Baldur's Gate 3

Baldur's Gate 3

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GrandMajora Jan 27, 2024 @ 7:17pm
Why You Should Respec Karlach! (spoilers)
Out of all the Origin characters you can have as companions, Karlach is the only one in the game who will volunteer to become a Mind Flayer instead of having your avatar do so.

Unfortunately, becoming a mind flayer is the absolute worst decision you can make in the entire game if you're planning to run a martial character. This is because your Strength, Dexterity and Constitution will be utterly tanked after your transformation.

The good news, is that your Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma will be buffed to high hell. With Intelligence being raised to 20, and both Wisdom and Charisma being set to 18.

This means the Mind Flayer can excel as any of the caster themed classes. As such, it is more prudent to have Karlach respec into a caster, instead of a Barbarian as early as possible.

And yes, I know there are items in the game which can raise your stats, but let's be honest. You're probably giving those kinds of items to your avatar, while your companions get stuck with the 'leftover hand-me-downs' you didn't want.
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Showing 1-15 of 26 comments
The Yeen Queen Jan 27, 2024 @ 7:21pm 
Just let the Emp eat Orpheus. Problem solved. If you know FR lore, you know Orpheus isn't as nice as he seems...
Metallicus Jan 27, 2024 @ 7:37pm 
This would give Karlach an actual purpose and she could make her gender neutral persona official as a mindflayer. I finally have a use for her!
seeker1 Jan 27, 2024 @ 7:40pm 
Respec'ing her because of a transformation she only undergoes in the final endgame is kinda silly. I mean, I guess you can respec her right before you head to the Morphic Pool.

Bottom line is once she becomes a mindflayer, you are going to be using her Tier 3 mindflayer abilities more than anything else. Any class abilities she has will pale in comparison....
GrandMajora Jan 27, 2024 @ 8:01pm 
Originally posted by Night Foxx:
Just let the Emp eat Orpheus. Problem solved. If you know FR lore, you know Orpheus isn't as nice as he seems...

I was never under any impression to the contrary. Githyanki are an evil culture. Vlaakith didn't start that ♥♥♥♥, they were doing it for over 200 generations before she claimed the throne.
seeker1 Jan 27, 2024 @ 8:12pm 
Dunno, for those who are thinking Orpheus can't be trusted ... some info in the Epilogue I think shows things in an additional light. This thread is spoiler tagged, so ...

Orpheus is seeking to heal the divide between the Githzerai and Githyanki. From a lore perspective, this is VERY significant. Yes, the Githzerai are probably the more "good" faction of the divided race ... and if they are uniting under Orpheus ...
GrandMajora Jan 27, 2024 @ 8:15pm 
Originally posted by Metallicus:
This would give Karlach an actual purpose and she could make her gender neutral persona official as a mindflayer. I finally have a use for her!

Personally, I always kill either Wyll or Karlach in my playthroughs, depending on which one of them I intend to bring along.

I hate Wyll's devil form. Those horns are too large and impractical. Seriously, how the hell is he supposed to sleep properly with those?

I also don't like Karlach, because when you're playing her an avatar, she routinely breaks the 4th wall and acts like you're a passenger along for the ride in her story. None of the other origin characters interact with the player in this way.

I know Karlach is very popular among the playerbase, but she seems like somebody's DM-PC to me; and I didn't sign up for that crap.
kbiz Jan 27, 2024 @ 8:36pm 
A Barbarian is good until lvl 7. Then respec to Fighter-Barbarian. Then to a pure Fighter at lvl 11.
Thorn Jan 27, 2024 @ 8:43pm 
Originally posted by seeker1:
Dunno, for those who are thinking Orpheus can't be trusted ... some info in the Epilogue I think shows things in an additional light. This thread is spoiler tagged, so ...

Orpheus is seeking to heal the divide between the Githzerai and Githyanki. From a lore perspective, this is VERY significant. Yes, the Githzerai are probably the more "good" faction of the divided race ... and if they are uniting under Orpheus ...

If the zerai and the yanki unite the first thing they're gonna do is ravage the material plane. Its better for everyone if they stay enemies
Simbolic Jan 27, 2024 @ 9:52pm 
They changed that didn't they?

Originally posted by GrandMajora:
Originally posted by Night Foxx:
Just let the Emp eat Orpheus. Problem solved. If you know FR lore, you know Orpheus isn't as nice as he seems...

I was never under any impression to the contrary. Githyanki are an evil culture. Vlaakith didn't start that ♥♥♥♥, they were doing it for over 200 generations before she claimed the throne.
Not sure if Orpheus even ruled there was like over 1000 Vlaakith's. He never got far enough to claim the throne over his people. Seemed obvious to me that he was different from the regular bloodthirsty Githyanki. If been to the there creche there is a guy refusing training. He knew it was wrong, and went against Orpheus's will. With Vlaakith Breeding them into unsympathetic killing machines.
GrandMajora Jan 27, 2024 @ 11:54pm 
Originally posted by Simbolic:
Not sure if Orpheus even ruled there was like over 1000 Vlaakith's. He never got far enough to claim the throne over his people. Seemed obvious to me that he was different from the regular bloodthirsty Githyanki. If been to the there creche there is a guy refusing training. He knew it was wrong, and went against Orpheus's will. With Vlaakith Breeding them into unsympathetic killing machines.

Orpheus is the son of Gith, who decided that the best way to react to eons of enslavement to the mind flayers was to begin enslaving everybody else. Or just killing them on sight, like a bunch of xenophobic space pirates.

The leader of the Githzerai told her to cut that ♥♥♥♥ out, which lead to a schism that lasts even today. The two cultures hate each other almost as much as they hate mind flayers... almost.

Orpheus isn't rebelling against Vlaakith because he's a good person, he's rebelling against Vlaakith because he knows that she is lying to his people, devours their souls in her pursuit of godhood, and is completely ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ insane.

The Githzerai are the good guys, who seek to heal from their past traumas and live in peace with the multiverse.

The Githyanki are the bad guys, who think their suffering gives them an excuse to be a bunch of sociopaths.
Last edited by GrandMajora; Jan 28, 2024 @ 12:00am
Toaster Maximus Jan 28, 2024 @ 12:00am 
The trust worthy gith are not in the game so just let the emp take the would be king's brain, even if my bard backstabbed them all in the end wyil dumped her for fooling around with his boss but what bard wouldn't a taste of hell
GrandMajora Jan 28, 2024 @ 12:01am 
Originally posted by Toaster Maximus:
The trust worthy gith are not in the game so just let the emp take the would be king's brain, even if my bard backstabbed them all in the end wyil dumped her for fooling around with his boss but what bard wouldn't a taste of hell

Not strictly true. There is one Githzerai you can speak to in game during act 2. But it involves solving an annoying puzzle first.
ShadowDark3 Jan 28, 2024 @ 12:06am 
There isn't really a need to respec anyone in the normal difficulty, other than if it make it more fun for you to play in a different way from what is default. As it is, even when left as a barbarian you can end up with some wildly different Karlachs depending on which path and feats you choose.
Toaster Maximus Jan 28, 2024 @ 12:08am 
Originally posted by GrandMajora:
Originally posted by Toaster Maximus:
The trust worthy gith are not in the game so just let the emp take the would be king's brain, even if my bard backstabbed them all in the end wyil dumped her for fooling around with his boss but what bard wouldn't a taste of hell

Not strictly true. There is one Githzerai you can speak to in game during act 2. But it involves solving an annoying puzzle first.
Must have missed that, gonna have to look harder on my Gale playhtrough hear he has some interesting interactions in the shadowlands lands if you play has him thanks fore the heads up
Last edited by Toaster Maximus; Jan 28, 2024 @ 12:09am
GrandMajora Jan 28, 2024 @ 12:11am 
Originally posted by ShadowDark3:
There isn't really a need to respec anyone in the normal difficulty, other than if it make it more fun for you to play in a different way from what is default. As it is, even when left as a barbarian you can end up with some wildly different Karlachs depending on which path and feats you choose.

Did you even read my post? When / If she becomes a Mind Flayer, all of her physical stats get tanked to the point of being damn near useless. Conversely, her mental and social stats get buffed to nearly the maximum of what you can obtain without magical assistance.

Since Karlach is the only companion in the game who will volunteer to become a mind flayer in your place, making her a caster class is the most rational option, since she'll be worthless keeping her as an axe dragging squid.
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Date Posted: Jan 27, 2024 @ 7:17pm
Posts: 26