PSA: Baldur's Gate 3 has a non-lethal toggle, but no one's entirely sure how it works

Although the feature was present during early access, it's worth us pointing out now - Baldur's Gate 3 has a non-lethal option you can turn on and off.

The option can be found under under the tab for Passive abilities, where it also explains that non-lethal attacks can only be used when unarmed or using a melee weapon.

This is a nifty option for anyone roleplaying a pacifist or has gone for the Paladin class, as it can help prevent any accidentally murders you may be wanting to avoid.

Or it could, if anyone could figure out exactly how it works.

Non-lethal attacks were a bit funky during early access, and it doesn't look to have improved with Baldur's Gate 3 version 1.0.

A common complaint from players is how knocking a NPC unconscious ends up killing them anyway, and the only difference it makes is allowing Paladins to avoid breaking their oath whilst doing something which probably goes against their values.

On the Baldur's Gate 3 wiki, it notes that after taking a long rest any NPCs knocked unconscious will disappear, but players feel that shouldn't make them automatically die. It's caught some players out, unaware that eventually the option still kills NPCs regardless and will cause Paladins to break their oath.

One player has suggested the game treats unconscious NPCs differently based on whether the character was hostile or not, but it isn't clear whether this is actually the case.

A lot of players are voicing their frustration and confusion with the non-lethal attacks feature, as no one's really sure what rules it works on or whether its current effect is what Larian Studios intended. For now, you might be best getting used to save scumming if you really want to avoid killing anyone, or embrace the flow of D&D and those pesky dice rolls.

You can read our Baldur's Gate 3 review in progress to see our early thoughts on the game, or visit our Baldur's Gate 3 guide hub for tips and walkthroughs.