Emerald Grove

Baldur's Gate 3 has 11 species, from human to drow to dragonborn, but with how extensive Dungeons & Dragons is, it was only inevitable that some fan-favourites wouldn't make the list.

Baldur's Gate 3 players who have modded their games are seeing references to a popular NPC character that suggests they were once set for full-on companion status.

A dataminer has revealed some surprising cut content around one of its most tragic characters. Time and time again, it's become apparent that the devil is in the details of . From major spoilers hidden in unassuming plain sight, to huge lore drops in unassuming flavor text, to backups upon backups that most players were never supposed to see, the attention to detail in goes impossibly deep. And hidden within the game's code, one player has revealed something groundbreaking, if not unprecedented.

has a plethora of fantastic magic items to find and purchase throughout the party’s journey that will aid them in their mission to save Faerûn. While some enhance damage dealing abilities or offer new spells, others are designed to buff the party and help in subtler ways, including one that's easily missed from a reoccuring, beloved NPC. This can be most useful at lower levels during Acts 1 and 2 to keep everyone on their feet during tougher moments.

Concept art for Baldur's Gate 3 has recently surfaced online, showing a mysterious location players will probably never get to explore. Baldur's Gate 3 has a sprawling world that consists of aesthetically pleasing locations, from temples and major settlements to villages. Some of these regions can be tricky to discover, as they are accessible through secret passageways.

Early on in Baldur's Gate 3, you run into a goblin called Sazza imprisoned at the Emerald Grove. A tiefling called Arka has a crossbow pointed right at her, seeking vengeance for her dead brother. You can step in the way and talk her out of loosing the bolt or leave Sazza to her fate. If you choose to save her, she'll stumble into trouble again with Minthara, and once more with the Absolute's chosen in Moonrise Towers.

new romance scene is heartbreaking for one key character. One of the key draws of the award-winning RPG has been the depth of interactions between companions and the player, including friendship, rivalry, and even romance. While companions like Astarion and Shadowheart often receive the limelight, a new scene shows a tragic ending to the relationship between one origin choice and everyone’s favorite evil drow, Minthara.

A new cosplay of Karlach from is showcasing the beloved companion outside her regular fantasy-based setting and, instead, brining her into the modern age. Karlach is one of the many recruitable companions, alongside characters like Shadowheart, Astarion, and Wyll. When players make it to the entrance of the Emerald Grove, they will likely hear about Karlach from Wyll, as he is bound to hunt her down. Nevertheless, players can later encounter her and discover she is not the demon she is described as and, in fact, is one of the best companions in .

Upon entering Emerald Grove in Act 1 of , you will encounter a political drama involving Druids under an impending Goblin raid while the Tiefling refugees face eviction. These complex matters offer many paths that you can take to influence the Grove and its inhabitants. Amidst this, you wouldn't have missed the glowing Idol resting on Pedestal in the Sacred Pool, encircled by chanting Druids. While the urge to take it may gnaw at you, you shouldn't be too hasty, as the Idol represents profound significance.

One lesser-known quest in Act One of has players investigate Kagha, the temporary leader of the Emerald Grove. With the archdruid Halsin missing, Kagha has overtaken the druids’ Emerald Grove and rules with an iron fist. Players can choose to investigate her motives to stop her from expelling the Tiefling refugees by force and sealing the grove off forever.

gives characters the opportunity to gain permanent buffs in each of the game's three acts. The effects of each buff vary greatly, from gaining the ability to summon a familiar or getting a bonus point to put towards a character's stats. However, a lot of these permanent buffs are easy to miss, especially during a first playthrough of .

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In, the Camp is a place where you can rest after a hard day’s adventuring and gather around a roaring fire with your companions and camp followers. As you explore the Sword Coast with your band of misfit adventurers, you can expect many new characters to visit your camp, some of whom may even join your entourage permanently.

A newly noticed hidden dialogue in helps players delve deeper into one of the main character’s daddy issues. The award-winning RPG by Larian Studios was critically acclaimed due to its depth, both in terms of gameplay mechanics but also its branching narrative and sense of freedom when making choices. Many of these important decisions in are directly connected to the companions that venture alongside the player’s custom character, should they have created their hero or villain instead of using an origin character. Creating a custom character is the best way of getting to know these companions, should the player’s decisions not drive them away.

To unlock Illithid Powers in , you will need to find Mind Flayer Parasites that can be found in various locations. While it might be natural for players to resist the parasite inside their characters, some might want to collect as many Mind Flayer Parasite Specimens as possible and unlock new powers.

One of the many puzzles in can be solved in Act 1 of the story within the Emerald Grove, which involves four unique runes placed near a statue in Nettie's Library. Two hidden rewards can be obtained if you take the time to find a special key held by a specific NPC. Like many secrets in the game, you'll have to make a few decisions or talk to the right people to find what you're looking for.

has undergone several changes to its romances and how the romance — and by extension, approval — system works. First, it was too easy to start romances, to the point that every companion wanted to be with Tav, and some had a hard time accepting that they didn't win Tav's heart. However, even after the fixes that have been implemented up to this point, not every romance in is in proper working order.

By poisoning the Goblin Camp, players can make one of the toughest main fights in Act One much easier. The goblins have set up camp at the Shattered Sanctum, using it as a base to menace the Sword Coast in the name of the Absolute. Poisoning their drinks cuts the Goblin Camp's numbers, allowing you to tip the odds back in your party's favor.

is full of important decisions to make, and meeting Auntie Ethel offers a few interesting choices and branching paths. This trader can be found in the Emerald Grove in Act 1, hawking her wares to tieflings. She may seem like any other trader in the game, but Auntie Ethel is more than she appears. The party will need to use caution when striking a deal with Auntie Ethel, if they don't want to avoid her offer entirely.

In Act One of , the adventurers encounter Sazza, a sassy goblin stuck in a cage. While the goblins have been an imminent threat thus far throughout the playthrough, a definitive choice must be made here. Either save Sazza or mercilessly let the guards put her out of her misery while she's trapped. This decision can seem like a no-brainer, but it actually has pretty serious implications for the entire campaign of. For this reason, it's important to weigh the pros and cons before making a final decision and potentially venturing down an undesired path.

Players can now romance multiple partners in if they use a special polyamory mod created by a fan. In Larian Studios’ RPG, characters can often only romance a single companion – while there are one-time romance partners in , developing a meaningful relationship with a companion is often limited to monogamy. Some characters will allow players to have a one-time fling with certain romance options, while others seem somewhat more possessive about their lovers. Lae’zel, for instance, breaks up with the player if they romance with Mizora. Alternatively, some want to have the player for themselves before allowing them to take on any other partners.

To find the Nightsong in, players must embark on a long side quest that stretches from Act 1 to Act 3. Although it initially appears to be a short fetch quest, finding the Nightsong is surprisingly challenging. This side quest ties into the main plot of, is closely linked to Shadowheart’s companion quest, and even involves choices that can affect the game’s ending.

The Emerald Grove is a hotbed of conflict in , but there's one particular way to explode it into violence that ends up being a darker path than any other. Act One of the game focuses in part on a refugee crisis, with the druids in Emerald Grove threatening to turn out a band of tieflings who merely seek protection against near-certain death at goblin hands. Although evil parties might be tempted to act uncharitably toward the tieflings or side with the goblins outright to commit a massacre in the grove, these aren't actually the most vile methods of handling the situation.

Wyll the warlock may not be our favorite Baldur's Gate 3 companion, but that's only because the overall standard is so high. In any other RPG he'd be a top pick, and even in Baldur's Gate 3 he's worth keeping around. It's just a shame you can't complete his personal quest, which earns you a sweet Infernal Robe and prevents him from growing a pair of horns, without killing Karlach, who is everyone's number one fave.

If players make the right (or wrong) choices and taunt a certain god-queen in , they may be surprised by an instant wipe, which results in a game over. The CRPG by Larian Studios has been critically acclaimed due to the freedom it offers players, both in terms of combat strategies and dialogue choices. Different decisions can lead to different paths and can substantially change the entire experience. In Act 2, for instance, players can beat Gerringothe Thorm in without fighting – a feat led by wise dialogue options. The proper string of choices can lead to battles or peace on many occasions.

Karlach the Tiefling Barbarian is one of the most popular romances in and for good reason: she’s downright lovely to be around. Despite her tragic backstory, Karlach loves life and people, and openly wears her heart on her sleeve. An adorable romance is on the cards for anyone roleplaying as a noble hero, as long as you’re willing to handle a bit of tragedy down the road.

One of the most underrated spells in is. Sure, overpowered combat spells are great, and certainly serve their purpose in battle. But some of the best spells in are those with less obvious applications or seemingly limited uses. These have great potential to surprise the party, opening up new paths and new possibilities. And with such a great variety of animals wandering the wilds, it's hard to find a spell more versatile than. Almost any spellcasting class can learn it, and in a hidden mechanic, once cast, its effects endure until the next long rest.

There are many evil characters in , but some of the villains that are encountered by the player and their party are extremely vile, so much so that they even defy evil playthroughs. While not all of them are exactly antagonists and some can even be recruited, these evil characters are composed of terrible deeds and lines of thought, from crude violence and murder to blatant racism and a desire for domination. Evil playthroughs in are common, with custom characters leaning into less righteous actions.

To unlock the Returning Pike in , players have to follow some specific actions, though it is not too hard. The only issue is knowing where to look and getting past a few Charisma-based checks to avoid starting a conflict. The Returning Pike is an Uncommon weapon that can be found early on in the game, as it is part of Act 1. Aside from having pretty good offensive stats, especially during the game's first stages, it has a special skill called Homing Weapon.

doesn't offer a lot of rewards for choosing to run a morally evil playthrough. However, Larian Studios has helped remedy that to an extent through patches and hotfixes, which have put content involving Minthara that ended up not working back into the game properly by fixing the triggers. But there are still big downsides to recruiting Minthara despite those fixes that leave whether she's worth recruiting lingering.

There are many purported cures for the tadpole parasites that plague the party in , and one of those is the bard Volo's experimental surgery. Players are liable to first meet Volo in the Emerald Grove, where he's interviewing a druid in Wild Shape about the recent goblin-tiefling conflicts. He twists their words to craft an exaggerated account of their recent battle, before disappearing from the grove. As it turns out, Volo's been kidnapped by goblins and forced to perform odes to their leader Dror Ragzlin. The party needs to rescue him if they want to see more of the blustering bard.

is full of characters with their own stories and goals, but that doesn't mean that the main party will end up crossing paths with all of them. There's a set of NPCs in the game that most parties will likely never meet due to the specific roles the developers at Larian Studios gave them. Even if these characters are generally never seen, their existence shows how much thought and preparation went into to handle just about any scenario.

Alfira the Tiefling Bard is destined to be the first victim of the player's Dark Urge in . Most players meet her during Act 1 near Emerald Grove. You can talk to her about her music and even get a lute and some musical proficiency from the encounter. If you're playing as the Dark Urge, however, things change.

features a variety of characters that join in the fight against the Absolute. Unfortunately, not everyone is guaranteed a happy ending in Faerûn. Instead, too many characters have their heroism rewarded with misery once the cult is handled, and turning into a mind flayer is no longer a threat.

Baldur’s Gate 3 gives players so many possibilities to roleplay and express creativity. But within that astounding freedom, I must insist on one spell every player should have: Speak to Animals. It’s one that I always immediately cast the minute I complete a long rest. Animals are some of the game’s best characters; and numerous fans have pointed out the critical number of quests animals can give you — as well as silly interactions you can have — when you can speak to Baldur’s Gate 3’s many creatures.

As an object of affection, it's hard to do better than Halsin in . The powerful, ruggedly handsome half-orc druid exudes charm, and he's generally a wonderful ally to have around. The party can first meet Halsin during their trip to the Goblin Camp, a major step in the main quest of Act One. Halsin is the leader of the nearby Emerald Grove, a druid settlement that has repeatedly come under siege by goblins, and was kidnapped and imprisoned during an attempted raid of their camp. After his disappearance, the devious Kagha takes over, setting in motion a plan to boot nearby tieflings from their refugee camp.

Karlach is a popular object of affection in , but another companion can get in the way if players aren't careful. There are eight romanceable characters in the game, and Karlach is one of them. Romancing Karlach in involves completing her personal quest line and earning her approval whenever possible. She once served the manipulative Lord Gortash in Baldur's Gate, until he pawned her off to an archdevil named Zariel. Karlach spent many years working for Zariel in Avernus, one of the Forgotten Realms' Nine Hells, but escaped with her life. However, her heart was replaced with an Infernal Engine, and it's on the fritz.

The creatures of Avernus, the first layer of the Nine Hells, use a Soul Coin as their primary currency in , crafted from those who find themselves breaking their infernal contracts. You might come across this strange money as you explore the different quests and locations seen in the game's story Acts. This rare item has a unique purpose tied to one of your potential companions connected to the Hells.

Typical, isn't it? You wait weeks for a big update to come along, and then two arrive at once. As previously reported, Cyberpunk 2077's game-changing 2.0 patch arrives on the 21st September — and now we learn that it'll be joined by Patch 3 for Baldur's Gate 3. As the name suggests, this will be the third major update for the RPG since its full launch, with developer Larian Studios previously promising patch parity between PC and PS5. With that in mind, we assume it'll be available on Sony's current-gen system at the same time.

Nothing spells adventure in Baldur’s Gate 3 than giving the quirky cast of characters a goal and watching them try to accomplish it. While this normally entails a trip to the Underdark or a persuasion check in the Emerald Grove, one fan has taken it a step further – putting the team in charge of an infant.

Baldur’s Gate 3 is a game packed full of consequences. Align yourself with evildoers and goody two-shoes may ditch your adventure altogether. One particularly evil companion can only join your party if you succumb to a spot of evildoing yourself, risking upsetting others who look on the lighter side of life. Or so we thought…

The second patch for Baldur's Gate 3 is right around the corner, and we already know a lot about what's going to be in it. We've got fixes, tweaks, and justice for Karlach heading our way in the near future, but a recent chat between Larian CEO Swen Vincke and IGN has also revealed that one of our companions is about to get significantly chattier, too. That is, so long as you didn't kill her as soon as you met.

Earlier this week, a YouTuber called Mae blew the Baldur's Gate 3 speedrunning community wide open, despite most of us still being engrossed by the first act. Upon discovering an exploit that uses Gale to cast Enhance Leap, Mae hopped her way to the game's final credits in a startingly short ten minutes and three seconds, mostly thanks to a cop-out ending you can take that skips the game's entire third act.

I'd never felt so out of place in Baldur's Gate 3 than earlier this week, when I finally stepped onto the streets of Baldur's Gate and promptly became the most grotesque creature in the city. Act 2 had done a real number on my party, and you could smell it from a mile away: my face was caked with blood both dry and fresh, cheeks bruised purple, and armor smeared with a hummus of mud, blood, and viscera.

Minthara is a possible party member that you can recruit in Baldur’s Gate 3. But depending on your choices, the route to getting on your side can change drastically. In our case, we’ll be tackling how you can recruit Minthara if you’ve decided to take the evil path through the game. And if Minthara has ended up in the jails of Moonrise Towers, this is your one opportunity to recruit her while you can. So, let’s save Minthara from the Moonrise Towers in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Someone has completed Baldur's Gate 3, from start to credit roll, in just over ten minutes. Yes, ten minutes. A game with a 35.5 hour main story, 94 hours for a completionist run according to How Long to Beat, and it was over so fast I couldn't tell what was going on. Speedrunner Mae managed this incredible feat over the weekend using just the origin character Gale, an extremely powerful jump ability, and a specific set of choices that end the game just a little earlier than people might anticipate.

Act 2 of Baldur’s Gate 3 introduces players to the Shadow-Cursed Lands — a vast region infected with a terrible malady that dishes out extreme damage when you’re not protected by light sources. The entire area is filled with deadly enemies that pull you away from your precious light or try to knock the torch right out of your hands. If you want to survive for long, you’ll need to find a permanent solution to the Shadow Curse.

Baldur's Gate 3 has been out for a week so let's check the tape, shall we? Larian Studios posted a big infographic of first week stats and most things check out: Elves are popular and gnomes are gnot. Everyone likes petting the dog and also talking to animals. My fellow Paladins are on top of the class choice, nice. But wait, 35% of you decided to assault the Emerald Grove? Over a third of us are going the evil route? Actually, I'm a little proud.

Infernal Iron is one of the materials you really shouldn’t sell in Baldur’s Gate 3. This hellish metal is used in the creation of Infernal Armor and Weapons when trading with a Tiefling Blacksmith. You’ll meet this peculiar craftsman very early in Act 1 and he’ll constantly move with his caravan of refugees as you progress further toward Baldur’s Gate. Dammon and Infernal Iron in particular are required to complete Karlach’s Companion Quest — and you have to complete her quest to progress her romantic storyline. If you want big demonic armor and a big demonic lady to smooch, you’ll need to find Infernal Iron. And it is exceedingly rare.

Your first major goal in Baldur’s Gate 3 is to defeat the three Goblin Camp Leaders. The three leaders are True Soul Gut, Minthara and Dror Ragzlin. Each leader is more difficult than the last and defeating them while they’re in the center of the castle surrounded by minions can be extremely difficult. To make each fight easier, you’ll need to trick each leader somehow — by luring them to different locations, you’ll be able to ambush them, making their battle so much easier to handle.

Getting a full party should be your first goal in Baldur’s Gate 3. This is a hardcore cRPG. Even simple battles against goblins can be overwhelmingly difficult if you don’t gear up a full squad of four party members. Luckily, grabbing three allies can be extremely simple. If you explore the wreckage around the beach crash site where the game begins, you can collect four party members before you even reach the first major quest area.

Minthara is an optional (and evil) party member in Baldur’s Gate 3. She’s a deadly Paladin that wields two blades at once and serves the Cult of the Absolute. To get her to join, you must help her during the Raid the Grove quest and help her completely wipe out the grove. This quest allows you to gain one of two characters — you can either unlock the friendly Druid Halsin or the evil Paladin Minthara. You can’t get both in one playthrough.

The most straightforward path to the Underdark, the underground tunnels you’ll need to progress the main story in Baldur’s Gate 3 is through the Goblin Camp. The massive enemy base where the cult of the Absolute call home has a secret entrance straight to the Underdark — a new and vast open-world region with many useful items and quests to complete. The Underdark is packed with powerful treasure, and when you’re Level 4-5, you’ll be ready to begin adventuring in the deep.

You can find and discover several hidden puzzles during your journey in Baldur’s Gate 3. One of these puzzles can be found deep within the Goblin Camp, inside the Defiled Temple, there is a secret Moon Puzzle you can complete. This is for the Nightsong quest and progresses this quest, but you will need to make your way through the Goblin Camp.

The Master Druid and leader of the Emerald Grove has gone missing in Baldur’s Gate 3. One of your first major missions is to rescue Halsin — and even if you explore the vast Goblin Camp in the west of the Act 1 map, you may overlook his location. As a druid, Halsin can transform into a giant bear. Keep that in mind while searching for him.

You can unlock several party members to join you on your adventure through Baldur’s Gate 3. These characters appear throughout the beginning of your story, and they will appear at different opportunities. At every encounter, there’s the choice of having the potential party member join your squad or if they’d rather not be with them.

Halsin is the key to solving the conflict in Emerald Grove, but he's difficult to find in Baldur's Gate 3.