Summary of "I Made EVERY BAD CHOICE in Baldur's Gate 3 So You Don't Have To..."

I Made EVERY BAD CHOICE in Baldur’s Gate 3 So You Don’t Have To…

Storyline & Gameplay Overview

The video explores the darkest and worst possible choices players can make in Baldur’s Gate 3, focusing on evil decisions and their consequences across multiple characters and story arcs. Due to mutually exclusive choices, the creator uses multiple playthroughs and characters to showcase as many bad outcomes as possible.

The journey spans Acts 1 through 3, covering key story points, companion interactions, side quests, and major plot events with an emphasis on evil or destructive decisions.

Key Storyline Bad Choices and Outcomes

Act 1

Character Creation: Choosing the Dark Urge background to play a truly evil character.
Early Companions: Abandoning Shadowheart in her pod; biting off Gale’s arm (Dark Urge exclusive).
Emerald Grove: Raiding and massacring the Druids and tieflings, killing key NPCs like Zor and Netty.
Tiefling Child Encounter: Triggering a poisonous snake attack to kill a child (Dark Urge).
Companion Deaths: Killing Laelle multiple times; letting companions like Gale leave by denying their needs.
Goblin Camp: Torturing and killing innocents, blowing up a windmill, killing a devil to appease Will.
Mind Control: Forcing cultists to attack animals, causing senseless violence.
Companion Conflicts: Letting Laelle and others try to kill the protagonist; killing or letting companions die.
Raiding Emerald Grove: Betraying Menara and wiping out survivors for the Absolute faction.
Anti-L and Tadpole Removal: Trading an eye to a hag to remove the tadpole, resulting in a permanent cloudy eye and mixed stat changes.
Marina’s Quest: Taunting her with false hope, snapping a wand, raising her husband as a zombie, or leaving her cursed.
Githyanki Crash: Letting LEL die multiple ways, stealing a gith egg, blowing up the crash site.
Underdark: Helping a “soy boy” lead a massacre, killing a runaway slave, failing quests that lead to party members leaving or dying.

Act 2: Shadow-Cursed Lands

Killing Isabelle: Causes the moon shield to fail, dooming everyone inside.
Moonrise Towers: Torturing Menara, killing kittens, pushing pilgrims to death, unleashing mind-controlled gnomes.
Night Song Quest: Letting Balazar retrieve Night Song (causes Shadowheart to leave), killing Night Song (turns Shadowheart hostile), or turning Shadowheart into a dark justiciar.
Krick’s Dungeon: Failing to free Zor results in his death; killing Will’s companion Maora causes Will to be lost to hell.
Gail’s Sacrifice: Allowing Gail to blow himself up leads to a bad ending where the Elder Brain survives and tadpoles transform into a plague.
Failing Hon’s Quest: Leaves the shadow curse active and causes him to leave the party.

Act 3: Baldur’s Gate & Final Confrontations

The Emperor Reveal: Must side with the Emperor (a mind flare) to progress; can eat the astral tadpole for power but block companions from gaining it.
Shadowheart’s Betrayal: Betraying Shadowheart to Viconia for aid, missing out on powerful gear.
Aarian’s Blood Ritual: Letting him complete the vampire lord ritual or sabotaging it, both with bad consequences.
Minsk: Can kill him or fail to save him, causing him and Jiro to leave the party.
Will’s Father: Selling Will’s soul to save his father is a negative choice.
Oscar’s Quest: Killing or letting Oscar die to the poltergeist curse.
Volo’s Fate: Letting Volo burn alive.
Zent vs Guild Conflict: Siding with the Zent is worse due to their ties with the Absolute.
Night Song & Looen: Betraying Night Song to Looen, leading to a hostile confrontation.
Hags and Marina: Taking gold to kill a mother, killing Ethel resulting in a child’s death, or neglecting to lift Marina’s curse.
Orin’s Lair: Letting Orin kill a kidnapped companion or failing speech checks.
Dark Urge Ending: Claiming Bhaal’s legacy and becoming a destructive force.
Gort’s Fate: Partnering with Gort (bad choice) or destroying his Steel Watch for easier fight.
Raphael’s Deal: Making a deal with Raphael to give him the crown (bad choice) but the consequences are underdeveloped.
House of Hope: Leaving Hope locked up makes the Raphael fight harder.
Elder Brain & Final Bad Endings:
- Letting the Emperor kill Orus.
- Freeing Orus but having the Emperor betray you.
- Transforming companions into mind flares or killing them.
- Seizing control of the Elder Brain as the Dark Urge.
- Letting Gail sacrifice himself or failing to convince him to do so.
- Letting Carla die or dumping her if she becomes a mind flare.

Gameplay Highlights & Tips

Many bad choices are tied to specific backgrounds like the Dark Urge.
Companion management is crucial; many companions can die or leave permanently based on choices.
Some quests have multiple fail states that lock out content or allies.
Certain evil choices unlock unique dialogue and story branches.
The game features mutually exclusive paths requiring multiple playthroughs to see all bad outcomes.
Mind control and manipulation often lead to chaotic or violent results.
Some bad endings are triggered by failing speech checks or ignoring quest objectives.
The game’s story and companion interactions are deeply affected by player morality and decisions.

List of Notable Bad Choices (Summary)

Bite Gale’s arm off (Dark Urge).
Raid and destroy Emerald Grove.
Kill or abandon key companions (Laelle, Gale, Menara, Zor, LEL).
Fail to save tiefling child.
Trade an eye to hag for tadpole removal.
Let companions die or betray them (Shadowheart, Aarian, Minsk, Will).
Destroy githyanki crash site.
Let Balazar retrieve Night Song or kill her.
Betray Shadowheart to Viconia.
Let Gail blow himself up.
Make a deal with Raphael.
Seize control of the Elder Brain.
Kill or neglect rescuing NPCs (Oscar, Volo, Marina).
Betray Night Song to Looen.
Destroy Steel Watch or ally with Gort.
Fail or sabotage multiple side quests.

Sources & Featured Gamer

Big Dan (YouTube creator and narrator of the video)

Overall, the video is a comprehensive, often humorous, exploration of the worst and most evil choices in Baldur’s Gate 3, showing how they impact the story, companions, and endings.