Baldur’s Gate 3 has a brutal game over scene for players who lose one critical item

A Baldur’s Gate 3 player went out of their way to get rid of an important Act 3 item and found that it triggered an incredibly dark game over screen.

Baldur’s Gate 3 goes above and beyond in letting players shape their own experiences. Still, there are still some limitations to ensure players can’t lock themselves out of progression due to a mistake.

One person going out of their way to push the game’s limits found Larian Studios included a failsafe should a player somehow lose one of Act 3’s most important key items.

While there are other measures in place to prevent players from actually throwing it away, the developer once again proves its incredible foresight and an understanding of its player base with this ending.

Note, spoilers for Baldur’s Gate 3 Act 3 to follow.

Losing a Netherstone triggers one of Baldur’s Gate 3’s darkest game overs

The final act of Baldur’s Gate 3 tasks players with collecting three Netherstones to help them defeat The Absolute, revealed to be the Elder Brain. The first is obtained during the end of Act 2, while the others must be located in Act 3.

Because of how important these are, the game doesn’t let players throw Netherstones.

However, YouTuber BOB_BestOfBugs found a way around this limitation along with an incredibly dark cutscene that results in a game over screen.

While players can’t directly throw a Netherstone, they can place it into a container and throw that.

Immediately after tossing the container with the Netherstone into an abyss, a cutscene triggers. Here, The Emperor calls the player a fool, reminding them that all three stones are their only chance at victory against the Elder Brain.

If that wasn’t enough, the Elder Brain appears and transforms the player into a mind flayer, certainly spelling doom for the Sword Coast. This is followed by a game over screen reading “A Netherstone is lost. The only path now leads to her…” along with the option to load a previous save.

The good news for fans is that they’re unlikely to come across this by accident, as players have to go out of their way to lose a Netherstone. Regardless, the fact that this scene is included at all makes it incredibly clear that Larian knew the kinds of shenanigans players would attempt and included ways to ensure the game would proceed smoothly regardless of their choices.

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