Players reaching the final stages of Baldur’s Gate 3 have given their verdict on Astarion’s ascension, and it’s not kind at all.
The Baldur’s Gate 3 fanbase may be obsessed with Astarion, but that doesn’t mean they can’t laugh at him. Astarion’s popularity has always straddled the line between “hot vampire rogue” and “he’s so broken and pathetic, I have to fix him”, and his story is all about exploring that vulnerability.
If you follow it through to the point where you face down Cazador, his former master, Astarion gets the opportunity to escape his status as a vampire spawn and ascend- but players can’t seem to take him seriously, and his offer to turn you into his spawn doesn’t help.
It’s not the first time players have thrown shade at him, and it won’t be the last. When it was discovered that mindflayers like to describe Astarion’s brain as “smooth”, the community decided to brand him as canonically stupid.
Baldur’s Gate 3 players can’t take Ascended Astarion seriously
In a post on the Baldur’s Gate 3 subreddit, one player described how they couldn’t stop laughing at Astarion’s supposed moment of triumph, especially when he gave his speech.
They said: “His entire speech at the party about him being so much better and stronger than Cazador, and achieving what he only dreamt of left me on the floor, crying with laughter.
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“Astarion is the single weakest, most pathetic spawn in the entire Cazador’s court. He spent three centuries feeding on rats, terrified of even a thought of rebellion.
“I swear, without Tav, he will be gone in like a year once the first adventuring party will come to clear his palace for loot. He won’t even be an epic vampire lord, just some mini-boss for a level 5 party.”
Several other players agreed, with one comment reading: ” I think that’s the whole point of Ascendant Astarion. It’s a bad ending for him, he becomes as arrogant and as ignorant as his old master. He is still a slave even with his old master dead.
“He is never able to live without fear. He thought having power could fill the void inside him and so he brag about being so powerful, but it doesn’t work that way.”
For more news and updates on Baldur’s Gate 3, check out Xbox’s response to player backlash about suspensions from the console version of the game.