Herumor
Scholar
- Joined
- May 1, 2018
- Messages
- 612
You're not forced into anything, it's all your choice.Given that I've unlocked the entire skill tree, including the advanced skills now, I would say I am on the way to a very interesting ending.Just keep playing, you're in for a treat.
In regards to the ending:Finished the game. Loved it, will formulate my full thoughts later. The ending is certainly bittersweet, and I think I encountered either a bug, or bad writing.
In the end, someone needs to become a mind flayer to dominate the crown - either you, or Orpheus. However, Gale immediately has an alternate proposition - he Mystra akbars himself into the Netherbrain. He's going to die, obviously, but Faerun is a setting with the confirmed afterlife, and he should be getting a fucking hero's welcome in his. Becoming a mind flayer, however, is the end, because mind flayers don't have souls - you hang on for however long you manage to, and then nothing, oblivion. With that in mind, Gale's sacrifice is objectively the best option.
But again - either because of a bug, or because of bad writing, you can't tell Orpheus that there's an alternate path. Gale can still blow himself up (skipping the final boss, presumably), but at this point one of you is already a mind flayer, so there's no fucking point.
In the end I pussied out of becoming a mind flayer and let Orpheus sacrifice his soul, which made me feel a little bit like a scumbag. The game's ending delivered closure for a lot of my followers, but for some reason not Shadowheart, my romance, who got jack shit. But that's alright.
In the end, loved it, very much worth the wait. Gonna play through it again, and wait eagerly for the inevitable enhanced edition.
Becoming a mind flayer isn't the end. You actually get to play as one and the dialogue after the final showdown clearly states you can either lean into becoming the typical mind flayer or stay a rogue, like the Emperor. You have the option to stay in Baldur's Gate and work with him or travel the world and do some good. Sure, you'll eat brains, but there's plenty of villains and scum in the world to serve as your food.
I'm gonna post screenshots for the above stuff I'm talking about so you see what I mean:
![aLJgbxd.png](https://i.imgur.com/aLJgbxd.png)
![hifMx3i.png](https://i.imgur.com/hifMx3i.png)
![ldefgz4.png](https://i.imgur.com/ldefgz4.png)
![7rIdiGU.png](https://i.imgur.com/7rIdiGU.png)
![Oce7Yb3.png](https://i.imgur.com/Oce7Yb3.png)
![TpL5xDB.png](https://i.imgur.com/TpL5xDB.png)
![gNphjwp.png](https://i.imgur.com/gNphjwp.png)
Also, did you like the reveal of who the Emperor was before he became a mind flayer?