Baldur’s Gate 3 has some scarily challenging boss fights. For these threats, players should be prepared and have their tactics honed.
Baldur’s Gate 3 includes some truly terrifying foes, inspired by some of the most fearsome and legendary beasts of Faerun. Combat in Baldur’s Gate 3 works similarly to how it does in its source material, Dungeons & Dragons, playing out as a turn-based strategy game in a classic fantasy setting.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is famous for its characters and storyline, and players don’t need to focus on strategy too much depending on the difficulty setting. Some threats demand a little more care. For these foes, players should get a Long Rest, stock up on some potions and items, and get their thinking caps on for some serious battlefield management.
Updated July 26, 2024, by Kristy Ambrose: Baldur’s Gate 3 was the biggest gaming hit of 2023, and since its original release, Larian brought the game to Xbox Series X/S and added new content. One of these later additions was Honour Mode, an unforgiving level of difficulty that allows no reloads or resurrections should the whole party fall. This new mode makes it more important than ever to know which bosses can be expected to put up a tough fight and require a ton of preparation, and maybe a handful of powerful explosives. 17 True Soul Nere
Location: Grymforge
Related Quests: « Free True Soul Nere » and « Deliver Nere’s Head »
While this fight can be avoided entirely by siding with True Soul Nere, only players wanting to do an evil run are likely to want to choose this option. Nere is an arrogant character who murders his deep gnome slaves for the fun of it. His arrogance is well-placed, however, as he’s a force to be reckoned with as an enemy.
Nere can cast Psionic Visage in Honor Mode, which uses a reaction to create 3 duplicates of himself, becoming immune to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage as long as one remains active. Attacking him while a duplicate is active removes one of the duplicates but deals 2d6 psychic damage to the attacker.
Despite Nere’s strength and aptitude for spellcasting, the real threats in this fight come from the overwhelming number of companions that are helping him. Nere has many Duergar under his command and the lava nearby is a powerful environmental threat for both sides. The best way to get the upper hand is to broker a deal before the fight with some Duergar who are plotting a mutiny. 16 The Underdark Minotaurs
Location: Waiting between the Selunite Outpost and the Myconid Colony
Related Quests: Finish The Masterwork Weapon
In Act 1, players can descend through the Shattered Sanctum to the Underdark and will find themselves in the Selunite Outpost. The first time they get close to the front gate, which faces north towards the Myconid Colony and the Zhenatrum Hideout, a minotaur will charge towards the gate, only to be zapped into oblivion by the crystal-light-beam security system.
Eventually, the party will discover that they can disable the trap and open the door. It’s also possible to crawl out a side window, but bear in mind that the trap will still be working, so be careful to avoid it. Continue north along this route and the party will encounter not one, but two more minotuars.
Their leaps and charges can push characters off the ledge along with knocking them prone, never mind that they have enough power to one-hit party members with little or no AC. The best way to take them on is to carefully fight one before the other. Since they both patrol around the same route, it’s possible to do this with some patience. 15 Ch’r’ai W’wargaz
Location: Creche Y’llek
Related Quest: Discover the Artefact’s Secrets
W’wargaz is the Githyanki inquisitor at the head of Vlaakith’s search for the mysterious artifact that the party harbors. He can be confronted as a final boss in the githyanki creche, who players will face as soon as they exit the Astral Prism after entering it at Vlaakith’s behest.
The Githyanki are formidable opponents throughout the game, and players will have to face multiple foes in this battle, including W’wargaz, who can create Mindsteal Links on characters to make them vulnerable while strengthening himself. He also has Legendary Resistance on Tactician difficulty and can summon psionic blades in Honour Mode. This ability is called the Mind-Claw of Tu’narath, which summons up to two psionic blades each round as a free reaction when he or his allies are attacked. 14 Apostle Of Myrkul
Location: Mind Flayer Colony
Related Quest: Defeat Ketheric Thorm
The final fight against Ketheric Thorm, the boss of Act Two, is already challenging, as players must contend with intellect devourers, necromites, and even a mindflayer. However, things take a much more challenging turn when Ketheric is taken over by the Avatar of Myrkul.
Melee fighters are in particular danger, as characters standing on the platform around Myrkul will be afflicted with Bone Chill, unable to be healed, and his big scythe swings prove treacherous. Things aren’t much better for distance fighters, who can be targeted by his Gaze of the Dead, damaging and frightening them. 13 Gortash
Location: Wyrm’s Rock
Quest: Get Gortash’s Netherstone, Our Fiery Friend
Gortash isn’t all that hard to kill. He’s the easiest of the Dead Three avatars to defeat, and plenty of players have found amusing ways to throw him off buildings and dispose of him instantly, but these don’t work in Honour Mode. His special ability, Tyrannical Branding, can brand a target to be hit for 20d10 force damage by Bane’s gauntlet unless the curse is removed
However, Gortash shouldn’t be underestimated if taking him on in more noble combat.
