Baldur’s Gate 3Act 1 is massive. You can spend 30 or more hours alone in this first Wilderness area. With the Druids fighting the Goblins, several companions to recruit, and plenty of side quests, it can get overwhelming quick.
Worse, missing out on some of the Act 1 side quests and the like is easy. To help you, here is the complete Act 1 main story quests and side content checklist you need to know about. This will help ensure you don’t miss out on anything before changing to Act 2.
AllBaldur’s Gate 3Act 1 main story quests
There are two main story quests inBaldur’s Gate 3Act 1. Though the Emerald Grove and its problems are central to the events happening in this area, you don’t have to do it to move on to Act 2. The quest you’ll mostly follow along with is “Find a Cure.” The journey to Moonrise Towers begins in Act 1 but continues into Act 2.
Find a Cure and all of its potential objectives
“Find a Cure” is the first significant quest you’ll embark on inBaldur’s Gate 3, and it starts almost as soon as you get off the Nautiloid. Turning into a fascistic, psychic cephalopod isn’t high on most people’s personal goals list, and we won’t get toexplore the potential benefits of this path for a while. Therefore, for now at least, you’ll work toward removing your and your companions’ new cranial hitchhikers.
Your search for a healer will, as it often does inBG3,lead you into the heart of a grander conflict. The Druids of the Emerald Grove are under siege from Goblin raiders, and poor Tiefling refugees are stuck in the crossfire. Your companions, and certain NPCs, will point you in different directions, but it’s down to you to decide what direction you want to go in search of your cure.
Here’s a list of all the ways you can resolve “Find a Cure.” I’ve tagged a map with the location of every relevant NPC and Location.
Oddly enough, you don’t have to complete all these objectives to reach Act 2. However, you should do so to experience the entire story and reap all the rewards. Many of the objectives listed lead to longer quest chains that continue into Act 2.
Travel to Moonrise Towers, Act 1’s ending
Unfortunately, no matter who you go to or how you approach them, no one will be able to remove your parasite. Luckily, you find a valuable lead: the Absolute, the cult dispersing Mind Flayer Tadpoles across the Sword Coast, is based out of the nearby Moonrise Towers.
Getting to Moonrise Towers brings you into Act II, making it your last quest in Act I. Getting to Moonrise Towers will take you to the Mountain Pass, where you can enter the Shadow-Cursed Lands. Before you head through, be warned that this is a point of no return. If you cross through this threshold, you won’t be able to go back. Wrap up any miscellaneous business you have here before you move forward. Here’s how to get to Moonrise Towers.
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Act 1 side quests and companions checklist
All the Wilderness’s side quests, companions, and other content are available before moving into Act 2. Some of these are time-limited, and you’ll permanently lose access to them if you move on too quickly, while others can be revisited down the road. They don’t all completely wrap up in Act 1, either, but they’re parts of longer, overarching events that begin in the first of three acts.
Companion-related Quests
Personal Quests
InBG3, your personal quests serve as additional, major guiding threads running parallel to the main story with some overlap. Pursuing other subquests and bigger plot beats naturally completes some of these, while others may go undiscovered. Ultimately, if you’re a bit in the middle in terms of thoroughness, you’ll likely see at least a Journal entry for these.
Baldur’s Gate
When does Act 2 actually start?
If you need help on when Act 2 actually begins,we have a full guide here.
As a recap: The first way you’re able to reach Act 2 is through the Mountain Pass route. This one is on the far west side of the Act 1 map. There are two routes here: one to the south, which is easier to reach, and another to the north. The other way to reach the Shadow-Cursed Lands andBG3Act 2 is to head through the Underdark. You can reach this place by heading into the Temple of Selune at the Goblin Camp. Continue from there through the Underdark to the beach area near the dwarves.
The game makes it clear when you start Act 2, which happens right around when you enter the Shadow-Cursed Lands. Fortunately, if you are worried about missing out on stuff in Act 1, you can do most of it even in Act 2.
Fortunately, the game allows you to revisit the locations from Act 1 and complete some of the side content there during the Act 2 storyline. For instance, if you never touched the Auntie Ethel side quest, you can still go back and do that or most of the other side quests. As such, there isn’t too big of a rush when it comes to completing everything in Act 1.
Act 3 is a point of no return for Act 1 activities
What you should keep in mind, though, is Act 3. Once you go into Act 3 and the city of Baldur’s Gate, you’ll permanently miss out on everything you didn’t do in Act 1. So, be careful and try to complete the Act 1 content as soon as possible.
We have a full checklist and rundown on Act 3 hereif you need more info.
