The Best Endings In BG3

One of the features that makes Baldur’s Gate 3 an immensely open and replayable roleplaying game is how unique and different each playthrough can feel. Each quest, fight, and storyline can have multiple solutions and outcomes, and when they all culminate at the end of the story, they can result in tons of variations and unique endings.

The game developers have stated that there are thousands of variations to the ending of the story based on player choice. While it is not probable for one player to experience all of these variations, a few crucial choices in the game can result in very different scenarios and provide memorable and unique epilogues.

Beware of spoilers for different Baldur’s Gate 3 endings!

Updated on October 28, 2024, by Alfredo Robelo: Baldur’s Gate has only one final boss but a multitude of options about how you can get to it and what happens once you defeat the dreaded creature. We’ve updated this article to include even more possible endings for you and your companions: some sweet, some sour, and some catastrophic.

10

Ending It All In Act Two

Once you make it to Act Two of the game, Gale receives some rather important information: Mystra, goddess of magic, has tasked him to use his Nethereese Orb to obliterate the Absolute, along with anyone standing near it when the explosion happens. While this is a possible ending for Gale during the final confrontation of Act Three, you also have the option of ending it all in Act Two, the very first time you see the Absolute.

The plan does succeed if you do this, but you have no way of shielding yourself from the epic blast, meaning that your entire party gets annihilated alongside most of the bad guys. A lot of people consider this a fake ending, but since the credits roll, the game seems to count it as one. However, be warned: this ending doesn’t count toward completing Honor Mode runs.

9

Defying Bhaal After Accepting His Gift

The Dark Urge is an origin character that, just like the protagonist from Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2, is a spawn of Bhaal, god of murder. This deep connection to Bhaal lets him control you in certain ways, being the source of your aptly named urge, and he can kill you if you defy him too much.

Of course, if Bhaal kills you during your adventure, Withers revives you as a new person, free of any mystical bonds tying you to the dark god. If you, however, accept all his gifts but don’t give him what he wants at the end of the game, he takes control of your body at the epilogue, forcing you to take the lives of the trusty companions that traveled with you during your adventure.

8

Going To Avernus With Karlach

Karlach’s tragic tale can end in a few ways, but they all boil down to either dying or sacrificing something to keep on living. The most common way Karlach survives isn’t anything too complicated, and it is something you can learn as early as Act Two: she needs to go back to Avernus so her infernal engine doesn’t explode.

There is no need for her to take that trip alone, however, since you can go with her on her hellish journey. This is a particularly sweet ending if you romanced her, making it a burden you both share and a fun tale for the rest of the party once you all join up at the epilogue of the game.

7

Gale’s Self Destruct

At the end of the first act of the game, the famed wizard, Elminister, informs Gale that his goddess, Mystra, wants him to find the Absolute and unleash the energy within his chest. This would destroy himself and the cult of the Absolute in a grand magical explosion.

While it’s not hard to dissuade Gale from killing himself and everyone else around, some might want to see what would happen out of curiosity or for speed-running purposes. Indeed, letting Gale detonate himself will result in one of the fastest and worst endings in the game. With the elder brain destroyed, every infected individual will turn into a mind flayer, and we inevitably unleash an army of illithids upon Baldur’s Gate and the rest of Faerun.

6

Deal With The Devil

One of the main ways of defeating the nether brain is to free Orpheus. You need the Orphic hammer in order to do so, and you can obtain the item in one of two ways. One of them involves infiltrating the House of Hope, stealing the hammer, and confronting Raphael in one of the best boss fights in the game.

The other way is to make a deal with Raphael and give him the Crown of Karsaus once the nether brain is defeated. Giving a powerful artifact to a devil might not seem like the best choice, though. If you go through with the deal, Raphael will conquer the hells and promise that in his conquest of other worlds, he will eventually knock on your door as well.

5

The Sins Of Your Father

If you play as the dark urge, you will eventually discover your past as a Bhaal spawn, a child of the god of murder. If you give in to the evil tendencies and finally accept your father’s gift, the slayer form, in the final act, you can fulfill your destiny in one of the most evil endings.

In this ending, you will betray every ally you ever had and dominate the nether brain and the infected to bring death and destruction upon the world. If you want to do an evil playthrough, there is no more satisfying ending than this, as you sit upon your throne on top of the nether brain and watch the slaughter ensue.

4

The Emperor’s Freedom

While our dream visitor, the Emperor, has been helping us all throughout our journey, as we get closer to our final confrontation with the nether brain, he reveals more of his personality and motives. The Emperor’s sole motive is survival, even if it means the death of his loved ones and closest friends.

We eventually have to make a hard decision when it comes to freeing Orpheus. The Emperor wants to devour his brain and gain his ability to subdue the brain, and if we oppose him, he will join the nether brain to ensure his survival. If we let him kill Orpheus, we can still defeat the nether brain and save the world, but we will betray Lae’zel and doom all the githyanki to the unopposed reign of Lich Queen Vlaakith.

3

Let Orpheus Turn

If you oppose the Emperor and free Orpheus, you are faced with a hard decision. Either you or Karlach becomes a mind flayer to dominate the brain, or you let Orpheus turn into an illithid. Orpheus is the prophesized savior of his people, and this will be a great sacrifice on his part. It will mean that the githyanki will have to fight their way to freedom without him.

This is one of the best endings, especially if you’ve been resisting the illithid powers until now and don’t wish for yourself or Karlach to lose their soul and become a mind flayer. Orpheus will go against his nature and better judgment to help you, and once it is all over, he will even ask you to end his misery.

2

The Ultimate Sacrifice

Once you have freed Orpheus from his infernal chains, either you or Karlach can make the ultimate sacrifice and let Orpheus remain a githyanki and lead his people to freedom once the nether brain is defeated. Karlach offers to do this since her infernal heart will soon explode and kill, so she thinks she doesn’t have much to lose.

But you can sacrifice yourself and become an illithid. For a good playthrough, this will be the ultimate act of heroism as you give up your soul to save the world. But it can also be the ending of choice for an evil playthrough for a character who wants to betray everyone and everything at the final moment and take control of the brain for themselves.

1

Defy Your Father

One of the best redemption stories is told in the dark urge playthrough, and it begins with you resisting the urge and comes to a climactic end when you refuse the gift of Bhaal. If you defy the god of murder, he will take your life.

But this is not the end for your character, as Withers will give you another chance and a rebirth free of Bhaal’s influence. The best good ending of the game is when you go against your nature as the dark urge and resist your evil nature so you can be reborn and save the world.