the Passive submenu at the bottom of your hub.

A description of how to use non-lethal attacks.
Larian Entertainment

Step 3: Toggle Non-lethal to make any attack knock your opponent out rather than deal damage.

Step 4: Note that this doesn't act like a skill, but rather a toggle that affects all your party members. Once on, everyone doing melee strikes will do so non-lethally until you toggle it off again.

Editors' Recommendations

Jesse Lennox
Jesse Lennox loves writing, games, and complaining about not having time to write and play games. He knows the names of more…
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Zombies: how to complete Bad Signal
A soldier with a Pack-A-Punch weapon fires at zombies from behind cover.

Once Season 1 hit in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3's Zombies mode, a new Act was added for players to dive back into the undead masses to complete more missions. Since this Act takes place after all the prior ones, it's only natural that it puts players to the test.

The first mission in Act 4 is Bad Signal, which brings you to a new area that is more deadly than even the highest threat-level zones. If you're struggling to survive this mission, we'll give you clear instructions on how to complete Bad Signal.
Bad Signal guide

Read more
Staff picks: How Baldur’s Gate 3 beat the odds to become our 2023 Game of the Year
Baldur's Gate 3's Karlach appears on an image that says Game of the Year 2023.

When I first started playing Baldur’s Gate 3, I was immediately hooked by its engrossing (and gross) story, meaty CRPG systems, and the most personable cast of companions I’ve seen in the genre in quite some time. I knew I was about to sink months of my life into the 100-hour adventure. Things didn’t go according to plan.

The nature of my job meant that I had to move on to Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon at the height of my obsession. Though I wouldn’t have much time to put in long play sessions, I resolved to pick away at it throughout the year on Steam Deck. It was a critical error on my part, as I’d quickly learn that the enormous RPG is perhaps the worst commute game on the planet. It felt like I could barely accomplish anything in 30 minutes. Long, turn-based battles would often take up an entire train ride and sometimes I’d simply lose any progress I made to an untimely death. I grew frustrated, wondering why I was having so much trouble finding my way back to a game I loved.

Read more
How a MacBook Pro sneakily got me back into PC gaming
The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M3 Max chip seen from behind.

I have fond memories of the old days of PC gaming. That is, the old days for me. Games like Starcraft and Elder Scrolls: Morrowind had a big impact -- but honestly, it's remembering the endless hours of Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn that ring my nostalgia bell the loudest.

But somewhere along the way, I more or less retired from regular gaming. Between reaching my mid-30s, getting some new hobbies, being married, buying a house, and having kids, I wasn't finding a lot of time or energy for the old pastime. It sounds stereotypical, I know, but its sadly true.

Read more