All my friends strategically jump off a cliff for a Baldur’s Gate romance, and you can too

My friends found it so hard to date Karlach Cliffgate Baldur’s Gate 3 that we’ve developed a resolution technique where our characters jump off a sheer cliff and take near-lethal damage in order to meet her faster.

Is this extremely stupid? Yes. Are we probably being too cautious? Yes. But you don’t know what I’ve been through. The hours I spent replaying the first parts of BG3, trying to get this absolutely charming tiefling Barbarian to like me, with no success. You don’t know how I suffered.

You see, unlike some of your other companions Baldur’s Gate 3If you fail to get Karlach to like your player character halfway through Act 1, you won’t get another chance to activate her romantic subplot. And, uniquely among your companions, she’s also hidden in a remote corner of the map that’s occluded by some really tough fighting. I’m not the only person I know who reached the point of no return much earlier and less successfully than expected, and despite spending weeks immediately replaying the entire opening arc of the game, I came away with nothing to show for it. to show.

I wish better for you, reader. And so I’m sharing the extremely stupid trick my friends developed for a romantic playthrough of Karlach: the Karlach Cliffstrat.

(Ed. remark: This piece contains mild spoilers for the first act of Baldur’s Gate 3.)

Is this really necessary?

Before you jump to the comments (perhaps taking fall damage) to tell me this isn’t necessary, you’re probably right! Larian Studios has made many adjustments to the game since this summer, when me and my friends were nostalgic for Karlach’s gritty indifference and settled for our second-choice romance. Those adjustments probably improved things in invisible ways.

But as I embark on my next Karlach-focused playthrough, I’m not taking any chances. I will not slash, blast and charisma: control my way through the hours and hours of the beginning of Baldur’s Gate 3 only to be faced with the choice of replaying it immediately. I can’t do that again.

“It’s difficult to summarize the hardships that come with seeing a loved one left out of a video game romance,” Becky Chambers, the award-winning author and inventor of the Karlach Cliffstrat, told me via direct message. She developed the Cliffstrat after seeing how difficult it was for her wife to activate Karlach’s romance.

“Every time I walk into camp, I’m sitting on my computer hugging Shadowheart,” Chambers said, “and she’s sitting on her computer saying, ‘It’s okay, she just doesn’t like me, I understand that.’ She played the whole thing BG3 without getting a single kiss. Unacceptable, even in this economy. It became my mission to remedy this situation, and achieving victory in this regard may well be the highlight of my winter. I think Christmas was nice too.”

In short, this strategy is for those who are truly determined.

So let’s get started

Simply put, the Karlach Cliffstrat benefits from a quirk Baldur’s Gate 3‘s map, which allows you to jump from a high cliff at the back of the Druid Grove straight to the valley stream where Karlach is stationed. This avoids a long walk with several encounters and at least one very tough fight. Just getting to the Grove is a breeze in comparison; the hardest part is surviving the landing.

This makes the Cliffstrat a little easier for player characters who start with a higher hit point total because, I can’t emphasize enough, the easiest way to reach Karlach as quickly as possible involves taking a significant amount of fall damage. But if you want to play a rolling paper caster class, the Karlach Cliffstrat will still work – you just need to take some safety precautions.

Step 1a: Start the game and gather a group

Image: Larian Studios via Polygon

You can continue and play the beginning of the game as you wish until you find yourself alone on a beach with a wrecked ship. From this point on, you will quickly encounter the majority of your companions, and you need to start finding them quickly. The priority right now is to gain access to the Druid Grove, and a full party of four will make that easier.

Step 1b: Find Gale

If you’re playing a character with less than, ohhhh, 30 hit points, go to about 222,323 in the map coordinates and pick up Gale. You can easily reach level 2 before taking the leap of faith, and as a wizard he can learn Feather Fall at level 2. This spell ensures that you don’t take any fall damage while falling. laugh at yourself use of the Karlach Cliffstrat. Don’t forget to choose Feather Fall when you level him up, then open his spellbook to make sure he memorizes Feather Fall on his next long rest, and then take a long rest.

There are of course other ways around this damage – potions, class abilities, your own spells, possibly – but Gale’s Feather Fall is universal, replicable, and fast. You could possibly choose a character with a higher hit point in your party, such as Lae’zel, to make the jump. But do you really want Lae’zel, and not you, to get that crucial moment when you recruit Karlach? You’re not going to let Lae’zel hug Karlach, are you? Unless you’re playing as Lae’zel. But I digress.

Step 2: Enter the Druid Grove

Image: Susana Polo/Polygoon | Image source: Larian Studios via Polygon

Once you have a full party, you can march straight to the Druid Grove, located at approximately 207423. After a series of events you will hopefully be allowed inside.

Ignore all those sappy NPC interactions for now and head straight north, then turn left at the vendor and just before you come across a makeshift bar/forge you’ll see a large door covered in runes.

That’s the door to Karlach.

Step 3: Go to the cliff

Image: Larian Studios via Polygon

Go through the door and you will find yourself in the ‘Remote Room’. Again, you can ignore all the NPCs here and go straight to the ladder in the back, which will take you outside again. Walk northwest to the back of that small area and climb the rock wall to a cliff.

THE CLIFF. THE CLIFF OF KARLACH CLIFFSTRAT.

Step 4: Screw your courage where it’s stuck

From here, depending on your trek distance settings, you may even be able to see Karlach. Even if not, rest assured that the massacre on the other side of the fallen log will be where she will be stationed. Your landing zone is just north of the tree trunk, and if you select the jump skill, the game helpfully displays exactly how much damage you’ll take when you hit the ground – a range of about 25 to 35 damage, depending on your starting point and jump distance.

At this point you might be feeling pretty stupid about this whole thing. Chambers admits that’s how she felt the moment she noticed she could see Karlach from this strange part of the map at the back of the Grove.

“I initially dismissed the idea as absurd. I stood there, on the edge of the cliff, and I thought, ‘No, this is ridiculous, there has to be a better way.’ But that kind of narrow thinking is exactly the kind of reflex that hinders any kind of personal or social progress. We didn’t put a man on the moon with that attitude. And so, in a moment of pure quixotic joy, I challenged myself to do the impossible. I literally took a leap of faith.”

Reader, take your own leap. Cast Feather Fall or take any other precautionary method you have prepared, save quickly and do the impossible.

Step 5: God save my little broken body

Image: Larian Studios via Polygon

You did it! Pop your Second Wind or a few healing potions as needed. From here you should be able to walk about 10 steps across the wooden bridge and get Karlach’s introductory talk going. Then you can simply quickly travel out of the valley, go to camp, place her in your party, and start courting her in earnest.

Image: Larian Studios via Polygon

Using the Cliffstrat, Chambers and her wife were able to successfully activate Karlach’s romantic subplot in their joint multiplayer playthrough.

“Marriage is about overcoming obstacles together,” Chambers said, “and I’m proud of us for getting through this. But in retrospect, I could have used Feather Fall.”

Ah, the things we do for love, virtual or otherwise.