Well, this guide has been a long time coming. I would have had it up sooner, but believe me when I say that Act 3 of Baldur’s Gate 3 is MASSIVE. Both in sheer scale and quest number, Act 3 is easily the biggest, most overwhelming part of the game, so I found myself needing to slow my pace way down. We’re talking maybe one quest per night, just so I didn’t burn myself out. Gaming is a marathon, not a sprint, people!
This was the right choice because I was better able to appreciate Act 3 for what it was: an epic end to an absolutely epic adventure. Since the earlier parts of the game move at a “go, go, go” pace, it can feel daunting to traverse the massive city of Baldur’s Gate, let alone explore all the quests it has to offer. The whole thing can feel positively overwhelming.
That’s where we come in! Hopefully, this guide helps you tackle Act 3 in a way that’ll help you enjoy it without busting your ass in the process.
PACE. YOURSELF.
This is the most important thing to note when traversing Act 3: For the most part, you are not being timed! Yes, there are some moments, but we’ll get to those. For the most part, you are free to explore at your leisure, as you rightfully should.
While it might feel tempting to micromanage the game to prevent everyone from dying from X or Y event, it’ll ultimately take away from an authentic storytelling experience and just stress you out. Act 3 is best experienced by allowing yourself to explore fully, which means not rushing in like a “mad Rashemaar.”
I recommend not rushing through the first zone, Rivington, and allowing yourself to leisurely look around. You can always go back once you get to the Lower City, but it might feel overwhelming to backtrack into an area full of quests. Once you’re in the Lower City proper, you might panic at all the activity—don’t! Go into each house you want to explore, talk to NPCs, and let things happen naturally according to your personal play style. There’s a lot to discover in the city and it feels exciting to tie all the strings together at your own pace!
Having said that …
Recruit Minsc (and Boo) ASAP!
Minsc is adorable. I love him so much, he makes me want to play the original Baldur’s Gate games. You’re gonna want him to join your party ASAP, which means following Jaheira’s Harper quest to completion fairly early in.
Thankfully, it’s a pretty straightforward quest to get done right away. A little lengthy, sure, but you did sign up for an adventure when you bought this game. Once you have Minsc in your party, you’ll be treated to some of the most delightful dialogue in the game—particularly with old friend Jaheira and Karlach, who idolizes Minsc.
Definitely bring both Jaheira and Minsc to her house in the NW corner of the Lower City. It’s cute. But not cuter than Boo.
All timed quests
**Mild Spoilers**
There are a few quests that, once activated, will require quick action if you want them to be resolved neatly. If this matters to you (as it does to me!), read on. Otherwise, explore for yourself.
Saving Counsellor Florrick
Once you attend Enver Gortash’s coronation in Wyrm Rock, you will be alerted to the whereabouts of Counsellor Florrick. She’s been jailed with a scheduled execution date, starting from the date of the coronation.
From this point on, you have 5 long rests to save her. There are a few different ways to do so (I was decidedly unclever and just got to stabbin’), but either way you’ll have to venture to the Wyrm Rock prison to find and release her. Surprisingly, once you leave the prison, nobody seems to care that she’s walking free.
Tabloid Taboos
When you get to the Baldur’s Mouth HQ, you have exactly one day to keep them from publishing a smear piece on you. Journalists, am I right?
I was a dumbass who didn’t know you could walk down and talk to the editor-in-chief, so I never actually started this quest. As a result, I never had a smear piece written about me. So if you do want to do this quest, just know that you have to wrap it up in one day once you start it. Otherwise, you’ll have to worry about the TMZ of Baldur’s Gate coming for you.
Assassination Nation
Something I love about Act 3 is how interwoven most of the quests are. Once you get to Rivington, you’ll quickly discover that a series of murders has transpired, with multiple sources trying to figure out the culprits and how to stop them.
Once you’re in the Lower City, you can discover a list of targets, as well as an imminent plan of assassination. As soon as you discover this list, the quest will be activated, and those targets will be inching closer to death. You’ll need to find and warn them as soon as you can.
In particular, you’ll want to head to Cora Highberry, a philanthropist who’s throwing a wine festival to raise money for an orphan fund. If Cora sounds a little too good to be true … well, you’d be on the same wavelength as me. I immediately suspected she was up to something, only to raid her basement and discover she really is just a good person. However, Bhaal certainly thinks she’s too good, as she’s next on the list of assassinations.
Once you have the list on your person and the quest activated, you can talk to Cora and reveal her “assistant” as the very assassin you’re tracking down. A fight will ensue, and you’ll inevitably have to save her life, as well as the lives of everyone else on the list. It’s therefore easiest to seek Cora out first. I don’t actually know what happens if you alert the others on the list first, but I’m assuming that nothing will happen to her unless you rest before reaching her.
Orin’s Victim
This quest was the most anxiety-inducing one for me, but thankfully, all’s well that ends … not as badly as it could have. Orin, one of the Chosen, and one of your most pressing adversaries in the final stretch of the game, will stalk you once you enter Rivington. As a shapeshifter, she’ll pop up in many iterations, giving the player a sense of unease as they try to figure out where she’ll be next.
If you attend Gortash’s coronation before entering the Lower City, he’ll outright tell you that Orin has infiltrated your party. However, she won’t strike right away. There will be a couple of rests or so before one of your companions starts acting a little weird. Depending on what you do next, you’ll get one of a variety of cutscenes where she’ll reveal herself.
At this point, one of your companions is fully kidnapped and will be held prisoner in the Temple of Bhaal until you do what Orin asks of you. If you don’t do what Orin asks, she’ll kill the companion.
Take note, she’ll still kill the companion IF you start infiltrating the Temple of Bhaal afterward but take multiple long rests. My advice is, once you enter the Temple, do so with the intention of rescuing your companion ASAP. Prepare well, so you can just get in and out.
Check in with any loose ends
As I said earlier, Larian did a great job of making sure that your choices throughout the game really do matter. As such, they tie in quite nicely with this last act of the game. However, not all of these ends will readily advertise themselves, so you’ll have to seek them out yourself.
Take Mol, everyone’s favorite tiefling problem child. You’d think there’d be more fanfare surrounding Mol after everything she’s been through, yet you can easily miss her in Act 3 if you’re not paying attention. And without getting too spoiler-y, you’re gonna wanna find her, as well as find relevant Mol-related things in a certain House of Hope, because she can be a crucial asset during the last battles.
Any and all allies you amass over the course of the game can be essential during those battles. Mol, in particular, proved to be useful in a way that I wasn’t expecting, as were Yurgir the demon and Zevlor. Just be cool with who you deal with and be open to the possibilities!
Keep bugs in mind
Lastly, a lot of people have called Act 3 unplayable because of the bugs. And it’s true, Act 3 isn’t as polished as it could be. But after these last two patches, I’d say it’s far from unplayable. Just keep in mind that it’s still a little rough, and if characters do or say things that seem incongruous, it’s not necessarily because you messed up—they’re still working on patching things up.
Of course, it’s your prerogative if you want to wait until the game is even more polished. I’d applaud your patience in that case—I certainly couldn’t keep myself from finishing the game, even in its funky state. And honestly, no regrets here.
(featured image: Larian Studios)
Published: Sep 14, 2023 06:16 pm