How to defeat Commander Zhalk in Baldur’s Gate 3
Larian StudiosThe very first boss encounter in Baldur’s Gate 3 takes place in the opening level. Although completely optional, defeating Commander Zhalk can net you an important reward for those earlier levels. So, here’s how you overcome the game’s first major challenge.
Baldur’s Gate 3 offers you unparalleled freedom as you get to choose from multiple routes for every significant decision. In the very first level, while onboard the Nautiloid, you come across a fight between a Mind Flayer and a powerful Cambion named Commander Zhalk.
While the game advises you not to focus on him and run to the ship’s transponder instead, you can still decide to fight it out. Doing so gives you a powerful weapon for your Fighters called the Everburn Blade. However, it should be noted that this fight is quite difficult, especially when two other Cambions arrive to attack you.
Here are all the details you need to defeat Commander Zhalk in Baldur’s Gate 3.
How to beat Commander Zhalk in Baldur’s Gate 3
Defeating Commander Zhalk in Baldur’s Gate 3 is no easy feat, even in the easiest difficulty setting. He has a ridiculously large health pool of 150 that takes quite a while to whittle down. Add to this his equally high defense which ensures that any damage you make is merely a scratch. As such, you can’t just rely on yourself to win the fight.
Larian StudiosTake all the help that you can get, including all your companions as well as the temporarily friendly Mind Flayer. Here are the steps you should take to ensure that this encounter goes smoothly.
Free the Intellect Devourer Us
The first companion you come across in Baldur’s Gate 3 is an Intellect Devourer simply named Us, a servant of the Mind Flayers that abducted you. It is a living brain stuck in the head of a dead High Elf called Myrnath, and you can choose what you want to do with it. You can help remove the brain, just like it asks you to, destroy it, or even mutilate it in order to weaken it.
However, if you’re looking to fight Commander Zhalk in Baldur’s Gate 3, you’d carefully remove it and let it follow you along. This is because the creature can help fend off the Imps and Hellsboars while you take out Zhalk.
Free Shadowheart
Shadowheart is another companion you come across onboard the Nautiloid, a Half-Elf Cleric of Shar. She is trapped inside a pod just like yours and requests you to let her out. Lae’zel, your Gith companion, however, is against the idea. Naturally, the smartest choice here is to help her out, unless you’re doing an evil playthrough or if you don’t want to fight Zhalk.
Larian StudiosYou need to bring an Eldritch Rune from the eastern room and insert it into the console next to Shadowheart’s pod. The rune can be found on a dead Thrall. Shadowheart is an excellent support character in Baldur’s Gate 3 thanks to her Cleric spells. It’s better to use her spells to buff or heal the others than to engage in combat with her.
Use Lae’zel and the Mind Flayer
Finally, you’ll also need the help of Lae’zel as well as the Mind Flayer to defeat Commander Zhalk. The former can help bring down his health by attacking repeatedly. Meanwhile, the latter will do the most damage and occasionally stun the cambion commander.
The most important thing here is to ensure that the Mind Flayer does not fall in battle. You can use Shadowheart’s healing and defensive spells to keep him alive. This ensures that Commander Zhalk focuses on him instead of you.
Keep in mind that Zhalk is resistant to physical damage from normal weapons, as well as cold, fire, lightning, and poison.
Larian StudiosHow to get Everburn Blade in Baldur’s Gate 3
To get the Everburn Blade in Baldur’s Gate 3, you need to loot Commander Zhalk’s corpse as soon as he’s defeated. It is a unique flaming greatsword that has the Ever-Burning equipment effect and is great against all types of enemies in the earlier levels. Everburn Blade is considered an Uncommon Martial Two-Handed Melee Weapon in Baldur’s Gate 3.
At this point, the Mind Flayer will turn hostile. So, the best course of action here is to avoid him and head for the transponder. However, if his health is low, you can finish him off for even more XP. Remember to save often during the fight, and don’t hesitate to save scum if you really want the reward and not the challenge. You could also turn down the difficulty if needed.
So, that wraps up everything you need to know to defeat Commander Zhalk in Baldur’s Gate 3. If you wish to know more about the game, check out our guides below:
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