Baldur’s Gate 3 Act 1 is massive. You can spend 30 or more hours alone in this first Wilderness area. With the Druids fighting the Goblins, several companions to recruit, and plenty of side quests, it can get overwhelming quick.
Worse, missing out on some of the Act 1 side quests and the like is easy. To help you, here is the complete Act 1 main story quests and side content checklist you need to know about. This will help ensure you don’t miss out on anything before changing to Act 2.
All Baldur’s Gate 3 Act 1 main story quests
There are two main story quests in Baldur’s Gate 3 Act 1. Though the Emerald Grove and its problems are central to the events happening in this area, you don’t have to do it to move on to Act 2. The quest you’ll mostly follow along with is “Find a Cure.” The journey to Moonrise Towers begins in Act 1 but continues into Act 2.
Find a Cure and all of its potential objectives
“Find a Cure” is the first significant quest you’ll embark on in Baldur’s Gate 3, and it starts almost as soon as you get off the Nautiloid. Turning into a fascistic, psychic cephalopod isn’t high on most people’s personal goals list, and we won’t get to explore the potential benefits of this path for a while. Therefore, for now at least, you’ll work toward removing your and your companions’ new cranial hitchhikers.
Your search for a healer will, as it often does in BG3, lead you into the heart of a grander conflict. The Druids of the Emerald Grove are under siege from Goblin raiders, and poor Tiefling refugees are stuck in the crossfire. Your companions, and certain NPCs, will point you in different directions, but it’s down to you to decide what direction you want to go in search of your cure.
Here’s a list of all the ways you can resolve “Find a Cure.” I’ve tagged a map with the location of every relevant NPC and Location.
- Ask the Goblin Priestess for Help (Goblin Camp, Light Green Square)
- Get Help from Auntie Ethel (Swamp, Dark Green Square)
- Get Help from Healer Nettie (Emerald Grove, Dark Green Circle)
- Rescue the Druid Halsin (Goblin Camp, Brown Circle)
- Help Omeluum Investigate the Parasite
- Explore the Githyanki Crèche and meet the inquisitor (Mountain Pass, Gray Square)
Oddly enough, you don’t have to complete all these objectives to reach Act 2. However, you should do so to experience the entire story and reap all the rewards. Many of the objectives listed lead to longer quest chains that continue into Act 2.
Travel to Moonrise Towers, Act 1’s ending
Unfortunately, no matter who you go to or how you approach them, no one will be able to remove your parasite. Luckily, you find a valuable lead: the Absolute, the cult dispersing Mind Flayer Tadpoles across the Sword Coast, is based out of the nearby Moonrise Towers.
Getting to Moonrise Towers brings you into Act II, making it your last quest in Act I. Getting to Moonrise Towers will take you to the Mountain Pass, where you can enter the Shadow-Cursed Lands. Before you head through, be warned that this is a point of no return. If you cross through this threshold, you won’t be able to go back. Wrap up any miscellaneous business you have here before you move forward. Here’s how to get to Moonrise Towers.
- Travel through the Mountain Pass
- Travel through the Underdark
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Act 1 side quests and companions checklist
All the Wilderness’s side quests, companions, and other content are available before moving into Act 2. Some of these are time-limited, and you’ll permanently lose access to them if you move on too quickly, while others can be revisited down the road. They don’t all completely wrap up in Act 1, either, but they’re parts of longer, overarching events that begin in the first of three acts.
Companion-related Quests
- Recruit Astarion
- Begins The Pale Elf
- Rescue and recruit Lae’zel
- Begins The Githyanki Warrior
- Rescue and recruit Gale
- Begins The Wizard of Waterdeep
- Meet Wyll in the Emerald Grove and recruit him
- Begins The Blade of Frontiers
- The Grand Duke
- Begins The Blade of Frontiers
- Rescue and recruit Karlach
- Begins Our Fiery Friend
- The Hellion’s Heart
- Hunt the Devil
- Rescue and recruit Shadowheart in Rescue the Illithids’ Captive
- Begins Daughter of Darkness
- The Chosen of Shar
- Begins Daughter of Darkness
- Rescue Halsin to recruit him (locks you out of Minthara)
- Ties into the main story quest, Find a Cure
- Side with Minthara to recruit her (locks you out of Halsin)
- Begins Raid the Grove
Personal Quests
In BG3, your personal quests serve as additional, major guiding threads running parallel to the main story with some overlap. Pursuing other subquests and bigger plot beats naturally completes some of these, while others may go undiscovered. Ultimately, if you’re a bit in the middle in terms of thoroughness, you’ll likely see at least a Journal entry for these.
- Embrace Your Potential
- Collect and consume parasite specimens
- Discover the Artefact’s Secrets
- Discover the History of Prince Orpheus
- Complete the Arcane Tower
- Help Kith’rak Voss
Nautiloid Crash Region / Ravaged Beach
- Escape the Nautiloid
- Explore the Ruins
- Free Lae’zel
- Ties into The Githyanki Warrior
- Find the Nightsong
- Investigate the Temple Ruins in the Goblin Camp
- Continues in the Underdark
Emerald Grove
- Save the Refugees
- (Pick a side between the Tieflings, Druids, and Goblin Army )
- Defeat the Goblins
- Investigate Kagha
- Kill Kagha
- Investigate the Beach
- Save the First Druid
- (Pick a side between the Tieflings, Druids, and Goblin Army )
- Return the Locket
- Investigate the Beach
- Save Arabella
- Steal the Sacred Idol
- Find Your Belongings
- Save the Goblin Sazza
- Raid the Emerald Grove
- Find Doni
Blighted Village / Sunlit Wetlands Area
- Finish the Masterwork Weapon
- Rescue the Gnome
- Search the Cellar for the Ancient Tome
- Destroy the Ancient Tome (Act 3)
- Unlock the Ancient Tome (Act 3)
- Save Mayrina
- Get Help from Auntie Ethel
- Part of Find a Cure questline
- Use Speak with Animals to talk with and recruit the dog Scratch
- Find the Missing Shipment
- Find and possibly fight the owlbear
The Goblin Camp
- Rescue Volo at the Goblin Camp to recruit him
- Rescue the Druid Halsin
- Part of Find a Cure questline
- Ask the Goblin Priestess for Help
Underdark
- Avenge Glut’s Circle
- Defeat the Duergar Intruders
- Cure the Poisoned Gnome
- Find the Mushroom Picker
- Deliver Nere’s Head
- Begins after Free True Soul Nere
- Find the Missing Boots
- Find the Nightsong
- The Underdark portion of this quest leads into Act 2
Grymforge
- The Adamantine Forge
- Free True Soul Nere
- Find Explosives
- Blind the Absolute
- Save the Grymforge Gnomes
Mountain Pass
- Explore Rosymorn Monastery
- Find the Blood of Lathander Mace
- Steal a Githyanki Egg
Shadow-Cursed Lands
- Rescue Wulbren
- Rescue the Grand Duke
- Begins at Waukeen’s Rest in Act 1, continues into Act 3
- Rescue the Trapped Man
Baldur’s Gate
- Free the Artist
- Help Oskar escape
- Look for Oskar in Baldur’s Gate (Act 3)
When does Act 2 actually start?
If you need help on when Act 2 actually begins, we have a full guide here.
As a recap: The first way you can reach Act 2 is through the Mountain Pass route. This one is on the far west side of the Act 1 map. There are two routes here: one to the south, which is easier to reach, and another to the north. The other way to reach the Shadow-Cursed Lands and BG3 Act 2 is to head through the Underdark. You can reach this place by heading into the Temple of Selune at the Goblin Camp. Continue from there through the Underdark to the beach area near the dwarves.
The game makes it clear when you start Act 2, which happens right around when you enter the Shadow-Cursed Lands. Fortunately, if you are worried about missing out on stuff in Act 1, you can do most of it even in Act 2.
Fortunately, the game allows you to revisit the locations from Act 1 and complete some of the side content there during the Act 2 storyline. For instance, if you never touched the Auntie Ethel side quest, you can still go back and do that or most of the other side quests. As such, there isn’t too big of a rush when it comes to completing everything in Act 1.
Act 3 is a point of no return for Act 1 activities
What you should keep in mind, though, is Act 3. Once you go into Act 3 and the city of Baldur’s Gate, you’ll permanently miss out on everything you didn’t do in Act 1. So, be careful and try to complete the Act 1 content as soon as possible.
We have a full checklist and rundown on Act 3 here if you need more info.
Published: Nov 21, 2024 02:26 pm