The Nautiloid crashes on the Ravaged Beach, Act 1 opens in every direction, and most players leave satisfied — never knowing they missed an item in the prologue itself, or that a side quest in the Underdark directly determines which allies appear in the final battle.
This guide covers Act 1 from the Nautiloid to the Mountain Pass with two specific goals: the five items the game never flags and most players walk past, and the four decisions that look like minor quest choices but permanently close off content in Acts 2 and 3 — sometimes hours later, for reasons that aren’t obvious until it’s too late.
Verified on Patch 8 (April 2025 — Larian Studios’ stated final major patch for BG3). If you want the class-by-class breakdown before tackling Act 1, our BG3 Beginner’s Guide covers the full companion unlock sequence and class selection.
Quick Start: Act 1 Priority Order
Before mapping every quest, here’s the efficient path that covers everything that matters without missing time-sensitive content. Expanded detail on each step follows below.
- Nautiloid prologue: Take the Everburn Blade from Commander Zhalk before using the transponder — details in the hidden items section
- Ravaged Beach: Recruit Shadowheart, Astarion, Gale, and Lae’zel — all within reach of the crash site
- Dank Crypt: Find Withers in the hidden sarcophagus room before leaving the beach area — he unlocks respeccing, resurrection, and hireling recruitment at camp
- Emerald Grove: Recruit Wyll; meet Volo and begin the Investigate Kagha quest to expose her Shadow Druid plot
- Risen Road: Recruit Karlach; complete Find the Missing Shipment to unlock the Zhentarim Basement and the Titanstring Bow vendor
- Goblin Camp: Rescue Halsin; visit Abdirak in the Shattered Sanctum for Loviatar’s Love; use non-lethal melee on Minthara if you want her in Act 2
- Underdark: Don’t skip it — the Disintegrating Night Walkers and the Grymforge gnome questline both chain directly into Act 3 outcomes
- Arcane Tower: Break (not sit on) the suspicious stool on the top floor
- Auntie Ethel: Fight her, bring her below 20% HP, then accept her deal to claim her hair — permanent +1 to any stat
- Before leaving Act 1: Run through the Point of No Return checklist at the bottom of this guide
Which Type of Player Are You?
Act 1 is large enough that trying to do everything at once leads to missed quests and level-4 characters entering the Underdark underprepared. Use this table to set priorities based on how you play.
| Player Type | Act 1 Priority | Skip or Defer |
|---|---|---|
| New Player | Main quests only: Rescue Halsin, Save the Refugees. Don’t leave without finding Withers and getting Volo’s eye | Deep Underdark, Grymforge, Crèche Y’llek — return to these zones via Mountain Pass in Act 2 |
| Casual Player | Main quests plus hidden items 1–3 (Everburn Blade, Loviatar’s Love, Volo’s Eye). One Underdark run for the Night Walkers | Full Grymforge questline on a first run. Barcus chain is worth doing but not essential for casual play |
| Optimiser / Honour Mode | All 5 hidden items, all 4 decisions resolved correctly, reach level 5 before leaving, complete Underdark including Grymforge | Nothing — Honour Mode leaves no room to miss permanent buffs or endgame faction allies |
| Completionist | Every quest, every companion event, Scratch and Owlbear Cub recruited, Necromancy of Thay obtained, Mourning Frost crafted | Nothing — run every area including Rosymorn Monastery and Crèche Y’llek before leaving |
Act 1 Major Quests: What You Actually Need to Know
Act 1 has one central conflict — the Emerald Grove versus the Goblin Camp — with a large optional section in the Underdark beneath it. The main quest sends you toward Moonrise Towers in Act 2, but the path you take through Act 1 determines what you find when you get there.
The Emerald Grove Storyline
The Grove conflict is Act 1’s core. Druids are performing a Rite of Thorns to seal the grove against refugees and goblins alike. Your goal: find First Druid Halsin (captured in the Goblin Camp), decide whether to expose Kagha’s Shadow Druid conspiracy, and resolve the tension between druids and tiefling refugees before the rite completes.
For the Kagha quest: find her secret letter in the locked chest behind her workspace, deliver it to the Shadow Druid Olodan in the Sunlit Wetlands, and return to confront Kagha directly. Successfully exposing her as a Shadow Druid unlocks the Pale Oak staff as a reward and ensures the tieflings are permitted to stay — which matters for Act 2 in ways detailed in the Decisions section below.
The Underdark: Not Actually Optional
Many Act 1 guides list the Underdark as optional. It isn’t — not if you care about permanent upgrades or your Act 3 ending. Two reasons: Grymforge contains a questline (Barcus Wroot → Deep Gnomes → Nere) that chains into an Act 3 faction choice affecting the final battle, and the Disintegrating Night Walkers (boots giving Misty Step on short rest) are only found here.
Two routes lead to the Underdark: the Blighted Village well, or the Goblin Camp’s Defiled Temple (rotate the moon circles to align them). Both arrive at the same cavern system. Reach the Underdark before leaving Act 1 — entering Act 2 closes access.
Rosymorn Monastery and Crèche Y’llek
The Mountain Pass route takes you through Rosymorn Monastery to Crèche Y’llek, a Githyanki military outpost. Going here lets you investigate Lae’zel’s parasite through the crèche’s doctor and pick up the Diadem of Arcane Synergy, one of the strongest headbands for martial-caster builds. The Crèche is optional in Act 1 but skipping it cuts off portions of Lae’zel’s companion storyline. If her quest matters to you, complete it before heading to Act 2.
The 4 Act 1 Decisions That Permanently Lock Out Future Content
These four choices don’t look critical at the time. Two are resolved by what you don’t do (kill versus spare). All four deliver consequences 10–40 hours later in Acts 2 and 3 with no warning from the game.
Decision 1: The Fate of the Emerald Grove
The choice: Side with the goblins and raid the Emerald Grove, or fight the goblin leaders and save the tiefling refugees.
Locked consequence: Dammon — a Tiefling blacksmith and the only NPC in the game who can upgrade Karlach’s infernal engine heart — only survives to Act 2 if the Grove is saved. Destroy the Grove by siding with goblins and the tieflings are massacred; Dammon never reaches Last Light Inn. Karlach’s heart requires two infernal iron upgrades in Acts 1 and 2 and a final repair in Act 3 — all three require Dammon alive. Destroy the Grove on a playthrough with Karlach and her entire companion questline conclusion, including her ending, is permanently locked out.
Secondary lockouts: Zevlor, the tiefling leader, reappears at Last Light Inn in Act 2 with his own questline. Rolan, a mage student you meet in the Grove, resurfaces in Act 3 as a vendor at the Tower of Art and can be persuaded to turn against Lorrokan — but only if his siblings were saved in Act 2, which requires Rolan to have survived Act 1. Both are gone if the Grove falls.
Decision tree: Kill the three goblin leaders → Grove saved → Dammon, Zevlor, and Rolan all survive into Acts 2 and 3.
Decision 2: Minthara — Kill Versus Knock Unconscious
The choice: During the goblin leader fight, how you down Minthara determines whether she becomes a companion in Act 2.
Locked consequence: Kill Minthara with normal attacks and she’s permanently gone. Enable non-lethal attacks before the fight (Passives tab on your hotbar) and knock her out with melee only — no spells, no ranged attacks, no damage-over-time surfaces — and she wakes up, gets taken as a prisoner, and reappears at Moonrise Towers in Act 2 where you can recruit her. She’s the only Paladin-type companion available on a non-evil run, has unique Absolute storyline dialogue that you can’t access otherwise, and offers the only in-party perspective from inside the Cult in Act 2.
You do not need to side with the goblins to recruit her. You just need non-lethal melee during the standard fight where you’re clearing the Goblin Camp to save the Grove.
Mechanical note: Dror Ragzlin must be alive and non-hostile when you knock Minthara out, or she’ll die in the chaos. Kill the other two goblin leaders separately first, then fight Minthara last with non-lethal toggled.
Decision 3: Barcus Wroot and the Gnome Chain
The choice: Save Barcus Wroot from the windmill in the Blighted Village, then help him and the Deep Gnome prisoners in Grymforge deal with General Nere.
Locked consequence: This two-part Act 1 action chains into Act 3’s most consequential optional questline. Save Barcus in the Blighted Village and he survives for Grymforge. In Grymforge, General Nere holds gnome slaves — help Barcus and the gnomes deal with Nere after he surfaces from a rock collapse (you can fight Nere directly, or set him up to face the gnomes). If both Barcus and the Gondian workers survive to Act 3, Barcus can become leader of the Ironhand Gnomes during the Steel Watch Foundry conflict, overruling the war-hungry Wulbren. Both the Ironhands and the Gondians then join your forces for the final battle. Ignore Barcus or let the gnomes die and you lose two entire faction allies at the endgame.
How the chain starts: The windmill in the Blighted Village — you’ll hear someone calling for help from it. A Perception check or simply exploring the village finds him. Help him get off the windmill, then pick up his thread again when you reach Grymforge in the Underdark.
Decision 4: Auntie Ethel — Kill Versus Force Her Hand
The choice: When Auntie Ethel drops below 20% HP in the fight near her lair, she offers a deal. Accept, and she gives you her hair then escapes. Kill her outright without triggering the deal, and you miss a permanent stat upgrade.
Locked consequence: Auntie Ethel’s Hair grants a permanent +1 to any ability score of your choice when consumed — one of only a handful of permanent stat boosts in the entire game. If you kill her outright before the deal dialogue triggers, you miss it entirely. The deal is available via DC 20 Deception or Intimidation when she’s below 20% HP (DC 15 with Advantage for Fighters and Barbarians).
Her Act 3 presence also depends on this: if she escapes your Act 1 fight (via the deal), she reappears at the Blushing Mermaid in Baldur’s Gate city, disguised as Captain Grisly. Letting her flee in Act 1 makes her more willing to negotiate in Act 3; killing her in Act 1 (she’s functionally unkillable due to her life force being bound to magic mushrooms, so she survives regardless) makes her more hostile in Act 3 and closes off certain dialogue options. Take the hair, let her go, fight her properly in Act 3.
5 Hidden Items Most Players Miss in Act 1
These five items are spread across Act 1 in locations the game doesn’t direct you to, or acquired through interactions that aren’t obvious. All five are permanent upgrades, not consumables.
1. Everburn Blade — Before You Even Land
The Everburn Blade deals 2d6 slashing plus 1d4 fire damage on every hit — and it’s available in the Nautiloid prologue before the game technically starts. Commander Zhalk is carrying it during the chaotic opening combat sequence on the mind flayer ship.
Most players run past the fight, evacuate immediately, or help the mind flayer kill Zhalk without thinking to loot his body. The reliable method: help the mind flayer bring Zhalk’s HP down (the Mind Flayer does significant damage and can handle the fight with support), then take the sword before using the transponder. Alternatively, cast Command: Drop on Zhalk to force him to release the blade without killing him — but Zhalk has a high saving throw, so this method is unreliable and wastes spell slots. Defeating him in combat and looting the body is more consistent. You need to act before hitting the transponder, since that ends the prologue.
A fire-damage greatsword from level 1 carries through most of Act 1 and remains the strongest greatsword available until late Act 1 or Act 2.
2. Loviatar’s Love — A Permanent Buff Hiding in the Goblin Camp
In the Shattered Sanctum inside the Goblin Camp, a priest of Loviatar named Abdirak is quietly performing rituals in a torture chamber on the eastern side of the sanctum. He’ll offer you a blessing ritual if you engage him — but the buff only triggers if you pass three consecutive Performance or Intimidation checks during the ritual. They must all be the same type: three Performance checks, or three Intimidation checks. Mixing types fails. (Three consecutive failed Constitution checks also work, if you want to commit to the roleplay.)
Loviatar’s Love grants +2 to attack rolls and Wisdom saving throws when you’re below 30% HP, triggering for 3 turns on drop. In practical terms, it activates during most desperate combat moments — exactly when you need it. It’s permanent and applies to the character who undergoes the ritual. Since most players blow through the Goblin Camp trying to rescue Halsin and never speak to the quiet priest in the corner, this is missed on the vast majority of first playthroughs.
Find Abdirak before starting any combat in the Sanctum — fighting nearby enemies can make him hostile and end the opportunity.
3. Volo’s Ersatz Eye — Permanent See Invisibility
Volothamp Geddarm is at the Emerald Grove before the goblin conflict, sitting near the Sacred Pools. After you speak to him, he heads to the Goblin Camp to gather material for his book and gets captured. Rescue him from the camp’s performance area, and he joins your camp and eventually offers to help with your tadpole problem.
His help is eye surgery. He wants to remove your parasite through your eye socket using crude instruments. Most players say no. They should say yes. The surgery does not successfully remove the tadpole (that’s the joke), but it replaces your eye with Volo’s Ersatz Eye: a permanent passive See Invisibility in a 9-metre radius. This counters invisible enemies, certain illusion spells, and reveals hidden traps and constructs that are otherwise undetectable. It’s a meaningful upgrade with no downside beyond a cosmetic eye replacement.
How to trigger it: speak to Volo in the Emerald Grove → rescue him from the Goblin Camp performance area → invite him to camp after clearing the Grove conflict → take a long rest → agree to the surgery when he proposes it.
4. Club of Hill Giant Strength — Break the Stool
The Arcane Tower in the Underdark is a notable location that many players find — the puzzle requiring sussur flowers to power the elevator is moderately well-known. What almost nobody does is go to the top floor and destroy the suspicious stool.
The stool sits in the corner at coordinates X: −26, Y: −272 and is named “Stool of Hill Giant Strength” — a hint in the name. Breaking it (right-click → Attack, or attack it with a weapon) drops the Club of Hill Giant Strength, which sets the wielder’s Strength to 19 while equipped. A character with 8 Strength can carry the same weight as a dedicated STR build. More practically, any character who wants 19 Strength for Athletics or shove builds without investing points gets it for free.
The interaction most players miss: the game doesn’t signal that furniture can be broken for loot. Clicking the stool gives a sit option. You have to attack it intentionally. Do that, and the club drops.
5. Disintegrating Night Walkers — The Underdark’s Best Boots
In Grymforge — the deeper section of the Underdark accessible after crossing the duergar area — General Nere is wearing boots called Disintegrating Night Walkers. When you defeat Nere (by waiting for the rock collapse to summon him, then engaging), you can loot them from his body.
These boots grant Misty Step as a usable ability that recharges on short rest. Misty Step is a level 2 transmutation spell that teleports you 18 metres as a bonus action — normally available only to spellcasters spending a spell slot. These boots give the ability to anyone in the party, once per short rest. In a game where turn-based positioning determines most outcomes, a bonus-action teleport on short rest recharge is one of the strongest mobility tools available in Act 1, and these boots stay useful deep into Act 2.
Most players miss them by skipping the Underdark entirely, or by leaving Grymforge before fully exploring it. The duergar guards make Grymforge feel hostile from the entrance, and Nere’s fight requires waiting for a rock collapse (take a long rest after arriving at Grymforge). Players who rush through or leave early miss Nere and the boots both.
Act 1 Companions: Who to Recruit and When
All six main companions are available in Act 1. Three are near the crash site; two require specific quest triggers.
- Shadowheart, Astarion, Gale, Lae’zel: Ravaged Beach and Roadside Cliffs, immediately after the crash. Recruit these first — no quest triggers required.
- Wyll: Emerald Grove training yard, practising combat with tiefling children. Joins immediately if asked.
- Karlach: Risen Road, northeast of the Emerald Grove. She’s being hunted by Wyll’s handlers — speak to Wyll before fighting the paladins and hear both sides before attacking anyone. You can keep both companions, but the dialogue sequence requires care.
Non-obvious recruits: Scratch the dog can be found near a body close to the Blighted Village. Speak to him, pass an Animal Handling check, take a long rest, and he arrives at camp. The Owlbear Cub requires a different path — find the cub in the Owlbear Cave, then after clearing the Goblin Camp, deliberately lose the game of chicken the goblins are playing with the cub. The cub finds its way to camp over several long rests.
Companion approval is tracked as a hidden integer and determines romance eligibility and late-Act 2 camp event triggers. Our BG3 Romance Guide covers approval thresholds in detail. For when to take long rests in relation to companion events — there are four Act 1 camp scenes that trigger immediately on rest and have narrow windows — the BG3 Long Rest Guide maps each one.
Once you have your party assembled, if you’re thinking about multiclassing any of them, the BG3 Multiclass Guide covers the eight builds worth splitting and the four combinations that waste levels — with level 5 as the critical gate to understand before committing to any split.
Point of No Return: What to Do Before Leaving Act 1
Entering the Mountain Pass or crossing into the Shadow-Cursed Lands via the Ancient Rune Circle seals Act 1 permanently. The Grove conflict also seals once Halsin is rescued and the fight is triggered. Before you cross either threshold, run this checklist.
| Task | Why It Matters | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Loviatar’s Love from Abdirak | +2 to attacks and Wisdom saves below 30% HP — only available in Act 1 | High |
| Volo’s Ersatz Eye (accept surgery) | Permanent See Invisibility 9m — cannot be obtained in Acts 2 or 3 | High |
| Withers found and at camp | Enables respec (100g), resurrection (200g), hireling recruitment at level 3 | High |
| Minthara knocked out (non-lethal melee) | Must happen in Act 1 — missed opportunity cannot be recovered later | High (if wanted) |
| Auntie Ethel’s Hair claimed | Permanent +1 to any ability score — requires deal at below 20% HP; killing outright skips it | High |
| Barcus Wroot saved at windmill | Required first step for Act 3 Ironhands and Gondians alliance chain | Medium |
| Grymforge gnome questline (Nere) | Barcus chain continuation + Disintegrating Night Walkers | Medium |
| All 6 main companions recruited | Companions missed in Act 1 may be unavailable or locked out later | Medium |
| Necromancy of Thay decision | Read it for a Speak with Dead undead ability; destroy for a one-time reward. Either path closes the other | Low |
| Masterwork weapon crafted (Sussur Bark) | Silence-on-hit weapon for disrupting enemy casters; Sussur Bark only available in Act 1 | Low |
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you go back to Act 1 after entering Act 2?
No. Once you cross into the Shadow-Cursed Lands via the Rune Circle, or take the Mountain Pass route through to Act 2, Act 1 areas are sealed permanently. Do everything you want before triggering either transition. The game does not warn you clearly when you’re approaching the point of no return.
What level should you be before leaving Act 1?
Level 5 is the target. Every class hits a significant milestone there: Fighters get Extra Attack, spellcasters get third-level spell slots, Rogues get Uncanny Dodge. The Underdark content — especially Grymforge — provides enough XP to reach level 5 comfortably without grinding. Entering Act 2 at level 4 makes the early Moonrise Towers encounters harder than necessary.
Should you use Illithid tadpole powers in Act 1?
Using tadpole powers occasionally is fine and gives useful early combat options. Committing fully to them (consuming every parasite you find and accepting every Illithid evolution) starts a narrative path with distinct Act 3 consequences, including a specific ending condition and changes to companion dialogue. If you’re pursuing a “resist the parasite” playthrough, stay consistent from Act 1.
Is the Underdark actually required?
Technically no — you can reach Act 2 via Mountain Pass without touching the Underdark. But you’ll miss Grymforge entirely (Disintegrating Night Walkers, Adamantine Forge gear, Barcus chain), and you’ll typically arrive at Act 2 at level 4 rather than 5. For Honour Mode and completionist runs, do both routes before leaving Act 1.
Can you recruit Minthara without attacking the Grove?
Yes. Enable non-lethal attacks, fight the goblin leaders normally as part of saving the Grove, and specifically use melee with non-lethal toggled to knock Minthara out rather than kill her. She doesn’t need to win the battle — she just needs to survive it without taking lethal damage. She reappears at Moonrise Towers in Act 2 where you can recruit her as a companion.
Sources
- Act One — bg3.wiki
- Withers — bg3.wiki
- Everburn Blade — bg3.wiki
- Club of Hill Giant Strength — bg3.wiki
- Disintegrating Night Walkers — bg3.wiki
- Abdirak — bg3.wiki
- Auntie Ethel — bg3.wiki
- How to Get Loviatar’s Blessing from Abdirak — charlieintel.com
- Act 1 Unique and Missable Items — gamestegy.com
- Dammon and Infernal Iron Locations — gamesradar.com
- How to Recruit Minthara — screenrant.com
- Save the Gondians — bg3.wiki
I've been playing video games for over 20 years, spanning everything from early PC titles to modern open-world games. I started Switchblade Gaming to publish the kind of accurate, well-researched guides I always wanted to find — built on primary sources, tested in-game, and kept up to date after patches. I currently focus on Minecraft and Pokémon GO.