Baldur’s Gate 3 has a total of three story acts, which begin slowly and end with epic battles. A player seized the opportunity to eliminate his opponents once and for all and finished the game – however, already at the end of Act 2.
Warning Spoiler: This is about the end of Act 2 of Baldur’s Gate 3.
What happened to the player? reddit user megaderp675 completed Baldur’s Gate 3 prematurely at the end of Act 2, without realizing it: Considering that seemingly all opponents were present, he had party member Gale use his Netherease orb. As a result, not only the enemies but also the hero group blew up.
What were the consequences? Baldur’s Gate 3 let the epilogue and credits roll due to the explosion. With this action, megaderp675 also managed to deal with the puppet masters behind the Illithid invasion.
However, the epilogue leaves a bitter aftertaste: While all villains are dead, the heroes are too. And new mind flayers now appear all over the world of Baldur’s Gate 3, as the still surviving, worm-infested people gradually transform.
In addition, the reddit user has to load an earlier save game to still be able to visit Act 3. But then he has to face the final battle of Act 2 again – without blowing Gale up.
What does the Baldur’s Gate 3 community say?
In the comments under the reddit post, megaderp675 receives a lot of support from other players. User Bucky_Ohare, for example, points out that this course of action was absolutely correct from the heroes’ perspective:
[…]None of the characters know that [Baldur’s Gate 3] is a game. You are in the basement of a gigantic mind flayer hive and have saved most of the people you knew there. You just learned that there were three conspirators. […] You see all three conspirators and suddenly a powerful artifact-bound elder brain appears.
We players know that there is another chapter. But without this knowledge, blowing Gale up at that moment is the best option. […]
Bucky_Ohare via reddit, 04.10.2023
What is an elder brain? An so-called elder brain is a giant brain that controls a mind flayer colony. It is made up of a mass of dead mind flayers and controls the still living members of its colony.
Other reddit users also point out that this would also be a good ending if they played Baldur’s Gate 3 as a “pen & paper” campaign. User PStriker32 commented that he would probably have acted the same way in a D&D campaign – even if his heroic death would annoy him a bit. The bitter aftertaste only comes with the epilogue.
Another user, however, does not find the epilogue that bad – despite the new mind flayers:
[…]No amount of rogue mind flayers is worse than an elder brain that controls the same amount of mind flayers. And this one is a damn angry elder brain.[…]
Kaoshosh via reddit, 04.10.2023
User lobe3663 offers another perspective on Bucky_Ohare’s input:
100%. That is what my OOD Tav would want from Gale, it is the obvious decision.
It also makes it an authentic D&D moment: The game master hasn’t told the players everything they need to know, which is why they throw the entire campaign out of whack.
lobe3663 via reddit, 04.10.2023
In fact, it’s almost a tradition in the pen & paper community that the game master painstakingly prepares for the sessions, only for the players to completely derange the framework. In this situation in Baldur’s Gate 3, the players heroically sacrificed themselves, only to hear that the game master had prepared many more sessions.
What about you: How did you finish Baldur’s Gate 3? Did you also let Gale blow himself up? Or did you save him? We look forward to your comments!
If you still need tips for one of the boss fights in the game, feel free to check this out:
Players in Baldur’s Gate 3 trick a powerful boss with a magical flower: ‘He ran around aimlessly’
