Baldur’s Gate 3 is a game full of decisions. Getting to a certain important point in the game means making decisions that aren’t always the easiest. Some of these decisions could mean your party thrives while other decisions could mean the untimely demise of certain characters that could have been potential game-changers going forward.
On the flip side, having to make tough decisions is what gives Baldur’s Gate 3 such high stakes, which is vital to any game in the RPG genre. Of all the decisions you could make, some of them have far-reaching consequences beyond that of a simple character’s death. These are the toughest decisions that you will have to make while playing Baldur’s Gate 3.
10 hardest decisions to make in Baldur’s Gate 3
Every action has consequences and from our first playthrough, we have found these 10 decisions to be the ones we struggled with the most. All of these decisions will be in chronological order as they appear throughout the three acts of the game. The deeper you go into the storyline, the tougher the decisions become.
Creating a character: Custom or origin?
The first decision you make in the game, choosing your character. This is where most players get stuck for a good hour or so, especially when they decide to create their own custom character. In our opinion, we recommend creating your own custom character so you can make them exactly as you want them to be, complete with custom class, race, and abilities.
Another reason why we support creating a custom character for your first run is that, save for the Dark Urge (which we will discuss later), you will meet all of the origin characters in your playthrough. You can also play through all of their companion quests and get the full Baldur’s Gate experience by helping them navigate through their personal issues and form stronger bonds.
Eye surgeries
In the first act, there are a couple of characters that are obsessed with your eyes. Volo offers to remove the parasite from your brain, but that leads to disaster and you lose your eye. Additionally, the surgery fails and Volo replaces your lost eye with a magical one. You lose some Intelligence permanently but in return, you get his Ersatz Eye which allows you to see through invisibility.
The second incident is with Ethel the Hag who will offer to “enhance” your eye with her magic. Doing so will give you a bonus to Intimidation checks but in exchange, you lose out on Perception checks. We recommend going through with the Volo surgery (unless you’re an Intelligence class) and not bothering with Ethel’s enhancements because the cons outweigh the pros.
Siding with Halsin or Minthara
Probably the first tough decision you make in the game. Depending on whether you choose to side with Halsin and the Druids or Minthara and the Goblins, the state of the game will change going forward. Siding with the Druids is considered to be the good choice while siding with the Goblins is considered to be the evil choice, depending on your alignment.
Regardless of whoever you choose to side with, one of them will die at the end of the quest. The one that survives will join your camp as a playable character, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. There is no correct answer here so we recommend choosing based on your alignment and needs since both of them offer something unique to your party.
Mountain Pass or Underdark?
At the end of act one, after you’ve made your decision with Halsin and Minthara, it’s time to head into act two, and there are two ways of doing that. You can either choose the overland Mountain Pass or the underground path known as the Underdark to get to the Shadow-cursed Lands. Each path has its own advantages, disadvantages, and side quests.
If you want to get to the Shadow-cursed Lands quicker, we recommend using the Mountain Pass. If you want to find a better emergence point into the Shadow-cursed Lands, go through the Underdark. This decision isn’t too difficult since you can always come back through the other path and clear out the content of both paths before you head into act three.
Related: Baldur’s Gate 3: Mountain Pass or Underdark? Which you should choose in BG3
Meeting the mysterious dream visitor
During the Githyanki creche event in act two, you have a choice of going into the Astral Prism and slaying the dream visitor or standing against the Githyanki queen, the goddess Vlaakith. If you choose to go into the Astral Prism, you meet the dream visitor and learn of Vlaakith’s treachery. You can then choose to kill the dream visitor or fight against Vlaakith, we recommend the latter for a better result.
Just after you finish with act two and are transitioning to act three, the dream visitor then reveals themselves to be the Emperor, a rogue Mind Flayer that stands against the Elder Brain. This is the reason why we recommend leaving the dream visitor alive since they will be integral to the plot going forward and a major asset to your party.
The Nightsong situation
When you get to the point of no return in act two, you have to push through the last phase of the Gauntlet of Shar. After a long difficult run that will see you powering through the minions of Hell, you make it to the end that will take you through a certain part of the Astral Plane. When you get to the bottom of this location, you encounter Balthazar and a mysterious chained woman.
After defeating Balthazar, you meet the imprisoned woman and learn that she is Dame Aylin, the Nightsong, and one of Selune’s children. If you have Shadowheart in your party, you can convince her to kill the Nightsong and become Shar’s chosen or spare her and have the Nightsong join your camp. We recommend going with the latter choice to have a powerful ally on your side.
Related: Baldur’s Gate 3: Should you kill the Nightsong in BG3?
Becoming partial Illithid
As mentioned earlier, you meet the Emperor once again during the transition period from act two to act three. Saving him from the invaders will prompt him to fully trust you and show you his true form, an old and powerful Mind Flayer that has broken free from the Elder Brain’s hive mind control. Once here, he offers you a choice that will change your game forever.
He will offer the choice to evolve into a partial Illithid, a decision that will change your appearance but boost your stats. You gain an advantage in several Charisma checks and an upgraded arsenal of Illithid powers, especially the coveted Fly ability. You can also extend this offer to your party members, leading to a quick-moving party that can dash around with Fly.
Our recommendation is to go ahead with the partial Illithid transformation because the upsides are definitely way more than any potential downsides that this decision might have.
Astarion’s ascension
In the middle of act three, when you get to the end of Astarion’s companion quest, you finally meet the hateful Cazador Szarr. The quest ends with the party in battle with Cazador in the depths of his mansion during his ascension ceremony. After defeating him, the Vampire lord retreats to his sarcophagus to rest and heal. This is where Astarion will strike the finishing blow.
Following this, you have the option of setting all of Cazador’s captives free or using them as sacrifices to let Astarion become a Vampire Ascendant himself. Killing all of the innocents is considered to be an evil choice, but if you want a super-powered version of Astarion, it might not be the worst decision to ascend him. The final decision is still yours though.
Siding with the Emperor or Orpheus
The last major decision to make in act three is either siding with the Emperor or Prince Orpheus in the final battle against the now-transformed Netherbrain. Each decision has its own ramifications and siding with one will lose you the support of the other entity. If you choose to become a partial Illithid, we recommend going with the Emperor and allowing yourself to evolve into a full Illithid in the final battle.
If not, betraying the Emperor at the last moment might feel wrong, but you will have the full might of Prince Orpheus and his loyalists on your side. If consuming a Githyanki demigod to evolve yourself doesn’t sit right with you, freeing Orpheus will allow him to lend you his powers in the upcoming battle which is literally a godsend.
Again, no wrong choices here, it depends purely on your alignment since both of them come with unique powers.
Related: Baldur’s Gate 3: How to Recruit Allies for the Final Battle in BG3
The Dark Urge
The reason we put this decision at the very bottom is that we recommend not starting out your first playthrough as the Dark Urge. This is because the Dark Urge is a special origin character with murderous intent that is ideal for an evil playthrough. Additionally, this origin character has some unique interactions that the other characters don’t have.
The reason we recommend playing the Dark Urge on your second playthrough is that some of the unique decisions available only to this character could be potentially disastrous. The story can change drastically when one of your urges ends up with the death of certain characters, especially potential party members (like Gale).
If you still want to play as the Dark Urge on your first playthrough, we recommend save-scumming so that you don’t unknowingly succumb to your urges and ruin the playthrough.
