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His personal quest comes to a climax in the confrontation with Cazador, but should you let Astarion Ascend in Baldur’s Gate 3?
In Baldur’s Gate 3, many of the potential companions will have their own personal quests that will advance as you play through the story. Astarion’s quest is called The Pale Elf and it begins in the early game with the revelation that he is a vampire spawn. Presuming that you let him live after discovering this, he will slowly reveal more details about his unfortunate past. His master Cazador is cruel and has been sending Gur hunters to track Astarion down.
By the time you reach the titular city in Act 3, it is time for a confrontation with the Vampire Lord himself. However, Cazador has plans for Astarion that can either be stopped or changed to suit Astarion’s wants. In the following guide, we’ll evaluate all the details about how to find Cazador, strategies for fighting him, and the consequences of choosing to ascend Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Finding Cazador In Baldur’s Gate 3
Finding the entrance to the Szarr Palace isn’t easy if this is your first time in Act 3. To locate it, find the Central Watch Tower, which is right next to the Lower City Central Wall Waypoint. Next, at the waypoint, the doors are just right around the corner. Go up the wooden stairs and head north. Then keep moving forward. Inside more doors, and up a ladder. Now 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 entrance to the Szarr Palace.
Inside the Palace, you will find a sealed door with a rat motif blocking your way forward. Head down the stairs to the room with a Necrotic body and Remove Curse to find the Kozakuran Dictionary inside. You must read it to receive the password you need. Next, head down the hallway and go inside the Door to the Kennel. Fight the skeleton named Godey and you can loot the Szarr Family Ring. Now you can open up the sealed door.
There will be a group of enemies to fight past the seal. When you’ve defeated them, locate the door to the Office Hall, which is in the southwest corner of the room. Use the elevator dais to descend into Cazador’s dungeon. Another sealed door will block your way, but you can just use the same Ring to get past it. Speak with the prisoners you find, and then continue on to face Cazador.
Fighting Cazador in Baldur’s Gate 3
The fight against Cazador can be frustrating because he spends so much time in mist form. Moreover, he constantly heals so long as all his spawn (including Astarion) are held in place. To combat this, you should bring any character/weapon that can cause Radiant damage in some way. The Blood of Lathander is quite helpful here, especially with its free cast of Sunbeam.
Additionally, you will 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
When Cazador is within the range of the Daylight spell it will not only remove all of his resistances but also kick him out of mist form. Therefore, you should 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.
Furthermore, have another mobile party member run up (or Misty Step) to Astarion and use the Help action to free him. This will not only break the passive healing Cazador is receiving, but Astarion can also now take part in the fight.
Consequences of Ascending Astarion in BG3
After defeating Cazador you can claim the Rhapsody dagger and Woe. However, first, there will be a story event dealing with the Ritual and Astarion’s desire to take Cazador’s place. Astarion wants this and it will take no convincing on your part to have him become the Vampire Ascendant. Moreover, he needs your help, asking to use the tadpole connection so he can replicate his own runes on Cazador’s back.
Letting Astarion ascend in Baldur’s Gate 3 will ultimately kill Cazador, the other vampire spawn, and all of the 7,000 other souls in the prison cells. There is no way to save any of them in this scenario.
The major consequence of letting Astarion ascend is that he becomes the Vampire Ascendant, and will now have access to new powers in combat. The first bonus is a basic bonus of +1d10 Necrotic Damage to unarmed and weapon Attack rolls. Ascendant Bite is a new class action that grants additional healing and deals necrotic damage. Furthermore, the target will become Bloodless, and Astarion gains +1 for all attack rolls, saving throws, and most ability checks. It can only be used once per Long Rest.
Astarion will also gain a Vampire Ascendant version of the Misty Escape action. Using it will transform Astarion into a small mist cloud. Additionally, he will have Advantage on Constitution, Dexterity, and Strength Saving Throws. It requires Concentration to maintain and can only be used once per Long Rest.
Finally, there are also severe character changes to Astarion’s personality if you let him Ascend. His attitude and behavior will become more evil, much like Cazador was. Furthermore, if your character is in a romance with him, he will begin to treat you like a pet or possession rather than a partner.
Consequences of Not Ascending Astarion in BG3
To keep Astarion from completing the ritual you’ll first need to choose the dialogue response that tells him not to do it because it will kill a lot of people. Then there will be a Persuasion option, where you encourage Astarion to live a life he could be proud of. This will require passing an 18 difficult check on the roll, so you may need to add Guidance or other bonuses.
If you are successful, Astarion will agree. However, he will still kill Cazador and you will need to decide the fate of the other spawns. Additionally, he will not gain the new class abilities of the Vampire Ascendant, so his combat toolkit will remain exactly the same.
Finally, although Astarion is initially upset at the lack of new powers, he will eventually realize that they would have only made him a monster like Cazador. Furthermore, if you’re in a romance with him, at the next Long Rest will be a special cutscene where Astarion takes you to his grave and thanks you for giving him a chance.
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