In Baldur’s Gate 3, Woe is a great quarterstaff you can acquire in Act 3 – this short Guide Explains everything you need to know about Woe in BG3.
This guide has been updated based on the Patch 4 version of Baldur’s Gate 3.
Woe
In Baldur’s Gate 3 Woe is Quarterstaff which provides a variety of boosts and benefits for the spellcaster who equips it. The Arcane Enchantment perk is seen on other end-game quarterstaves. It provides a +1 bonus to Spell Save DC and spell attack rolls. The feature unique to Woe is Arcane Vampirism. When any creature affected by your spells fail any associated Saving Throws, the character using Woe will receive 1~4 points of healing in return.
Another benefit is the free cast of the Blight spell once per Long Rest. Blight Deals 8~64 Necrotic damage to a target. Additionally, plants take maximum damage from this spell, and have Disadvantage on the Saving Throw against it.
Finally, this weapon has the added benefit of being a Bound Weapon. This means that the weapon can’t be knocked out of the wielder’s hand, which makes it a very reliable staff when you’re facing groups of enemies with Disarming Attacks.
Here are all the Woe features in BG3:
- Weapon Type: Quarterstaff
- Damage: 1d8 (1d6)+1 Bludgeoning
- Requirements: Simple Weapons or Quarterstaves Proficiency
- Rarity: Very Rare
- Location: Reward after defeating Cazador Szarr and completing The Pale Elf, Act 3.
- Weight: 1.8 kg
- Value: 480
- Bonuses:
- Arcane Enchantment: You gain a +1 bonus to Spell Save DC and Spell Attack Rolls.
- Arcane Vampirism: When the creatures affected by your spells fail any associated Saving Throws regain 1d4 (1~4) HP.
- Cast Blight once per Long Rest.
- Bound Weapon: The weapon can’t be knocked out of the wielder’s hand, and automatically returns to its wielder when Thrown.
- Classes with Simple Weapons or Quarterstaves Proficiency: All classes
- Companions Who Can Use This Weapon: Gale, Halsin, Jaheira
NOTE: This explanation will include spoilers for the conclusion of Astarion’s personal quest.
How to Get Woe in Baldur’s Gate 3
To get Woe in Baldur’s Gate 3 you’ll need to play through the game and follow through on Astarion’s companion quest until you get to Act 3 where you can confront his vampire master, Cazador Szarr. This walkthrough will be the same as the one for Rhapsody, which you can loot from Cazador’s body after defeating him.
Take these steps to get Woe in Baldur’s Gate 3:
- Speak with Astarion regularly in Act 1 to learn about his backstory.
- In Act 2 you’ll need to visit the Grand Mausoleum. The entrance to this can be found northeast of the House of Healing in the Shadow-Cursed Lands.
- Raphael will appear and in dialogue Astarion will make a deal with the devil to find out what the runes on his back say.
- Defeat Yungir in the Temple of Shar to fulfill Astarion’s end of the bargain.
- Raphael will then explain that the runes are one part of the Black Mass Ritual, which creates a Vampire Ascendant.
- In Act 3 you can confront Cazador at his Palace. Astarion will have to make a critical life choice. Defeat Cazador, and you are rewarded with Woe.
The entrance to the Szarr Palace isn’t obvious if this is your first time in Act 3. It can be accessed via the Central Watch Tower, which is right next to the Lower City Central Wall Waypoint. Once at the waypoint, the doors are just right around the corner. Go up the wooden stairs and head north. Just keep moving forward. Inside more doors, up a ladder. At this point you’ll run into some guards but there are Intimidation and Deception dialogue choices you can use to get by them. Go up again, and head north down the stone pathway, take a left and you’ll finally reach the entry to the Szarr Palace.
Inside Szarr Palace
Once you’re inside the Palace, walk straight ahead to find a glowing red door marked with a symbol of rats. To find Cazador, you’ll need to figure out a way past this sealed door. Turn to the east and move through the set of curtains and down the stairs. (There will be other doors and areas you can explore for further backstory and loot, but this guide will be streamlined for the purposes of getting to Cazador and Woe.)
When you reach the bottom of the stairs, you want the door on your immediate left. Be careful of the green energy you see radiating out. Inside you’ll find a body radiating Necrotic magic. Use a party member (Clerics are good here) or a scroll to cast Remove Curse. You can then freely explore the room. You want to specifically open the tall Mahogany Wardrobe to the left of the bed. Inside is a Kozakuran Dictionary. Be sure to not just loot it, but read it! Inside will give you the pass phrases, which are one part of opening the sealed door.
The next piece of the puzzle is straight out the Guest Room and down the hallway. As you reach the door on the other end, another will reveal itself on the wall to the northeast.
Inside the Kennels move around the small space and towards the back. A skeleton named Godey will confront Astarion and there will be a dialogue choice or two to make. No matter what you say, a fight scene will trigger. Godey is the only enemy and shouldn’t be too much of a challenge. Loot his pile of bones to get the Szarr Family Ring. Now you have all of the pieces to open the sealed door up on the main floor.
Reaching Cazador’s Dungeon
Once you return upstairs, click on the Sealed Door to interact with it. A dialogue scene will now let you use the Ring and read the inscription. Prepare for a fight in the large open room beyond. You’ll be fighting wolves, bats and werewolves here, but this fight in general shouldn’t be too difficult either.
After the enemies are defeated, look for the door to the Office Hall, which is in the southwest corner of the room. (Again, there are additional areas here to explore, but this guide will take you straight to Cazador.) Immediately inside and to the right is a large dais. Interact with it and use it to descend into Cazador’s dungeon.
At the bottom you’ll see another sealed door directly ahead. This seal cannot be lock-picked or destroyed with any spells. But you already have the means for passing through. The Szarr family ring will get you past this door. Inside you’ll find two cages with prisoners. It’s highly recommended that you speak with the prisoners inside to get some more background about Astarion and the Ritual to come.
Final Cazador Fight
The Cazador fight can be frustrating, especially since he spends so much time in a mist form and constantly heals so long as all his spawn (including Astarion) are held in place. It’s highly recommended that you bring any character/weapon which can cause Radiant damage in some way. The Blood of Lathander is quite helpful here, especially with its free cast of Sunbeam, if you got it back in late Act 1.
Daylight Spell
Additionally, you will absolutely want to bring a character who has access to the Daylight spell. Daylight is a Level 3 Evocation spell. It can be used to enchant an item or weapon to shine like the sun or to summon a sphere of sunlight that dispels all darkness around it. Daylight can be learned by the following classes:
- Cleric, Druid, and Sorcerer at Level 5
- College of Lore Bard at Level 6 via Magical Secrets class feature
- Paladin and Ranger at Level 9
- Bard at Level 10 via Magical Secrets class feature
Unfortunately, there does not appear to be a Scroll of Daylight item available in game. So the only way to use this spell is to have one of these classes choose it when leveling up. If you missed doing this and want the spell now, just respec with Withers back at camp.
Casting Daylight over Cazador will not only remove all of his resistances, but kick him out of miss form. Ideally, you can cast Daylight on the weapon of your hardest hitting melee fighter. Next, have them run up to him and attack as many times as possible. A Fighter with Extra Attack and the Hasten effect already cast on them will get you even more damage done.
Break the Ritual (Optional)
If you’re still having trouble with this fight, another option is to weaken Cazador by killing at least one of the other spawn. However, doing so will cut off the option to have Astarion ascend, if you want to leave that open. The spawn are obviously held in place and have no defense against your attacks. Killing one will break the ritual and Cazador will loose his heal boost.
As soon as all the enemies are down, go over and interact with the coffin in the center. There will be some longer cut scenes here as the end of Astarion’s personal quest plays out. If you’ve kept all of the other spawn alive in the ritual circle, there will be the major choice of whether you allow Astarion to ascend or try to persuade him against it. Once the cut scenes are done, you will automatically receive the Woe quarterstaff as a reward!
Looking For More About Baldur’s Gate 3?
Thank you for reading How to Get Woe in Baldur’s Gate 3 guide. We provide the latest news and create guides for Baldur’s Gate 3. Also, watch me play games on Twitch or visit my YouTube channel!
