Baldur’s Gate 3’s darkest ending is also its most disappointing

The story of Tav and their parasite can conclude in many different ways, but what are the worst Baldur’s Gate 3 endings? 

What makes Baldur’s Gate 3 so special is that it’s your story to tell. Not only does the game have several endings, but there are lots of unconventional game overs that conclude the story, especially if you’re playing on a single-save Honour Mode run. 

It’s interesting to note that the endings of Baldur’s Gate 3 have changed over development. Larian Studios has expanded and added to the game’s many conclusions several times since launch, including new epilogues that offer a more concrete final act to the story of Tav and their allies. 

Not all of the endings are satisfying, as there are ways you can doom the world through inaction or making bad decisions. If your story ends in one of these ways, then it may taint your epic adventure in the Forgotten Realms. 

10. Karlach’s Original Avernus Ending

Baldur’s Gate 3 had an ending so unsatisfying that the developers actually changed it, or rather,  expanded upon it, to make it much less depressing and far more awesome. 

When the game launched, Karlach’s Infernal Engine finally gave out once the end boss was defeated, and she had to return to Avernus, or the machinery in her body would destroy her. Originally, players who romanced Karlach could follow her to the Nine Hells, but we didn’t see what happened next. 

Luckily, this ending was fixed in an update, and the developers added a new scene where Karlach and Tav (and potentially, Wyll) are shown arriving in Avernus, lighting up a cigar, and fighting an approaching horde of Devils. They even got an extra post-story scene when the new epilogues were added, giving Tav and Karlach one last opportunity to party with their friends. 

It’s a shame that people at launch who pursued Karlach had to endure the bad ending and wait for a proper resolution to the story. 

9. Drop The Netherstone – Doom The World

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Have you ever lost your keys? Have you ever forgotten your phone halfway down the street and had to go back to get it? 

Ever drop your Netherstone and doom all of the world? That’s one potential fate for your playthrough in Baldur’s Gate 3. Normally, you can’t drop a Netherstone, but there is a way to break it. 

Players discovered that if you put a Nethestone in a container and then destroy that container, you will instantly fail your mission and doom the world to the Netherbrain. This is because the Netherstone is vital to your success, as it’s needed to influence the Crown of Karsus. 

This ending is more of an Easter Egg that you have to work towards. It’s just funny that the fate of the world can be sealed by putting a magic rock in a barrel and throwing it in a lake. 

8. Withers Won’t Let You Mess With His New Epilogue

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Baldur’s Gate 3 added a new epilogue to the ending, where Withers brings everyone back for one last party before everyone parts ways for the final time. How can he do this? Because he’s a god… probably. The game never confirms it, but fans are pretty sure Withers is secretly a god of death (who also likes to throw impromptu shindigs.)

Just don’t be a party pooper, however, as Withers doesn’t like this, and your level 12 Tav doesn’t have what it takes to bring him down. 

If you screw up Withers’ party in the epilogue by attacking another character or trying to eat their brain (if you’re a mind flayer), then Withers will conjure a portal and send you flying to god knows where putting a sour final note on your story.

7. Gale Pulls A Chiaotzu

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This ending can happen at various points in the story, as the Netherese Orb in Gale’s body can detonate, destroying much of the countryside. Gale’s story is about paying the price of ambition, which involves dealing with a magical nuclear device lodged in his chest. 

The most common ways to bring about this ending are by allowing Gale to die and not resurrecting him within three days or by using the Netherese Orb Blast action when it unlocks. Both of these actions cause a massive detonation that ends the game. This means the player cannot easily ignore Gale, as you must be prepared to feed his magic item addiction and ensure he doesn’t stay dead for long. 

Gale can use the Netherese Orb to destroy the Netherbrain in an admittedly cool ending, but he’s also a ticking time bomb who can end your game early if you’re not careful. 

6. Vlaakith Wishes You To Death

Larian Studios

Terry Pratchett once joked in the Discworld novels that “Gods had a habit of going round to atheists’ houses and smashing their windows.” This is also true of the Forgotten Realms, where deities commonly interfere with mortals’ lives. This is even more true in Baldur’s Gate 3, where you can argue with a goddess and pay the price for your sass. 

If the player visits the Githyanki Creche, you will get to speak to Vlaakith, the god-like leader of her race. You can backtalk to Vlaakith, but you can only go so far, as prodding her too much will cause her to use the Wish spell, instantly killing the party. 

Why she uses Wish to murder Tav and not kill the Dream Visitor who is interfering with her plans just raises annoying questions, all for the sake of one brutal Game Over scene.

5. Insulting The Emperor & Refusing To Take Raphael’s Final Offer

Mind flayers are among the most feared monsters in D&D due to their annoying psionic powers that paralyze characters, their natural magical abilities, and their capacity to instantly kill people by eating their brains. 

So, yeah, the fact that the Emperor is a mind flayer means most players are unlikely to take him at his word when he says he’s a good guy, as there’s always that nagging feeling that he’s going to pull a last-minute heel-turn and betray the party.

The only thing is the Emperor is legit, and he doesn’t take your lack of faith well. If you refuse to help him in the run-up to the final battle, then he’ll bail on you. This causes Raphael to show up (assuming you don’t have the Orphic Hammer) to make you an offer you can’t refuse – free Prince Orpheus and defeat the brain, but you must give him the Crown of Karsus.

You can, however,refuse the offer, and in doing so, you’ll seal the fate of millions, as Raphael won’t provide his aid, leaving the Netherbrain to win and your Tav to look like the jerk who fell at the final hurdle. 

4. Kiss The Mind Flayer To Death

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Once you escape from the Nautiloid at the end of the tutorial, most players would happily never look at a mind flayer ever again. Unfortunately, you’ll likely encounter one soon, as an injured mind flayer can be found at the start of Act I, although they’re badly wounded.

Rather than slay this creature outright, you have the option of giving in to its siren song, going in for a kiss, which it will use as an opportunity to slip its tentacles into your head and eat your brain. 

What’s frustrating about this scene is that your party members can just stand around and let it happen. Despite it being in their best interests not to let a mind flayer heal and take control of their minds, they’ll gladly let Tav give into their desires and go for a deadly smooth with an octopus-head monster. 

3. Backtracking And You Die

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Baldur’s Gate 3 is a massive game overflowing with sidequests and loot that players want to experience. You better do those tasks in the correct timeframe, however, as backtracking too late will lead to the end of the world. 

If you complete Act II and try to return to the Act I areas instead of progressing to Act III, you’ll be warned not to return. If you do go back… BOOM, the Netherbrain wins, and the world ends. This is because you’re wasting time and not stopping the mind flayers before they get too powerful.

Thank god the Forgotten Realms doesn’t have a Gold Saucer. Otherwise, the forces of evil would have succeeded long ago through a mixture of chocobo races and card games. 

2. Death By Snu-Snu

Larian Studios

Baldur’s Gate 3 swiftly gained a reputation for its bizarre romance scenes, with developer Larian Studios proudly showing off a bear love scene that took the Internet by storm. When the final game came out, it turned out you could romance a mind flayer and an incubus (or succubus, if you’re so inclined).

Unsurprisingly, doing it with the devil isn’t the best idea in the world, as your character can give themselves body and soul to their infernal partner, causing a game over. 

It turns out that Raphael didn’t need any fancy Faustian deals to claim Tav’s soul. All they needed was a hot bod and red skin for your protagonist to consign themselves to the Nine Hells for all eternity and doom the Forgotten Realms, all because you couldn’t keep it in your pants. 

1. Dark Urge’s Unseen Attack

The Dark Urge origin is one of the most interesting playthroughs in the game, as Tav (and the player) must contend with their unholy desire to cause death and mayhem, brought on by their connection to the god of murder. 

One of the new endings introduced in the Withers epilogue shows a potential outcome for the Dark Urge Tav, who takes their own life at the end of the game to deny Bhaal their prize. You will be resurrected, and you’ll lock yourself away, but Withers will free you and bring you to the party. 

The Dark Urge lingers at the edge of the festivities, hungry to consume their former friends, as they lurch forward with murderous intent. 

What’s disappointing about this ending is that we didn’t get to see or play the final battle. The Dark Urge storyline never shied away from violence (as Alfira fans can attest), and it would have been awesome to see a Slayer-form Tav tear through their allies or allow them one chance at victory and stop the Bhaalspawn for good, forcing them to end the life of their former friend, who is lost to darkness. 

The question mark ending is made sadder by the fact that we know Baldur’s Gate 3’s story won’t be continued via DLC or a sequel, leaving the Dark Urge’s final encounter in the minds of fans.