Baldur’s Gate 3 Escape the Nautiloid Walkthrough

In this Baldur’s Gate 3 Escape the Nautiloid walkthrough, we will guide you through this initial quest of escaping a Mind flayer vessel.

Unlike most of the games, Baldur’s Gate 3 opening quest, Escape the Nautiloid not only sets the stage for massive things to come but also teaches every single basic mechanic of the game in the same go. This quest serves both as a prologue and the setup for the things to come in the game later. Nautiloid is the Mind Flayers’ ship abducting residents of Baldur’s Gate without any discrimination and infecting them with mind-controlling parasites

In this guide, we will take you on a journey that will help you understand the complex mechanics of Baldur’s Gate 3. The first sequence involves almost everything that you will be using later in the game. So, pay very close attention and begin this amazing journey spanning hundreds of hours with us.

How to start Escape the Nautiloid quest in BG3

Baldur’s Gate 3 new game journey begins by introducing you to a cutscene. During this sequence, a Mind Flayer is shown infecting a Githyanki (Lae’zel) and the player with a mind-controlling parasite. This prompts you to create your own character by selecting the proper race and gender. Every race and class have its unique advantages and disadvantages, so we recommend that you just go with your gut feeling on this one. 

This is followed by another cutscene when the Nautiloid is being attacked by dragons and their Githyanki riders. These riders put the whole ship ablaze and make the Nautiloid crash in the process. Once the cutscene is over, Escape the Nautiloid quest begins automatically in BG3.

How to complete Baldur’s Gate 3 Escape the Nautiloid quest

As soon as you regain consciousness and control of your character, proceed North to pass through the door at (X: 25, Y: -423). Use the elevator in the next room to go and then turn back to find a prisoner with an open skull in the chair. Talk to the brain (intellect devourer) and answer with the following options. 

  • “Who am I talking to, a brain or a man?” 
  • “I think you are past the point of saving. Tell me what to do?” 
  • “Gently Prise the brain from the skull”.

This is your first dice roll of Baldur’s Gate 3, and it requires you to roll 10 or above. 

  • “Spare the creature. Any injuries might kill it”. 
  • “What’s at the helm?” 
  • “Alright, let’s go”. 

Recruit Lae’zel

The brain grows legs and starts following you as you slowly progress Escape the Nautiloid quest in BG3. It also introduces itself as “Us”. Players can also use “Us” as a temporary companion. Go down and loot everything in your sight. Follow the burning path that will lead you outside the Nautiloid in BG3. You will come across a gap you can cross using the jump ability from the skills menu. Upon your first encounter with Lae’zel select the following options. 

  • “Transform? What do you mean?” 
  • “We are turning into mind flayers? There must be something we can do”. 
  • “Who are you?” 
  • “Is the helm our way out of here?” 
  • “Onward, then”. 

As you move forward, the party comes across three imps’ enemies. Follow the onscreen prompts to fight the imps and learn how to use terrain, dice rolls and weapons to your advantage. Once you are done with the battle, make your way to the helm of Nautiloid by going up the stairs to the left.

How to save and recruit Shadowheart

Another cutscene triggers as you progress Escape the Nautiloid quest in BG3. Keep going up the stairs until you come across a mucus membrane at (X: -60, Y: -364). Destroy the membrane with any weapon and move forward. Once you reach the room with a lot of bodies in chairs, interact with the pod to the left and select the following options. 

  • “I will go look around. There must be some way to open it”. 

Proceed through the door to the north until you see another victim in the pod. Don’t interact with anything in this room until you obtain a key from the dead body. Now interact with the console and this will trigger a new cutscene. Return to the previous room and use the key to obtain some good items including a rune.

Insert the rune inside the console to free Shadowheart unharmed. Select the following options. 

  • “Place your hand on the console”. 
  • “Will the pod to open”. 

This requires you to roll a dice with 10 DC or above (intelligence check). When talking to Shadowheart, select the following options to successfully recruit her for the time being. 

  • “Dangerous company’s what you need in a fight”. 
  • “Alright then. Let’s get going”. 
  • “Shadowheart? Unusual name”. 
  • “Any suggestions for how to proceed?” 
  • “Let’s keep going”. 

Pass through the door at (X: -4, Y: -384) and interact with the cerebral aquarium to the left. Turn right and keep going until you come across a battle sequence. Defeat the enemies and then follow the mind flayer’s directions to connect the nerves on the transponder. This will make the nautiloid crash near the Goblin Camp and Emerald Grove, marking an end to Escape the Nautiloid quest in BG3.

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Usman is an Associate Editor at Segmentnext who is obsessed with retro gaming. His love for video games begins all the way back in 91 with Final Fight on arcades and is still going strong ...