Act 3
Difficulty: 🟢 Easy · 🟡 Medium · 🔴 Hard · ⚫ BOSS — see the general encounter notes for the full legend, the pre-fight ritual checklist, and the run-killer mistakes list.
🟢 Easy
| Encounter | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Rivington patrols | Rivington outskirts | Flaming Fist + occasional Steel Watcher trash. Avoid drawing the Watchers unless you’re lvl 9+ — their lasers chunk squishies. The Fist alone are trivial. |
| Open Hand Temple murder | Lower City | Investigation, no immediate fight. Pick up the murder quest — it leads to the Bhaal Temple chain (Orin reveal). Don’t accuse Valeria too early. |
| House of Healing patients | Lower City | Cultists pretending to be healers + 1-2 lobotomized “patients.” Easy AoE fight. Loot Malus Thorm’s old surgical notes for the Murder Tribunal quest. |
| Iron Throne approach | Underwater | Mechanical, not combat — bring Water Breathing potions or Druid Water form. Save the elixirs for the timed Iron Throne raid itself. |
| Sharess’ Caress brawl | Lower City | Optional bar fight, 2-3 thugs. Persuasion / Intimidation defuses it for the same XP. Free room rental afterward. |
| Steel Watcher random patrol | Lower City | Lone Steel Watcher. Wet + Lightning = vulnerability damage (Watchers are mechanical, no immunity). Reverberation procs through Resistance — staff/gloves stack fast. |
| Minsc rescue prelude | Lower City | Light fight in the sewers. Non-lethal Minsc (toggle off lethal damage) to recruit; killing him locks the companion permanently. Easy once you knock him to 0. |
🟡 Medium
| Encounter | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Iron Throne raid | Submerged prison | ⚠️ Timed: 5 turns before the prison floods. Rescue priority NPCs (Counsellor Florrick, Duke Ravengaurd, the gondian families). Steel Watchers + cultists guard cells. Misty Step / Boots of Speed essential. Honour mode: pre-buff with Heroes’ Feast, Aid, Bless. |
| Bhaal Temple trials | Under Lower City | Several waves of Bhaalist initiates as you descend. Banishment / Hold Monster on the Slayers; AoE the trash. Loot the Bhaalist Armour — its 3m aura makes nearby enemies Vulnerable to Piercing (rapier/crossbow parties double-dip). |
| Steel Watch Foundry approach | Lower City | Watcher patrols + worker zombies + Allurin guards. Methodical clear — pull Watchers individually with Invisibility scouts. Disabling Watchers here breaks Gortash’s later phase. |
| Murder Tribunal initiates | Bhaal Temple | If Dark Urge OR posing as Slayer. Several waves of cultists with Bhaal-marked weapons. AoE the trash + Counterspell their Hold Person. Dark Urge can unlock Slayer Form here — Large Monstrosity with 4× multiattack, conditional crits vs prone/bleeding/dazed targets. |
| Lorroakan in Ramazith’s Tower | Sorcerous Sundries top | Sided WITH Nightsong → Lorroakan + summoned elementals. Side AGAINST → Aylin helps fight him. Side with Nightsong = Aylin assist + Staff of Spellpower drop. |
| Cazador’s spawn (multiple) | Cazador’s Palace | Vampire spawn waves through the manor. Daylight / Sunbeam = vulnerability for vampires; carry stakes for the True Death finisher. Don’t trigger multiple rooms at once — the kennels alone are 8+ spawn. |
| Ansur preliminary | Wyrm’s Rock | Light tomb-puzzle + a few constructs. Wyrmguard armor pieces can be looted en route — keep them for the dragon fight. |
🔴 Hard
| Encounter | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Steel Watch Titan | Steel Watch Foundry interior | ⚠️ Massive HP + AoE laser. Disable the foundry power core first (separate panel — drops Titan’s HP and disables the laser). Vulnerable to Lightning — Wet + Chain Lightning = 4× damage. Self-destruct at 25% HP — kite away. |
| House of Hope (multiple devils) | House of Hope (via Helsik ritual) | Hope, Korilla, Yurgir (if alive), and Raphael’s minions. Don’t engage Raphael directly until Hope is freed. Multiple legendary action devils. Heroes’ Feast + Aid mandatory. Steal the Orphic Hammer in the vault before triggering Raphael. |
| Sarevok Anchev | Bhaal Temple final corridor | Deathbringer multi-attacker. 3 Justiciar Ghosts buff him — kill ghosts first (Magic Missile bypasses their resistances). Disarm his Sword of Chaos. Hold Person/Monster works. |
| Viconia DeVir | House of Justice / Shar temple | Cleric of Shar with Spirit Guardians + Sharran zealots. Magic Missile to break concentration. Darkness spam — bring Eversight Ring or Devil’s Sight. Counterspell her Hold Person before it lands on Karlach. |
| Ansur (legendary dragon) | Wyrm’s Rock chamber | ⚫⚫ Lightning Breath cone (12d6) + Multiattack. Gather Power telegraphs Stormheart Nova the very next turn (18d10 arena-wide) — break line of sight behind the Attuned Crystals, which absorb the nova at the cost of being destroyed. Pre-pop Lightning Resistance elixirs on everyone. |
| Orphic / Emperor combat (depending on choice) | Astral Plane endgame transition | Decision-locked fight. Skipped if you side with Emperor. If you free Orpheus: Emperor turns mind flayer and fights — short fight, but it’s your last save before the endgame. |
| Murder Tribunal final | Bhaal Temple end | Multiple Bhaalist Slayers + spike traps. AoE-heavy — use Careful Spell metamagic to avoid friendly damage. Slayers have legendary actions; Banishment one to slow rotations. |
⚫ BOSS
| Encounter | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cazador Szarr | Szarr Palace ritual chamber | Vampire ascension fight. Phase 1: Cazador + 4 spawn + 7 pods. Stake ritual pods to weaken him. Phase 2 (≤50%): Vampire Lord with flight + necrotic burst. Daylight sphere trivializes the fight. Don’t ascend Astarion. |
| Orin the Red | Bhaal Temple inner sanctum | Bhaal’s Chosen. Phase 1: Human form (Hold Person works). Phase 2 (≤50%): Slayer form (Monstrosity, Sanctuary spam). Bhaal’s Edict marks one party member per round. Hostage on the altar — Persuasion DC 25 to save. |
| Lord Enver Gortash | Wyrm’s Rock fortress throne room | Phase 1: Gortash + 2-3 Steel Watchers + cultists. Kill Watchers first (Vulnerable to Lightning, immune to crit/prone). Phase 2 (≤50%): activates chain lightning throne + ammo traps. Disable Steel Watch Foundry first (separate quest). |
| Raphael | House of Hope — final phase | ⚫⚫⚫ Hardest optional fight. Pit Fiend + 2 Cambions + Korilla. Destroy 4 Soul Pillars first (Vulnerable to Force, 100 HP each). Yurgir can turn via DC 30 Persuasion. Hope must survive for Gloves of Soul Catching reward. |
| Netherbrain | Upper City → Avernus → Brain interior | ⚫⚫⚫ THE FINAL BOSS. Phase 1: courtyard defense. Phase 2: interior climb (skip fights, use Fly+Invisibility). Phase 3: Netherbrain + 4 Tentacles + Orbs of Negation. Globe of Invulnerability wins the fight. Save ALL resources for Phase 3. |
| Netherbrain (Phase 1: Avernus) | Avernus battle | Wave defense. Nautiloid bombardment. Use allies as distractions. Conserve resources for Phase 3. |
| Netherbrain (Phase 2: brain interior) | Inside Netherbrain | Mind flayer patrols + tentacle bridges. Astral Tadpole flight to bypass. Extract Brain = instant death on downed allies. |
| Netherbrain (Phase 3: Final Form) | Top of Netherbrain | See Netherbrain boss page above. Globe of Invulnerability on Orb cluster → free win. |