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There is a secret area in Act 1 ofBaldur’s Gate 3that you might have missed - in the Underdark lies a cave full of strange amphibian-like creatures. The entrance to this cave is surrounded by dangerous fauna and dark crevices.
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The Festering Cove harbors a unique set of choices that could determine the fate of your party moving forward. The extra experience doesn’t hurt, either. You may want to make your last stop here before traversing the path to Moonrise Towers and beginning Act 2.
How To Get To The Festering Cove
The Festering Cove is right next to the mushroom portals from Auntie Ethel’s lair.
There are three different ways to enter The Underdark. Entering through the portal in Auntie Ethel’s lair will lead you to some cliffs in The Underdark. These cliffs harbor yet another mushroom portal that will take you to the lower, ground level of the area.
From the ground-level portal, you will be in a small corner of the map that contains bright orange flora that will explode if you get too close.
This location isdirectly East of the Arcane Tower, seen in the image of the map above.
You shoulduse a ranged weapon to hit the orange plantsfrom afar before venturing forth. The entrance to the Festering Cove will be in the right-hand corner of this area. You will not be able to see a lot without a light source.
There should bemushrooms that you can jump onto. These mushrooms also have exploding vegetation that needs to be taken care of before you jump on them, as they may drop you to your death.
Hover over the dark corners until youfind a Cragged Rockthat you can climb down.
Should You Sacrifice A Companion?
You should not sacrifice your companionbecause then you will be down a hero and a questline for the rest of the game.
Sacrificing a companion means turning against them and killing them.They cannot be revivedafter this because they will have effectively left your party when the fight initiates.
Of course, if you have your playthrough mapped out and there’s a companion that you’reabsolutely sureyou don’t mind losing, go for it!
The reward you get for sacrificing your companioncan be earned through other means.
By sacrificing a companion, your party, the kuo-toa, and BOOOAL will fight against that companion. Once the companion dies, your partyreceives a permanent buff called BOOOAL’s Benediction.
BOOOAL’s Benediction
“The wielder has Advantage on Attack Rolls against Bleeding creatures, as long as there are kuo-toa to worship BOOOAL.”
This buff will only stay active if the kuo-toa are actively worshiping BOOOAL. This means that you cannot aggro or kill any of them.
You can get this same buff by receivingBOOOAL’s sickle. The only difference is that the buff pertains only to the weapons attacks instead of permanently on your character. You can get this sickle by agreeing to murder for BOOOAL.
What Happens If You Fight The Kuo-Toa?
If you initiate combat with the fish-like creatures, both the kuo-toa and BOOOAL will fight against you. You will only gain XP for killing them and the ability to loot around the cave without stealing.
The kuo-toa will have a buff called BOOOAL’s Faithfulwhich will remainactive until BOOOAL dies. Once BOOOAL dies, all kuo-toabecome Frightenedfor one turn.
None of the kuo-toa will drop anything special other thanBOOOAL’s Armsweapons and some clamshells.
BOOOAL will have his special sickle on his body, but it will not come with the blessing because the kuo-toa need to be worshiping him for the blessing to work, not dead.
What Happens If You Convince The Kuo-Toa?
You are able to save the kuo-toa by convincing them that BOOOAL is no God. This requires multiple very specific choices in dialogue, which have to be done at specific moments in the conversation.
You have to pass any two skill checksto waver the facade BOOOAL has on the kuo-toa. If you try to disagree after two skill checks, the kuo-toa will still fight against you. After the two skill checks,you must choose the dialogue “I’ll just kill you and claim it for myself.“in order to save the kuo-toa from enslavement.
Once you do this you can have them worship you or tell them about another God worth revering.
What Is Inside The Festering Cove?
The bodies of the kuo-toa will only contain average weapons and some shells. There are some hidden chests around the cove. None of them contain exceptional items, but you may collect Gold and some useful materials.
The most useful thing out of the Festering Cove is BOOOAL’s buff.Acquiring it only requires having low morals or a party member you don’t mind losing.
