When exploring the world of Baldur’s Gate 3, players will come across references from Dungeons and Dragons to recent video games and classical literature.
But one reference, in particular, caught the attention of the community on Aug. 7. This Easter egg pays homage to one of the most iconic moments in Final Fantasy XIV.
The name of a hero inspiration reads: “A Smile Better Suits…” which is the beginning of a sentence Final Fantasy players will almost certainly remember from the end of Heavensward, the first expansion of the Square Enix MMO.
The complete sentence in FFXIV is “Oh do not look at me so. A smile better suits a hero…” As the tone suggests, this refers to a devastatingly sad moment in the story.
Spoiler alert: This was the last sentence said by Haurchefant after he saved the Warrior of Light from certain death—at the price of his own.
This scene is fresh in the memory of players because it was at the heart of 2022’s Ultimate raid strategy. In that raid, players faced off against Charibert once again and had to save Haurchefant with a tank Limit Break to progress to the next phase.
The reference in BG3 got FFXIV players thinking about that dreaded moment again. “Just when you think you escape the pain in one game, another brings it all back again,” one player jokingly wrote. “Larian becoming one of my fav studios by the second,” another added.
Easter eggs like this one are particularly rewarding in BG3 because many of them take the shape of Inspirations.
Inspirations are bonus rerolls players earn when they perform an action that’s true to their background as a character. This usually happens after taking creative, roleplay-focused decisions rather than going the obvious route.
Related: Baldur’s Gate 3 players agree on the best spell, and we’re not surprised
