With over 1000 hours invested in Baldur's Gate 3 since launch, I thought it might be worth taking a look at how to best prepare for and get through the later stages of the game. Act 3 is a massive undertaking with dozens of side quests that can become overwhelming, and typically, this is where most players hit a bit of a wall. To make things worse, if you're under-prepared for Act 3 and the final battle, enemies will wipe the floor with your party.

That said, there are ways to manage your time effectively in Act 3, and completing every side quest will not always be worth your time. There are also quite a few helpful steps a player can take to prepare for the endgame bosses, which can be equally tricky for first-timers playing on Explorer or veterans on their umpteenth Honour mode run.

Pump The AC For Your Party

Armor Class Is The Best Defensive Investment

If you're struggling with enemies late in the game, there is arguably no better defense than a healthy stack of AC. Armor Class is one of the best defensive investments you can make for your characters, as it determines the likelihood of an enemy hitting a target. AC is primarily based on the type of armor you have equipped, but you can boost AC through weapon ives, shields, spells, and more.

Be mindful of how you invest stat points in Dexterity if the character is wearing Heavy or Medium armor; there's a +2 cap on the Dex modifier for Medium armor, or +3 with the Medium Armour Master feat, while Heavy Armor offers no AC bonus from Dex.

Higher Dexterity will boost your AC with no armor, light armor, or medium armor equipped. Essentially, the higher your AC is, the harder you are to hit, and boosting this into the 20s in Act 3 will have you avoiding most attacks from even the hardest bosses. Look for late-game items with the Exotic Materials ive that boosts AC considerably, such as the Yuan-Ti Scale Mail .

It's Okay To Skip (Some) Act 3 Side Content

Don't Succumb To Restart-itis

With so much content in Act 3, my best advice is to not overwhelm yourself by trying to complete it all, especially if it's your first playthrough. Even long-time players will agree that it's probably not worth completing every single piece of side content every time you get to Act 3. While it certainly helps to pick up some of the best endgame weapons and gear, you might consider looking up specific rewards for a quest before spending the time completing it.

Further, following the main quest in Act 3 and completing the final encounter for the first time is a rite of age, and a number of players don't even make it this far because they get so bogged down trying to complete every quest, or feel like they missed something earlier and now have to restart. Being prepared for the final encounter isn't all about having every ally on your side, and unless you are in Honour mode, you won't need them all to complete the story.

Saving Omeluum Isn't Really Worth It

The Iron Throne Is Already A Tough Enough Challenge Without Stressing About Omeluum

When you reach the Iron Throne in Act 3, you might have the option to rescue Omeluum from the underwater prison, depending on your earlier choices as part of the "Retrieve Omeluum" quest. If you ask me, saving Omeluum is not worth the hassle unless you are up for a challenge. This is one perfect example of a skippable side quest in BG3 that won't degrade your experience much, if at all.

Outside some minor side-story details related to the Society of Brilliance, you only get a lackluster set of rewards from Omeluum afterward, making the struggle to save Omeluum from the Iron Throne seem like a wasted effort. It's a fun challenge, and there are some tricks to saving all the prisoners down there, but as bad as it is to say, I think you're better off leaving Omeluum for dead.

Let Orin Kidnap Yenna

It's A Little Evil, But Makes Life Easier

A key Act 3 event involves Orin the Red getting bold and kidnapping one of your active party . A specific set of characters can be kidnapped once the event is triggered: Lae'zel, Halsin, Gale, Minthara, and Yenna. If any of the first four aren't in your active party and have not been romanced, they can be abducted by Orin. However, if these characters are in your active party and/or have been romanced, they will not be abducted.

If she kidnaps Yenna, Orin will appear in Yenna's form after killing and skewering Grub, Yenna's cat, and attempt to feed it to the entire party.

In this case, Yenna is taken by Orin, and, in my view, this is the best outcome in of gameplay. You can essentially ensure that Yenna is taken and avoid losing access to any of the other characters, and keeping Yenna alive at your camp doesn't have many benefits, except you can get some tasty soup.

Track Down Minsc

Keep Jaheira In Your Party Early In Act 3

Unless you're doing a dedicated Dark Urge run, I'd highly recommend pursuing Jaheira's questline "The High Harpers" early in Act 3 until you are finally introduced to Minsc and Boo. Aside from Minsc and Boo being Baldur's Gate icons and overall hilarious characters, completing Jaheira's questline will take you through particular areas such as the Counting House with excellent loot, and you'll be able to pump up your XP considerably along the way.

From a story perspective and for fans of the previous Baldur's Gate games, Minsc, Jaheira, and Boo's questline is rich with lore and background details for Jaheira as a character. Just note that you need to be careful not to kill Minsc during the fight in the sewers; otherwise, you cannot revive or recruit him, and Jaheira will permanently leave your party.

Take Advantage of Hirelings

Conserve Spell Slots By Using Hirelings

You can recruit hirelings relatively inexpensively from Withers back at camp, and they are a widely under-utilized resource that can change up your game, particularly in Act 3. You can use hirelings to grant your active party temporary yet valuable buffs that will remain until a Long Rest. Many Cleric and Druid spells are perfect for a hireling who provides buffs to the team and sits back for a day off at camp.

Some excellent spells to cast with your hireling include Heroes' Feast , Freedom of Movement , and Warding Bond. Using a hireling to cast these will save your active party from u their spell slots. Hirelings are also useful for other purposes, such as potion-making, binding weapons, and more.

Warlock Multiclass Dip

Agonizing Blast Is Hard To Up

A Level 2 dip into Warlock offers strong benefits for any Charisma-based caster builds, which include Sorcerers, Paladins, and Bards. You gain access to Eldritch Blast and Agonising Blast, a top-tier Cantrip that scales with your character's level in of the number of blasts per cast. In other words, at level 12, you can cast a three-shot Agonising Blast despite only having two levels in Warlock.

A Warlock dip is a very popular strategy and is why the "Sorlock" build is so popular. A Warlock dip gives casters an even more robust set of spell options than they already had on top of unique and powerful Cantrips.

The Jungle & Ramazith's Tower

Optional Areas Well Worth The Loot

There are two optional areas that I highly recommend completing for the gear alone, which include The Jungle and Ramazith's Tower. The Jungle is accessible by beating Akabi at his own game at Circus of the Last Days, which essentially just means stealing his ring before speaking with him. Doing so will teleport the party member who spoke with Akabi to The Jungle, where you can fight some dinosaurs and grab two of the best items: Band of the Mystic Scoundrel.

You need to get past the Globes of Invulnerabilty at the bottom of Razamith's Tower for both legendary items by pulling the invisible switches and ing an Arcana check.

Ramazith's Tower is another optional area, but one you don't want to up. This area is tied to the conclusion of the Nightsong storyline, and you'll have a relatively tough fight in store. But the rewards are well worth it, as Markoheshkir and the Robe of the Weave are at the bottom level.

Hold Monster On Raphael

If You're Struggling In The House Of Hope, Hold Monster Is Your Friend

Raphael is arguably one of the toughest fights in Act 3, but one that can be made much easier with a few simple spells. While it's a good idea to target the pillars in the main room first, you can negate Raphael's turns by using Hold Monster on him, a spell on him that comes in handy throughout the entirety of the House of Hope.

The condition will end at the start of Raphael's next turn, regardless, thanks to his Inevitable Resolve ability, but you can give yourself a major upper hand by utilizing Hold Monster effectively on each turn during this encounter. You should also consider Planar Binding to help deal with the annoying Cambion enemies.

Choose The Best Allies Against The Netherbrain

Act 3 Is About Gathering Allies, But You Don't Need Them All

While the entirety of Act 3 and most of the endgame revolves around completing side quests to gain allies against the Netherbrain, you really don't need ALL of these allies to defeat it. I would argue that only a handful of allies are worth the trouble and that it's entirely possible to complete the game without calling upon any allies at all. In particular, the Strange Ox (also known as Zlorb) is incredibly easy to unlock and is extremely powerful - all you have to do is bring an apple into the city.

Additionally, Dame Aylin is incredible to have in the final battle, as she's immortal and literally cannot die, though she can be downed and will attempt to heal herself each turn until successful. Deva is another excellent endgame ally, while characters such as Yurgir might look good on paper but are pretty useless. Overall, I don't think it's worth maxing out as many allies as possible during the endgame, primarily because you'll only end up using a limited number anyway. Choosing the best allies that synergize with your Baldur's Gate 3 party makes the most sense.