[GameSpot] - Baldur's Gate 3 Endings Guide

343iBot · August 14, 2023

There are several endings that you can get in Baldur's Gate 3. These depend on the choices you've made throughout the campaign, such as how you tackled companion quests, which person you romanced, and pivotal decisions toward the finale. Our guide discusses the Baldur's Gate 3 endings that we've seen so far. Naturally, please be aware that this article contains spoilers.

Baldur's Gate 3 endings guide

Our Baldur's Gate 3 endings guide is categorized into several sections based on a particular branch or decision that you make during the finale. We detail the different scenes and outcomes pertaining to your companions, as well as other notable characters.

Major Decision: Good Versus Evil

After defeating the Netherbrain in the final battle, you're given a choice as to what you should do with the Crown of Karsus:

Good ending - Command the Netherbrain to destroy itself and the Illithid tadpoles.
Evil ending - Dominate the Netherbrain and become the Absolute.
- Note that the evil choice may have the option to stab and kill whoever is your Illithid ally. The choice on who transforms into an Illithid is discussed in our How to Free Orpheus guide.

Decide on whether you destroy or dominate the Netherbrain.

The Good Ending

The Baldur's Gate 3 good ending sees the Netherbrain crash into the sea before exploding. With the Mind Flayers in disarray, the townsfolk rise up, eliminating all of them. Your entire group watches by the harbor, the setting of the sun giving way to goodbyes and new beginnings. What follows are individual scenes pertaining to most companions, which we discuss further in the Character Conclusions section.

Note: Dark Urge players who were able to overcome their murderous intent, and those who commanded the Netherbrain to destroy itself, will also get this ending.

The people rejoice!

The Evil Ending and a Bit of Bhaal

For the Baldur's Gate 3 evil ending, your character must become the Absolute by dominating the Netherbrain. This will also mean killing a Mind Flayer ally (i.e. Emperor, Orpheus, or Karlach). The rest of your group can't believe what you've done, but you soon control their minds as well. In the distance, the other Illithids levitate, as more Nautiloids appear. It's the beginning of a new Illithid Empire with you at the helm.

Note 1: Those who do not worship Bhaal or Dark Urge players who rejected the god's gift will simply say: "In my name." But, those who continue to be aligned with the lord of murder will say: "In Bhaal's name."

Note 2: You will not get the companion scenes in the harbor, the scene featuring Withers, or a moment with your lover.

A throne for the Absolute Bhaalspawn.

The Netherese Bomb Ending - Skip the Final Battle

This Baldur's Gate 3 ending actually allows you to skip the final battle entirely. We're not certain about the requirements, but we definitely completed Gale's arc. Here's what we did:

We completed the Wizard of Waterdeep tasks and met Elminster.
We read the tomes in the Sorcerous Sundries Vault.
After that, we spoke to Mystra, who wanted control of the Crown of Karsus.
We brought Gale to the final battle.
Just as the team was about to climb the Netherbrain's stem, Gale remarked that he could destroy the thing completely using the Netherese Orb. We replied with: "If this is truly what you want..."

Gale climbs to the top alone and detonates the Weave-formed bomb in his chest. It's a bit like the abrupt ending in Act 2 before you fight Ketheric Thorm. In any case, the group watched the explosion from the harbor.

Note 1: Gale's scene (from the good ending) will still trigger even if he supposedly died in the explosion. However, other characters will remark about his sacrifice. This might be a bug.

Note 2: We did not get the scene with our character's lover when we chose this arc.

Companions watch in the distance after Gale goes boom.

Character Conclusions

These are all part of the Baldur's Gate 3 endings. These pertain to the different scenes that you can get, assuming you chose the good ending by destroying the Netherbrain.

The Emperor

In Free Orpheus, we opted to liberate the Githyanki prince. The Emperor did not like this, and he joined the Netherbrain's forces. We had to kill him during the final battle, along with his other Dream Guardians.

Lae'zel and Orpheus

In Free Orpheus, we decided to have Orpheus turn into a Mind Flayer. However, there's an alternate path where another party member (i.e. your character or Karlach) becomes a Mind Flayer, which allows Orpheus to remain a Githyanki.

If Orpheus is a Mind Flayer, he tasks Lae'zel with taking up his mantle and controlling his dragons. She is to rally the Githyanki to bring down the rule of his mother Vlaakith. Orpheus also wants you to show mercy by executing him with his sword, since he can no longer return to his people as an Illithid.

If Lae'zel agrees to the plan, you can either kill Orpheus or persuade him to stay alive to see the Githyanki rise to glory.
Otherwise, you can persuade Lae'zel that she can decide her own fate. Orpheus has no choice and he ends up killing himself.

Illithid Orpheus wants Lae'zel to lead the rebellion, though you can convince her to follow her own path.

Gale

Whether or not Gale sacrificed himself with his "chest bomb," you still get his scene in the ending. He asks you what to do with the Crown of Karsus. You can tell him to bring it to Mystra, use it so he can attain more power, or to leave it lost forever.

Astarion

Astarion had a short scene where he suddenly got scorched by sunlight. He then quickly ran away, with a companion remarking that it'll be the last time anyone saw him under the sun. We can't confirm it, but this might be related to the conclusion in Cazador's Dungeon. In our playthrough, we told Astarion not to even consider the ritual to become a Vampire Ascendant. Perhaps that's why he's weakened now. Then again, it might simply be due to the fact that everyone's brain tadpoles are gone.

Left: You still get Gale's harbor scene if you make him go kablooey; Right: Astarion needs sunblock.

Karlach and Wyll

Karlach has one of the most impactful moments in the Baldur's Gate 3 ending. In our campaign, we did not romance Karlach, but we did fix her Infernal Engine somewhat. Sadly, it remained unstable, and she knows she's about to die. Her other option is to return to the hells of Avernus.

However, we also managed to complete Wyll's arc:

We accepted Mizora's proposal: she'll help us find Wyll's father, but she'll also claim Wyll's soul.
We saved Duke Ravengard in the underwater prison, and we found the secret in the Wyrmway.
When we returned to camp, there was an option for Wyll to either become the next duke of Baldur's Gate, or to become the Blade of Avernus.

As the Blade of Avernus, Wyll can suggest to Karlach that she return to the hells. He'll be there to protect her every step of the way.

Left: Karlach is slowly engulfed by the flames; Right: Wyll says that he can protect her to hell and back.

Lover: Shadowheart

There was a final scene with our character's lover, given that we romanced Shadowheart in our campaign. This may be affected by your decision in the Gauntlet of Shar, Nightsong encounter, and the House of Grief. In our case, we did the following:

We spared Nightsong and had Shadowheart reject Shar. She then devoted herself to Selune.
In the House of Grief, we persuaded her to keep her parents alive, despite Shar's curse.
In the finale, Shadowheart said that she'll build a home for her parents, and she wants our character to stay with her.

Withers

After all the scenes, you'll get to watch Withers as he mocks the Dead Three: Bane, Bhaal, and Myrkul. He also remarks that they may have though he won't notice their plots. Whatever Withers might be, he's certainly been fighting these godlike entities for a while.

Shadowheart wants to move in together, even though she hasn't even taken you out to dinner yet.

That does it for the endings in Baldur's Gate 3. There are certainly some missing bits, such as the respective arcs for Jaheira, Minsc, and Halsin. We can't tell if there really are no special scenes involving them, since they only had random remarks and comments.

Baldur's Gate 3 is filled to the brim with activities and secrets. You'll no doubt be part of an adventure that can take countless hours to complete. For other tips, you can visit our BG3 guides hub.

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