Screenshot via Larian Studios

How to cure Bloodless status effect in Baldur’s Gate 3?

To let him feast, or to not let him feast.

So, there I was — exploring Baldur’s Gate 3 — when I noticed out of the corner of my eye a status effect called ‘Bloodless.’ I had no idea what this status effect did or what caused it, but to be honest, I figured it was explained at some point and I just didn’t bother to read thoroughly. I didn’t see anything in my journal about it — which was strange, but I didn’t notice a significant difference, so I let it go.

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But, when I found out what this status effect is and what it’s caused by, it suddenly made a lot of sense.

What is Bloodless?

In Baldur’s Gate 3, Bloodless is a status effect that can be either good or bad depending on how you’re playing the game. Bloodless is inflicted if you allow Astarion — the loveable scamp — to feast on your blood. This made a lot of sense to me because there was a moment during a Long Rest when I caught him trying to devour me like a Thanksgiving turkey, and instead of freaking out and pushing him off, I shrugged my shoulders — for a while, anyway.

If you’ve been afflicted with Bloodless, you’ll automatically be deducted -1 from all attack rolls, saving throws, and most ability checks, which can be very annoying. In exchange, Astarion will have one extra point added to all attack rolls, saving throws, and most ability checks.

Thankfully, curing Bloodless is simple — just cast a restorative spell that cures diseases and you’ll be back in tip-top shape in no time. If by some chance your character — or Shadowheart — is still a cleric, you might already have effective spells, such as Lesser Restoration, which should work just fine. If you don’t have a cleric in your party (or if you don’t have any effective spells), simply take a Long Rest back at camp and you’ll be back to normal when you wake up. But, so will Astarion, so time it appropriately!

That should go to show you, folks — in this game, even a small scene that might not seem like it’ll have an impact on the future probably does.


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Image of James Herd
James Herd
Staff Writer — James has been playing video games for as long as he can remember. He was told once that video games couldn't be a career, so he set out to prove them wrong. And now, he has.