Semi-mandatory things to do before leaving Act 1

[WereElf]

This is a guide. If you want to explore the game by yourself, feel free to stop reading now. I'm just posting this list, so it'd be easier to look things up whenever someone needs this info.

So... what do I mean by "leaving Act 1"? I mean going to the Mountain Pass area. This action has a prompt, asking you if you're sure if you want to proceed, and by confirming, some of the quests in Act 1 are inadvertently gone forever. For me this "Act 1.5" due to the previous issue.

1) Stop the druidic ritual. If you don't, then the druids will seal up the Grove, and you lose access to it.
2) Free Bracus Wroot. The goblins "playing" with him, as well as the Gnome himself, will be gone otherwise.
3) Deal with the Githyanki patrol. They'll be gone otherwise.
4) Any tiefling-related quest. Like saving the kid from the harpies, or giving the Idol of Sylvanas to Mol. The tieflings leave the grove when you go to Act 1.5, and you can no longer do these quests.
5? Free counscelor Floric and the man under the rubble. I'm not 100% sure if they die if you move to the mountain pass area, or if they die if you long rest after you've discovered the burning wukeen's rest, but I've definitely had them die on me in one playthrouh, so including them in the list, just in case.
6? Clear Withers' crypt. I don't know what happens if you don't, but considering he joins your party when you travel to Act 1.5, it's safe to assume that the "other adventurers" have freed him, and now they are nowhere to be seen. I just never not do the crypt to know...

Rest of the encounters can be dealt with at a later point. Like killing the goblin leaders, or dealing with the hag, or anything in the Underdark. The Owlbear encounter is still there. The gnolls vs Rugan & Olie conveniently waits for you too.

EDIT: I actually decided to test some stuff, and rush my fresh character from the beach straight to the mountain pass, and well, the githyanki were still there on my "return trip". So I have some futher testing to do. Do I need to long rest for them to disappear? Do I need to go to their creche? Do I need to be higher level? Do I have to complete a certain quest? I do know for certain that in the past they have disappeared on me, so I had to load a previous save, but it seems like just going to the Mountain Pass area isn't sufficient to make them disappear :P

[Draknalor]

I consider the underdark & Grymforge act 1.

I do underdark & Grymforge before i do goblin camp & the party, That's just how i like to do things.

[GriffinPilgrim]

If you want to do a guide better to put it in "Guides." It'll just get buried here.

[WereElf]

Originally posted by Draknalor:

I consider the underdark & Grymforge act 1.

I do underdark & Grymforge before i do goblin camp & the party, That's just how i like to do things.

Really? You do Grymforge before stopping the ritual, and the druids don't seal the grove on you?

[Draknalor]

Originally posted by WereElf:

Originally posted by Draknalor:

I consider the underdark & Grymforge act 1.

I do underdark & Grymforge before i do goblin camp & the party, That's just how i like to do things.

Really? You do Grymforge before stopping the ritual, and the druids don't seal the grove on you?

Why would they?

Only the shadowlands & the mountain pass advances the story like that.

[GrandMajora]

Originally posted by WereElf:

5? Free counscelor Floric and the man under the rubble. I'm not 100% sure if they die if you move to the mountain pass area, or if they die if you long rest after you've discovered the burning wukeen's rest, but I've definitely had them die on me in one playthrouh, so including them in the list, just in case.

I have recently been made aware of the fact that the Flaming Fist at Waukeen's Rest are in possession of a very good sword, and that it might behoove evil players to slaughter them for it.

[WereElf]

Originally posted by Draknalor:

Only the shadowlands & the mountain pass advances the story like that.

Okay, I'll trust you and I edited the original post.
I do admit, that I haven't tested if Grymforge ACTUALLY locks these quests as the Mountain pass does. I mostly assumed it would, due to the prompt. And I tend to do the pass first xP

[Draknalor]

Originally posted by WereElf:

Originally posted by Draknalor:

Only the shadowlands & the mountain pass advances the story like that.

Okay, I'll trust you and I edited the original post.
I do admit, that I haven't tested if Grymforge ACTUALLY locks these quests as the Mountain pass does. I mostly assumed it would, due to the prompt. And I tend to do the pass first xP

There is no prompt for going down into the underdark or into the grymforge.

There is a prompt if you try to use the elevator to get up to the shadowlands at grymforge, but that's not what we are talking about.

[WereElf]

Originally posted by Draknalor:

There is a prompt if you try to use the elevator to get up to the shadowlands at grymforge, but that's not what we are talking about.

Hmm, yeah... for some reason I was associating the boat dialogue with a prompt xP

[PineapplesRGood]

Bonus! Before the Nautoloid escape sequence, enter Shadowheart's Spellbook and equip 'Command'. During the fight, command 'Drop' on the devilspawn (55% chance) and steal his sword. Open the inventory and drop the sword in your character's inventory, and viola, now you have a powerful sword which should last you until the end of Act 1.

[GrandMajora]

Originally posted by PineapplesRGood:

Bonus! Before the Nautoloid escape sequence, enter Shadowheart's Spellbook and equip 'Command'. During the fight, command 'Drop' on the devilspawn (55% chance) and steal his sword. Open the inventory and drop the sword in your character's inventory, and viola, now you have a powerful sword which should last you until the end of Act 1.

Also, STOP SKIPPING THE CRYPT.

Your allies WILL screw up, and you WILL need Withers to perform a multi-resurrection to salvage the situation.

[gussmed]

Originally posted by GrandMajora:

Your allies WILL screw up, and you WILL need Withers to perform a multi-resurrection to salvage the situation.

That hasn't happened to me so far, and I've cleared what I think is 90% of act 1. I've cleared the Underdark except the forge, and I haven't killed the Matriarch Spider, but no multi-resurrections.

Of course, you might argue that since I've reloaded save games after party wipes, things have gone very much south, but I wasn't save-scumming. By which I mean I haven't save-scummed to get good luck, I've save-scummed when my initial approach was clearly wrong and I had to do something else instead.

Like, don't try and fight the phase spiders when your party is level 3.

[Dorian Gray]

7. Recruit Scratch
8. Owlbear Cub
9. Ogres in Goblin Camp
10. Auntie Ethel
11. Forge Weapon (basement in Goblin Camp)
... and a bunch more ...

[GrandMajora]

Originally posted by gussmed:

That hasn't happened to me so far, and I've cleared what I think is 90% of act 1. I've cleared the Underdark except the forge, and I haven't killed the Matriarch Spider, but no multi-resurrections.

Of course, you might argue that since I've reloaded save games after party wipes, things have gone very much south, but I wasn't save-scumming. By which I mean I haven't save-scummed to get good luck, I've save-scummed when my initial approach was clearly wrong and I had to do something else instead.

Like, don't try and fight the phase spiders when your party is level 3.

You can flee from battle, click the red camping button once you've gotten about 90 feet away from any hostile enemies. It teleports you straight to camp, so you can hire Withers to raise your dead party members. Doing so teleports them to camp also, and thus pulls them out of any still active combat.

[WereElf]

Originally posted by Dorian Gray:

7. Recruit Scratch
8. Owlbear Cub
9. Ogres in Goblin Camp
10. Auntie Ethel
11. Forge Weapon (basement in Goblin Camp)
... and a bunch more ...

I'd have to disagree with 10 and 11. Maybe 8 too.