BG3 Confront the Elder Brain is one of the final missions in Baldurs Gate 3. It occurs in Act 3, after defeating a wide array of enemies from Mind Flayers to Ketheric Thorm. But, the Elder Brain is by far the most intimidating boss in the game, and in this article, we’ll walk you through exactly how to Confront the Elder Brain in Baldurs Gate 3. So, let’s take a look!
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Prerequisites for Confront the Elder Brain
In order to successfully confront the Elder Brain, you will need to gather three netherstones.
You will find the first netherstone as early as Act 2. One of the main quests will have you defeat Ketheric in battle. Doing so will give you the first netherstone that you need. The Ketheric Netherstone
To find the second netherstone, defeat Orin. This is an incredibly difficult fight, and it’s recommended that you only take this quest on when you are ready to complete the game. This will reward us with Orin’s Netherstone.
To find the final netherstone, defeat Gortash. Again, this is an incredibly hard fight. You will have to use your strongest companions to get the job done. This will then reward us with the Gortash’s Netherstone.
Once you have all three netherstones, you’re ready to confront the Elder Brain.
Elder Brain Location
It’s actually very simple to find the Elder Brain in Baldurs Gate 3. All you need to do is head to the city sewers, find the Temple Bharal Waypoint, and head North. Once you reach the group of houses, work your way around them. You should be able to see a black lake.
Once you arrive, the Emperor will greet you. If you haven’t collected all of the netherstones, he will warn you away from the shore, and it’s a good idea to listen to these warnings, as confronting the elder brain without these items is a terrible idea.
If you do have the netherstones, walk down the shore of the lake until you find a group of purple-eyed mice. Walk past them, then walk to the pier. You should find a waypoint and a boat. Once you’re ready, set sail in the boat. It should be noted that doing this will permanently lock the Lower City from being accessed. So make sure you’ve done everything you wanted to do there before leaving. There is no turning back.
Confront the Elder Brain
Disembark from the boat and fight your way through the pool to the Elder Brain. From here, you’ll be teleported to the Astral Plane, and face a tough decision. You can either let the Emperor suck Orpheus’ brain, or free Orpheus. Depending on your choice, the Emperor or Orpheus will join your team, and you’ll be ready to confront the Elder Brain.
On your way to the brain, a Nautiloid will kamikaze into the area, so steer clear of the marked area on your mini-map, or you will instantly die. Make your way to the top of the brain, and cast a control spell. This will open up the portal to the Elder Brain, giving you four turns to defeat it. Use heavy damage spells for maximum impact.
The Good Choice – Destroy the Brain
In the good ending, you will defeat the Elder Brain and deliver the killing blow for good. When you do this, the infected are relieved of the tadpoles in their heads, and the mind flayers are defeated once and for all.
Destroying the Elder Brain will make you the hero of the city. Everyone will come to greet you and thank you for saving the town, praising you for your efforts. And after a short cut scene, the game will end for good.
The Evil Choice – Control the Brain
However, there is an alternative route that some players may wish to go down. Depending on your character, you may have the option of controlling the brain instead of killing it. Doing this will give you an army of the infected, and gives you interesting choices surrounding the Mind Flayers and cult members. Without spoiling too much, it’s a very unique route to go down that you should definitely explore in at least one playthrough.
The Secret Ending
Not many players know about this ending, but you can confront the Elder Brain without having collected any netherstones. You can actually ignore the Emperor’s warnings and head to the Elder Brain’s location without the tools that you need. Simply jump on the boat located at the Morphic Pool dock, and sail to the other side of the pool. But, this won’t exactly end well for you and your party.
When you confront the Elder Brain, it will immediately transform your character into a Mind Flayer- the very things you’ve been trying to kill throughout your journey. The Elder Brain will then transform your party. Then, they will instantly fly away from you.
After this, a cutscene will start showing the Elder Brain reaping havoc on the lands you have worked so hard to protect. And then, just like that, the game will end.
It’s very interesting that Baldurs Gate 3 does have a secret ending. But, it’s definitely not recommended that you go down this route, because you’ll never actually beat the game. You’ll actually just waste all of your hard work!
Confront the Elder Brain – Final Thoughts
Ultimately, Confront the Elder Brain marks a pretty perfect ending to an all-around excellent game. The ending perfectly closes the storyline and surrounding lore, and ties all loose ends together. It’s also the mission that you’ve been working towards the entire time. But, once you do finally defeat the Elder Brain, you’ll probably wish that there was more content for you to play and enjoy!
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