“Massively OP” Baldur’s Gate 3 ability makes sacrificing your looks worth it

One Baldur’s Gate 3 “OP” ability is worth sacrificing your looks for as it makes fights easier according to players.

There’s one point in Baldur’s Gate 3 where you’ll be given a hard choice after seeing The Emperor’s true form. Embrace your Illithid powers by taking the Astral-Touched tadpole, or refuse it entirely. The Emperor encourages you to take it and tells you it’ll give you immense powers. 

While it’s true you’ll get to unlock more advanced Illithid powers, it comes with a great cost. Taking the Astral-Touched tadpole means you’ll be transformed into a half Illithid, forever altering your Tav’s appearance for the rest of your run.

Hence, it’s clear not everyone in the community is a fan of this choice. However, some players in a Reddit thread claimed that sacrificing one’s looks in the game is worth it due to this “OP” Illithid ability: the Black Hole.

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Unlike a regular tadpole, consuming the Astral-Touched tadpole comes with a cost in Baldur’s Gate 3.

For the uninitiated, the Black Hole allows you to create a black hole that will pull nearby enemies, possibly slowing them. This makes it such a great ability when combined with other spells in the game, especially if you’re going for that clean wipe.

“So I’m finishing Act 3 with my second character, and I can’t believe I didn’t realize sooner how massively OP the mindflayer’s Black Hole ability is,” said one user. “You can use it at least twice, and it’s helped me wreck some fights that I’ve previously struggled with (High Hall and Emperor).”

Many other players in the comments agreed with the user, some suggesting some of their favorite combos to use with the Black Hole.

One user wrote: “That spell is one of the reasons I like getting the perk from the Zaith’isk chair that lets you cast the Illithid powers as a bonus action. Black Hole followed by Hunger of Hadar is my favorite combo.”

Another user claimed this ability made the Viconia fight in the House of Grief “way easier.” They mentioned. “And that fight is a serious pain in the a** otherwise with all of the darkness casts and such.”

Meanwhile, one user said they use this ability in their current Storm Sorcerer run. “I have one character use it, drawing all enemies into one spot, and then I hit them with four call lightning hits (if I have the sorcerer points, three otherwise). It is really effective.”

All in all, if you’re playing an Honor Mode run and don’t mind getting a slight change in your appearance, taking the tadpole to get access to Black Hole can be worth it.

Though using a mod is also an option if you still want to keep your Tav’s original look but have access to the Illithid powers.