Using a public copy of the Baldur’s Gate 3 script, one Reddit user discovered the worst decisions you could make when interacting with your companions, whose approval impacts the role-playing game’s story options. From the script, u/sudosussudio picked out 11 decisions that will set you back significantly in your friends’ eyes, including one choice that could piss off Tiefling Karlach forever.
Most of BG3’s mean girl options will drain you of around 20 approval points, which you accrue immediately after deciding on an action. These points determine which characters you can romance or engage with more deeply through sidequests, so a 20-point drop could damage your gameplay in the short-term. But, over time, you could recover from it with a handful of smaller, five-to-10 point decisions. According to sudosussudio’s r/BaldursGate3 post, shaming Astarion for biting a Drow girl’s neck (-15 points), giving Shadowheart up to Drow cleric Viconia (-20 points), and telling Gale he can’t see the book about the almost divinely powerful Crown of Karsus artifact (-20 points) make up some of these less consequential bad choices.
Here are other relatively low-tier, low-approval choices:
- Preventing Astarion from turning you into his vampire spawn near the end of his romance quest (-15 points)
- Leaving Karlach behind and beating demon politician Gortash, her nemesis (-20 points)
- Deciding alongside the Emperor Mind Flayer that Jaheira’s old friend Minsc shouldn’t be protected (-20 points in Jaheira’s approval)
Those looking to romance or engage more deeply with the backstories of any character named above should exercise caution about these choices, but there’s no real reason to run scared if you slip up. However, some possibilities are more impossible to move on from. These include:
- Meanly informing Karlach that you’ve “had [your] fun” and want to break up (-30 points)
- Denying Gale a magic item twice, then saying “I’m not giving you anything. Not now, not ever” (-30 points)
- While playing as Astarion, reiterating to Gale that you aren’t a vampire, although he knows you are (-30 points)
- Offering Jaheira or Minsc (or both) to Sarevok as sacrifices (-50 points)
Then, the most terrible thing you can do to a BG3 companion doesn’t involve death, magic, or anything otherworldly. It requires only a layperson’s obnoxiousness: after deciding to have sex with Karlach, immediately tell her it was a mistake (-100 points). You shouldn’t try that with any real life companions, either.
