Every Baldur's Gate 3 Ending Explained (& What Choices Change It) (2024)

As a massive RPG with an emphasis on player choice, Baldur's Gate 3 can potentially end in a number of ways, depending on interactions with certain characters and the outcomes of major storylines. The allies that fight alongside the party during the final battle, the options that are available to deal with it, and the overall fate of the world of Faerûn are all things that can change drastically depending on both earlier decisions and choices made during the ending sequence. However, with Baldur's Gate 3 being an especially long game, it can be hard for a single person to see every available ending across multiple playthroughs.

The endings of Baldur's Gate 3 primarily revolve around dealing with the threat of the Absolute, a mind flayer Elder Brain enhanced by a magical artifact called the Crown of Karsus. To that end, most of the game's third act is spent gathering the Netherstones from Gortash and Orin to try and bring the Elder Brain under control, with options to forge temporary alliances with either antagonist in pursuit of the other. Additionally, choosing whether to free Orpheus from his imprisonment in the Astral Prism affects the final battle as well, as do player choices regarding certain factions and the outcomes of companion quests.

How BG3's Multiple Endings Work

Player Choices & Quest Completion

Most of Baldur's Gate 3's endings come after the conclusion of the battle with the Absolute, after Orin and Gortash have been dealt with, and all three Netherstones are in the party's possession. Certain earlier ending options do exist, but in practice, they're treated more like unique game-overs, as they cut the game drastically short and aren't proper payoffs to the story that the game has set up. As there are a number of different major decisions to make before heading to BG3's final battle, however, certain outcomes during the endings can be dramatically different across multiple playthroughs.

Which Choices Affect The Ending Of BG3

Several Late-Game Choices Drastically Change The Ending Of Baldur's Gate 3

The most important third act decision regarding the ending involves the Emperor, Orpheus, and the player character's illithid potential. By default, the party is allied with the Emperor, an independent mind flayer and the true identity of Baldur's Gate 3's Guardian, who reveals that the party is being protected from the influence of the Absolute by the power of an imprisoned Githyanki prince named Orpheus. Optionally, however, Orpheus can be freed from his imprisonment, bringing him to the party's side and causing the Emperor to defect to the side of the Absolute. Either character, if not made hostile, will aid the party in important ways in the final battle.

In particular, to combat the Absolute, one character will have to transform into an enhanced mind flayer, with the Emperor, the player character, Orpheus, and Karlach (if she's a present companion) all being able to take on the role. Which character transforms has story implications for the end of the game and certain storylines, particularly for Lae'zel and Karlach, and if Orpheus isn't freed, any choice results in his death. Other choices affect which allies the party can call into the final battle, some story details surrounding it, and character-specific endings.

The Final Battle Of Baldur's Gate 3

The Party Fights The Absolute

The final battle of Baldur's Gate 3 begins after Orin and Gortash have been dealt with and their Netherstones secured. For Orin, this will inevitably involve a fight, but the party can ally with Gortash if they dealt with Orin first, in which case he'll also be present during the confrontation with the Netherbrain. The party makes its way to where the brain is hidden, deep underneath Baldur's Gate, and attempts to use the Netherstones to control it. Here, several checks will be made to try and dominate the Elder Brain, but even if every check is successful, the attempt will fail.

If the party has allied with Gortash, he will attempt to intervene in the domination attempt, only to be killed. Regardless, the Brain reveals that the plan surrounding the cult of the Absolute and the spread of mind flayer tadpoles has been under its control the whole time. The failed domination attempt forces the party to retreat to the Astral Prism, where it's revealed by the Emperor or Orpheus that someone will need to be turned into an enhanced mind flayer to combat the Netherbrain, and the player will have to choose between the Emperor/Orpheus, their own character, or Karlach.

After making the choice, the party emerges back into Baldur's Gate, now being besieged by the Netherbrain, the forces of the Absolute, and a number of newly transformed mind flayers. After a meeting at the High Hall with some allies, where some previous choices will determine who is present, the party will have to fight to reach the Netherbrain. Another fight will break out once the party has climbed on top of the Brain, this time to reach the Crown of Karsus on the other side, where the enhanced mind flayer will have to attempt to dominate the Netherbrain.

At the end of the fight, the enhanced mind flayer will successfully dominate the Elder Brain, and the player character will be given a choice between destroying the Brain or taking control of it for world domination. If another character is the mind flayer, taking control will involve betraying and killing them - and if that other character is Orpheus or the Emperor, it will require a successful melee attack roll. This decision determines the overall ending of the game, and choosing to control the Elder Brain also prevents any character-specific endings from taking place, as companions essentially become mind-controlled thralls.

What Follows After BG3's Final Battle

Depending On Player Choices, BG3 Can End Immediately After The Final Encounter

Taking control of the brain has the player character essentially becoming the new Absolute, putting the world under their rule, and is the standard "evil" ending. Destroying the brain ends with it crashing into the sea, saving the city. Scenes are shown of the citizens of Baldur's Gate fighting back against the mind flayers, and every companion that has remained with the group receives a short bit of ending dialogue. If Orpheus has become a mind flayer, he will request Lae'zel to take up his cause in rebelling against Vlaakith, and will request the player character to end his life.

If Lae'zel takes up the cause, a player who has romanced her can go with her to fight against Vlaakith, and Orpheus can be convinced to continue living. If the player convinces her not to leave, however, Orpheus will invariably kill himself. Karlach's fate is also decided immediately after the final battle - if Karlach is chosen to become a mind flayer, she is safe from the threat of her engine exploding, but otherwise, she either succumbs to the explosion and dies, or can be convinced to return to Avernus with Wyll and/or, if she's been romanced, the player character.

After the general "good" ending scene, a few bonus scenes can possibly be shown. First, the player character will receive a short scene together with any companion that they have romanced, showing more of their story after the ending. These scenes vary depending on how the romanced companion's personal quest was resolved, and generally involve the player accompanying them on their new path. Withers will also receive a short scene of him mocking the failed plan of the Dead Three, and, if Raphael wasn't killed, he will get a short stinger hinting at his future plans.

After the initial ending, if the player chose to kill the Brain instead of taking control, they'll get the chance to play through a brief epilogue, set six months after the final battle, which elaborates on each character's ultimate fate post-game. The epilogue is a party organized by Withers, inviting the player character, every recruited companion, and some other select characters to a gathering at the party's camp, where the player can walk around and have conversations with every character present.

BG3's Companions Get More Fleshed-Out Endings In The Epilogue

The Epilogue Expands Possible Endings For BG3's Origin Characters

Generally, every companion character who was recruited and remained alive at the end of the final battle will show up, and dialogue with them will explain what they've been up to in the months after the end of the game, which depends heavily on how the player completed each companion's personal quest during the game. For example, Astarion's fate depends on how the player dealt with Cazador, with Astarion ending up as a nighttime vigilante, a fully ascended vampire, or, if the player simply didn't deal with Cazador at all, still in hiding from his abusive master.

Likewise, Karlach's ending depends on how the player dealt with her infernal engine - if she was turned into a mind flayer or convinced to return to Avernus, she appears at the party - in the latter case, she's closing in on a fix for her engine. Wyll, regardless of whether he broke his contract with Mizora, either follows in his father's footsteps to become Grand Duke, or becomes the Blade of Frontiers, hunting devils in Avernus (with Karlach, if she was convinced to return there).

Shadowheart is a follower of either Selûne or Shar, depending on how she was convinced to deal with Nightsong. If she follows Selûne, she's either settled down with her parents, if she chose to save them, or is an adventurer, but if she follows Shar, then she's revealed to have replaced Viconia Devir as the Mother Superior of the Sharrans in Baldur's Gate. Gale's ending depends on how the player resolved his relationship with Mystra and his desire for godhood, and he ends up as either a professor in Waterdeep, a fully ascended god, or, simply, dead.

After the player has had their fill of the party in the epilogue, they can have one last conversation with Withers, which leads to the final scene of the game - a closing speech from Withers to all attending the party - with a few unique alternative scenes for certain scenarios. Most notably, a Dark Urge player character who didn't manage to break free of Bhaal's influence won't experience the epilogue as normal, either showing up as a mindless murderer, or, having chosen to die instead, have a brief ending conversation with Withers in a sort of afterlife vision.

Baldur's Gate 3 has numerous ending states, accounting for almost every major decision that the player makes in companion quests and leading up to the final battle. While the game's ending was controversially short and stunted in its initial release, the epilogue added post-launch brings some much-needed closure to the story arcs of several companions - and while it's not looking like Baldur's Gate 3 will get a sequel any time soon, there are also hints at possible future adventures.

Baldur's Gate 3

Developed and published by Larian Studios, Baldur's Gate 3 is an upcoming role-playing game set to release in August of 2023. Players will create a character to embark on a large-scale journey and can do so solo or cooperatively with a friend. Combat is a turn-based style this time around.

RPG

Franchise

Baldur's Gate

Platform(s)

PC , macOS , PS5 , Xbox Series X

Released

August 3, 2023

Developer(s)

Larian Studios

Publisher(s)

Larian Studios

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence