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Baldur’s Gate 3 gives you immense control over the actions and roads you will follow, or if a road at all. Therefore it's easy to miss important characters and secret areas hiding valuable loot. You never know what items may come in handy later, so thoroughly exploring the world could inadvertently save your life in a battle.
Collecting treasure and renown are both traits of an RPG hero; however, you’ve got a mind-flaying tadpole stuck in your noggin that needs to be removed. Seeking out a healer is your and your companion's main objective, but with so many options, it isn't easy to know where you should go first.
Nautiloid: The Living Ship
During the prologue, It’s a good idea to loot the Cartilaginous Chest and pick up the Mucoid Shells from the table on the opposite side of the second room. Each shell has a base value of 25 gold which can later be sold at the Hollow to get a head start in building your pile of gold.
Further into the Nautiloid, you will find Shadowheart, a future companion helplessly trying to escape a Mind-Flayer Pod. You can free Shadowheart with a skill check.
However, if you fail, you can walk into the room ahead and pick up the Elaborate Key from the dead thrall. This will allow you to pick up the Eldritch Rune from the chest in the previous room and open the pod by placing it on the nearby console.
Once the Nautiloid ship crashes on the Ravaged Beach, you’ll want to work your way to the Druid Grove while picking up Astarion, Gale, and Lae’zel. Unlock the Overgrown Ruins Waypoint at the end of the beach (X:277, Y:297), but we suggest tackling this dungeon later when you have a full party of companions.
Harper’s Map And Secret Treasure
There are many secret areas that you can easily miss that will bring you fortune and gold. As you walk up the path to Astarion on the Ravaged Beach, take a detour and jump down onto the shore.
You can find an ornate chest hidden in a scuffed rock. It's worth looting as you’ll pick up potions and a Ruby worth 1,600 gold, Harper’s Map, and Harper’s Journal (X:167, Y:268).
The price of items while trading is determined by your charisma and reputation within the area; therefore, you won't get the full 1,600 gold for selling the Ruby and we suggest you save it for later.
Reading Harper’s Map will place a Hidden Cache icon on your map west of the Druid Grove entrance (X:177, Y:407). To find the treasure climb up the cragged rock west of the Druid Grove and loot the silver pendant from the skeleton, which grants you the Guidance Cantrip that will grant you a 1D(4) dice bonus to your rolls.
If you have high enough perception, you’ll discover a small spider nest and a pouch hidden between rocks on the cliff's edge. You can use this pouch for extra storage, but more importantly, the pouch contains a Spider Egg Sac, which will hatch four spiders when thrown. Think of it as a creepy living grenade. You can control these baby spiders in combat to attack your foes but note that the spiders are not permanent.
Getting The Gang Together
Onboarding all the companions should be your first priority. You can find Astarion back on the main path from the hidden chest containing Harper’s Map. You will hear him calling out to you further up the road from the destroyed Mind Flayer Pod (X:179, Y:280).
Soon after Astarion tags along, you can meet Gale, who will teleport to you at the Roadside Cliffs Waypoint (X:223, Y:324) on the other side of the crashed Nautiloid. Gale will join you in your search for a healer.
Next, travel east up the road to find Lae’zel trapped in a cage by two Tieflings (X:241, Y:367). You can use deception to free Lae’zel without bloodshed. At this point, your party will be full, so if you'd like to switch any companions, use the camp feature.
Wyll is the final companion you can add to your roster of heroes and can be found in the Druid Grove training Tiefling children for battle (X:205, Y:542). However, you must first fight off the goblins at the Druid Grove entrance.
Reaching Druid’s Grove
The Druid’s Grove is the first major settlement that you’ll visit. But before entering it, you’ll have to fight a group of goblins chasing Aradin to the grove. We suggest you approach from the high ground to remove the goblin archers.
Thunderwave is a powerful spell that can be used to blast foes back off ledges causing them to tumble to their death. You can use this spell to wipe out the two goblin archers instantly.
Once inside the grove, interrupt the fight between Aradin and Zevlor. Suppose you can persuade them to stop fighting. In that case, you’ll unlock extra dialogue options with Aradin in The Hollowed and unlock interaction with Meli, one of the Tiefling children, along with Mattis and Mirkon, whom you can interact with to gain respect from Mol and acquire the Stealing the Secret Idol quest.
Solving The Refugee And Druid Conundrum
Zevlor will explain that the Tieflings are in a dire situation; they are unwelcome at Druid Grove, but if they leave, they are guaranteed to be killed by the goblins. He needs your help to find a way to improve tensions between the two groups.
Enter the Emerald Grove, the interior of the Druid Grove, to find Khaga, the newly self-appointed leader of the druids since Halsin’s departure. You’ll discover Khaga threatening Arabella, a Tiefling child after she was caught stealing The Idol of Silvanus.
You can resolve the situation any way you see fit but talk to Rath, who will appoint you the task of rescuing Halsin, marking the Goblin Camp on your map. In addition, you can talk to Nettie, a healer who will also ask you to find Halsin. Nettie will give you Wyvern Poison if you begin to transform into a mind flayer.
You can dip your weapon in the Wyvern Poison to increase the damage you deal. Or use it at the Goblin Camp to poison the Booze Tub killing dozens of goblins.
Interrogating Zorru For The Githyanki Patrol Location
Your main objective is to find a way to remove the parasite from your brain. There are a myriad of options to tackle this. Lae’zel will state that the group should seek out Zorru in Druid Grove for information regarding the Githyanki patrols location, as they apparently have the means to remove the parasite.
You can find Zorru at the back of The Hollowed below the training area. We suggest holding back on meeting the Githyanki patrol until your party is level four.
Rescuing Mirkon
Head to the Secluded Cove accessed by the path next to Volo to trigger the Investigate the Beach quest. You will find Mirkon, a Tiefling child, on the beach under the spell of the harpy song. You must kill all the harpies in the area to save Mirkon.
Strike a singing harpy to free your companions that are under the lure spell.
Once you kill all the harpies, Mirkon will run back to the grove, earning you EXP and respect from Meli. There’s still treasure to be found on the beach, so don’t leave yet. You can follow the shoreline to find a hidden chest and climb rocky ledges to reach the harpies nest containing valuable loot.