The events and journey in Baldur’s Gate 3 start in a flying Nautiloid, a mind flayer and a writhing larva that is implanted in the player. Later, these parasites can be consumed as well, but how exactly does that happen? Players share their own opinions.
What are the players talking about? In a post on Reddit, player and Reddit user PuzzleheadedLove341 wonders what exactly happens when one consumes a mind flayer larva.
The game does not exactly show (besides the animated sequence at the very beginning of the game) how the parasite is consumed. Instead, it offers almost too many possibilities to determine how the player character and companions might take in the larvae.
“Do we eat them? Do we stick them in our eye/ear? Do we just absorb their essence?” wonders the author of the Reddit post and sparks a discussion in the community to establish the one correct way, which the game itself seems unsure about.
Here you can see the animated short film for Patch 8 of Baldur’s Gate 3:
3 different ways to absorb the illithid parasite
What are the options for consuming the larvae? The community writes in the comments which method seems most logical to them:
“I always assumed we absorb their power and do not physically stick them into our heads,” writes TimeForTea007, “otherwise it would get pretty tight in there.” Plugubius responds however: “The background [of a brain] in the skill tree for illithid powers strongly suggests that it gets pretty cramped in your skull.”
In fact, the background of the menu in which you consume the larvae shows a brain through which the larvae burrow when a skill is gained. Of course, this could be a creative, metaphorical representation of the game, or the actual brain of the affected character.
Another player, however, also thinks that only the power of the larvae is “absorbed” upon consumption: “I believe there is even a dialogue that states you ‘absorb the power’. Not ‘you let it crawl into your skull’. […] The problem is the user interface. It shows how they dig into your brain. I think they mean that metaphorically to express which areas you wish to stimulate.” (SarcasticKenobi on Reddit)
Spoiler warning! The following paragraph describes a scene in the transition to the third act of the game.
What further clues does the game provide? Player tinewashere mentions in a comment on Reddit a scene where the dream guardian, the “Emperor”, offers the player a special, astral larva that can also be consumed. In the dialogue, you can choose whether to absorb its power or to eat it. If you eat it, the Emperor only wonders what on earth you are doing. Therefore, it seems that eating the larvae is not the correct way to take in the larva. Although you gain the power, it seems to be a rather “unconventional” method.
Strangely, however, the caption of an achievement that can be earned in Baldur’s Gate 3 suggests just such a method, as jackcu shows on Reddit: “Interestingly, the achievement suggests that you actually eat them… Or at least put them in your mouth… And swallow…”
To clarify the question of what exactly the correct way to consume the brain-eating larvae is, all these clues must be taken into account. In conclusion, it can be said that there is no single “correct” or “right” method, but multiple that work. As long as the power of the larva gains access to the brain of the host, it will be released. What advantages and disadvantages this offers can be found here on MeinMMO: Baldur’s Gate 3: Should you eat the larvae or not?
