Baldur’s Gate 3 player devises speedrun for most frustrating part of the game
Larian StudiosA Baldur’s Gate 3 player has developed a new way to speed past one of the more annoying segments in the game, making repeat playthroughs much less tedious.
Let’s face it. The Gauntlet of Shar isn’t the highlight of anyone’s Baldur’s Gate playthrough. There are a lot of frustrating tasks to get through, and even if it’s your first time round, it’s not quite as interesting as everything going on in Act 2.
On repeat, each individual task only gets worse, because you already know the answers but still have to do it. Not to mention the fact that the Self-Same trial will always be as strong as your party is, so there’s no way of out-leveling it.
For some players, this part of the game has been a barrier to replaying Baldur’s Gate 3, with one player on the forums describing the “Shar Olympics” as the one part of the playthrough they always dread.
Baldur’s Gate 3 player creates speedrun for the “Shar Olympics”
Luckily for them, another player concocted speedy solutions to each of the puzzles inside the Gauntlet of Shar, with some of them taking advantage of the game’s sometimes-shaky pathing mechanics.
Their solution to the Soft-Step trial, which tests stealth, involves using Astarion’s sneaking abilities to path around the maze. While this is the slowest solution of the three, it’s still faster than having Karlach bump into the sentinels three times in a row.
For the Self-Same trial, which is usually the longest, this strategy relies on sending the weakest fighter on the team (probably Shadowheart) in alone. And naked. Once her clone spawns in, it’s just a matter of reequipping some weapons and beating the defenseless clone up.
Finally, for the Faith Leap puzzle, this player suggests move-clicking on the right-hand corner of the final platform, because “the game’s ‘walk to’ logic will auto-path over the safe tiles.”
It’s still a hassle to go through the Gauntlet, but with these tricks, the trials should be a little easier for any budding Dark Justiciars.
For more news and updates on Baldur’s Gate 3, check out the explanation for why so many players avoid the least popular companion in the game.