Baldur's Gate 3 Avoiding Shadowheart and the Artifact for ALL of Act 1

EDIT: As someone has pointed out, F8 is normally the reload save key. I rebound these keys when I started playing and forgot! apologies!
I wanted to see what would happen if I attempted to completely avoid Shadowheart and therefore the Astral Prism/Artifact for all of Baldur's Gate 3's Act 1. I would like to note, I never heard my guardian speak during that entire time, and did not get their introductory cutscenes at all!
My "actors" for these clips were made to look like existing NPCs found all over Baldur's Gate 3 using the Magic Mirror so please forgive me if they don't look entirely accurate.
The only mod used: Native Camera Tweaks from Nexus Mods (nexusmods.com/baldursgate3/mods/945)
Recorded in Game Version: 4.1.1.4494476 / Hotfix #16

[@Souls4Hire]

Hello everyone! I am aware of the confusion I have caused with the F5 (RELOAD SAVE) text. Thank you to the people who pointed it out so I can remember for future videos. I have my keybindings set to F5 = Reload, and F6 = Save and it completely slipped my mind that these were not the default keys. Apologies! Will make sure I correct things to their defaults for any other videos. 😄

[@ZoeBateman]

that's especially confusing to me because I rebound it as F5 save and F6 load lmao, I was watching and thinking "something is off and I don't know what"

[@roninnder]

You changed the default key bindings for quicsave and quickload? WTF is wrong with you? 😂

[@mattc9598]

wait... you have the button used for saving quick RIGHT next to the button for reloading instantly to your last save? That is... risky

[@VigilantChap]

@@mattc9598 Exactly what I was thinking!

[@evebsnerbs]

@@mattc9598mine are set to Q=Quicksave, E=Quickload. guess how many times i’ve put my W finger on E and lost a few minutes of progress :) still better than the defaults

[@jons5478]

When the DM railroads you: "Man fuck it, You wake up with the artifact in your pack, it comes back when you throw it away."

[@Souls4Hire]

Hahaha so accurate

[@noahdude628]

Some things have to be rail roaded tbf. The players are ABSOLUTELY sabotaging themselves.

[@John-pe7nf]

Lol vanilla i put it in a backpack and tossed it in shars abyss. Game over. XD

[@calxcalibur]

​@@noahdude628 This game could show you a cut scene of you turning into an illithid since you don't have the artefact instead of just forcing it onto you

[@kalypso4133]

@@calxcalibur then you wouldn't know why and just stop playing for being punished for playing the game.

[@dinosaur8682]

The fact that the game literally keeps planting her everywhere is so funny to me lmfao, it's like "Oh, they missed her. No biggie, I'll just put her here and- oh, they missed her again...alright, well how about her- COME ON!"

[@Souls4Hire]

I laughed every time. What a stalker! 😆

[@vivil2533]

I prefer to imagine it like the DM desperately trying to introduce the cleric players character naturally but the other players just ignore her.

[@adrianradu2332]

"You know what, FUCK IT! She is a ninja and randomly appears! And you wake up with the artifact in your pockets. It comes back to you if you throw it away, FUCK YOU!"

[@SordidusFellatio]

Somewhere out there in the wild, there has to be that one person that went into the game blind and genuinely missed every single Shadowheart encounter there is known to us

[@ReplicatorFifth]

I almost exclusivly hate Shadowheart just because she’s the only companion forced into your group. You can ignore all the others.

[@owendiaram3870]

Imagine if Raphael teleported up to you and threw shadowheart at you "You forgot this!"

[@Souls4Hire]

I couldnt imagine a more perfect way to end up with the artifact 🤣

[@SmiteKhepri]

Now down here comes the Shart

[@KsanUwU]

I was hoping for that...

[@nildesperandum2034]

DISG4STİNG

[@jiggycalzone8585]

I like how it starts with SH being so secretive about it she doesnt even bring it up in conversation, but by mid of Act 1 shes already like "Oh boy..this hidden artifact I carry is so weird I certainly hope no one asks me about this mysterious artifact..............(glares as you run by)"

[@Souls4Hire]

Hahaha i know right! 🤣🤣

[@dirt_xo]

Video game logic

[@maddocks2379]

I wouldnt know, lae'zel murdered her 🤷

[@Boltpacalypse]

shadowheart just talking to herself about the artifact in the middle of the grove is funny lol especially when she is so secretive about the dam thing haha

[@Souls4Hire]

Hahaha I hadn't even thought of that 🤣

[@krispinkeyes6542]

Ah, I thought she was talking about the secret entrance to Mol's hideout, since she was sitting right in front of it.

[@omlo9093]

Mol steals it, questline over 😂

[@OmegagamingDK]

Imaigne Emperor being really annoyed at you trying to avoid him

[@Souls4Hire]

Haha it was very odd entering the mountain pass and hearing "try something else". I'm used to hearing that at the Grove doorway.

[@Kruukk]

Emperor-chan refuses to not be noticed by Tav-senpai.

[@zambekiller]

This is why I just shove shadow heart off the nearest cliff

[@easternlights3155]

The Emperor just zapping you for throwing away the artifact has the same energy as when you throw away the netherstones and he just goes "Pick it up. Right now."

[@Souls4Hire]

I didnt know he did that 🤣🤣 thankyou. Need to go throw away my netherstones real quick.

[@foraminuteforaminute4056]

When I was figuring out how the House of Grief shrine-activated lock worked, I put Gortash's Netherstone in an act of desperate frustration, then he freaks out at me. At that point, I wanted to go into the Astral Prism and pick him up by the neck like Homer does to Bart.

[@Scratchfan321]

@@Souls4Hire Even funnier if you drop all 3 netherstones in the steel watch foundry and then blow up the building

[@drakegrimm1287]

> Pops out of nowhere before a cutscene starts > Runs towards you > Saves you with the help of a mysterious artefact > Refuses to elaborate further > Leaves

[@Souls4Hire]

What a champ 🤣

[@thegrim418]

A NEW HAND TOUCHES THE PRISM

[@Akatuski2000]

Nooooo

[@authorhalierivers]

Amazing comment

[@omlo9093]

The Beacon, the one of two Skyrim items I won't loot...

[@samhain9283]

It's amazing how Larian addressed the remote possibility of the player completely missing or neglecting the artifact. They covered just about every single possible outcome.

[@Souls4Hire]

I love that they did this. I cannot imagine how much thought and planning went into all of the "what if the player does this?" scenarios! A+ Larian!

[@valeon7303]

The amount of depth is absurd. In act 3 there are some choice combinations that wern't accounted for and people will say either you did something you didn't or act like totally opposite from how they treat you one line to the next. But thats understandable given how many choices carry over between acts, thats an absurd number of permutations.

[@athenaleonard1046]

Breaking Wyll’s pact and saving his father makes the game go crazy, it can’t comprehend it. Even though it’s not that difficult to pull off. Everyone treats Ulder Ravengard as dead right when you break the pact. Wyll said he’ll mourn the loss and Florrick got pissed before I even went to the iron throne. I go down there, find him, and Mizora shows up. Surely she’ll kill Ulder Ravengard in a cutscene so I can’t intervene right? Wrong! She summons some explosive spiders, which I just had Gale dimension door Ulder right out of. Mizora still taunted me and Wyll for “sacrificing his father” when the dude was chilling just a few feet away. And then of course Wyll totally broke, all his dialogues repeating with the “if his dad is dead” version first, and then the “if his dad is alive” version after.

[@Souls4Hire]

@@athenaleonard1046 Oh that's so interesting! Is that in the latest version do you know?

[@akamundi864]

@@athenaleonard1046 thats a bug usually she comments on him being alive

[@LeDawg1337]

I imagine this is a tabletop session where the Shadowheart player really wishes they could start playing but the party never discovers them. So by the end they (and their frankly impressive entrance + backstory) never gets brought up and they quit and the DM decides the McGuffin is now just in their possesion to get the story rolling.

[@noitsbecky1278]

“Why would my character recruit you?” “BECAUSE I’M PLAYING THE GAME, JACKASS!” “I walk away. It’s what my character would do.” “Ugh, fuck this. I’m going home.”

[@RocketTurret]

@@noitsbecky1278 I've heard so many horror stories of people who like roleplay too hard in DnD.

[@Starfloofle]

Dude if I had a player make an entrance like Shadowheart does if you ignore her I would be impressed as hell, if a little wary in-character

[@TrueAryador]

@@noitsbecky1278 No buddy. You don't get to impose a character that do not mesh at all with the rest of the group on the group just because you're a player. The proper answer is to communicate before the game to make character who can at least tolerate each other. But, as a dm, if a player decide to make a paladin knowing full well that the group is full of pure chaos I veto it. If the player makes a fuss I kick him out. Same if there is a campaign theme, reluctant character is one thing but a character meant to go against the theme of the campaign ? change or get out. I used to be on pure freedom side but i've seen my campaign go to shit because of those players. So now, I work with the player to define the parameters before we start but EVERYONE has to stick to it and anyone who tries to take me for a fool gets the hammer. You definitely need to make a character that make a modicum of sense in the context you're going to play in. Meaning that if you're trying to get hired by someone you NEED to be able to make a case for yourself. if your argument is "I am a PC therefore I have to be accepted no matter what" then : no and get out.

[@SaHaRaSquad]

Btw Withers will just randomly show up in your camp if you never wake him up yourself. That's what happened to me because in my first visit to that catacomb I was too blind to find the switch lol.

[@Souls4Hire]

That man doesnt like to be ignored it seems!

[@RedMage8BT]

Same here, I was very confused as to why he just showed up

[@LittleStar2.0]

Same here i was confused as hell in my first playthrough. I discover yesterday you have to find him before the tiefflin party or he will randomly pop up

[@knightofcarrion7358]

i just wanted to get to a camp first before doing a dungeon and forgot about the catacombs lol

[@bloodaggie859]

Same, went there but didn't wake up him on the first run and when he popped up in camp I was like "Who the fuck is this?..."

[@adradox]

Player: *avoids deus ex machina* Larian: "Listen here you little shit..."

[@c.l.9170]

It would be funny if after 5 long rests, you would simply become a mind flayer and then the game would end with the credits.

[@Souls4Hire]

This is what I thought would happen 😆

[@pedropimenta896]

Cue Credits

[@glassphoenix9095]

speedrun strats. nuking gale to end the game in act 2? boring, outdated, tasteless. the optimal any% run is now Take Naps Until You Go Squid Mode

[@dude4054]

“there’s a shadowheart you forgot. here, i’ll mark it on your map.”

[@Souls4Hire]

Hahahah 🤣

[@lnflnltyLegend]

Something to point out about this too, there was a video by Gamespot alongside the CEO of Larian on how because players are so unpredictable and they might not want the artifact, it delayed development and caused them to create a time and money sink trying to create all the different permutations.

[@Souls4Hire]

Oh I can imagine! But thankyou for your hard work Larian 🙏 I'm enjoying your permutations thoroughly 😆

[@thearcanamodernau8130]

I remember someone managed to go past the Goblin camp by killing Shadowheart at a distance without interacting with her or looting her corpse. Tav simply got turned into a mind flayer short after

[@Souls4Hire]

This is honestly what I *expected* was going to happen to me when I wandered off without her 😆

[@thearcanamodernau8130]

@@Souls4Hire I think they patched it and now the artifact simply appears in you inventory at camp. The mindflayer ending was instant game over

[@noahmatt4476]

@@thearcanamodernau8130Why would they patch an ending like that. That’s such a cool ending, I mean you can always just save and reload if it’s an issue, the sheer fact that you can even do that is awesome.

[@RedMage8BT]

​@@noahmatt4476you can still get the turn into a mindflayer ending if that's what you're wondering. I think it happens if you try to return to Act 1 instead of proceeding to Act 3

[@patrickstar5136]

​@@noahmatt4476 Even better in really early versions there was a bug where you could save in the game over screen and if you loadrd that save you had a full party of mindflayers and the game would continue as normal.

[@jiggycalzone8585]

Shadowheart is the DMs little sister and he promised mom he would let her play

[@kalicula7718]

*artifact magically appears in Tavs bag Tav: bleh. *drops it The Emperor: DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA OF WHAT I HAD TO GO THROUGH TO GET THIS DAMN THING TO YOU?! YOU AREN'T GETTING RID OF IT THAT EASILY! *zap

[@Souls4Hire]

Hahahahah 🤣🤣

[@itsjonesh]

... I just noticed that the artifact is a really funky-looking d20...

[@Souls4Hire]

Yes!! I am quietly hoping that someone releases a set of dice with the artifact as the D20. Would be fun.

[@LolUGotBusted]

platonic solids be like that

[@astrojeet]

Yea it is quite intentional.

[@statementofjoespooky1660]

@@Souls4Hire there’s a mod for that! It’s called “Mysterious Artifact Dice” on nexus mods. Edit: I just realized you meant a physical set of dice. Lmao

[@astrojeet]

The Emperor must be extremely annoyed lol. His plans are almost going to waste and being unable to properly manipulate you.

[@Souls4Hire]

After all the nonsense he's put me through in the past, I hope he's stewing about this 🤣

[@AndreyKrichevsky]

There was an Interview with Sven from Larian where he talked about just how much of a headache they created for themselves by making the Artifact essential to the story, and then having to figure out all the ways to counter anything a player could do that would lead them to not having it with them. They certainly did a good job solving that problem by the looks of it.

[@TheKisj]

Like another post said in this comment section, your character just turns into a mind flayer, then end credit scene

[@ArDeeMee]

I keep Shadowheart in my camp because I dislike her so much. So, she just gives it to you at some point in her story? Because for me, it sort of appeared out of nowhere, literally dropping in front of me in a tiny cutscene.

[@AndreyKrichevsky]

@@ArDeeMee i kept he in my party a lot of the time, but at some point i left her in the camp and the artifact came to me too. So i don't actually know what happens if she's always with you.

[@urvermin2682]

they did an awful job what do you mean? this scene never once triggered for me. i literally know nothing about the artifact yet at the beginning of act 2 i can just give up info to Jaheira and shadow heart doesn't bat an eye.

[@nonducorduco7356]

There is a scene in the parsed dialogue that indicates if Shart is ignored long enough she shows up at your camp and is half mad by the voices from the artifact. Shes semi-hostile and the player has to calm her down, she basically says the artifact wanted her to come here and shouts at it that shes done what she asked. Although I dont think it works, I tried to avoid her as much as possible in act 1 and long rest as much as possible and she never showed until I tried to go to Act 1.5 via the mountain pass. I don't mind the devs trying to implement ways to get us the plot device, I think its better than the artifact randomly showing up- but I would have loved to see Shadowheart storm into our camp praddling on about the artifact driving her to come here and it was essentially too annoying to ignore.

[@Souls4Hire]

Yes! I would have really enjoyed a couple of alternatives ways for her to accost me! Haha. Someone else in the comments suggested that the scene you're talking about was cut in EA 😞

[@swordofkhaine8464]

​@@Souls4Hire yeah you are right. She was supposed to be the dark urge before it was changed. Which i think is a good change.

[@kyrusxi]

This scene was in the game during early access, but was removed before release which I'm happy about because it really didn't fit her character (at least the version that exists now)

[@DCimmerian]

The same thing happens if you do all this but *kill* shadowheart from a distance (I did it while she was trying to get into the door at the start) and never go near her body. She doesn't appear at those cutscene locations you just get the headache and the absolute voice and then you are forced to go long rest. When you do the artifact just shows up mysteriously (basically the same as at the end of your video). At that point you've never even seen it before, which is pretty funny.

[@Souls4Hire]

Oh that's so interesting! I'm definitely reloading a save and giving that a try! Thank you.

[@literalgarbage8014]

Oh, the SCP coffee man

[@16Vagabond]

shadowheart the inevitable lmao

[@Elazul.Lapislazuli]

inevitable as the passing of time, you cant escape

[@Namelessstew]

You can kill shadowheart with laezel on the nautolid. Have laezel take the artifact and once your off the ship laezel wont be in your party. If you go to the hoblin camp afterwards no one will save you. Youll just black out and wake up at camp during a long rest and get the cutscene where it just magically appears

[@Souls4Hire]

Oh that's interesting!! Adding this to my list of things to try 😁

[@ajax9644]

Funny how the hirelings react to the absolute, despite the fact that they are not infected.

[@Souls4Hire]

Yea this always confuses me actually. They do have tadpoles, they can use illithid authority independent of tav and take the tadpole modifiers - they just wont accept new tadpoles. They're always "hesitating".

[@jacobtrost5048]

I love all the videos of people just pushing this game as far as possible. Some people might call this buggy or unfinished, but I think it's a testament to how open and free the gameplay is

[@Souls4Hire]

I am honestly blown away by how many alternatives the game spins up for my odd behaviour. I would have loved to be in the brain storming sessions at Larian that were "what if the player does this weird thing?"

[@caiacw]

The Emperor being more persistent than Meridia (from Skyrim).

[@DioDinero]

In the beta, iirc (Didn’t play) Shadowheart could come find you at camp if you didn’t recruit her and you’d either have to let her join or kill her. That could/would have been a better alternative to what we end up getting

[@Souls4Hire]

Oh or at least mix it in with the other outcomes! That would have been fun 😁

[@geecko86]

I believe you can't get to act 2 without resting

[@ramixaleandros5893]

They really wanted you to have a healer and to get that artifact early. Just like Lae'zel being met twice or so if you don't recruit her either. meat shield and healer

[@Souls4Hire]

Hadn't even considered it like that! Sorry Shadowheart, I'm already a cleric!

[@Draelos]

What are you talking about? She's trickery domain. She makes a pretty poor healer. She's got nothing on my Life Cleric Tav. 😉

[@ramixaleandros5893]

@@Draelos You don't even need Clerics, pots are better overall. I'm just saying for new players she has the heal spell by default. Same as Lae'zel being a warrior tank. My friend missed both and ended up kiting till he got Karlach. It was painful. Best Cleric subclass is tempest imo the dmg is great

[@Draelos]

@@ramixaleandros5893 True, none of the classes are required, but I can see how some are more helpful and forgiving for new players that don't know the system or items. Tempest clerics are very strong, with great damage synergies. I'd put them in my top 3 along with Light and Life clerics.

[@nuhuh4564]

If you do a solo run and skip Shadowheart, the voice in the cut scene changes and tells you to seek out the three and support them.

[@Souls4Hire]

Oh that's interesting!! The voice changes!??

[@nuhuh4564]

Yea lol I was messing around trying to cheese the game a bit one day and I got the cut scene entering the mountain pass and the artifact does not appear and the voice says something along the lines of "seek them out and aid them in their endevours". I was like wtf???

[@RedMage8BT]

"No Scratch don't look!" Lmao

[@Souls4Hire]

Poor scratch! Witness to so many atrocities.

[@NotMe6044]

The animation for short races on a ladder is so adorable

[@niizzy7485]

harder than honor mode apparently

[@Souls4Hire]

Shadowheart is the real difficulty modifier 🤣

[@ralfbraun2950]

A new hand touches the beacon!

[@jonsangels2465]

My character is destined to acquire the Astral Prism, so she often outright murders Shadowheart upon the beach, occasionally also in the Grove. The animation of the artifact floating away from Shadowcorpse and towards my character is too rewarding!

[@SP-ik6cc]

Its kinda funny how it says F5 all the time when it’s F8 that they’re doing

[@Souls4Hire]

Absolutely! I only realised that my custom key bindings are not actually the default AFTER I posted it. Hahaha. Will add a pinned comment addressing this. I have my F5 as reload and my F6 as save 😅

[@Junior123715]

A new hand touches the artifact

[@Kruukk]

The entire time I thought to myself it'd be more efficient to just take away her armor during Nautiloid then kill her when she's unconscious on the beach(in one hit) then proceed as usual. But nope, the artifact teleports itself into your pocket anyway.

[@francescobianchi595]

Shadowhart lurkin and teleporting all over the the sword coast just trying to save your life be like "stop man" lol

[@Souls4Hire]

Imagine if the Shadowheart origin story playthrough was just chasing a Tav npc around the map 🤣

[@dasuberpanda]

There's a reason they made SH the most attractive companion. Devious lol I feel played

[@Souls4Hire]

Haha at least you're happy to see her everywhere 🤣

[@kieranflaherty3316]

Spider den,jump down the whole = underdark

[@torenchao]

I actually did this by accident! I sort of hated her whole 'noo don't ask about my mysterious artefact... I'm so mysterious and enigmatic...' then I wouldn't, and she'd go 'NOOOO DON'T ASK ABOUT MY MYSTERIOUS ARTEFACT' thing. I put her in my camp and she left after the temple because I had literally no idea she was even relevant to it. She was very upset and going 'how could you do this to me!?' and I was just like ???? the whole time

[@swiftdasher]

I had her in my party but chilling back at the grove while I moved on and it appeared in Astarion's inventory

[@Souls4Hire]

Interesting that it appeared in Astarion's inventory!

[@kwdblade4683]

Shadowheart: *"I am inevitable."*

[@geohd8649]

Did ya know in evil playthrough, you can turn Isobel into a harmless sheep and then it will show a cutcene where Marcus is taking flight with a sheep ;)

[@Souls4Hire]

HAHAHAHA. Oh I am doing this as soon as I finish work today 😆

[@Caminante-blanco]

This is so cool! I had no idea there was this level of detail in the game!

[@Souls4Hire]

The developers were so clever to put all of this in!! 😁

[@endarus6053]

My playthroughs usually go like this: Free Us and Shart, kill the boss cambion (forgot the name) thats fighting the mind flayer in the helm, kill mind flayer as it turns on you once the cambion is dead, loot the op sword from boss cambions body, cue cutscene. On the beach: i kill shadowheart to get the artifact, and also i dont like her.

[@ExperiencePath]

shawdowheart : LET ME IN LET ME IN ! ! !

[@Dr.Robbenklopper]

If you avoid Shadowheart after the nautiloid crashes, you can find her in the druid grove trying around with the artifact. If you then progress you encounter the druids trying to stop you from entering the grove, if you attack them and kill all the people, shadowheart also dissapears (I could not find her corpse, so I aspect she flees). After this the artifact comes to you...so you can run through it without even spoken to her.

[@MiyaMam948]

Don’t long rest Let’s see where this goes

[@0saintclark0]

Ok when it hopped back into his hand after he dropped it...THAT was funny.

[@kommissarantilus3742]

yeah, she just keep standing still on that goblin bridge like a lemon, untill you go to nightsong where you loose her forever (i love doing that by the way) oh wait, you did it like.. that

[@Gurianthe]

you can get to the grove without triggering that cutscene if you go from the North West of Wakeen's Rest go to the place where you oversee the githyanki and the dragon kill the Flaming Fist soldiers instead of taking the stairs down, just take a left and keep walking until you can see a place where you can jump down jump down and you'll be in the top of the Temple of Selune where there are some sleeping/drunk goblins this won't trigger the scene where you've overwhelmed by the power of the Absolute as long as you don't walk over the bridge happened to me when I was exploring

[@Souls4Hire]

Thankyou so much for this!! I cant wait to try this!

[@HeadDetectiveLassie]

I always save Shadowheart, but I avoid recruiting her until we are heading in the Mountain Pass for the creche - because she does override other companions' comments and cutscenes. I've seen things I've knew about because she was always the one who spoke first or reacted. I love her, but I wanted to hear the others more. It seems Astarion gets high priority after her. I can't tell where Gale and Lae'zel fall. I did recently recruit her as we were going into the goblin camp (because I felt bad she always missing the tiefling party), and she immediately starts speaking up the most. I did try to trigger all the main Act 1 scenes I wanted to see from other companions before going to the camp though. Just checked them off the list before saying hey to Shadowheart.

[@Local_commentor]

Me when In my first playthrough and was playing druid with guidance I don't Need you

[@Nightdreamr]

Hitting more F5s than Brock Lesnar

[@stephennewton2777]

The fact that Larian thought of this and scripted for it is astonishing.

[@Souls4Hire]

Its so good!

[@battedbook5811]

For me it just appeared in my inventory after the first night. Shart never acknowledged me having it and it bothered the hell out of me. I never told Shart to wait in the camp either so it wasn't that what caused it.

[@Brando_1212]

I suppose they thought there was no way someone would keep denying shadowheart

[@helygg8892]

So shes the living meridias beacon of this world

[@brandonphilander661]

Tried to solo on Tactician Mode on first playthrough but had to get hirelings for Act 2.

[@vampireprincess4620]

That's pretty interesting that if you don't get the Raphael triggers in the grove or on the road west he shows up in the under dark for the first time.. what if you skip that I wonder?

[@AnnaMno1]

One day I'm planning to do a playthrough where I try and avoid Raphael I imagine the game will force his cutscene just before the end of an act or inbetween the acts or something, but I want to know which it is. I've heard he only starts trying to go after you after you've progressed on any of the 'cure' main quest lines, so if I make note of which areas he can appear, do the stuff there before progressing any cure paths, then avoid those spots after doing the cure lines and see what happens

[@Souls4Hire]

This is a great idea! I might do a reload to that point and just keep avoiding him. See where he goes! It was interesting that he didnt trigger because I even went looking for him on his hill he often appears on - but nothing happened.

[@connork9745]

He probably shows up in a lot of places if you miss him My first encounter was when I was in the goblin camp fairly certain that it was after I killed them all Astarion just got done being whipped and Raph teleported in behind one of the wall pillars (I had no idea what to do so I chose to hold the scream in and the guy left) I couldn't see him so it made the whole thing feel even more confusing than it normally would A few dialogue options later and I'm left sitting there going wtf just happened while simultaneously being hyper nervous because my entire party was very low

[@iterationfackshet1990]

Raphael is supposed to trigger after you use your illithid powers for the first time, which begs the question if you avoid using them (which means also avoiding shadowheart in the prologue) will it just not spawn Raphael?

[@connork9745]

@@iterationfackshet1990 I didn't know about tadpole usage triggering Raph that explains the fortress encounter There are two spots Raph is set to trigger regardless of tadpole usage First spot High area you must jump to on the road from the first big goblin fight has a spider pouch guarded by small spiders Second spot Broken bridge leading to the gnoll encounters goblin village side There may be more but I have yet to not encounter Raph because I have not made an effort to avoid him in these spots post playthrough 1

[@TheEpicSpire]

i just rescue her from the pod and let Demon and mind flayer kill her in the Helm. then get the artifact from her corpse on the beech.

[@Souls4Hire]

Oh thats interesting! I didnt even consider what happened to her if she *died* on the Nautiloid! Does her body just show up on the beach?

[@TheEpicSpire]

@@Souls4Hire yes. it's the 2nd body and lae'zel shows up there too if she dies. in my current playthrough i let them both die cause i didn't want to put up with ither of their shit lol.. playing a Githyanki Sorcerer and i already know what happens if you b line to the creche... so i don't want to know about the creche in game until after i finish the grove/goblin thing. FTI if you got to the creche before completeing the grove thing, then the ritual completes and you are locked out.. though if you steal the idol, i guess it won't seal it off.... haven't tried that yet.

[@fortello7219]

I'm surprised you didn't try to kill Shadowheart via fireball/shatter killing you both simultaneously. You could have a hireling do that and be very far away, possibly in the underdark or something

[@xxphantomxx3]

On my first playthrough, I 100% didnt pick up Shadowheart as I just did not like her. I went on my normal way and skipped her ALL three times. Didnt talk to her on the ship, but I did after the crash and at the Grove. But each time I never picked her up While playing, I guess I might have long rested to many times, because I got the scene where I find it in my pack. Shadowheart never showed up after the grove for me lol

[@Souls4Hire]

Oh that's really interesting to know!

[@shethatisnau]

I've been dealing with this in my last two runs, trying to keep it simple with a small party and Shart is just jumping outta the bushes trying to glom on them getting mad (-2 approval)

[@DanielDronikOfficial]

There is bo rest if you're doing it thought grymforge! Please try this one. You can just speedrun it throught spider cave in a dead village without meeting Raphael or Shadowheart at all

[@Souls4Hire]

Oooo thats a fun tip!! Thankyou so much! 😃

[@ryancarlson9680]

In my first play through I think I got in to the goblin camp without the absolute cutscene. I don’t remember if it played later. I got to the goblin camp from the windmill then I jumped down (killed gale so had no feather fall and tanked the damage) several cliffs until I was near where the toe goblin is. I thought they’d be hostile on sight so I killed them all from high ground then hopped down to toe goblin’s corpse and went inside. It was a few months ago so it could’ve been fixed by now

[@ryancarlson9680]

I looked it up. Toe goblin is named Crusher

[@ryancarlson9680]

When I saw my friend play and get the cutscene at the goblin camp I said “what is that? I didn’t get that here”

[@Souls4Hire]

That's so interesting!! I wonder if there's maybe a weird way I could jump past Shadowheart. I hadnt considered this before your comment!

[@Kathkere]

One thing you didn't try: what if Shadowheart dies on board the tutorial stage and you never interact with her body? If you interact with her body you will pick up the prism, but as far as I know you don't have to interact with it.

[@Souls4Hire]

I have written this one down as something to try if i do a part 3! 😁

[@firmin1258]

the first time i played through i didn't even notice shadowheart existed as a character and she somehow died offscreen or something, and then the artifact was randomly in my inventory with no text prompt or anything. I was very confused.

[@Souls4Hire]

I wonder where she had gone! Your shadowheart must have died somehow!

[@Araylie]

I once managed to have the cutsnene without her popping in... My character just faded away and slept on the ground... And then I was in my camp randomly... I believe what happened was I killed shadowheart indirectly, it didn't trigger the cutscene that forces the floating artefact... And then, on entering another region, there was also a load bunch of other cutscenes just waiting that I do a long rest...

[@Souls4Hire]

Yes!! I love that there is an alternative cutscene for if you try to scurry to another area without her or the artifact. I managed to trigger this scenario in the alternative outcomes video by legging it from the nautiloid to the creche without stopping 🤣.

[@masterchanell]

I tried testing this on my own a while back. I Killed shadowheart and didnt even check the items she had. I went directly to the goblin camp after picking a couple of companions. The cutscene where the absolute tries to talk to you triggered it knocked me unconscious and sent me to the camp and gave me the relic without any cutscene. I guess i stretched things too much

[@Souls4Hire]

That's so interesting! I'll give this a try too! Thank you!

[@lovelymess3029]

It forces you into a long rest if you try to leave act 1 without getting Shadowheart or the artifact, giving you the artifact cutscene

[@Souls4Hire]

Yea did some more testing to see if there was a way to sneak in but it seems the devs put a lot of work into it to make sure they had all the possibilities covered! 😁

[@blixsa1179]

Didnt thought it would be so funny xD

[@ClassicalByMetal]

Can you enter turn-based mode when near the Act 2 entrances to try and deny Shadowheart from running towards you? You could try using an Arrow of Transportation to get as close to the entrance as possible, then click on it ASAP. Also, does the same thing happen if you try to take the Grymforge route?

[@Souls4Hire]

Oh i love this idea! Adding this to my list! And yes, she pops into grymforge as soon as you click the elevator to act 2 :(

[@DrewLevitt]

I love that the artefact is a D20.

[@kikacruz4560]

The githyanki killed her and bonded with the artifact. Then one night the artifact randomly ended up in my inventory

[@Souls4Hire]

Oh that is so interesting!!!

[@hinkelstein1494]

Can u avoide Mizora with Wyll not killing Karlach by not long resting in act 1. Also how does the dream visitor react if you go to creche while u have never interacted with him?

[@nickrubin7312]

Seeing all the comments here...There is a video about it, from almost 2 years ago, named "The box that broke BG3". Swen elaborates on SH and artifact and that he needed her to give artifact to the player and that's it, and how it created permutations insanity because the needed to account for every single possible "decision" (incl. really absurd ones) player is gonna take and possibly won't get the artifact.

[@captainbloodloss1]

i kinda like how it implies the emperor is trying to force the artifact on you

[@mediocremang]

I didn't even know any of this is possible... lord, the attention to detail and effort the devs have put into this one is off the charts.

[@Souls4Hire]

Totally agree! I keep doing odd things that I think "no way they catered for this!" and then the game responds to it and I'm just blown away!

[@Quadraxis]

This is funny in a video game, but at the table, it is excruciatingly annoying for a DM when the players are actively avoiding any call to adventure, either because they "don't wanna get railroaded" or "just want adventure to happen and not be forced into it, cause that feels fake". Dude, it's D&D. It's why we're here!!

[@fengmin8475]

If you kill ShadowHeart and rez her, she will wonder for the artefact you can return the artefact

[@Souls4Hire]

Oh that is so interesting!! I didn't know that!

[@DevillukeLala]

Literallly did this on my first blind playthrough. I swear I DID NOT SEE shadowheart anywhere, I thought that, like every linear game, BD3 would make companions show up in cutscenes and I didn't bother to look up where they were (and I did not see her lying down at the beach or sitting in the grove.) After battling the goblin camp alone for hours, I thought the game was way too difficult. "How do people like this game? Is it just for DnD experts?" Then my friends pointed out I'm fucking blind.

[@Souls4Hire]

Hahaha I did the same thing with Wyll! I saw him jump out in the cutscene at the grove and then couldn't find him again! My friends asked if I was playing with a blindfold. 😆

[@LyssusX]

What about trying to enter Act 2 from the Underdark?

[@South_Wall]

How about just avoid the cutscene? I mean you can split your characters across the map before entering the mountain pass, when the mind game dialogue with the Absolute happens, you switch to the character who is not nearby and just skip it

[@cenderdragon]

I feel like it'd be better if the game forces you to seek out the artefact to advance. Like the absolute instructs and you have to go find it. True souls seem to have autonomy and their personalities despite being under her control so that keeps the freedom without breaking the narrative. When you bump into Shadowheart the artefact could react and free you.

[@Souls4Hire]

Oh I like that idea! Make it a goal to obtain!

[@cenderdragon]

@@Souls4Hire forces the player to interact with shadowheart in a narrative way rather than teleporting her onto the player

[@mmelchior9053]

What if you go into turn-based mode and then go through the mountain pass into act 2? Right before shadowheart runs into you?

[@Souls4Hire]

Adding this to my list of things to try! 😁 thankyou!!

[@turtlecheese8]

In speed running there’s a method called “Shadowboxing” for this game that allows you to skip to act 2 quickly. What if you ignored Shart and shadowboxed with another character (assuming that’s possible) to skip to act 2 and get there without the artifact?

[@Souls4Hire]

Oh I'll check that out! Thank you!

[@OscarGreenworth]

I haven’t tried this but could you save Shadowheart and then when she’s on the nautiloid and still has the artifact make her jump off into avernus? How would that work?

[@Souls4Hire]

Someone else mentioned shoving her off the nautiloid! I have no idea how but I'm definitely going back to see if I can! 😆

[@OscarGreenworth]

@@Souls4Hire Don't even gotta shove. If you take control of her you can just make her jump off.

[@KratosisGod]

I would love it if the game gave you more chances to sabotage your playthrough by missing out on core plot threads like if you don't have the prism as soon as you enter the goblin camp the game is over or if you decide to throw the prism into a chasm you can't retrieve it and your character becomes a mind flayer.

[@Jcarr250]

So the worst version is you can take the underdark route instead of mountain pass. You have to enter through Ethel's house or the spider area. She appears out of nowhere in goddamn Grymforge

[@Souls4Hire]

Yes she jumps out at you at the elevator! Haha.

[@jesustyronechrist2330]

It's honestly insane how many fail-safes the game has.

[@Souls4Hire]

Totally agree!!

[@0NBalfa0]

Not sure if you tried that but can you got to grymforge and try to get to act 2 from there? if not where does shadowheart pop up?

[@Souls4Hire]

She pops in AS you click the elevator sadly! But, some other comments suggested it will still let me into act 2 without having met the guardian so going to see what happens 😁

[@samz9121]

Morgana Evelyn probably won’t like you.

[@Souls4Hire]

Haha Morgana can rest assured I like Shadowheart very much 😆. She was just the unfortunate companion running around with the mcguffin.

[@HyperVegitoDBZ]

I just realised I played this game 3 tiems and I never rescued Findal. Never originally met Wyll lol

[@Souls4Hire]

Haha I totally missed Wyll being inside the grove on my first playthrough 😆. I even looked for him!