For the toughest test in Baldur’s Gate 3, you need to roll over a 99. Very few have succeeded – but what happens when you do?
In Baldur’s Gate 3, fate is not always decided by a battle, but often also by a dice roll during so-called “skill checks”. Depending on whether you roll over a certain value or fail to do so, different things happen in the game. However, one of these skill checks is so unrealistically high that it is practically impossible to pass. But now we know what happens if you manage to do it.
The trailer for the RPG hit Baldur’s Gate 3:
What is the hardest skill check in the game? You experience the hardest skill check in the game in the third and final act. After completing all preparations and crossing the underground lake in a small boat, you attempt to defeat the Elder Brain using the three control stones. There are increasingly harder skill checks here – and the last one requires a whopping 99 to pass.
How can you even achieve that? A difficulty of 99 is basically insurmountable. There is no way to achieve it unless you use mods or other cheat methods to increase a value high enough to roll over that difficulty using a W20 die.
The only exception is the “Natural 20,” rolling a 20 on the die. If this happens, then the check is always automatically considered successful – even if the value is mathematically lower than the difficulty. This means you can succeed any roll in the game with a 5% chance, regardless of character stats and bonuses.
The short TikTok video by Sliperyshadow shows what that looks like:
What happens if you succeed? If you roll a 20 and pass the skill check, the glowing “beams” emanating from the three crystals do not just bounce off the Elder Brain; they hit and entangle within the brain. However, the effort is not enough to bring the brain completely under your control. It begins a counterattack – and then everything proceeds as usual.
You get thrown back and the Emperor appears to save you. If you succeeded with the roll, he notes that “the brain is weakened but not yet defeated.”
At first, one might be disappointed as the scene plays out almost the same whether you succeed or not.
The real difference only becomes apparent much later, in the actual final battle. If you succeeded with the skill check here, the Elder Brain starts with 20% fewer hit points and has the debuff “Against All Odds,” which explains exactly this circumstance – the actions of the group have surprised and wounded the Elder Brain, causing it to start with fewer HP.
Whether you make the roll is not really important for the story’s progression. The final phase of the battle is comparatively easy, and only those who do not pay attention to what actually happens can fail here. However, 20% of hit points can significantly shorten the battle – those who arrive here with a severely damaged party might manage it thanks to the reduced HP.
Did you roll a 20 on your throw? Or are you even a “sinful save scummer” who kept reloading until it worked?
