Guide · Walkthrough
Baldur's Gate 3: act-by-act walkthrough and missables
Objective
The main path through Acts 1–3, the key choices, and what you lose if you move on too early.
9 steps · 3 min read
- 1
Act 1
Nautiloid. Free Shadowheart from the pod, pick up Lae'zel and Astarion after the crash. Grab everything on the ship; you can't come back.
- 2
Act 1
The three leaders. Your goal is the Goblin camp (Shattered Sanctum) and its leaders: Dror Ragzlin, Priestess Gut and Minthara. Siding with the goblins against the Druid Grove locks out several companions (Karlach, Wyll and Halsin are affected) — decide before attacking anything.
- 3
Act 1
Soft lock first: rescue Counsellor Florrick and the trapped man at Waukeen's Rest before entering the Mountain Pass, or they burn. Also clear the Underdark (Sussur Tree, Blurg), the Blighted Village, the Owlbear cave, Auntie Ethel and Halsin. You can still return after the Mountain Pass or the Grymforge boat.
- 4
Act 1 hard lock: entering the Shadow-Cursed Lands
Via the Mountain Pass or the Grymforge elevator — ends Act 1. Unfinished side quests fail and the tieflings leave the Grove. The game shows a warning before you cross.
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Act 2
Shadow-Cursed Lands. Find Jaheira at the Last Light Inn and protect it. You need a light source (Moonlantern or Pixie blessing) to move safely through the curse.
- 6
Act 2
Moonrise Towers and Ketheric. Gather Shar's relics in the Gauntlet of Shar with Shadowheart, rescue the prisoners, then confront Ketheric Thorm. His final fight (with the Apostle of Myrkul) ends the act — finish Last Light, the Thorm family quests and the House of Healing first.
- 7
Act 3
Rivington and the Lower City. Big hub: Wyrm's Rock, the Guildhall, Sorcerous Sundries, the Open Hand Temple murders, and the three Chosen — Gortash, Orin and the Netherbrain plot. Companion quests (Karlach, Wyll, Astarion's Cazador, Shadowheart's parents, Gale's Netherese Orb) all resolve here.
- 8
Final point of no return: the final assault on the Elder Brain starts the ending, and the game warns you first. Finish every companion quest and spend your gold before.
- 9
Rules that save runs: long rest often (some story scenes only trigger on rest), keep camp supplies stocked, and read dice rolls — Guidance and Inspiration help critical checks.
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