Many games allow you to avoid fighting, but in some popular titles, choosing non-violence makes things much harder. Often, sparing enemies means you’ll miss out on important story elements, valuable items, or the ability to progress. Some games even require killing enemies to unlock areas, gain experience, or earn the trust of important groups, making it impossible to complete the game peacefully or at a sufficient level. This list highlights games where avoiding combat isn’t just a challenge – it actively hinders your progress, limits your options, or prevents you from seeing the story’s conclusion.
‘Baldur’s Gate 3’
Choosing to avoid combat might leave your party underpowered as you progress, since defeating enemies normally earns experience. Certain story events also require bosses to be defeated to continue, meaning consistently avoiding fights can halt progress. Companions might dislike your non-violent approach, potentially delaying their personal storylines. Finally, accessing better gear and merchants in secure locations becomes more difficult if you don’t deal with the enemies guarding them.
‘Starfield’
Most faction quests end with fights, and skipping those fights can prevent you from completing the quest. While talking your way out of trouble can reduce the number of enemies, there are often still enemies left guarding important items or computers you need to continue. Players who avoid combat will find fewer weapon upgrades and crafting resources, as they won’t be able to collect them from defeated enemies. Similarly, avoiding ship battles means missing out on credits and ship parts, which can put you at an economic disadvantage.
‘Alan Wake 2’
The main challenges in the game involve unavoidable fights that open up new areas once you defeat the enemies. Trying to avoid these battles uses up valuable resources and often makes you retrace your steps without progressing the story. Plus, important items and character improvements are hidden behind these cleared areas, so skipping fights will slow down your progress. The game is built around dealing with enemies, and constantly avoiding them can leave you stuck in repeating patterns.
‘Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon’
Your success and rewards in missions depend on quickly completing goals, which usually means eliminating important targets. Choosing not to fight will reduce your earnings and prevent access to later content. In the arena, you advance by winning fights against specific opponents, so skipping duels will stop you from unlocking new features. Often, missions will simply fail if you avoid conflict or don’t finish all the objectives.
‘Diablo IV’
You mainly get better equipment and level up by defeating monsters and bosses, so avoiding combat will significantly slow your progress. Participating in world events and responding to whispers also requires you to clear out enemies to earn rewards, meaning players who don’t fight will miss out on good loot. Even in dungeons, you’ll often need to defeat powerful enemies or clear areas to continue. Plus, seasonal challenges and earning reputation often require defeating bosses, and these can’t be bypassed.
‘Resident Evil 4’ (Remake)
You’ll need to defeat enemies to unlock new areas – they often have keys, raise ladders, or open gates. Trying to rush past enemies will cause them to pile up, potentially trapping you with no way to save your progress. It’s easiest to find good items from merchants and treasure chests after you’ve cleared out enemy groups. And you have to beat each boss to continue the story; you can’t finish the main chapters by avoiding combat.
‘Lies of P’
Each area of the game is locked behind a challenging boss fight. You primarily get weapons and upgrade materials by battling enemies. Avoiding fights will leave you under-leveled and vulnerable in boss battles. Certain optional activities also become available only after defeating smaller bosses found throughout the city. The game is designed around actively fighting – dodging too much will hinder your progress and ability to improve.
‘The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’
Throughout the world, valuable items in shrines and caves are protected by enemies. Defeating these enemies provides materials used for crafting powerful upgrades and helpful elixirs. Completing the main story often requires defeating powerful bosses again and overcoming dangerous events. Choosing to avoid combat saves resources, but it significantly limits your ability to improve your stamina and armor. Furthermore, skipping battles means you’ll collect less zonaite and fewer device charges, hindering your ability to use helpful tools and technology.
‘Marvel’s Spider-Man 2’
Most main goals involve completing combat areas to unlock story scenes, open new paths, or start timed rescues. While sneaking can reduce the number of enemies, you’ll still need to defeat them all to move forward. Improving your equipment and abilities requires tokens earned by fighting and completing levels. Skipping battles means you won’t have the upgrades necessary for the game’s toughest challenges.
‘Dragon’s Dogma 2’
Improving your character’s skills, understanding monsters, and how pawns behave relies on defeating different kinds of enemies. Quests often put powerful bosses in narrow passages, forcing you to fight your way to towns or goals. Avoiding battles means you’ll collect fewer materials for crafting and upgrading your equipment. Traveling at night is much harder if you haven’t gained enough levels by fighting regularly.
‘Helldivers 2’
Success in this mission depends on eliminating key targets and staying alive through increasingly difficult enemy patrols. You’ll earn rewards and unlock extraction only by completing these combat objectives. Ignoring enemies will actually make them stronger and prevent you from achieving bonus goals that unlock helpful tools and rewards. Ultimately, contributing to the war effort by defeating enemies helps unlock new campaigns, meaning those who avoid combat will contribute less.
‘Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden’
The game features a system where you deal with ghosts and spirits, often leading to battles. Choosing to avoid fighting can mean missing out on valuable items and equipment you’d get from successfully banishing them. Progressing the story also requires defeating certain ghosts, and if you don’t fight, you’ll be weaker when facing challenges later on that expect you to have improved your abilities.
‘Stellar Blade’
You need to defeat major bosses to unlock new areas, gain abilities to help you get around, and continue the story. Avoiding these bosses will prevent you from progressing. Enemies drop items used to upgrade your equipment, making you much stronger and helping you survive. Special challenges and arenas become available only after you’ve beaten specific bosses. If you skip fights, your gear won’t be powerful enough for the levels that come next.
‘Assassin’s Creed Mirage’
Successfully completing missions often involves eliminating targets, and you unlock new tools by taking on contracts that require this. While stealth is useful for approaching targets, you must ultimately neutralize them to progress. Choosing to avoid direct combat lowers your rewards, hindering your ability to upgrade your equipment and customize your appearance. Progressing the main story also requires eliminating specific key individuals.
‘Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty’
When completing jobs or missions, the game usually confirms enemies are defeated before letting you progress. Sometimes, simply incapacitating enemies isn’t enough, and you’ll have to finish them off. Avoiding enemy groups might seem tempting, but it can prevent you from getting essential parts for crafting, improving your quickhacks, and upgrading your weapons. Finally, boss fights are required and designed with the expectation that you’ve upgraded your gear from earlier battles.
‘Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III’
In campaign segments, you’ll frequently need to either clear out areas of enemies or defend specific locations while waves of them attack. Missions focused on direct combat measure your success by how well you eliminate enemies and destroy targets. Avoiding fights will cause you to fail the mission or get stuck in endless enemy spawns, preventing you from moving forward. Additionally, unlocking new weapons and earning camouflage requires completing challenges that involve getting a certain number of kills, even outside of the main story.
‘Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader’
Progress in the game is often blocked until you win battles. Winning fights earns you experience and items necessary to overcome challenges later on. Your companions might also need you to win specific battles to continue their personal stories. Additionally, dealing with enemy fleets in different areas requires combat to secure territory and gain access to shops.
‘Elden Ring’
You’ll need to defeat Shardbearer bosses to get important items and unlock areas later in the game. Avoiding regular enemies will make it harder to level up, putting you at a disadvantage in required boss fights. Improving your weapons requires special stones, which are usually found in dangerous areas. Finally, you won’t be able to continue certain storylines until you defeat specific bosses.
‘Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice’
You advance the story and strengthen your character by defeating bosses. Getting better stats depends on collecting prayer beads and memories you earn from these fights. Skipping battles means you’ll miss out on important upgrades and tools found in boss arenas. Plus, some areas are only accessible after winning fights that alter the game world.
‘Bloodborne’
Upgrading your flask, finding better equipment, and unlocking shortcuts usually happen when you beat a boss. To improve your character, you mainly need to collect echoes by defeating enemies. Avoiding fights will leave your weapons weak because you won’t get the upgrade materials found in those areas. Also, some character quests require you to defeat specific monsters before you can continue.
‘God of War Ragnarök’
You progress through the game by defeating bosses who control access to new areas or open pathways. While you can skip optional battles, doing so means you’ll have fewer materials for crafting and upgrading your abilities. Your companions also get stronger by earning rewards from completing quests and challenges. And some puzzles won’t appear until you’ve changed the environment through combat.
‘Horizon Forbidden West’
Improving your base and getting new equipment requires defeating machines, which drop special parts. If you avoid combat, you’ll gather fewer parts, making it harder to upgrade your weapons and armor. Accessing important locations like Cauldrons and taking control of them requires defeating powerful, boss-like machines. Completing routes to Tallnecks and rebel camps usually means you need to eliminate any enemies in the area first.
‘The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’
While talking can often prevent battles, many important goals and storylines only progress when you defeat certain enemies. You also need to kill monsters to gather materials for crafting and alchemy. Avoiding combat means you’ll gain less experience and might be blocked from continuing the story. Plus, some story outcomes and character developments require you to defeat specific enemies to unlock further events.
‘Red Dead Redemption 2’
Okay, so in this game, a lot of the main story missions boil down to either wiping out enemy camps or holding down a spot while waves of bad guys come at you. If you try to avoid a fight, you’ll fail the mission and won’t get a checkpoint, which is super annoying. But it’s worth sticking it out because you usually get cash, cool little items, and even unique weapons after you clear out the enemies or loot their bodies. And even if there’s some kind of honor system, you still have to shoot the bad guys during those story heists and rescue missions – there’s no getting around that!
‘Grand Theft Auto V’
When planning and executing heists, the game makes sure all enemies in a secured area are defeated before you can hack, drill, or escape. If enemies are still present in a necessary zone, the mission will reset. Your progress in combat – including weapon upgrades and earned money – affects how challenging later missions become. Also, completing tasks in the open world, like deliveries, usually requires you to first eliminate anyone chasing you.
Have you found a game that subtly discourages peaceful playstyles, or a game coming out in 2025 that fits this theme? Share your suggestions in the comments, and let us know how your attempt at a non-violent playthrough went!
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2025-11-20 19:47