There are plenty of magic items inBaldur’s Gate 3with unique uses. Yet one that confuses players the most is the Iron Flask, a devilish-looking item that you’re advised against opening. Even getting it requires you to go through some hoops and loops, but once obtained,what does it do?
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It summons a level five Beholder, and not a friendly one either. After who knows how long it’s been imprisoned, the thing’s understandably in a bad mood and out for blood. Keep in mind, though, that he isn’t after you specifically, so you could throw it at your enemies. It’s a single-use item, though, so consider your options carefully.
6At Your Camp
If you don’t really want to bother with the Iron Flask, the safest way of getting rid of it in Act One is to give it to Gale. He’ll absorb it, and the creature within it, and you’ll be safe to continue on with your adventures. Not the most exciting of options, but it’s there. Doing that means you miss out on the nearly two hundred experience points the creature yields, though.
If you’re worried you’ll miss out on a good opportunity to use the creature correctly, you can always slay it yourself, and the best place to do so is your camp. Just make sure to be directly controlling your casters and throw it at your melee characters, and with more than a full party, you’ll kill it in seconds.
5At The Adamantine Forge
If you’re still determined to slay the creature, but you want to do it with the least amount of effort possible, the best place to do so isThe Adamantine Forge. The boss fight against Grym is very straightforward, so you don’t really need the extra help from the Beholder. You’re just bringing it here to kill it in one hit.
During the Grym fight, you’ll have to slam it with the forge itself when it’s vulnerable. Once Grym is in position, but before you pull the lever, throw the Iron Flask at Grym. Now, you pull the lever, and both will be slammed. Depending on your difficulty settings, that should kill the Beholder in one hit with little added effort on your part.
4Against The Duergar
When using the Iron Flask for its offensive capabilities, you should consider the level of the Beholder inside. At level five, it can be a fearsome creature, but the more you wait, the more it becomes more of a distraction than a boss fight. Therefore, it’ll make the most amount of impact if used during Act One.
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With plenty of places to use it, any encounter that’s giving you trouble is fair game here. Among the most notable ones, there’s the Duergar blocking your access to the boat deeper into the Underdark. Throw the Flask and let them fight without the Duergar being hostile to you, and then take out the remaining survivors. Or just sneak into the boat while they fight.
3At The Fight At Moonrise Towers
While how Act Two develops depends on your choices, most players will end up having to raid the Moonrise Towers and all that dwells within it. This can be a complicated fight, filled with casters making very good use of choke points. While the Beholder is less of a threat at this stage, it can still split their attention.
Before engaging on the full forces of The Absolute, sneak to the side of the castle, through the kitchens. Now throw the Iron Flask at the middle of The Absolute’s forces, and with the ensuing chaos, you can start taking out priority targets, like Z’rell or the backline mages. There are so many targets for the Beholder that it’s highly unlikely that it’ll target you or any of the Harpers.
2On Bosses Like Ketheric Thorm
Between Act Two and Act Three, the uses the Beholder can really give are limited. He’s still not a weakling, but he’s less likely to actually kill anyone. So, if his best use is as a distraction, choose fights that have multiple goals.The final fight against Ketheric Thormis a great example, particularly if you need to deal with his immortality before dealing damage.
The fights against the other Chosen of the Dead Three work as well. Against Orin, you can let her duke it out with the Beholder while you clear out her worshipers. And against Gortash, the Beholder is a great way to buy time as you disarm and destroy his many traps; Gortash’s arena is great for this since you can throw the Beholder behind him, and it will never target your party.
1At The Goblin Camp
While the Beholder can be used at any point in the game, as discussed earlier, it’s Act One when it’ll have the most impact. And it just so happens that there’s an entire army of goblins you need to deal with if you side with the tieflings, that is. There are many ways to go about this, but to defeat the goblins, you just need to defeat their three leaders; one of them is hard to get to without a major bloodbath.
Minthara and Priestess Gut can be easily isolated, so no big fights are required here. The problem comes with Dror Ragzlin, a Hobgoblin Barbarian that can make short work of low-level characters. What’s more, he can’t be isolated, and he’s surrounded by allies. Just climb to the area above him and throw the Iron Flask; the Beholder will make short work of nearly everyone, and you’ll be at a prime location to take out any stragglers.
