The endings of Baldur's Gate 3 come down to one final decision at the Netherbrain: use the Netherstones to destroy it, or take control of it, with your origin, your companions and earlier deals shaping who does what. Destroying it leads to the heroic ending and the epilogue party, while controlling it opens the darker endings that Patch 7 expanded with 13 new evil cinematics, including one for each origin character. This guide maps every major branch as of November 2026, after the final Patch 8 and its hotfixes.
Our sources for this post were the bg3.wiki Endings, Epilogue and Dark Urge pages, the achievement list, and the PlayStation Blog announcement for Patch 7. Spoiler warning: everything below describes the final act and the ending in detail.
How the Ending Is Structured
Every playthrough funnels into the same last battle at the Netherbrain, the elder brain controlling the Absolute's army. Once it is weakened, your character holds the Netherstones and makes the defining choice. The wiki splits the outcomes into two paths, Destroy the Elder Brain and Control the Elder Brain, and almost every other ending is a variation on one of those two.
What changes the variations is everything you did before. Your origin matters most for the Dark Urge, whose story can end with Bhaal. Your deal with the Emperor or your choice to free Orpheus decides who stands beside you. Companions bring their own resolutions on the docks after the fight, and romances get closing scenes. Even small decisions, like whether a companion survived Act Three, change who appears in the epilogue.
The ending set also grew after launch. Patch 5 in November 2023 added the epilogue, Patch 7 added 13 cinematic evil endings including unique ones for each origin character, and Patch 8 revealed an extra option, removing your tadpole, that had been hidden until then. Older ending guides written before those patches are missing branches.
Destroying the Netherbrain: The Heroic Ending
Choosing to destroy the Netherbrain makes it wipe out its own tadpoles and itself. Every infected person in the city is freed, and the Hero of the Forgotten Realms achievement unlocks for killing the brain and destroying the tadpoles. This is the path most first playthroughs reach, and it is the one that leads into the full epilogue later.
The cost of this path depends on how you weakened the brain. Ceremorphosis, transforming into a mind flayer, is one of the options on the way to defeating the brain, and the Ceremorphosis achievement covers that choice. If the player character or a companion goes through with it, their ending changes sharply, and Karlach's final scene is different if she becomes a mind flayer.
Destroying the brain is also the only route into the Epilogue, which takes place six months later. If you want the warmest close to the story, this is the ending to aim for.
Controlling the Netherbrain: The Darker Endings
Taking control of the Netherbrain unlocks the Absolute Power Corrupts achievement and a set of ruler endings. Who ends up in charge is the main variable.
- The Emperor rules: available if the Emperor is present. Two DC 20 Persuasion checks convince it to rule together with you.
- You rule: the player character can declare war, rule over enthralled slaves, execute everyone, let chaos reign or, since Patch 8, remove the tadpole.
- Companion-guided endings: the control path includes endings shaped by each origin companion, with names such as Astarion's "Sun King", Gale's "No more gods", Lae'zel's "God-regent of the githyanki", Karlach's "Bring them hell", Shadowheart's "Neither light nor dark will reign" and Wyll's "The great unifier".
- Bhaal's claim: a Dark Urge can claim the brain in Bhaal's name, which unlocks Sins of the Father.
Those companion-shaped endings are not available if you sided with the Emperor or became a mind flayer. "Executing everyone" and "letting chaos reign" are the most destructive player-ruling choices on the list,, and they sit at the far end of the evil spectrum that Patch 7 filled out.
Orpheus, the Emperor and Who Holds the Netherstones
Your Act Three alliance decides who stands beside you at the brain. If you free the githyanki prince Orpheus instead of siding with the Emperor, Lae'zel gets her Orpheus resolution. If you side with the Emperor, Lae'zel's Ascension resolution becomes possible, as long as you did not help Kith'rak Voss free Orpheus.
When the Emperor or Orpheus is holding the Netherstones at the final moment, you need a DC 12 Strength check to take them back. The Dark Urge skips that check entirely, one of several quiet perks the origin gets in the finale. If Orpheus underwent ceremorphosis, he asks for death or takes his own life.
The ceremorphosis choice is risky for the player character too. Avoiding a full transformation requires DC 25 Constitution checks, and a player character who becomes a mind flayer gets a dedicated resolution where they choose between freedom, prison or death. Our companion guide covers which companions need to be alive to step in at this point.
Companion Resolutions on the Docks
After the brain falls, the party gathers at the docks, and each surviving origin companion gets a resolution scene that depends on choices made across the whole game.
- Astarion: whether he can stand in the sunlight depends on how The Pale Elf was resolved.
- Gale: he can give the Crown of Karsus to Mystra, wear it, or abandon it.
- Karlach: her infernal engine resolution only triggers if she did not become a mind flayer. She can die, or return to Avernus with Wyll, the player character or both.
- Lae'zel: her Ascension resolution requires siding with the Emperor and not helping Voss free Orpheus.
Romanced companions get extra wrap-up scenes, confirmed for Astarion, Gale, Halsin, Karlach, Lae'zel, Minthara, Shadowheart and Wyll. At approval 100, Gale and Karlach's key dialogue options are no longer locked behind checks, even without a romance. Companions who died through conversation choices or turned hostile do not get end scenes at all.
Dark Urge Endings, Failures and Planning Repeat Runs
The Dark Urge has its own fork. If you embrace Bhaal, you can take control of the brain for him and destroy the world, which is the Sins of the Father achievement. If you resist, Bhaal drains your blood and kills you, Withers revives you as a new person, and you continue toward the standard endings. Embracing Bhaal and then disobeying him starts a slower collapse where Bhaal shreds your mind after the brain is destroyed. Our Dark Urge guide walks through each step that leads there.
There are also failure states. A Dark Urge who loses to Orin triggers the failed Dark Urge resolution, and a player character who becomes a mind flayer gets a similar scene with prison, death or freedom on the table. Those are not game-over screens, but they change the tone of the final scenes considerably.
No single campaign can show everything, because several branches exclude each other. Siding with the Emperor locks out Lae'zel's Orpheus resolution and the companion-guided control endings, while freeing Orpheus closes Lae'zel's Ascension. The Dark Urge's Bhaal endings need that origin, and the epilogue only follows a destroyed brain.
A practical plan is three runs. First, a custom character who destroys the brain, which gives you the epilogue and most companion scenes. Second, a Dark Urge who resists, for the origin's story and duel with Orin. Third, a darker campaign that controls the brain, either with the Emperor or alone, for the evil cinematics. That order keeps the biggest surprises for the moments they were written for.
The Epilogue Party
Patch 5 added an epilogue that loads after the ending scenes when you destroyed the Elder Brain. It takes place six months later at a nighttime version of the Wilderness campsite, with food, wine, a bonfire and decorations, and Withers as the host.
The party reunites and talks about how they have fared, and the conversations are tailored to your choices. Companions who died or left permanently do not attend. When you have spoken to everyone, telling Withers you have caught up with everyone and asking what comes next triggers the closing. Attacking guests ends the party early, since Withers ejects you through a portal.
If you are planning around achievements, our achievement roadmap groups the ending-related unlocks so you can plan which runs cover which endings, and the Honour Mode guide covers the hardest way to reach any of them, with a single save that cannot be reloaded.
Seeing Every Ending Without Replaying 100 Hours
Seeing every branch means reaching the final act several times with different alliances and party members. If you would rather skip the early levels on a repeat run, the Mega Mule modded save starts a High Elf Paladin with a camp of level 12 characters, a chest of potions, scrolls and elixirs, and max gold. It is applied to your own profile, so you need to own the game, and the store page lists PS5, PC and Xbox. The full set of listings is on the Baldur's Gate 3 store page.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many endings does Baldur's Gate 3 have?
There is no single official count. The finale branches into destroy and control paths with many variations, and Patch 7 alone added 13 evil endings, including one for each origin character.
What is the best ending in BG3?
Most players consider destroying the Netherbrain without anyone becoming a mind flayer the best ending, because it frees everyone and unlocks the full epilogue.
How do you get the epilogue in BG3?
Destroy the Elder Brain in the final battle. The epilogue then loads after the ending scenes and is set six months later.
Can Karlach survive the ending?
Yes, in a sense. Staying on Toril means her engine kills her, so survival means going back to Avernus, ideally with company. Keeping her from ceremorphosis is what makes that scene appear at all.
What did Patch 8 change about the endings?
It revealed a previously hidden option for a player-ruled Netherbrain ending: removing your tadpole.
Do dead companions appear in the ending?
No. Companions who died from conversation choices or hostility get no end scenes, and those who died or left do not attend the epilogue.