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Lord Enver Gortash is a character players are introduced to relatively early inBaldur’s Gate 3as a young, handsome man with a quick smile. By the time players reach Act 3 ofBG3, Gortash isrevealed to be quite the villain, and one that players must stop in order to gather all three Netherstones to eventually subdue the Netherbrain.
As part of the final act, and Karlach’s personal questline, playersmust eventually defeat Gortash. Though he might not seem as powerful as the other two Chosen, Gortash’s fight is no less complex, with a lot to pay attention to aside from Gortash himself.
Focus On The Extra Enemies First While Avoiding Traps
After getting past his loyal Flaming Fist followers on the lower floors, and after getting through the rest of Wyrm’s Rock Fortress, players yet another group to take down: Gortash aided by a number of his Lieutenants.As with many boss fights inBaldur’s Gate 3, Gortash is much easier to take down if players and their party take him on alone.
Black Gauntlet Ulova, and Iron Consols Lo and Jaxbock, can cast Aura of Terror and Bane’s Command on each other, granting them theability to cause the Frightened statusand deal extra damage. Consider casting Silence on Gortash’s minions to prevent these spells from ever being used, and send in a melee character to keep them distracted from leaving the sphere. Generally, AoE and CC spells are the best ways to deal with these extra enemies from the back line.
But adds aren’t the only thing players need to watch out for in the Gortash fight. Incinerator and Grenade traps will burn or launch a Concussion Grenade at players throughout the fight, and in phase two, Gortash will summon a Hand of Shadow that crushes characters in its area of effect after a turn. Stay away from the walls while focusing on weaker enemies in phase one, then keep party members out of the area of effect for Gortash’s Hand of Shadow in the second phase.
Don’t Avoid Grenades, Throw Them Back
One of the things players must look out for when fighting Gortash is his Concussion Grenades. Periodically,extremely deadly Concussion Grenadeswill be tossed at players' feet, usually after moving. This might seem like a death sentence, especially considering the sheer damage these things are capable of, but it’s actually a blessing in disguise.
InBaldur’s Gate 3, players can pick up, or Throw, almost any interactable object in the world – including grenades that are about to explode. If a grenade is tossed at a character’s location, they can use a Free Action to pick it up and put it in their inventory. If the Throw action is available, they can throw it at Gortash or his minions for some incredible “free” damage.
But, if the Throw action isn’t available, it shouldn’t explode in the backpack and can be saved for another turn. Just be sure tokeep party members closetogether on one side of Gortash and his minions, so grenades can be lobbed to damage the most amount of enemies without hurting allies in the blast.
Pay Attention To Gortash’s Buffs – Especially Reflectoguard
Throughout the fight, Gortashgains a number of different buffs, even before his transformation via Bane’s blessing in Phase Two. One of the most important of these buffs to pay attention to is Reflectoguard, which sends projectiles back to their original source. This counts for arrows, grenades, some spells, and Thrown weapons, so be sure to check if he has this buff up before attempting a direct ranged attack of any kind.
Another buff to watch out for is Shell of Resistance, which grants Gortash complete immunity to Thunder damage and general Resistance to Elemental damage. When Gortash has Shell of Resistance, the incredibly powerful Concussion grenades will be rendered practically useless, so be sure to pick them up and wait until another turn to blow Gortash’s face off.
Save Powerful Spells For Phase Two, & Avoid Manifestations
Gortash has two phases, and his second phase follows the same theme as the other two Chosen’s second phases. After reaching about half of his HP total, Lord Enver Gortash will cast the ability “Invoke the Black Hand” and turn into the Avatar of Tyranny, the Chosen of Bane. This heals him significantly via temporary HP points,grants him new abilities, and summons Manifestations around the room that further empower Gortash in Phase Two.
Before trying to deal with Gortash one-on-one, so to speak, players should once again prioritize taking out his minions, this time in the form of Manifestations of Tyranny around the room. When Gortash is close to one of these, he increases his strength – unless the party can confidently and quickly end the second phase of Gortash’s fight in a turn or two, focus down one or two of these manifestations and kite the Archduke away from the area of effect of the others.
Gortash’s regular HP total is not too much higher than other endgame bosses, but the second phase gives him a resurgence of power, and it’s imperative to deal with him quickly lest players suffer a total party wipe. Save Level 6 spell slots, Level 6 scrolls, and some Concussion Grenades to morequickly beat Gortash in his second phase.
Break Gortash’s Concentration To Prevent Chains of Tyranny Damage
In Phase Two, Gortash gains an incredibly powerful spell: Tyrant’s Bindings. In a practically inescapable area aroundthe Avatar of Tyranny, Gortash will cast Tyrant’s Bindings and chain party members that don’t succeed a Saving Throw to him. When the Chains break on Gortash’s next turn, affected characters will take 8d8 Force damage – unless Gortash’s concentration is broken.
The spell is indeed a Concentration-based one, so as long as at least one character has a Bow and anArrow of Arcane Interference, the negative effects of the Chains of Tyranny will never be triggered. The Arrow of Arcane Interference isn’t the only way to break Concentration inBG3, though.
Players can also simply attack Gortash directly to have a chance at breaking the spell, as he will have to roll to maintain Concentration with every successful hit. If struck by Tyrant’s Bindings, priority number one should become finding a way to break Gortash’s concentration.
Baldur’s Gate 3is available for PC and PlayStation 5. A version for Xbox Series X|S is currently in development.
