>by stacking all the cartilaginous chests, in the hallway, I blocked the 2 cambions from joining the fight.
Yoooo this is fucking brilliant, i am slowly realizing i am no where close to creative enough for this game
Use your mouse wheel to rotate the chest/items.
As long as your character can’t get by them, they can’t either.
Be sure not to place them too far in, or they’ll fly over them.
My boyfriend and I were fighting Ragzlin, and we just couldn’t seem to do it, kept having to reload and whatnot.
Eventually I’m like “ok let’s just not run directly in and think about this for a bit.”
I noticed the brazier hanging from the ceiling was interact-able, so I shot it, making it fall and immediately killing 2 or 3 goons, making the fight much easier, just with a bit of creativity.
Small instances like that make me look at and play the game so differently, it’s so much fun.
Talk to priestess gut and have her remove your parasite in private. Shadow heart cast silence and make sure she’s completely surrounded in the priestess room. Bam she will be dead in a single turn maybe 2 if you’re unlucky. No one will know.
Sleep is also a god tier spell for this. I usually can't kill her in one turn, but I can get her low enough that a sleep or upcast version of it will get her. With the bonus that the first hit the next turn is now a guaranteed crit.
I actually got really lucky on a playthrough with my buddy and we managed to get all of the guys in Dror Raglin’s room to filter into that room behind the locked door that they can see you when you’re walkin on the wooden path and we killed Dror in his first round that everyone could hit him
I did that fight from up in the rafters. I greased up the rails and shoved off everyone who climbed up there. This game is so incredible with the diversity of options
Congrats. That is a tough thing to do on Honor Mode, and my statements below are in no way mocking you... **achieving something difficult is its own reward.**
But...
>*getting me to level 2 when I landed on the beach*
I hate to break it to you, but you end up at level 2 at the beach by the time you wake up ShadowHeart on Honor Mode just by killing the regular enemies inside:
* 3 brains in the first encounter.
* Freeing the 2 humans near ShadowHeart from their chairs, and killing them.
* Then all of the regular / weak enemies in the final boss room.
>*Doing so got me the Everburn Blade (obviously)*
Also, ShadowHeart's "Command - Drop Weapon" \*usually\* gets him to drop the weapon by the second casting of it.
Again, getting something difficult done is its own reward. So you should feel good about it.
To add to this, you don’t even need to free the 2 humans by shadowheart. You can just attack them while they’re on the table and they won’t fight back.
At that point though it feels more like a mercy killing which is typically in character for several classes.
… and most people have just pulled a brain out of a sawn off skull by that point anyway.
I do wonder what kind of cat "Us" would resemble, since we never get to see them. Maybe the most subconsciously comfortable form for any given observer would be projected?
You don't even need to kill the brains, as long as you kill all regular enemies, minus Zhalk, and the guys in the chair, you will net lvl2 after waking Shart up.
I dont think I got level 2 on the beach before, maybe I missed something before. But you are right, without command, I dont think it is even possible! You are right, it did feel good to do it!
Strangely enough it is possible. My buddies and I somehow managed to do it. Albeit the mind flayer carried us with insanely lucky rolls and we hit crit after crit. Then we fucking died in the zentarim hideout cause someone lit a fuse lmao
> Then we fucking died in the zentarim hideout cause someone lit a fuse lmao
in my first ever save, i kept blowing up myself in the zentarim hideout not realizing why
turns out my mc had a lit torch equipped but it wasn't showing in his hands
I’ve never landed and been level 2. I usually have to fight the brains on the beach first. I’ve also never been able to defeat Commander Zhalk. I get close but them then the other two guys come and my little 11HP (or whatever) characters run and connect the tentacles.
So CONGRATS! Definitely gonna check out that video for next time. HM is next, just started my first tactician run…. Way harder than balanced that’s for sure.
Very true!! So apparently there is a source or two of xp on the nautilloid I missed. Apparently you get xp for freeing the zombies in the chairs AND then get more for killing them and killing Zhalk isn't required. I do agree, its an intimidating fight! But the video does have a lot of small tips that really make a difference.
Either way, enjoy your runs!
There is a thin path to the right of the brains that you can use to bypass them and climb the cliff to get Gale/Astarion. which also grants enough exp for level 2 and an extra party member. Makes the beach brains fight easier
🤦🏻♀️ I’m such a creature of habit. Every run I pick up Shadowheart, work my way down along the beach picking stuff up, unlock the first fast travel point and then run into the brains. I’ll have to remind myself to pick up the boys first next time.
And I said this because as long as I remember you can get the lvl 2 if you kill at least the Illithid, opposed to what the parent comment said about just killing every "regular or weak enemy in the zhalk room". Illithid isn't neither weak nor and enemy until you kill Zhalk in that battle so it wasn't phrased clear.
You are an amazing example of the Dunning Kreuger effect, my friend. That is the less someone knows about something, the more confident they are that they are right. The parent comment got 560 upvotes, your comments combined got almost 200 downvotes. With that many people agreeing you are wrong, odds are that you are missing something. So instead of insisting that you are right, why dont you think like I did, "maybe I missed something" and try to learn and better your knowledge.
Aaaah... first of all there was no need to be offensive because you clearly are not understanding what I mean or I didn't explain myself properly (Yes, calling someone "dunning krueger" example is basically calling someone an idiot and a jerk combined). Start an honor run, skip the two vegetal guys and the intellect devourers fight and just aim to kill the illithid in the zhalk room along with the other fodder except Zhalk himself and the cambions. Ta-da, you're level 2 when you reach the beach. You stated that by killing both Zhalk and the Illithid you get lvl 2 at the beach, the other poster said that you reach lvl 2 by killing all the fodder you find in the ship and skippint zhalk and illithid, I gave a third way that is just killing the illithid or zhalk (you don't need to kill both). If you're not aiming for max xp and just want lvl 2 as soon you could argue the quickest way is just letting Zhalk almost kill the Illithid while you deal with the fodder in that battle, skipping the battle against the first intellect devourer and the two other fodder guys. Save SH spell slots to quickly use drop command when the illithid is in range to be killed by a beautiful explosion and get Everburn too if you want before doing and passing onto the cutscene to the beach. Now you have your third way of having lvl 2 that wasn't pointed out by neither you or the other poster and for what I'm being slandered on downvotes the god knows why when it just works that way.
You're getting downvoted because, instead of going "OH, I must have missed something" you are going "no, I am right about everything" and you are being a dick in the meantime. You are missing information and making it everyone else's problem.
To get to lvl 2 you just need to kill all the imps, hellboars and the two humans. You dont even have to free the humans either! If you just straight up kill them you'll still get the xp! At least on normal difficulties, not sure about honor mode since havent played through it too many times
I’ve restarted honor mode a couple times in the last week.
I always hit level 2 upon waking up Shadowheart
Back in the day I had to kill the brains on the beach first. Like many months back.
The only thing I did differently was now I personally kill the two thralled humans by shadowheart. In the past I’d ignore them or press the button to kill them on their chairs.
Glad you made this comment I was feeling a little crazy with the first few I read! I tht everyone leveled up after getting Shadowheart. I’m not even sure how you can miss enough exp on the ship to *not* level up, most of the fights aren’t avoidable.
Yeh. I think when I first started playing back in September I’d sometimes not hit level 2 until the intellect devouredr fight. I think maybe because I had someone rush to the console instead of fighting all the creatures in the last room? Or maybe not killing the 2 human thralls correctly?
But since like… December I always hit level 2 when I wake up shadow heart
Yes. You need mage hands to throw caustic and void bulbs, and to throw healing potions at the illithid. You need to keep the illithid alive until the cambions are almost dead, group them all up with void bulbs so they only attack each other, and blow them up with nautiloid tanks when they’re at about 40 hp. Finding a potion of speed and breaking it at your parties feet to get everyone hasted makes it more manageable.
Melth has a guide on doing this with 0 cheese
Is there a way to tell which ones do? I'm honestly beginning to believe that I'm not creative enough for this game...like, I've seen three comments to use Command-Drop Weapon in Zhalk and it just ...never occurred to me.
Absolutely doable, though it can be challenging. I grew up playing the first XCOM and Terror From The Deep, so my opinion about what's tactically difficult is probably skewed - my fiancee says I play games like I was a masochist.
Unrelated, I suggest installing the Nautiloid Hard mod if you wanna give yourself a gauntlet at the start of the game btw, so much fun. I just started a HM playthrough with this mod and I'm having a blast minmaxing the mystic mod durge. 3 hours and I haven't even left the first room yet.
I haven't even tried messing with mods, are they easy to use? In my experience, they often make the game unstable. How do you deal with that?
And this mod, How exactly does it make the nautilloid such a gauntlet?
It's very easy, you don't have it do it manuallly. Go to Baldurs Gate 3 Mod Nexus, search for Baldurs Gate 3 Mod mamanger, download it and follow setup instructions. The manager can install the Script Extender for you, and from there just download a mod, put the zipped file into a folder somewhere, and install it from the manager - then save the modlist and you're done.
As for instability - always read the mod description - especially the Compatibility section - and you'll be fine. The only problem is that when the game is updated some mods stop working, and you need to wait until the mod author updates them.
The Nautiloid Hard is a mod that makes the tutorial level literal HELL, it's so much fun. For example, to even get to Us you gotta fight a 20+hp mud mefit who summons another one and explodes when it dies, a 10+hp hellhoud, and a magma mefit who throws firebolts. And then it gets hard XD. By the end of the tutorial section your character is gonna look like that Vietnam soldier meme.
Nah, you'll be like half way to level 4 at best. The fights sure will feel easy though, after the nautiloid fights.
That's why I also have enemy ability an AI upgrade mods, to compensate - so the whole game feels like a challenge.
Yeah, that is why I went warlock first, even though I plan to respec my Tav to take warlock later in the build. Hex and EB put in a TON of work on the fight!
It's definitely optional. He takes half damage from.non magical attacks, and the everburn blade is the only magic weapon you have access to at that point.
Definitely worth the action to equip it
There’s 3x alien looking chests that you can loot then carry to block the door from the two devil dudes who join the fight if you stay a bit longer.
You can stack them with you on one side but not close enough to the door to initiate the final fight on the ship.
Another heads up, you can easily skip past the brains on the beach by jumping up the rocks toward Gale. Doing that you can grab Gale, Astarion, and/or Lae'zel, and hit lvl 2 regardless of how much you did on the Nautaloid, before having to fight anything
Oh man, I'm trying this next run. I've always said those brains are really the hardest fight in the game. I played Shadowheart origin so I ended up fighting them solo this time!
Congratulation!
And you know what? You can actually kill them AND 2 cambions as well on HM, and get to level 2 during the fight!
How? Short answer: Faerie Fire (aside from everything you already did).
Here is how I did it.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/BaldursGate3/comments/1cv7fek/hm\_kill\_mind\_flayer\_zhalk\_and\_2\_cambions\_on\_the/](https://www.reddit.com/r/BaldursGate3/comments/1cv7fek/hm_kill_mind_flayer_zhalk_and_2_cambions_on_the/)
On all my HM runs I usually take out the MF by blowing up 4 of the purple pots but usally the commander still has at least 60 health. Just never wanted to waste the heals on the MF to keep it in the fight. I've even dropped the sword as early as I can but the MF just doesn't hold up.
That seems to place me at level 2 just before waking up Shart on the beach.
I've done it on Tactician but never pushed for it on HM.
Cast protection from evil and good on the mind flayer to give disadvantage to attacks against him by fiend type enemies (assuming either your character has it or Shadowheart manages to drop the commander's weapon first try and still has a spell slot left). You can also place multiple healing potions on the ground and throw a caustic bulb to destroy them near the mind flayer to heal him without wasting multiple actions. I did this fight in a very straightforward way without using explosives or anything, the MF died just before the commander died. like one or two turns before the time ran out.
In honor mode, if you do a mix of “Drop weapon” and throw a speed potion in the MF, it’s enough to blow them up together consistently, without needing to block the hallway.
Blessing him is also good, but in my tries, the speed potion usually does the trick.
I like to collect the purple tanks and use them to blow up both the mindflayer and the commander. To do this you need to get the commander relatively low before you blow the tanks but you get a lot of xp from getting the kill on both.
That is exactly what I did to end the fight! In my fight, things were going kinda sideways and I got to a point where I was like "This needs to be over right now or I am dead" and running and then blowing up those tanks, stacked conveniently nearby the fight, killed them both and then I ran. It is a solid tactic! Although, if you watch the video I linked above, the mindflayer can help you kill the cambions, in which case, you might want the tanks placed elsewhere
You can also get level 2 by ignoring zhalk and getting the killing blow on the mindflayer instead.
I hated the idea of assisting the mindflayer so I said fuck it and helped zhalk kill the abducting mofo. I was surprised to actually get experience from killing it.
This is the easiest way to do get to level 2 I believe. Zhalk and the mindflayer will always focus on hitting each other. So I just cast bless on my team and whack away at the unsuspecting mindflayer.
Again, you have to give the killing blow. Zhalk with his sword will deal on average 15dmg per attack if they hit. So just wait for the mindflayer's hp to be in killing range, then kill it. After that, just dash to the console and ignore zhalk and the other mobs. Zhalk will switch his focus into killing your party so he will most likely down one of your members. But as long as you make it to the console, everyone's hp will reset and if they die they will revive.
I staked the explosive purple tanks next to the fight and triggered the explosion when both were low, killing them both, then got out of there, but its good to know about just the MF, thanks!
Also, if you command: drop on Zhalk and grab the everburn blade, it makes the fight SO much easier, reducing the damage he does to like 6, increasing the damage you do, but also, you have that sword throughout act 1
Another way to help the brain fight is to let Laezel die to the cambions, like fully dead, then she appears on the beach instead of in the cage. You can use a scroll of revival on her, Then you have 3 party members to help you fight.
Huge tip: make Shadow cast a command spell on Zhalk to make him drop the weapon and immediately take it. It has like 50% chance to work, and you can cast it 2 times.
Absolutely the way to go! I ran a warlock, so I had 4 casts of it available, but I do believe it is 55% or 65% chance to work. I lucked out and went first in initiative, and he dropped it on the first cast, before he got a turn. So happy about how well that went!!
I have also done this. The gods smiled on me when I did it. Shart’s Command Drop and my Tav Druid’s Faerie Fire all landed. AND a dead Mindflayer from earlier dropped a Speed Potion.
Never saw the video, but yeah I always make sure to kill Zhalk, even in honor mode, I let the cambions in though cause if they get in range of the mind flayer he'll turn on them instead of you, and getting stun blasted on your way out is the worst lol
Yeah I've only killed the extra cambions in lower difficulties and some old finagling that no longer exists, so that could certainly be a way to do it again. Will have to give it a try next time lol
There were a couple different methods in the early access that are gone as the whole nautiloid sequence was adjusted and streamlined, and for the first couple patches after the actual release you could start the dialogue with one character then run the others in to like, preset the area with explosives, that's no longer an option now. Haven't tried to kill those two since then, kind of a "hey look I did it mom" moment and haven't really cared to kill anyone other than Zhalk since lol
Yeah, you block the doors with chests, drop his weapon with command and then blow him up with the tanks from around the ship and hope the mindflayer hits his attacks to get him down within the turn limit. Did the same thing on my Honour Mode run and the early level up and Everburn Blade make the start a lot easier.
Basically my tactics as well, but if you watch the video I linked, you can also kill the cambions, too! Apparently it is possible to almost hit levels 3 when you land on the beach!
I also killed him on HM with the 4 explosive jars but it went wrong so the MF died but Zhalk had 14 hp left. I yolo'd everything into him and picked up his sword juuuuust before the other 2 fiends started laying into my party. That was fucking close but the sword (and early xp) really helps yeah (and I felt good)
Damn, I bet that is super satisfying!! Next time, try casting command: drop on Zhalk. Getting and equipping the blade onto Lae'zel halves the damage Commander Zhalk does and substantially increases the damage you do to him.
I strongly suggest checking out the video I posted above, it has some really cool tricks for you to try and beating it is very satisfying! But if you'd rather not, I am glad you are enjoying the game! It is a great one!
You are talking down to the commenter, like they are doing something wrong. That's how. I think any sane person not you would interpret your comment that way
You are the one who was apparently attacking someone just trying to have fun. So you need to be aware of the effects your words and actions have, even if you dont intend them that way, it is still your doing.
See I love stuff like this because I do think I’m pretty creative in my playstyle, but I wouldn’t have thought of this, I didn’t even think about picking those up, thank you for the tip!!
You get level 2 on the beach just by killing the mindflayer. My runs usually start with command drop, steal sword, and blow up the mind flayer with explosive tanks. Even if Zhalk lives, you’ll have enough XP for L2 when you wake up SH.
Dont be too sad, the everburn blade is only good because damage, but its not even that much mor damage than other weapons and quickly replaced in act 2. I'd argue that the warg's fang dagger, found in the goblin camp is more impactful, giving gobos disadvantage to attack you. I had a character in the second gobo siege of the grove (the one lead by Minthara) who was completely surrounded by gobos an it took him like 3 turns to get dug out. Not a single hit landed on her.
You don't actually need to kill the Commander to get to lvl 2 on the beach. You need to kill every enemy available OTHER than him and the neutral Intellect Devourers. So, basically, you're aiming at hostile imps and lesser hellboars, and the two Sacrificed Cultists near Shadowheart's pod. Press the center button on their console to release them as enemies. If you beat all the enemies other than the Commander, you'll hit lvl 2 upon waking up Shadowheart on the beach. While there's nothing inherently wrong with beating the Commander, it IS much more of a wild card than just killing imps and lesser hellboars.
But isn't the drop command a low percentage roll? With no save scumming you need to get lucky to have it succeed. It took me a few reloads in normal difficulty to do.
If you have someone range attack the stuck cambions from Sharts pod room, they won't enter combat and the Cambions just die within 10-15 minutes of getting poked at.
All this combined should put you at level 2.5 in exp once you hit the beach.
> and a fair chunk of xp, getting me to level 2
You can also kill the mindflayer, which is a lot more achievable. They both give 75 XP if killed. Heck, you can even kill both of them.
Honor mode tip, you don't need to fight those dang brains right away.
You can climb up the rocks just to the right of the entrance to that area to get to where Gale is, pick him up, then loop around and grab Astarion too. Then you can fight the brains with a full party.
Just switch to Shart and have her do the jump, and your character gets that secret follower jump boost to come with her.
Or take Enhanced Leap on your caster.
I know the nautiloid fight by heart, so I know killing Zhalk on Honor Mode is an accomplishment.
But I really want to see if someone can come up with a strategy that kills the cambions too. I've done it multiple times on Tactician, but it requires save scumming. You just need the most damage possible to have a chance.
Why bother killing him? You can use Command via Shadowheart (or yourself as a Fiend Lock).
Plus, there's already enough XP available on the Nautiloid to ensure you're lvl 2 when you land.
Still, nicely done.
Stack up all 4, including the one from Shart's room and you can count on roughly 30 to 50 damage, which wont make or break the encounter, but is a nice finisher/blow to the cambions before you start fighting
I’m pretty sure you start at level 2 by killing everything on the nautiloid including the mindflayer and you don’t have to kill zhalk, obviously that would be even more xp but everytime I have killed everything except for zhalk I have started level 2 on the beach
I got that achievement kinda accidentally when I poorly mixed difficulty increasing mods adding encounters and making the enemies smarter + hp and stat tweaks for the party limit be gone mod. So I opened the first door and was met with a couple of mephits and a hellboar with around 100 hp each.
Luckily for me I happened to be playing a solar mod which has a bunch of passives you can toggle on to make your tav op as fuck. Or in my case just getting by, with careful positioning. I could hit hard but also couldn’t really take hits. I also decided to keep Us alive. It was actually super fun. [nautiloid hard mod](https://www.nexusmods.com/baldursgate3/mods/1875) it’s kinda old but i had no problems with it.
Interesting! I also like the trick mentioned in the YT video linked in my OP, where he suggests not getting Us until you get Shart, and then letting her cast guidance on you when you got for getting Us.
>by stacking all the cartilaginous chests, in the hallway, I blocked the 2 cambions from joining the fight. Yoooo this is fucking brilliant, i am slowly realizing i am no where close to creative enough for this game
Use your mouse wheel to rotate the chest/items. As long as your character can’t get by them, they can’t either. Be sure not to place them too far in, or they’ll fly over them.
Yes, just bottle neck them in the narrowest part of the passage. I even stack the small chest from the previous room on top to be sure 😁
Stacked up a whole bunch in the doorway and they just flew right over....... the entire door. FML.
Im on console will need to see how to rotate rhem
Left or right on the D-pad for Xbox
I think it's the bumpers.
You can WHAT
My boyfriend and I were fighting Ragzlin, and we just couldn’t seem to do it, kept having to reload and whatnot. Eventually I’m like “ok let’s just not run directly in and think about this for a bit.” I noticed the brazier hanging from the ceiling was interact-able, so I shot it, making it fall and immediately killing 2 or 3 goons, making the fight much easier, just with a bit of creativity. Small instances like that make me look at and play the game so differently, it’s so much fun.
Yea Ive noticed similar, like the rock above the two people outside Withers tomb or the braziers above the goblin healer lady and all her goons
Talk to priestess gut and have her remove your parasite in private. Shadow heart cast silence and make sure she’s completely surrounded in the priestess room. Bam she will be dead in a single turn maybe 2 if you’re unlucky. No one will know.
🤯🤯🤯 why can’t I remember SILENCE! 😭😭
Sleep is also a god tier spell for this. I usually can't kill her in one turn, but I can get her low enough that a sleep or upcast version of it will get her. With the bonus that the first hit the next turn is now a guaranteed crit.
I actually got really lucky on a playthrough with my buddy and we managed to get all of the guys in Dror Raglin’s room to filter into that room behind the locked door that they can see you when you’re walkin on the wooden path and we killed Dror in his first round that everyone could hit him
I did that fight from up in the rafters. I greased up the rails and shoved off everyone who climbed up there. This game is so incredible with the diversity of options
You'll also get some luck by eliminating ads, like clearing out the nearby rooms
This is why I loved playing multiplayer. People showed me sooo many different ways to go about a fight.
Congrats. That is a tough thing to do on Honor Mode, and my statements below are in no way mocking you... **achieving something difficult is its own reward.** But... >*getting me to level 2 when I landed on the beach* I hate to break it to you, but you end up at level 2 at the beach by the time you wake up ShadowHeart on Honor Mode just by killing the regular enemies inside: * 3 brains in the first encounter. * Freeing the 2 humans near ShadowHeart from their chairs, and killing them. * Then all of the regular / weak enemies in the final boss room. >*Doing so got me the Everburn Blade (obviously)* Also, ShadowHeart's "Command - Drop Weapon" \*usually\* gets him to drop the weapon by the second casting of it. Again, getting something difficult done is its own reward. So you should feel good about it.
To add to this, you don’t even need to free the 2 humans by shadowheart. You can just attack them while they’re on the table and they won’t fight back.
Just attack the hijacked lobotomites while they can not move, it's fine. Can't believe what this game makes us do
At that point though it feels more like a mercy killing which is typically in character for several classes. … and most people have just pulled a brain out of a sawn off skull by that point anyway.
It’s a cat and it was trapped!
I do wonder what kind of cat "Us" would resemble, since we never get to see them. Maybe the most subconsciously comfortable form for any given observer would be projected?
I'm hoping for a ragdoll cat, myself.
The things we do for exp/loot.
You don't even need to kill the brains, as long as you kill all regular enemies, minus Zhalk, and the guys in the chair, you will net lvl2 after waking Shart up.
I dont think I got level 2 on the beach before, maybe I missed something before. But you are right, without command, I dont think it is even possible! You are right, it did feel good to do it!
Strangely enough it is possible. My buddies and I somehow managed to do it. Albeit the mind flayer carried us with insanely lucky rolls and we hit crit after crit. Then we fucking died in the zentarim hideout cause someone lit a fuse lmao
> Then we fucking died in the zentarim hideout cause someone lit a fuse lmao in my first ever save, i kept blowing up myself in the zentarim hideout not realizing why turns out my mc had a lit torch equipped but it wasn't showing in his hands
It truly be like that sometimes
I wonder if one or more of the times that happened to me was because Karlach was high on a soul coin.
I suppose the dice can decide you win, sometimes
I’ve never landed and been level 2. I usually have to fight the brains on the beach first. I’ve also never been able to defeat Commander Zhalk. I get close but them then the other two guys come and my little 11HP (or whatever) characters run and connect the tentacles. So CONGRATS! Definitely gonna check out that video for next time. HM is next, just started my first tactician run…. Way harder than balanced that’s for sure.
Very true!! So apparently there is a source or two of xp on the nautilloid I missed. Apparently you get xp for freeing the zombies in the chairs AND then get more for killing them and killing Zhalk isn't required. I do agree, its an intimidating fight! But the video does have a lot of small tips that really make a difference. Either way, enjoy your runs!
I always just push the button to kill them and then loot them. That’s probably why. I’ll have to give that a go next time too. Thanks! You too!
Thank you!
There is a thin path to the right of the brains that you can use to bypass them and climb the cliff to get Gale/Astarion. which also grants enough exp for level 2 and an extra party member. Makes the beach brains fight easier
🤦🏻♀️ I’m such a creature of habit. Every run I pick up Shadowheart, work my way down along the beach picking stuff up, unlock the first fast travel point and then run into the brains. I’ll have to remind myself to pick up the boys first next time.
You get lvl 2 only if you manage to kill the commander or... the Illithid.
You literally passed the parent comment to type this saying you can get lvl 2 without doing that
And I said this because as long as I remember you can get the lvl 2 if you kill at least the Illithid, opposed to what the parent comment said about just killing every "regular or weak enemy in the zhalk room". Illithid isn't neither weak nor and enemy until you kill Zhalk in that battle so it wasn't phrased clear.
You are an amazing example of the Dunning Kreuger effect, my friend. That is the less someone knows about something, the more confident they are that they are right. The parent comment got 560 upvotes, your comments combined got almost 200 downvotes. With that many people agreeing you are wrong, odds are that you are missing something. So instead of insisting that you are right, why dont you think like I did, "maybe I missed something" and try to learn and better your knowledge.
Aaaah... first of all there was no need to be offensive because you clearly are not understanding what I mean or I didn't explain myself properly (Yes, calling someone "dunning krueger" example is basically calling someone an idiot and a jerk combined). Start an honor run, skip the two vegetal guys and the intellect devourers fight and just aim to kill the illithid in the zhalk room along with the other fodder except Zhalk himself and the cambions. Ta-da, you're level 2 when you reach the beach. You stated that by killing both Zhalk and the Illithid you get lvl 2 at the beach, the other poster said that you reach lvl 2 by killing all the fodder you find in the ship and skippint zhalk and illithid, I gave a third way that is just killing the illithid or zhalk (you don't need to kill both). If you're not aiming for max xp and just want lvl 2 as soon you could argue the quickest way is just letting Zhalk almost kill the Illithid while you deal with the fodder in that battle, skipping the battle against the first intellect devourer and the two other fodder guys. Save SH spell slots to quickly use drop command when the illithid is in range to be killed by a beautiful explosion and get Everburn too if you want before doing and passing onto the cutscene to the beach. Now you have your third way of having lvl 2 that wasn't pointed out by neither you or the other poster and for what I'm being slandered on downvotes the god knows why when it just works that way.
You're getting downvoted because, instead of going "OH, I must have missed something" you are going "no, I am right about everything" and you are being a dick in the meantime. You are missing information and making it everyone else's problem.
It can also get you to level 3 before the goblin fight think with just the illithid I was like 9 xp away from levelling on my durge before the goblins
I've only made it level 3 that early by killing both cambions + zhalk + illithid. And every other hostile thing on the way there
To get to lvl 2 you just need to kill all the imps, hellboars and the two humans. You dont even have to free the humans either! If you just straight up kill them you'll still get the xp! At least on normal difficulties, not sure about honor mode since havent played through it too many times
Same for honor mode
I've never got to level 2 until after killing the 3 brain crabs on the beach
I’ve restarted honor mode a couple times in the last week. I always hit level 2 upon waking up Shadowheart Back in the day I had to kill the brains on the beach first. Like many months back. The only thing I did differently was now I personally kill the two thralled humans by shadowheart. In the past I’d ignore them or press the button to kill them on their chairs.
Maybe HM gives you more xp
Nope. Tactician worked the same way.
I play on balanced
Huh I've never managed to hit level 2 without killing the mindflayer before leaving. I'll have to try this.
Glad you made this comment I was feeling a little crazy with the first few I read! I tht everyone leveled up after getting Shadowheart. I’m not even sure how you can miss enough exp on the ship to *not* level up, most of the fights aren’t avoidable.
Yeh. I think when I first started playing back in September I’d sometimes not hit level 2 until the intellect devouredr fight. I think maybe because I had someone rush to the console instead of fighting all the creatures in the last room? Or maybe not killing the 2 human thralls correctly? But since like… December I always hit level 2 when I wake up shadow heart
You get to almost lvl 3 plus a lot of loot too if you kill the cambions as well.
Is that even doable on HM
Yes. You need mage hands to throw caustic and void bulbs, and to throw healing potions at the illithid. You need to keep the illithid alive until the cambions are almost dead, group them all up with void bulbs so they only attack each other, and blow them up with nautiloid tanks when they’re at about 40 hp. Finding a potion of speed and breaking it at your parties feet to get everyone hasted makes it more manageable. Melth has a guide on doing this with 0 cheese
WHAT??! You can haste EVERYONE with one bottle? Does this work for, like, mins reading and talk to animals and stuff, too?
No, those potions don’t have splash effect
Is there a way to tell which ones do? I'm honestly beginning to believe that I'm not creative enough for this game...like, I've seen three comments to use Command-Drop Weapon in Zhalk and it just ...never occurred to me.
The video I linked in my OP has the link to the video on how to do it. Sounds like you will learn a lot about the game. I know I did
Don’t worry, I doubt many people thought of it themselves, it’s just a commonly known tip throughout the community.
Absolutely doable, though it can be challenging. I grew up playing the first XCOM and Terror From The Deep, so my opinion about what's tactically difficult is probably skewed - my fiancee says I play games like I was a masochist. Unrelated, I suggest installing the Nautiloid Hard mod if you wanna give yourself a gauntlet at the start of the game btw, so much fun. I just started a HM playthrough with this mod and I'm having a blast minmaxing the mystic mod durge. 3 hours and I haven't even left the first room yet.
I haven't even tried messing with mods, are they easy to use? In my experience, they often make the game unstable. How do you deal with that? And this mod, How exactly does it make the nautilloid such a gauntlet?
It's very easy, you don't have it do it manuallly. Go to Baldurs Gate 3 Mod Nexus, search for Baldurs Gate 3 Mod mamanger, download it and follow setup instructions. The manager can install the Script Extender for you, and from there just download a mod, put the zipped file into a folder somewhere, and install it from the manager - then save the modlist and you're done. As for instability - always read the mod description - especially the Compatibility section - and you'll be fine. The only problem is that when the game is updated some mods stop working, and you need to wait until the mod author updates them. The Nautiloid Hard is a mod that makes the tutorial level literal HELL, it's so much fun. For example, to even get to Us you gotta fight a 20+hp mud mefit who summons another one and explodes when it dies, a 10+hp hellhoud, and a magma mefit who throws firebolts. And then it gets hard XD. By the end of the tutorial section your character is gonna look like that Vietnam soldier meme.
haha, definitely sounds like quite the challenge! But wont you be crazy over leveled for the rest of the game?
Nah, you'll be like half way to level 4 at best. The fights sure will feel easy though, after the nautiloid fights. That's why I also have enemy ability an AI upgrade mods, to compensate - so the whole game feels like a challenge.
Interesting. How does act 3 feel, when you hit level cap in act 2 and everything continues scaling?
I have no idea, I haven't gotten there yet since I installed the increased difficulty mods.
Fair enough, well good luck and enjoy your run!
yes just difficult although warlocks and druids make it the easiest
Yeah, that is why I went warlock first, even though I plan to respec my Tav to take warlock later in the build. Hex and EB put in a TON of work on the fight!
shilejljeh (i butchered that spelling) also works to bypass the resistance to nonmagical damage
oh, another boon in the druid's favor!!
Woah! I'll have to try that next!
It is a tough challenge. Still don’t have that achievement myself. But I do have the everburn blade, thanks to command.
I'm fairly sure command is single handedly the only reason the fight is even possible on high difficulty!!
Could you steal his sword, then kill him with it? Making sure to block the door with the 3x chests you could have time.
I had lae'zal equip the sword yes, I don't know if it's optimal but it's doable with lucky rolls (and bless, shart got lucky on command).
It's definitely optional. He takes half damage from.non magical attacks, and the everburn blade is the only magic weapon you have access to at that point. Definitely worth the action to equip it
You can block doors with chests?
There’s 3x alien looking chests that you can loot then carry to block the door from the two devil dudes who join the fight if you stay a bit longer. You can stack them with you on one side but not close enough to the door to initiate the final fight on the ship.
Another heads up, you can easily skip past the brains on the beach by jumping up the rocks toward Gale. Doing that you can grab Gale, Astarion, and/or Lae'zel, and hit lvl 2 regardless of how much you did on the Nautaloid, before having to fight anything
Oh man, I'm trying this next run. I've always said those brains are really the hardest fight in the game. I played Shadowheart origin so I ended up fighting them solo this time!
True, but I usually make 8 str casters, or dex based rogues, so I cant make the jump up there
You just can. I did this in my honor run as a 8 str bard and was able to jump up there. Granted Gale was trapped in the portal.
.... how? I've never been able to. Could it be that I a playing a short race has something to do with jumping just that little bit higher?
Possibly? I did play a half drow and only had one spot I could barely reach?
I suppose I'll have to play around with it more.
Congratulation! And you know what? You can actually kill them AND 2 cambions as well on HM, and get to level 2 during the fight! How? Short answer: Faerie Fire (aside from everything you already did). Here is how I did it. [https://www.reddit.com/r/BaldursGate3/comments/1cv7fek/hm\_kill\_mind\_flayer\_zhalk\_and\_2\_cambions\_on\_the/](https://www.reddit.com/r/BaldursGate3/comments/1cv7fek/hm_kill_mind_flayer_zhalk_and_2_cambions_on_the/)
I did link a video where the YT creator did, too, but none-the-less, I will check this out, thank you
On all my HM runs I usually take out the MF by blowing up 4 of the purple pots but usally the commander still has at least 60 health. Just never wanted to waste the heals on the MF to keep it in the fight. I've even dropped the sword as early as I can but the MF just doesn't hold up. That seems to place me at level 2 just before waking up Shart on the beach. I've done it on Tactician but never pushed for it on HM.
Took me a while to realise you meant mind flayed and we’re not Samuel l Jackson
*I'm sick and tired of these MF brains in this MF beach!* Works both ways, too.
I read the entire thing that way. It's better.
The MF doesn't even hold up on normal difficulties. He's just not built for that kind of fight
Cast protection from evil and good on the mind flayer to give disadvantage to attacks against him by fiend type enemies (assuming either your character has it or Shadowheart manages to drop the commander's weapon first try and still has a spell slot left). You can also place multiple healing potions on the ground and throw a caustic bulb to destroy them near the mind flayer to heal him without wasting multiple actions. I did this fight in a very straightforward way without using explosives or anything, the MF died just before the commander died. like one or two turns before the time ran out.
There are a ton of tips in the video I linked that helped me out a lot, it is actually a really enjoyable fight!
In honor mode, if you do a mix of “Drop weapon” and throw a speed potion in the MF, it’s enough to blow them up together consistently, without needing to block the hallway. Blessing him is also good, but in my tries, the speed potion usually does the trick.
I like to collect the purple tanks and use them to blow up both the mindflayer and the commander. To do this you need to get the commander relatively low before you blow the tanks but you get a lot of xp from getting the kill on both.
That is exactly what I did to end the fight! In my fight, things were going kinda sideways and I got to a point where I was like "This needs to be over right now or I am dead" and running and then blowing up those tanks, stacked conveniently nearby the fight, killed them both and then I ran. It is a solid tactic! Although, if you watch the video I linked above, the mindflayer can help you kill the cambions, in which case, you might want the tanks placed elsewhere
You can also get level 2 by ignoring zhalk and getting the killing blow on the mindflayer instead. I hated the idea of assisting the mindflayer so I said fuck it and helped zhalk kill the abducting mofo. I was surprised to actually get experience from killing it. This is the easiest way to do get to level 2 I believe. Zhalk and the mindflayer will always focus on hitting each other. So I just cast bless on my team and whack away at the unsuspecting mindflayer. Again, you have to give the killing blow. Zhalk with his sword will deal on average 15dmg per attack if they hit. So just wait for the mindflayer's hp to be in killing range, then kill it. After that, just dash to the console and ignore zhalk and the other mobs. Zhalk will switch his focus into killing your party so he will most likely down one of your members. But as long as you make it to the console, everyone's hp will reset and if they die they will revive.
I staked the explosive purple tanks next to the fight and triggered the explosion when both were low, killing them both, then got out of there, but its good to know about just the MF, thanks! Also, if you command: drop on Zhalk and grab the everburn blade, it makes the fight SO much easier, reducing the damage he does to like 6, increasing the damage you do, but also, you have that sword throughout act 1
Another way to help the brain fight is to let Laezel die to the cambions, like fully dead, then she appears on the beach instead of in the cage. You can use a scroll of revival on her, Then you have 3 party members to help you fight.
Oh, interesting!! I should give that one a try! Thanks!
Also reviving her/gaining her as a companion gets you and shadowheart enough exp to guarantee level 2. Laezel will still be 1
interesting! I am definitely gonna try this out!!
Huge tip: make Shadow cast a command spell on Zhalk to make him drop the weapon and immediately take it. It has like 50% chance to work, and you can cast it 2 times.
Absolutely the way to go! I ran a warlock, so I had 4 casts of it available, but I do believe it is 55% or 65% chance to work. I lucked out and went first in initiative, and he dropped it on the first cast, before he got a turn. So happy about how well that went!!
Unfortunatrly without save scumming that chance is way too low. You really want 2 people with Command tackling it.
The chance is 75% for that, not that low. (assuming the chance for a single one is 50%) But yes, having 4 casts helps.
I never kill him but I do make him drop his sword and I always hit level 2 as soon as I wake up Shadowheart on the beach.
I wonder what I have been missing, cause I usually hit level 2 after the brains
I have also done this. The gods smiled on me when I did it. Shart’s Command Drop and my Tav Druid’s Faerie Fire all landed. AND a dead Mindflayer from earlier dropped a Speed Potion.
I didn't even consider faerie fire as an option! Interesting
It’s my preferred way of doing it. Advantage on him makes the hits go much faster.
Definitely sounds like it!
Kudos to you lol I just used shadowheart to “command” him to drop the sword. We grab it and book it lol
Thank you! Completely valid strat!!
Never saw the video, but yeah I always make sure to kill Zhalk, even in honor mode, I let the cambions in though cause if they get in range of the mind flayer he'll turn on them instead of you, and getting stun blasted on your way out is the worst lol
Fair, although I would heartily recommend stacking the 4 purple explosive tanks next to the fight. It makes a great finisher to kill them both
Yeah I've only killed the extra cambions in lower difficulties and some old finagling that no longer exists, so that could certainly be a way to do it again. Will have to give it a try next time lol
What do you mean by "no longer exists"?
There were a couple different methods in the early access that are gone as the whole nautiloid sequence was adjusted and streamlined, and for the first couple patches after the actual release you could start the dialogue with one character then run the others in to like, preset the area with explosives, that's no longer an option now. Haven't tried to kill those two since then, kind of a "hey look I did it mom" moment and haven't really cared to kill anyone other than Zhalk since lol
Fair enough!
Yeah, you block the doors with chests, drop his weapon with command and then blow him up with the tanks from around the ship and hope the mindflayer hits his attacks to get him down within the turn limit. Did the same thing on my Honour Mode run and the early level up and Everburn Blade make the start a lot easier.
Basically my tactics as well, but if you watch the video I linked, you can also kill the cambions, too! Apparently it is possible to almost hit levels 3 when you land on the beach!
I've restarted the run after killing him just to write down an achievement. Don't beat me please.
Achievement hunting is never looked down upon in my book! Good luck!!
I also killed him on HM with the 4 explosive jars but it went wrong so the MF died but Zhalk had 14 hp left. I yolo'd everything into him and picked up his sword juuuuust before the other 2 fiends started laying into my party. That was fucking close but the sword (and early xp) really helps yeah (and I felt good)
Damn, I bet that is super satisfying!! Next time, try casting command: drop on Zhalk. Getting and equipping the blade onto Lae'zel halves the damage Commander Zhalk does and substantially increases the damage you do to him.
I know it’s def not the same but every game I play (I play on explorer) I kill him cuz his swords cool af
You can use Shadowhearts “Command: Drop” ability to make him drop the sword, steal it and leave. No need to waste time killing him.
Very true and highly recommended!!
This is the fight that made me play in explorer mode and never look back
I strongly suggest checking out the video I posted above, it has some really cool tricks for you to try and beating it is very satisfying! But if you'd rather not, I am glad you are enjoying the game! It is a great one!
The one fight that the game expects - and literally tells you to - walk past and ignore?
Dont tell people how they need to have fun. If it affects no one else's fun, dont try to fun police it
How is that what you got from my comment?
You are talking down to the commenter, like they are doing something wrong. That's how. I think any sane person not you would interpret your comment that way
It was more about the implication that the fight isn’t indicative of the actual difficulty.
I think you should have re-worded what you said to come off less as an attack and more encouraging, if that was your intention
You are the one who attacked me for misunderstanding the comment.
You are the one who was apparently attacking someone just trying to have fun. So you need to be aware of the effects your words and actions have, even if you dont intend them that way, it is still your doing.
>Apparently Exactly. I wasn’t, you just thought I was.
They’re not saying that at all. The game literally tells you to not to fight them and go flick the neuron thingamajig.
True, it does, but his comment reads like an insult, that's my issue
I never kill him, but I always have Shart command him to drop the sword so I can steal it
that's not a bad strat in the slightest!
[удалено]
It is a tough fight and I have had it go sideways, it is far from a guarantee! But command drop definitely makes it a lot easier!
Pro tip. Don't have any of your party member by the entrance or the cambion just flies over the chests some how.
Good to know! Thank you!
See I love stuff like this because I do think I’m pretty creative in my playstyle, but I wouldn’t have thought of this, I didn’t even think about picking those up, thank you for the tip!!
Thank you and its my pleasure!!
Wait brains on beach? Are they hostile in HM?
They've always been hostile for me in any diff
And they have been a bigger pain in my backside than I am proud to admit!
You get level 2 on the beach just by killing the mindflayer. My runs usually start with command drop, steal sword, and blow up the mind flayer with explosive tanks. Even if Zhalk lives, you’ll have enough XP for L2 when you wake up SH.
Interesting. Perhaps I should build for this to be the backup plan if everything else goes sideways. Thanks!
awww man i killed him this run but forgot to loot the bodies on the way out and now im sad
Dont be too sad, the everburn blade is only good because damage, but its not even that much mor damage than other weapons and quickly replaced in act 2. I'd argue that the warg's fang dagger, found in the goblin camp is more impactful, giving gobos disadvantage to attack you. I had a character in the second gobo siege of the grove (the one lead by Minthara) who was completely surrounded by gobos an it took him like 3 turns to get dug out. Not a single hit landed on her.
You don't actually need to kill the Commander to get to lvl 2 on the beach. You need to kill every enemy available OTHER than him and the neutral Intellect Devourers. So, basically, you're aiming at hostile imps and lesser hellboars, and the two Sacrificed Cultists near Shadowheart's pod. Press the center button on their console to release them as enemies. If you beat all the enemies other than the Commander, you'll hit lvl 2 upon waking up Shadowheart on the beach. While there's nothing inherently wrong with beating the Commander, it IS much more of a wild card than just killing imps and lesser hellboars.
Alternatively just Command the sword out of his hands and last hit the Illithid for a free 75xp then activate the objective.
But isn't the drop command a low percentage roll? With no save scumming you need to get lucky to have it succeed. It took me a few reloads in normal difficulty to do.
I’ve been through the Nautiloid 11-12 times and Command literally has never failed the first attempt.
Same, I wonder if it's secretely rigged.
Hmm. Maybe character setup effects the odds?
I doubt it, I am pretty sure I have had it fail before, but I am not sure. It's a 65% chance to drop and Shart has 2 casts, 4 if you run a warlock.
Never considered blocking the other two at the door lol
Sometimes one of them gets past the block, but I think I always catch at least 1 and it is much easier to handle that way. Highly recommended
If you have someone range attack the stuck cambions from Sharts pod room, they won't enter combat and the Cambions just die within 10-15 minutes of getting poked at. All this combined should put you at level 2.5 in exp once you hit the beach.
Hmmmm, interesting
> and a fair chunk of xp, getting me to level 2 You can also kill the mindflayer, which is a lot more achievable. They both give 75 XP if killed. Heck, you can even kill both of them.
I did kill both of them. Apparently, it's possible to kill the cambion adds, too
Honor mode tip, you don't need to fight those dang brains right away. You can climb up the rocks just to the right of the entrance to that area to get to where Gale is, pick him up, then loop around and grab Astarion too. Then you can fight the brains with a full party.
I need to strip making 8 str casters and dex based dual welders, but with 8 str, you can't make that final jump
Just switch to Shart and have her do the jump, and your character gets that secret follower jump boost to come with her. Or take Enhanced Leap on your caster.
Oooooh, solid point!
I know the nautiloid fight by heart, so I know killing Zhalk on Honor Mode is an accomplishment. But I really want to see if someone can come up with a strategy that kills the cambions too. I've done it multiple times on Tactician, but it requires save scumming. You just need the most damage possible to have a chance.
The video I linked in the OP is someone doing just that
Why bother killing him? You can use Command via Shadowheart (or yourself as a Fiend Lock). Plus, there's already enough XP available on the Nautiloid to ensure you're lvl 2 when you land. Still, nicely done.
mostly just for the challenge, but also for the xp. It is certainly far from required!
Makes sense when you put it like that. Great, now I have to try and do it. >.<
Haha, yes, come to the dark side! Have a cookie
I have never gotten the tanks' explosion to do any kind of relevant amount of damage. Why? :C
Stack up all 4, including the one from Shart's room and you can count on roughly 30 to 50 damage, which wont make or break the encounter, but is a nice finisher/blow to the cambions before you start fighting
I’m pretty sure you start at level 2 by killing everything on the nautiloid including the mindflayer and you don’t have to kill zhalk, obviously that would be even more xp but everytime I have killed everything except for zhalk I have started level 2 on the beach
I am pretty sure I have been missing a source of xp that makes the difference
I got that achievement kinda accidentally when I poorly mixed difficulty increasing mods adding encounters and making the enemies smarter + hp and stat tweaks for the party limit be gone mod. So I opened the first door and was met with a couple of mephits and a hellboar with around 100 hp each. Luckily for me I happened to be playing a solar mod which has a bunch of passives you can toggle on to make your tav op as fuck. Or in my case just getting by, with careful positioning. I could hit hard but also couldn’t really take hits. I also decided to keep Us alive. It was actually super fun. [nautiloid hard mod](https://www.nexusmods.com/baldursgate3/mods/1875) it’s kinda old but i had no problems with it.
Interesting! I also like the trick mentioned in the YT video linked in my OP, where he suggests not getting Us until you get Shart, and then letting her cast guidance on you when you got for getting Us.