The Baldur’s Gate 3 non-lethal attacks feature is not working as it should in some instances. Unlike other glitches in the game, this bug can appear in many places where a hostile enemy that you knock out instead makes the game think that the NPC is dead. Ideally, the non-lethal attacks passive ability is meant to be toggled on so that you can make sure that you don’t kill characters that are charmed, enthralled, dominated, or otherwise innocent. This is especially important for paladins with oath subclasses where you’re supposed to protect what’s good and not harm people (otherwise, they become an oathbreaker). Here’s how to fix the non-lethal attacks not working bug for BG3.
How to fix Baldur’s Gate 3 non-lethal attacks not working bug
To fix the Baldur’s Gate 3 non-lethal attacks not working bug, we recommend not touching the toggle for non-lethal attacks unless enemies have the “temporarily hostile” condition.
At the moment, there seems to be trouble with regular fights that have hostile enemies you don’t want to kill. If you knock them out by using non-lethal attacks, there’s a chance that the game will still mark the enemy as dead. Sometimes the quest tracker will also say that the character had died despite them surviving the battle with 1 HP. This happens even though you follow the rules of non-lethal attacks by only using melee strikes and not spells or ranged attacks.
If an encounter like this happens, we recommend either avoiding the characters you want to knock out altogether or possibly using a crowd-control ability on them instead. That includes, for instance, inflicting paralysis by using Hold Person, knocking them prone, or stunning them.
If NPCs are “temporarily hostile,” perhaps because you hit them or you were caught stealing something they own, knocking them out will get a temporary KO condition. This is thankfully working as intended, and they’ll wake up after a long rest.
BG3 non-lethal attacks not working FAQ
A: The non-lethal attacks feature in Baldur’s Gate 3 seems to be glitched in certain situations. When players knock out a hostile enemy using non-lethal methods, the game sometimes considers the NPC to be dead. This can be problematic, especially for paladins with oath subclasses, as they are committed to protecting the innocent and not causing harm, risking becoming oathbreakers if they unintentionally kill.
A: To avoid the bug, it’s advised not to use the toggle for non-lethal attacks unless the enemies are in a “temporarily hostile” state. In regular fights with enemies you wish to spare, there’s a risk that using non-lethal methods may still mark the enemy as dead in the game. It’s better to either sidestep these characters or employ crowd-control abilities, like Hold Person to paralyze them, knocking them prone, or stunning them, instead of trying to knock them out with non-lethal methods.
A: If NPCs become “temporarily hostile” due to actions like being hit by the player or catching the player stealing, using non-lethal attacks on them will correctly give them a temporary KO status. After a long rest, these NPCs will wake up, and this aspect of the non-lethal feature is functioning as intended.
