Baldur's Gate 3 - Should You Save Or Kill Nightsong

You have to make important decisions in Baldur's Gate 3. Few, however, have such far-reaching consequences as what you decide to do with the Nightsong. This encounter near the tail-end of Act 2 has ramifications for Shadowheart, as well as the entire region. Our guide discusses the Baldur's Gate 3 Nightsong quest, the Balthazar boss fight, and what you can expect from your choices. Likewise, please be reminded that this guide contains spoilers.

Should You Save or Kill Nightsong in Baldur's Gate 3

The Baldur's Gate 3 Nightsong can be found in the Gauntlet of Shar. You need to obtain four Umbral Gems from various puzzles and trials, which will allow you to interact with a device that opens the deepest recesses. You can learn more in our Gauntlet of Shar guide.

It also bears mentioning that you want to acquire the Spear of Night from the Silent Library. This weapon plays a pivotal role in the upcoming encounter. Moreover, it's a given that you should have Shadowheart in your party.

Point of No Return

Note that this section is a point of no return for Act 2. Once you interact with the pool of water in the depths, you'll be transported to another realm. All Act 1 fast travel points and locations (i.e. Druid Grove, Underdark, Grymforge, Githyanki Creche, and others) will no longer be accessible. In fact, if you attempt to return to the Underdark or Mountain Pass via the overworld area, your character will simply say that you can't waste time anymore.

Similarly, some interactions and objectives might not be possible anymore. Examples include giving Infernal Iron to Dammon in Last Light Inn, or rescuing the Tieflings in Moonrise Towers.

Should You Surrender Nightsong to Balthazar?

Your squad will get transported to a realm that's equally dazzling and terrifying. Boosted jump and slow fall are also active, so you should be able to reach the floating ledges without any problems. At the bottom of this area, you'll find Balthazar, the necromancer from the Gauntlet of Shar.

Balthazar wants to claim the Nightsong, a woman who has been imprisoned in this realm for over a century. There are a couple of options here:

• Tell Balthazar that he cannot have Nightsong - This will lead to a battle against Balthazar and his undead (more on this shortly).
• Let Balthazar kidnap Nightsong - Shadowheart will extremely disapprove of your decision. The moment you exit this area via portal, she'll leave your party for good.

How to Beat Balthazar

Our suggestion for the Baldur's Gate 3 Balthazar boss fight is to ungroup your team and reposition them individually. The detection range is fairly low, so you should be able to jump and move around without triggering the cutscene that starts the dialogue. Ideally, you'll want to do the following:

• Gale (or someone with Thunderwave) should be on the rock formation to the right.
• A melee character (i.e. we had a Monk main character) should be slightly close to him.
• Your strongest melee warrior, such as Karlach or Lae'zel, ought to be near the left-hand side, ready to strike Balthazar to begin the battle.
• Whatever happens, make sure you don't hit Nightsong accidentally with AoE abilities and spells.

Gallery

When the fight started, we had Gale and our Monk Tav cast Thunderwave/Fist of Four Thunders to take out most of the zombies. On Gale's next turn, we cast Ice Storm to damage the remaining enemies. This also caused other mobs to slip as they moved. Our Monk was then able to stun Balthazar, and we followed that with Karlach's Rage-fueled attacks. As for Shadowheart, we pre-cast Spiritual Weapon and Guardian of Faith, and then we popped Spirit Guardians soon thereafter. We were able to burst down Balthazar and clean up the remaining adds rather quickly.

Once the battle is over, you need to make a pivotal decision concerning the Baldur's Gate 3 Nightsong. Pick: Trust Shadowheart - do not interfere. You'll then see the options noted below, but we suggest making a manual save as backup if you want to try the alternate outcome:

• "Kill her. Let's finish this ritual" - Causes Shadowheart to kill Nightsong.
• "[Persuasion] Don't do it, Shadowheart. Don't kill her - you'll regret it" - You can convince Shadowheart to spare Nightsong.

Kill the Nightsong: Decision and Consequences

Shadowheart will use the Spear of Night to stab the Nightsong, killing her instantly. She'll be filled with Shar's blessing, as she's proven her worth to her deity. These are the consequences of this decision:

• Reward: Shar's Spear of Evening (legendary)
  • Deals 6-16 damage.
  • Shar's Blessing - Advantage on saving throws while obscured; deals additional 1d6 damage to creatures that are obscured.
  • Blind Immunity - The wielder cannot be blinded.
  • Shar's Darkness - Level 2 Evocation spell.
• Deaths
  • Isobel - Her powers as a Selunite Cleric will not be enough, and Last Light will get ransacked by cursed forces.
  • Jaheira - This returning character from previous games and potential companion will die offscreen.
  • Dammon - The blacksmith will also end up dead, preventing you from giving more Infernal Iron for Karlach's romance and quest.
  • Art Cullagh - The sleeping man will also get killed, potentially locking you out of Halsin's recruitment and Bear Form romance.
• Shadowheart Romance - Shadowheart will fully embrace being one of Shar's chosen. Although she says that there's no room for love besides giving herself to her deity, you can tell her that you still want to keep trying. However, we can't confirm if this will still lead to a relationship/romance scene, since we didn't follow this arc.

Save the Nightsong: Decision and Consequences

For this Baldur's Gate 3 Nightsong story branch, you need to pass a DC 21 Charisma check, which is quite tough if you didn't put points into Charisma. You can rely on Shadowheart's Guidance cantrip to help boost it, or just keep reloading your save or using your Inspirations until you succeed.

If you're successful, Shadowheart will throw away the Spear of Night. The Nightsong will reveal herself as an Aasimar and one of Selune's daughters.

• Reward #1: Moonlight Glaive (rare)
  • Deals 4-16 damage.
  • Moonlight Glaive: Glowing - Shines with a glowing light with a 6-meter radius.
  • +2 weapon enchantment.
• Reward #2: Selune's Spear of Night (legendary)
  • Deals 6-11 damage.
  • Selune's Blessing - Advantage on Wisdom saving throws and Perception checks.
  • Darkvision - Can see in the dark up to 12 meters.
  • +3 weapon enchantment.
  • Moonbeam - Level 3 Evocation spell.
  • Moonmote - Class action.
  • Note: We convinced Shadowheart to turn away from Shar. The Spear of Night turned into this legendary weapon after a key scene early in Act 3.
• Deaths
  • Ketheric Thorm (technically) - The encounters against Ketheric Thorm were a lot easier since we had an angel pummeling his face. You can learn more in our Ketheric Thorm boss guide.
• Shadowheart Romance - We remained supportive of her, which also led to advancing the Shadowheart romance during Act 3.

Future Storyline Developments

We've also included a few details that happen near the end of Act 2 and part of Act 3. These concern Shadowheart's story and the Selune's Spear of Night legendary, as well as Nightsong's identity. Click on the spoilers at your own risk:

• Nightsong's Identity
  • It's revealed that the Nightsong is Dame Aylin. She and Isobel were also lovers before she was imprisoned. Both will join you in your camp as NPCs if they managed to survive the chapter. Later, you must decide if you want to surrender Dame Aylin to Lorroakan.
• Shadowheart's Story
  • Shadowheart became distraught after being cut off from Shar's gaze. As we transitioned into Act 3, the Nightsong shared more about Shadowheart's past as a Selunite novice, only for her to be kidnapped by Shar worshipers. Shadowheart's hair also turned white, perhaps to symbolize the effect of Selune's guidance. The Nightsong also tells you that she was able to recover the Spear of Night, which then turns into the Selune's Spear of Night legendary.
• The House of Grief
  • We discuss this quest arc in detail in our Sharran Lookout and House of Grief guide. Basically in Act 3, Shadowheart learns about the night when she was taken by the Sharran disciples. You also go to their enclave, where you meet a character that long-time fans will be familiar with:
    • If Shadowheart spared Nightsong and embraced her Selunite past, you can help her bring down the enclave.
    • If Shadowheart killed Nightsong and embraced her Sharran beliefs, she can claim her place as the enclave's new leader.

All in all, it looks like saving the Nightsong in Baldur's Gate 3 leads to a better outcome for everyone involved. Make sure you're well prepared and that you have backup saves in case things go awry. Up next, we turn to the conclusion of Act 2 in the battle against Ketheric Thorm.