Speedruns are also a competitive discipline in Baldur’s Gate 3. However, to use some of the glitches, one must put their companions through severe trials. The community is divided on how they feel about it.
Which speedruns are we talking about? There are different ways to play Baldur’s Gate 3 – either leisurely, like MeinMMO editor-in-chief Leya Jankowski, or quite quickly, as the speedrun community prefers.
Even within this community, there are different approaches to playing the game. In the case of Baldur’s Gate 3, for instance, one faces the decision of whether to play all three acts. For comparison: The current world record for Any% (All Acts), meaning playing through all acts, is 18 minutes and 30 seconds without loading times (via speedrun.com). The record for the variant where the game ends at the end of Act 2 stands at 3 minutes and 31 seconds.
So it’s quite a substantial difference. To achieve such an impressive time, several glitches are necessary. And these require players to behave in a manner that is anything but benevolent towards their companions. On the contrary, one has to resort to methods that are quite mean-spirited.
Speedruns in Baldur’s Gate 3 can end badly
How can the speedrun succeed? A popular method to complete the game in just a few minutes has been dubbed “Shadowboxing” by the community. The term combines the companion Shadowheart, translated as “Schattenherz”, and the English word for box, “box”.
You encounter Shadowheart very early in the game, and she is usually the first companion for most players. To complete the speedrun, however, one must kill the thoughtful cleric, loot all her items, and pack her body into a wooden box. The box is then set on fire and glitched out of the map.
This way, one ends up right at the end of Act 2 and at the confrontation with Ketheric Thorm, Gortash, Orin, and the Absolute. It’s important to have Gale in the group. Instead of fighting, one can choose to blow up the highly explosive orb in his chest. This defeats the Absolute – but all party members die, and the game ends immediately.
This method requires a certain ruthlessness from the players. However, this also achieves one of the worst possible endings. But that is probably not the priority in a speedrun. By the way, Gale’s old friend Elminster is also a victim of wicked players – because he provides a lot of XP.
The community is willing to make sacrifices
What does the community think about this method? On Reddit, user Rogen80 posted the following meme:
Many players gather under the post who know exactly what Rogen80 means. They explain the method with the box to the uninformed and pity Shadowheart, who has to make this sacrifice. It is said to be “heartbreaking” according to Rogen80, but necessary to complete the speedrun.
“You put the best girl in the box,” Averander also laments.
But not all commentators can show their sympathy. CaitSith21 writes: “How can that break the heart? Those who live by the sword die by the sword.”
To which the original poster replies: “Because Shadowheart is a treasure and my great love, that’s why I find it sad.”
Speaking of love. A whole unique category of speedruns in Baldur’s Gate 3 involves those that aim to have sex in the game as quickly as possible. Here, the world record is 1 minute and 58 seconds. Truly impressive. Less than 17 % play with the most unpopular companions in the game.
