Baldur's Gate 3 isn't a game that's afraid to challenge its players, and nowhere is that more obvious than the game's boss fights. Each one must be approached like a puzzle to be solved with different strategies needed each time. While all the bosses in BG3 are designed to be difficult, some are notoriously tougher than others.

[Warning: The following article contains end of Baldur's Gate 3, there are opponents for the party to face that might have them scratching their head or tearing their hair out in frustration. Obviously, with so many classes to choose from when creating a custom character and putting together a party, some will find these fights more difficult than others, as class abilities and synergies play a large part in BG3. While some of these boss fights can be avoided through dialogue, all will require a little more strategy should the party come to blows with them.

15 Viconia DeVir

Act 3, Lower City

Viconia is a drow priestess and the Mother Superior of the Shar enclave who appeared in both of the previous games in the Baldur's Gate series. In the previous games, Viconia could be recruited to the party as a companion but in Baldur's Gate 3 she is, instead, a powerful opponent.

Viconia can be found at the House of Grief in Lower City, where she's accompanied by a large number of Sharran disciples. The fight is a tough one, as Viconia has the ability to transmorph into a wolf, heal large amounts of HP, and cast the incredibly powerful Divine Intervention. Players can beat her to the latter by casting Divine Intervention themselves, but should be aware that they can only use this spell once in their entire playthrough.

14 Githyanki Inquisitor

Act 2, Mountain

The Githyanki Creche is located at Creche Y'llek, in a Githyanki base under the Rosymorn Monastery. Here, the protagonists face off against Ch'r'ai W'wargaz, the Inquisitor of the strong Githyanki warriors. The fight is made even more difficult by the presence of four Githyanki companions, three of which offer ranged backup and a fourth that provides up-close .

While there are many strategies for handling this fight, one of the most effective ways to tackle the battle is to take out the adds first. Using Command Drop or otherwise disarming the long-ranged Githyanki will drastically reduce the damage they do, allowing players to whittle down the before turning the fight onto the Inquisitor.

13 Shadow Cursed Shambling Mound

Acr 2, Ruined Battlefield

The Shadow Cursed Shambling Mound resembles winding tree branches, helping it to hide in its environment. As soon as players enter the Ruined Battlefield, they must a DC 30 Perception check. Failing this allows the Shambling Mound to surprise attack the party, losing the precious first turn and starting the fight at a severe disadvantage.

Taking this area boss on at too low of a level is inadvisable, as the Mound hits hard and summons many additional enemies to fight. The Mound is an especially difficuly opponent because of the "Devour" attack. This move can mean instant death for any party member who's restrained, so the most important part of the battle is to prevent being restrained and free trapped companions before the Mound has a chance to gobble them up.

12 Bulette

Act 1, The Underdark

The Bulette is a special enemy that burrows around in the Underdark like a mole rat and appears on occasion to cause trouble for players. The enemy is extremely resistant to physical damage but can be taken down by magic of a high enough level.

The enemy often appears as the player is exploring, as indicated by the ground shaking, attacks for large damage, then retreats back underground to reappear elsewhere. The best way to deal with the Bulette is not to deal with it at all, since the fight is completely optional. Players can simply focus on surviving the encounter and running away to see another day.

11 Lord Enver Gortash

Act 3, Wyrm's Crossing

Gortash is a member of the Dead Three and one of the primary antagonists of Baldur's Gate 3. His fight requires some thinking and strategizing, because running in blind is a sure way to lose. Gortash on his own isn't a big threat, but the environment and additional enemies make it easy to get caught off-guard.

The battlefield at Wyrm's Crossing makes for a dangerous crossing thanks to many traps and explosives. Luckily, these very same traps can be used against Gortash and the rest of the enemies. Players can simply pick the bombs up off the ground and throw them back at the antagonist for some excellent (and free) damage.

10 Grym

Act 1, Grymforge

Down in the depths of Grymforge is the forge's guardian, Grym, a huge construct capable of packing quite the punch and who is immune to all damage types. If that wasn't enough, the party will need to be surrounded by lava for as much of the fight as possible to superheat Grym and make the party able to damage it.

Grym's fight requires a fair bit of strategy and clever use of the environment, as it will need to be lured to the center of the area so that the forge's hammer can be used to hit Grym. There is a Steam achievement called A Grym Fate for beating Grym in BG3 without using the forge hammer, which requires a little more effort and thought, with the party needing to deal out massive amounts of bludgeoning damage.

9 Auntie Ethel

Act 1, Riverside Teahouse

Auntie Ethel provides not one, but two tough boss fights in the game, but by far the hardest of those comes in Act 1 when the party is still low level. Navigating through her lair, bying traps and guards, the party will find Ethel deep underground.

Ethel is a tough fight to go into unprepared as she will split into several illusory doubles, make herself look like the innocent girl, Mayrina, and make use of the spell hold person. All of this can add up to a pretty miserable time at low levels but it feels even better when she finally falls.

8 Gerringothe Thorm

Act 2, The Toll House

In Act 2, the party will come across several of the Thorm family and each will provide their own unique challenge. One of these comes in the form of Gerringothe Thorm, a portly woman made entirely of gold, who will demand that the party give her more gold to be allowed to . It is possible to avoid a fight with Gerringothe in BG3 completely by choosing the right dialogue options, and this is highly recommended as not only will it give the achievement Penny Pincher, but her fight is ridiculously hard.

Gerringothe deals more damage to characters the more gold they have on them and is backed up by several Visages to hinder the party. Despite her appearance, Gerringothe moves very quickly and has very high health, which makes wearing her down a slog. Taking out the Grim Visages will reduce her hit points by 100 each time, and collecting the scattered gold around the area to stop her from making use of some of her special abilities is the best tactic should a fight be unavoidable.

7 Malus Thorm

Act 2, The House Of Healing

Another member of the Thorm family who will prove a tough fight for the unprepared is Malus Thorm, the surgeon found in the House of Healing. Backed up by the undead Sisters, Malus can quickly deal out a ton of damage while the Sisters overwhelm the party.

When going up against him and his entourage, ranged attacks work best here while keeping the party moving. However, just like Gerringothe, the fight with Malus can be avoided altogether by choosing the right dialogue options and having him and the Sisters kill themselves.

6 Yurgir

Act 2, Gauntlet Of Shar

Yet another boss fight that can be avoided with the right dialogue, Yurgir is an orthon the party is sent to kill as a favor to Raphael. If a fight ensues, then the party will immediately be at a disadvantage, as Yurgir and his merregons and displacer beast will have them surrounded from a high vantage point.

With numbers on their side and the high ground, this fight can quickly go wrong unless the party are able to get on the same level as Yurgir and his minions. If Yurgir is killed in Act 2, he will return in the House of Hope during the fight with Raphael. Here it is possible to persuade him to aid the party, although the DC is very high.