In Baldur’s Gate 3, achievements are oddball challenges as much as they are actual accomplishments. Punch Drunk tasks you with killing twenty enemies while intoxicated. On paper, it’s easy, if not a little time consuming, but to do it in one fell swoop is the better challenge.
This presents a mechanical problem to be solved — and a painful one, as Punch Drunk can be maddeningly inconsistent. Here’s how to make the process reliable, and how turn your drunken antics into award-winning hijinks.
What Is Punch Drunk?
Twenty killing blows while under the “Alcohol” condition. Spread them out or do them together, either way the game must recognize that you’re drunk at the moment of the kill. All alcoholic beverages add the “Alcohol” condition for only two turns, so planning may be required.
Here’s the list of all the items in-game that give you the “Alcohol” condition:
Amnian Dessert Wine, Arabellan Dry, Arkhen’s Hoard, Ashaba Dusk, Baalor Ale, Baldur’s Grape, Barrel-Aged Callidyrran, Blackstaff, Blingdenstone Blush, Brass City Scrangle, Carafe of Wine, Chultan Fireswill, Common Table-Wine, Eigersstor Noblerot, Esmeltar Red, Farsea Marshwine, Frostkiss Ale, Gulthmeran Reserve…
…Highsun Liqueur, Ithbank, Lovely Malty Beer, Marsember Ice Wine, Mermaid Whiskey, Monastery Firewine, Mug of Beer, Pitcher of Beer, Plum Fizz, Portal Sherry, Punch-Drunk Bastard, Purple Dragon Blush, Rolling Deck Rum, Rosymorn Firewine, Stagswift Tonic, Starburst Shandy, Suzailian Sweet, Syl-Pashan Sup, Tyche Pink, Whalebone Spiced, and Wine (who would’ve guessed).
Fastest Method: The Elfsong Tavern Basement (Act 3)
Tonight’s entertainment will consist of a drunken crew killing rats in the basement…
- Travel to the Elfsong Tavern in Baldur’s Gate. In the kitchen, Chef Roveer will send you below to deal with a rat infestation.
- Drink deeply. Apply the “Alcohol” buff. Time your toast so you’re still drunk when the killing starts.
- Enter the basement to find a swarm of low-HP rats — the perfect audience for your inebriated idiocy.
- Use a wide-area spell or effect. Spirit Guardians, Fireball, Ice Storm, Shatter, or even an exploding barrel will wipe them all out in seconds. The key is that your drunken character gets the final blow.
- Watch the counter tick up. If it doesn’t, reload and try again — some players report the game tracking kills inconsistently.
This method is quick, repeatable, and satisfyingly theatrical — like watching a bard black out mid-performance while still hitting every note.
Alternative Methods
Act 2: The Raven Swarm
There’s an encounter with one-HP raven swarms in the Shadow-Cursed Lands. A quick drink, a single Shatter or Hunger of Hadar, and you can rack up kills just as easily.
Act 1: Goblin Camp Assassinations
For the impatient, who insist on early achievement hunting, the Goblin Camp has the numbers for drunken slaughter, but you’ll need to stock up. Either infiltrate the camp and work your way through killing each room (look out for the young goblins teasing the bear, they’ll run for the alarm). Or, assassinate the ones that sleep at night instead— it’s slower, less reliable, and far less fun than mass rodenticide, but there are few easy mass murders in the early game (even the rats in the grove aren’t a safe kill).
Things To Watch Out For
Chief among these is to use turn-based mode. If you’re not in-battle and want to a sneak an attack, the alcohol buff will slip away in only a few seconds, so plan ahead. You should also avoid delayed attacks for this same reason, and make sure the achievement is actually ticking up, because it’s finicky like that.
Why This Achievement Feels Different
Punch Drunk is not an achievement you’ll get just by playing Baldur’s Gate 3 (just look at how few people own it). Instead, it’s a challenge for the completionists, or the hardcore roleplayers. Those humble few who saunter through Faerun like their story was written by Dostoevsky — half comic, half tragic, entirely human. It reflects Larian’s ethos: a world that rewards mischief, improvisation, and theatrical timing. Of course, in the end, it’s just another charm in this charming game, and there are plenty more to find still—like did you know you can save Raphael’s little dwarven assistant Korilla?