So you’ve been drawn into the dark world of Baldur’s Gate 3? If you are down in the depths of the Underdark, odds are you’ve run into the freaky, tentacle-faced Mind Flayers. Yes, those are the main big bads of the story, but the interesting point is you can score some of their sick mind powers for your characters. Before we dive headfirst into this mind-melting business, a word of caution: each class in the game gets a different kind of boost from these powers, so choose wisely.
The Baldur’s Gate 3 Illithid powers give your character and crew some seriously cool psychic mojo. With telepathy and telekinesis, you’ll be frying your enemies’ minds and chucking heavy objects at them with the sheer force of your will. Although, you can unlock even stronger versions of these powers to ramp up your game. This guide will run you through all the ins and outs of nabbing these high-tier Illithid Powers in Baldur’s Gate 3.
How to Unlock High-Tier Baldur’s Gate 3 Illithid Powers
You must save the Emperor Mind Flayer to access the powerful Illithid abilities in Baldur’s Gate 3. Right off the bat, you’ll get your mitts on some basic Illithid skills, which you can juice up by scoring some Mind Flayer Parasite Specimens from certain unlucky enemies. But the real action kicks off in Act 3.
Your group gets jumped at Wyrm’s Crossing. Strap in for a fight with the Githyanki, then hop through a portal to the Astral Plane to save the Emperor Mind Flayer himself. Don’t even think about taking a swing at him unless you’re keen on a game over screen and your “reborn” character becoming the Absolute’s puppet.
If you’re interested in evolving, the Emperor has a proposal for you while the final decision rests with you. He offers to supply you with an Astral-Touched Tadpole to seal the deal. The final step is to link your mind to it, and you have achieved Half-Illithid ability.
How to Transform into a Half-Illithid
First off, let’s talk aesthetics. Once you’ve turned, you’ll sport wicked, jagged veins all over your character’s body. Moreover, looking at the Illithier Powers section, you’ll see those sweet tier 3 powers available in your inventory for picking. That’s not all; you’ll get all the tier 1 powers auto-unlocked, even if you didn’t drop points into them. So you have extra stats to splurge on some of those killer high-tier abilities.
But what about your tadpole-infected pals? The good news is they can also get in on the Baldur’s Gate 3 high-tier Illithid Powers action. However, you’ll have to do a nice chat with them to win them over before you can succeed. If you’re slick enough and they bite, place the Astral-Touched Tadpole into their inventory and make sure they should utilize them in some way.
List of High-Tier Illithid Powers in Baldur’s Gate 3
Given below are the high-tier Illithid powers that can turn the tide of any battle. These abilities are not merely average; they represent the summit of mental excellence, capable of striking fear into the hearts of your foes.
- Fracture Psyche: This power is all about messing with your enemy’s defenses. The victim’s AC is reduced by 1, and you can cast the spell if the target dies when suffering its effects.
- Psionic Dominance: A reaction can entirely counteract a spell if it’s cast at you from within 18 meters and is less than or on par with your abilities. It’s like having an automatic “nope” button for enemy spells.
- Black Hole: This power lets you play with the laws of physics. Focus on a certain area to bring in the closest adversaries and maybe slow them. After the first Black Hole is called into war, you have five additional opportunities to do so. Then, a brief snooze is required to restore the power.
- Illithid Expertise: This power turns you into a master manipulator. Your proficiency with Persuasion, Deception, and Intimidation skills improve. Who needs brute force when you can talk your way out of anything?
- Mind Blast: This power lets you unleash a psychic onslaught on your enemies. It can deliver 6-34 points of psychic damage and launch cones of energy that can temporarily shock foes.
- Fly: This unlocks the ability to fly and immediately puts you in the air. It also doesn’t use up any of your magic talents.
- Mind Sanctuary: This power lets you create a sanctuary on the battlefield. People within it can do acts or perform more extra stuff as they see fit.
- Absorb Intellect: This power lets you drain the intelligence of your enemies and heal yourself. It deals 1 point of damage to the enemy’s Intelligence and recovers your health by 1-8 HP over the course of five turns.
- Displacer Beast Shape: Because of this ability, you can assume the form of an adorable yet dangerous astral cat.
- Freecast: This power is a spellcaster’s dream. It gives you the ability to cast spells without the need of spending your resources.
That wraps up our walkthrough about the Illithid Powers in Baldur’s Gate 3. It’s time to make those squiggly Illithid tadpoles inside your characters work to your advantage and lay the smackdown on your opponents. So there you have it, your fast pass to becoming a mind-warping, enemy-smashing Half-Illithid in the treacherous world of Baldur’s Gate 3. Furthermore, read our guide on disarming Baldur’s Gate 3 traps to prevent yourself from unexpected trouble, or check out how many endings are there in Baldur’s Gate 3.
