Baldur’s Gate 3 is filled with evil choices that many players refuse to make. However, one evil decision becomes tricky to ignore after seeing the pure power it can bring to your playthrough.
Whether it’s romance, power, or just an evil run, many players are hesitant to ascend Astarion. After seeing the pain he was put through and the ramifications of your decision, it’s easy to see why some players attempt to go down the good route.
However, more often than not, Baldur’s Gate 3 fans will decide to ascend the companion, purely based on other power, lust, or both.
This was highlighted in a post on the Baldur’s Gate 3 Reddit, in which one player explained that “this game made me realize I should never be in power.”
They went on to add: “I know like power corrupts but I felt real bad about everything Cazador did and seeing those people in cages and thinking about being stuck in a room for 170 years actually made me sick but the moment I saw that astarion could heal up to 72 health on a bonus action and cast mist form as a bonus action I immediately felt no remorse, power corrupts and all that.”
Ascending Astarion is a tricky decision to make, and he certainly changes for the worst shortly after. Sure, he’s more confident and powerful, but he quickly adopts the same morals as Cazador and becomes a bit of a villain to many.
Another player shared a similar experience to the original poster: “I just finished my Astarion origin run and I just wanted to try what it would be like and then reload… but that extra 1d10 necrotic on each of my 4 to 5 attacks per turn and the bite were kinda worth killing 7000 fictional people for ngl so I never hit that reload button”
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Others attempted to justify their actions, explaining how “it seemed like the most efficient way to deal with 7000 vampire spawn.”
Of course, the vampire spawn conundrum is tricky, but it seems the real reasoning is behind the pure power of Astarion after, particularly if you change his class.
“AA as a monk is also insane. Two flurries and two hits do an extra 6D10 necrotic damage a round, in addition to whatever other damage shenanigans you gear him into. I 110% ascended him on my Honour Mode run. Felt bad about it, but hey, golden math rocks.”
Naturally, others justified it for romantic reasons: “What’s worse – doing it because of skills and power gain, or doing it because romanced Ascended Astarion is hot? We all bear our burdens for Evil Choice sins”
While another added: “Okay yes I did damn 7000 souls to eternal suffering but have you considered that now I have a pretty vampire call me his treasure every morning? Did you consider that?”
One of the best things about Baldur’s Gate 3 is the evil runs you can do, which is why Larian made the Dark Urge. Whether it’s for love, power, or fun, Baldur’s Gate 3 players certainly love a questionable decision.