Well, well, well, look who's celebrating two glorious years of worming its way into our hearts and devouring our free time—it's our beloved digital Dungeon Master, Baldur's Gate 3! 🎉 To mark the occasion, the wizards at Larian Studios have once again flung open the vault of community statistics, and let me tell you, the revelations are as fascinating as finding a secret door behind a suspicious-looking bookshelf. It's a treasure trove of data that tells the story of who we are as players: a magnificent, chaotic, and occasionally unhinged collective. From our strange vendettas against beloved hamster-adjacent heroes to our heroic (or foolhardy) attempts at self-imposed torture, these numbers don't lie. They just judge us silently.

The Companions: Our Digital Besties and Punching Bags

Let's start with the real stars of the show—our companions. The data confirms what I've always felt in my heart: Wyll, the Blade of Frontiers, remains the most criminally underrated member of the crew. While everyone's busy simping for vampire lords or brooding clerics, it seems only a select, cultured few of us truly appreciate a good man with a heart of gold (and a demonic pact, but who's counting?). In a truly heartwarming (and slightly surprising) twist, a whopping 598 players decided to settle down and adopt a child with him. That's right, nearly six hundred virtual families started their journey in Faerûn, proving that the real endgame loot is sometimes a happy home.

On the flip side, we have Shadowheart. Our favorite Sharran (or Selûnite, depending on your choices) has been the subject of player experimentation on an industrial scale. She's been respecced over 4.8 million times. That's millions of players looking at her default Trickery Domain and thinking, 'Hmm, but what if she was a Paladin?' or 'Wouldn't she make a great Tavern Brawler Monk?' The poor woman has had her entire cosmic identity rewritten more times than I've reloaded a save after a bad dialogue roll.

And then there's Minsc. Oh, Minsc. It appears a peculiar and frankly sadistic sub-cult has formed within the community dedicated to one thing: turning the jovial, hamster-loving ranger into a Death Domain Cleric. Why? Who knows! Perhaps they enjoy the irony, or perhaps they just want to hear Boo squeak in moral outrage. The stats show a dedicated group of players who find joy in this specific flavor of companion corruption.

The Trials and Tribulations of Heroism (or Lack Thereof)

Now, let's talk about our moral compass—or more accurately, how often we leave it at camp. The stats reveal that only a paltry five percent of players managed to save every single tiefling refugee. FIVE PERCENT! Come on, people! I know the Grove can be a bit of a logistical nightmare, and Kagha is, well, Kagha, but this is a shockingly low number. It seems the majority of us are either tragically incompetent heroes or secret Durge enthusiasts letting the blood flow. As for Sazza, the goblin you can rescue in the Druid Grove, the community has spoken with its collective inaction: she's clearly not popular, as many simply leave her to her fate.

Moving from morality to merriment, it seems our friends on PlayStation are the life of the party. The data crowns PlayStation players as the ones who got drunk the most in-game. Whether they're chugging Firewine in the Elfsong Tavern or sampling Avernian booze, they're embracing the role-playing aspect with spirited enthusiasm. Cheers to that! 🍻

The Modding Madness

The creative spirit of the community is alive and well, evidenced by a staggering 265 million mod downloads. That's a number so large it needs its own astral plane. And what's the crown jewel of this modding empire? Why, it's Withers' Big Naturals, with 250,000 downloads dedicated to... augmenting our favorite skeletal friend. I have so many questions, and I'm not sure I want the answers. This single mod download statistic speaks volumes about our collective id.

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The Pinnacle of Pain: Honour Mode Conquerors

This is where the stats get truly hardcore. Let's talk about difficulty. Beating the game on its standard mode is an accomplishment. Beating it on Tactician mode is a badge of honor. But then there's Honour Mode—the single-save, permadeath, 'one-mistake-and-you're-back-on-the-nautiloid' nightmare difficulty. Globally, nearly half a million players have now conquered this beast. Larian themselves commented, "That's another 314,090 new traumatised souls compared to last year. Hope you love pain." They know us too well.

On Steam, only 2.7 percent of players have the 'Foehammer' achievement for beating Honour Mode, making it the rarest feat in the game. For context, about 5.7% have beaten Tactician. When you consider Baldur's Gate 3 sold around 15 million copies a couple of years back, these percentages highlight an elite cadre of masochistically skilled adventurers.

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The Ultimate Flex: The Level One Honour Run

But wait, we haven't reached peak insanity yet. Nestled within these stats is a detail so absurd, so gloriously hardcore, that it deserves its own monument. Among those half-million Honour Mode victors, a group of 4,647 absolute legends didn't just beat Honour Mode... they did it without levelling up their character a single time. That's right. A Level 1 run through the entirety of Baldur's Gate 3's most punishing difficulty. Every encounter is a potential game-over screen. This isn't just dedication; this is a cosmic-level flex. It's the gaming equivalent of fighting a dragon with a butter knife and winning through sheer force of will and impeccable game knowledge. These players are the true gods of the Sword Coast.

The reward for this Herculean effort? Those beautiful, shimmering golden dice for your dice-rolling tray. They're more than a cosmetic item; they're a permanent testament to skill, patience, and a possibly unhealthy relationship with save-scumming (which, of course, isn't an option in Honour Mode!). If you're one of the few who possess them, you have my undying respect and a slight suspicion that you might be part-illithid.

What Does It All Mean?

Two years on, these stats paint a vivid portrait of the Baldur's Gate 3 community. We are:

  • Deeply Invested: Millions of hours spent tweaking builds, exploring stories, and forming bonds with pixelated people.

  • Wildly Creative: 265 million mod downloads don't happen by accident.

  • Morally... Flexible: Sorry, tieflings.

  • Unbelievably Skilled (or Stubborn): Half a million Honour Mode completions and thousands of level-one runs are not feats for the faint of heart.

It's a celebration of a game that allows for endless stories, both the epic and the extremely silly. Here's to another year of chaotic critical rolls, agonizing decisions, and discovering new, bizarre ways to play. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go start my own Level 1 Honour Mode run. I give myself about ten minutes before the intellect devourers on the beach end my career. Wish me luck! 🎲