Shadowheart is one of the earliest companion characters you can get in BG3. However, she is also very easy to miss or even outright kill off if you don’t know what you’re doing. Thankfully, saving her isn’t all that difficult, and any character, regardless of race or class, can do so. There are cavets you need to be aware of though. Here’s how to save Shadowheart in Baldur’s Gate 3.
How to Rescue Shadowheart in BG3
When you begin Baldur’s Gate 3, after creating your main character, you’ll find yourself aboard a crash mind flayer ship. Due to the crash, you’re freed from the shackles and torture the monasteries put you through. Free to roam the crashed ship, you’ll encounter many dead and a few surviving NPCs, none of which are responsive save for two. One of these two is Shadowheart, who, when you find her, is trapped in her test tube, frantically begging for outside assistance. She is unable to open it from the inside, so when she sees you, she does everything she can to get your attention.
However, mind flayer tubes are incredibly durable, and no amount of magic or steel can shatter one this early in the game. Attempting to pry it open is also a futile endeavor, and when you ask Shadowheart about it, she insists there’s a way to set her free. You need a type of key, and this key is found in the side room before the main objective route.
Related: What are Wares in Baldur’s Gate 3?
You’ll know you’re in the right place if you see a singular mindflayer tube in the center of a room. The man inside is alive but unresponsive. Behind him is the key you’re searching for. Conveniently, you’re given the opportunity then to test it out. When attempting to free the man from his shackles, the key, instead turns him into a freshly born mind flayer in the blink of an eye. This is where the game attempts to scare you, implying that if you use the key on Shadowheart’s tube, she will be met with the same fate.
However, this is not the case, because Shadowheart’s tube is fundamentally different from the other tubes, and with the proper skill check, you learn this through in-game narration. If you didn’t though, rest easy knowing that is safe to use the key on Shadowheart’s tube. Doing so will free her, thus saving her in the process.
For more quality guides and useful information relating to Baldur’s Gate 3, check out our useful Trap Disarming Guide (Baldur’s Gate 3) right here on MyFullGames
