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Confront the Elder Brain
Confront the Elder Brain is a quest in Act Three of Baldur's Gate 3.
Objectives[edit | edit source]
Walkthrough[edit | edit source]
Confronting the Elder Brain[edit | edit source]
The quest to confront the Elder Brain is acquired at the end of Act Two, after the Chosen Three are revealed to be controlling the Elder Brain as part of their plot to take over Baldur's Gate. However, the quest cannot be meaningfully progressed until 
and have successfully been completed. Orin the Red must be defeated and Enver Gortash must either be defeated or his bargain accepted as part of . Defeating both Orin and Gortash causes a vision of the Elder Brain in the Morphic Pool beneath the city. If Gortash is allied with, then he reveals the Elder Brain's location and tells the party to use the boat under the city to meet him there.
The Morphic Pool Dock is north of the Temple of Bhaal waypoint. Approaching the dock before obtaining all three Netherstones results in a swarm of Cranium Rats attacking.
Boarding the boat to the Morphic Pool is a point of no return and the start of the endgame. After this, it is not possible to long rest or visit the campsite anymore. Those Companions not brought along in the party show up not sooner as after defeating the Elder Brain. Thus they cannot help in the final battle. It is recommended to plan accordingly when choosing the desired companions for the final battles.
The Morphic Pool[edit | edit source]
Arriving at the Morphic Pool, the party must make several 
checks to not be mindbroken by the Elder Brain. It speaks to the party, demanding obedience. As the party move further north, a 
check reveals an ambush oncoming which can be avoided by sneaking through the whole area. The party is attacked by several Intellect Devourers and Intellect Glutton, and the Emperor remarks that something is corrupting the creatures.
After the ambush, if Gortash is allied with, he can be found in the next area, ready to assist the party with his Netherstone. The party can choose to strike Gortash twice. The first time, he issues a warning and kicks the player character if they react with sarcasm to his complaint. The second time, he turns hostile.
Once the Morphic Pool's waters are reached, the party (and Gortash, if present) take control of the Netherstones to confront the Elder Brain, which has become a Netherbrain, in a number of difficult checks:
- [STRENGTH] Muster the full might of your physical form - throw it into breaking through the brain's defences. (DC 20)
- [INTELLIGENCE] Your mind is yours to command - block out all possibility of failure and compel the brain to submit. (DC 20)
- [CONSTITUTION] You have survived this far - trust yourself. Dominate the brain. (DC 20)
The brain continues to taunt the party (and Gortash, if present). It says that the Chosen Three controlled it only for as long as it allowed them to, much to Gortash's horror.
- [GALE] [ARCANA] Draw on the power of the Weave and try again. You will not let the Crown slip from your grasp. (DC 25)
- [DEXTERITY] The Crown is an unmissable target - set it in your sights, and trust that you will strike true. (DC 25)
- [WISDOM] A first attempt is just that - iteration is key. Aim for the Crown and try again. (DC 25)
- [CHARISMA] Nothing is immune to influence - determine to master the brain. (DC 25)
- Bow before the glory of the Netherbrain. Submit to domination.
The Netherbrain tells the party that it was the one who informed the Chosen of the 
Astral Prism and planted fear of what Orpheus could do to their plan. It was the one who let the Emperor slip its leash so that it could retrieve the prism and loosen the Netherstones from the Chosen Ones' grasps.
Panicking, Gortash, if present, swipes the Netherstones from the party, attempting to dominate the Netherbrain himself. The Netherbrain easily resists him and issues a final command to Gortash: "Die", which he does.
- [STRENGTH] You are strong. You are mighty. You will dominate the brain. (DC 30)
- [CONSTITUTION] Your resilience will not be shaken - cast the spell again. (DC 30)
- [INTELLIGENCE] It may not be easy, but it was always supposed to be possible - do it again. (DC 30)
- Bow before the glory of the Netherbrain. Submit to domination.
The Emperor and the companions urge the player character to ignore the Netherbain's taunts and dominate it. Should the player character instead submit to its domination, then the party members are transformed into mind flayers, resulting in a Game Over.
One final, near impossible check remains.
- [STRENGTH] DOMINATE THE BRAIN (DC 99)
- [DEXTERITY] DOMINATE THE BRAIN (DC 99)
- [INTELLIGENCE] DOMINATE THE BRAIN (DC 99)
- [WISDOM] DOMINATE THE BRAIN (DC 99)
- [CHARISMA] DOMINATE THE BRAIN (DC 99)
- Give up. Allow the brain to dominate you.
A critical success weakens the Netherbrain. It starts the final fight with the 
debuff, lowering its HP by 20%.
However, regardless of what is done, the brain is too powerful to be defeated at this occasion, and the party members are knocked unconscious. The Emperor steps in to save them by bringing everyone inside the Astral Prism.
The Astral Prism[edit | edit source]
The party members awaken in the Astral Prism having benefited from a Long Rest and losing all Elixirs and "Until Long Rest" duration buffs they may have had.[1]
Siding with the Emperor[edit | edit source]
Talking to the Emperor reveals that only a mind flayer can hope to take down the Netherbrain in its current form and that the illithid must consume the power of Prince Orpheus in order to succeed. As a mind flayer, the Emperor says he can do this, and asks the Netherstones be relinquished to him.
If agreeing, the Netherstones can be given to the Emperor, who then assimilates Orpheus by devouring his brain. If Lae'zel is in the party and loyal to Orpheus, she is furious at the death of her prince and turns hostile unless pacified by a 
Persuasion check.
Then Emperor joins the party as an Attached Follower. The party must now travel through a recently opened up portal to the High Hall.
Freeing Orpheus[edit | edit source]
If the party reject the Emperor's proposition, he states that he has no other choice but to reassimilate with the Netherbrain, and leaves the party in the Astral Realm. This can be done by selecting "I don't believe a word you just said" followed by "I will never trust you", by asserting the intent to free Orpheus if the party possesses the 
Orphic Hammer, by attacking him, or by equipping the Hammer and using it to attack the crystals binding Orpheus regardless of or even without any dialogue. After the Emperor departs, if not not already done, the Orphic Hammer must equipped by a party member it and both binding crystals need to be attacked and destroyed to free Orpheus and advance the quest.
It is possible to spurn the Emperor even if the party do not possess the Hammer. In this case, what happens next depends on previous interactions with Raphael:
- If the party did not accept Raphael's deal and he is still alive, he appears within the Astral Prism. The party must sign a contract to get the Orphic Hammer in exchange for the Crown of Karsus. Failing to uphold the bargain means the party's souls are forfeit. Signing the contract starts . Otherwise, refusing to sign turns the party into mind flayers who assimilate into the Netherbrain, causing a game over.
- If the party made a deal with Raphael and forgot to bring the Orphic Hammer, he appears to deliver the world-saving relic they so negligently misplaced.
- If Raphael is dead and no member of the party was carrying the Hammer when they entered the prism, it cannot be retrieved and a game over ensues: the party is overcome by the Absolute, transformed into mind flayers and assimilated.
Once Orpheus is freed, he confronts the party on their choices, saying the party should have let his honor guard kill them, so they could have avoided this whole situation. He also confronts the party if they romanced the Emperor and / or got the 
Githyanki Egg in . However, he agrees to stand down and works with the party. He states that the Emperor was correct and a mind flayer is necessary to take down the Netherbrain. Either, the player character or Karlach, of present, can make this sacrifice. Only whoever transforms into a mind flayer can wield the netherstones.
If no party member makes this sacrifice, Orpheus does it himself and becomes a mind flayer, joining the party as an Attached Follower. Otherwise he does not transform but he also joins the party. It is now necessary to travel through a recently opened up portal to the High Hall.
Upper City[edit | edit source]
The party return to Baldur's Gate to find it in shambles. The entire city is a battle between several Nautiloids and an army of Red Dragons.
Kith'rak Voss teleports in with a group of githyanki to confront the party. If Orpheus was freed, he offers his aid freely. If The Emperor consumed Orpheus, he is angry; a DC 30 Persuasion check or DC 30 Deception check makes him stand down and begrudgingly lend his aid; otherwise, he attacks.
Moving forward, the party can find a building where all of their allies are gathered, along with a Flaming Fist named Beorn Wunterbrood. The individuals that appear are based on who was successfully recruited as part of . These allies grant a new action - Call Forth Allies - that can summon reinforcements, get useful buffs or utilize powerful AoE attacks.
Courtyard[edit | edit source]
Upon approaching the courtyard, the party come across the Watchmen Gyordi, Goodge, Fry, and Ebber running away. A passive DC 20 Insight check followed by a dialogue option with a DC 20 Persuasion, Intimidation, Deception, or Strength check convinces them to stand and fight, joining the party as allies for the courtyard battle only. On Explorer and Balanced difficulty only, there is also a single-use restoration pod that gives the benefits of a Long Rest.
Entering the courtyard leads to an all-out battle against various Absolutist cultists, Goblins, Mind flayers, Illithid Arcanists, Winged Horrors, Intellect Devourers, an Ogre, and a Spectator.
It is possible to bypass this battle by avoiding to enter through the main entrance, and instead approaching High Hall through the northern or southern routes with stealth and invisibility.
Upper City Sewers[edit | edit source]
Instead of the courtyard, the party can take a hidden route through Upper City Sewers. This route features a few goblins, a pair of Cranium Rats, a Mind Flayer, some Absolute cultists, Necromites, and a Death Knight named Stalker Svignee. Here also can be found the corpse of Merug 'Curly' Dugald crushed under some debris, which is in possession of a High Hall Key.
The High Hall[edit | edit source]
After fighting or sneaking their way through the courtyard or the sewers, the party enter the High Hall proper.
The hall contains Intellect Devourers, Mind Flayers, and Banite and Bhaalist cultists. A Nautiloid pulls up and bombards areas and summons Mind Flayer and Intellect Devourer reinforcements every turn.
There are two paths to the top. The left path has a 
door that must be broken down, lockpicked or opened by using the corresponding key. The right path has a high wall that most characters cannot jump up, but a nearby statue that can be pushed over (with a Strength check) to provide a foothold.
At the very top is a door to stem of the Netherbrain. Approaching the stem with any character causes a cutscene that destroys the bombarding Nautiloid, ends the fight, and teleports the entire party to this location. On Explorer and Balanced difficulty only, there is another restoration pod. The way forward is to climb the Netherbrain.
Possible Gale Decision[edit | edit source]
Depending on the choices made prior to crossing the "point of no return" and if Gale is in the party, interacting with the Brain Stem can trigger a short conversation between him and the player character. It is now possible to let Gale climb the Brain Stem alone and use his orb to destroy the Netherbrain. If that happens then all the fights described in the rest of this article are completely avoided. After a cutscene with Gale activiating the orb, the party get directly to the endings and after that to the epilogue of the game.
Atop the Netherbrain[edit | edit source]
The Netherbrain is guarded by four Illithid Arcanists and a Dominated Red Dragon. There are also sixteen Tentacle enemies hidden under the brain's surface that appear if an allied character travels within 3m / 10ft of them.
The party also face additional enemies that vary depending on whether the party chose to side with Orpheus or the Emperor:
- If Orpheus was sided with, the Emperor appears on top of the Netherbrain to stop the party. The Emperor conjures four Dream Guardians to fight alongside him, stating that he knows the party's every weakness.
- If the Emperor was sided with, the Netherbrain itself spawns four Countermeasures, powerful Aberrations that are designed to counter specific classes. The Countermeasures summoned depend on the classes of the current party members.
The physical structures of the "Atop the Netherbrain" map area allow for multiple "safe" paths across the brain matter, including two visible paths along the "ridges" of the Crown to the east and west. Staying on these paths prevents Tentacle enemies from appearing and attacking the party.
At the start of this fight, a counter is issued for 4 turns, after which a Nautiloid ship arrives and begins using the same "targeting" bombardment seen during the partys' ascent in the High Hall.[2]
Only an illithid party member that is "holding" the Netherstones can cast 
. To do this, the illithid party member needs to move close enough to the Crown of Karsus, and then cast Karsus' Compulsion for several turns. The party member can be attacked, possibly interrupted, and even killed while attempting to cast this spell. As no other party members can cast the spell in their place, the killed illithid party member must be resurrected to cast Karsus' Compulsion again, at the next available opportunity.[3]
Successfully casting opens up a portal to the "Mind of the Netherbrain" area, where a physical manifestation of the Netherbrain can be attacked.
Mind of the Netherbrain[edit | edit source]
This area contains a number of loosely connected floating platforms that are breakable. Periodically, a small group of platforms is marked for destruction, and their outlines turn pink. Once a platform is destroyed, any entities that are on the surface are instantly killed. If winning the fight, then every party member who is killed here or in the "Atop the Netherbrain" area is resurrected after the fight.
When at least one character successfully passes through the portal, the initiative order introduces an entity representing the Netherbrain into the turn order.[4]
To reach "The Mind of The Netherbrain" area after this trigger occurs, each individual party member and summoned creature must directly interact with the portal to be brought through, or else they remain in the "Atop the Netherbrain" area.
Upon successfully interacting with the portal, the party member appears somewhere inside "The Mind of the Netherbrain", on one of the aforementioned breakable platforms (out of the rough "half-ring" grouping of platforms that is farthest away from the Netherbrain). Once all party members are either inside the "Mind of the Netherbrain" area, or have been killed while still in the "Atop the Netherbrain" area, the turn order truncates down to include just the entities present inside the "Mind of the Netherbrain" area.
The Unbreakable Will of the Netherbrain[edit | edit source]
When the Netherbrain is added into the turn order, a new counter appears overwriting the state of the prior timer. If the Netherbrain entity is not killed within the allotted turns, a Game Over screen will occur.
If the final DC 99 check at the Morphic Pool to "DOMINATE THE BRAIN" was passed with a critical success, the Netherbrain starts with the debuff, lowering its HP by 20%.
At the start of each of the Netherbrains' turns, it may attempt to cast a spell called 
which summons an entity of that name with an aura condition attached to it, and adds the orb entity into the turn order. When the turn of an orb entity arrives, any platforms afflicted with the orbs' condition are destroyed. The party members and summons on the platforms are killed.
The first time within each round that the Netherbrain takes damage from another character, it may attempt to cast an ability called 
, which deals 10-60 damage (minimum of 5 damage if an unspecified save is passed) to all characters who are within 30m of the Netherbrain.
When the Netherbrain reaches 0 hit points it is defeated and a conversation triggers allowing the party to choose what to do with the defeated Netherbrain.
Final Choice[edit | edit source]
After the Netherbrain has been defeated, the choice must be made to either or .
Either option leads to the ending of the game, followed by the Epilogue sequence after a six month time jump.
Allies in the Final Fight[edit | edit source]
For a list of possible allies and a details on how to gain them for the final fight, see the quest .
Achievements[edit | edit source]
- Ceremorphosis
- Make the ultimate sacrifice: become a mind flayer to defeat the Netherbrain.
- Interfectorem Draconis
- Kill the red dragon in the Upper City.
- All's Well That Ends Well
- Finish the game (with a heartfelt 'thank you' from Larian Studios).
Notes[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Certain items abilities which replenish their effect on a Long Rest also appear to be consumed even if they had not been. This is believed to be a bug.
- ↑ At time of writing, the turn counter UI element may display as having five "sections" around its circle, with one section depleted, but still otherwise functions as only allowing up to 4 turns. It is basically impossible to confirm if this UI element behavior is a "bug", or if it had to be implemented this way for another reason.
- ↑ The resurrected illithid party member still has the usual effects of being resurrected while in combat, and there may be multiple turns before they are capable of taking actions again.
- ↑ If Examined, the full name of the Netherbrain's entity is revealed to be "The Unbreakable Will of the Netherbrain", but in the Combat Log and Initiative Order this entity is still labelled as "The Netherbrain."