In Baldur’s Gate 3, you can consume mind flayer parasites to gain Illithid powers. A displacer beast is a legendary Coeurl with six legs and multiple tentacle-shaped tails that can turn the tide of battle in your favor. As you progress through the story, you will find more and more illithid tadpoles that you can consume to unlock special powers at the cost of losing a part of yourself.
The one Illithid ability we are interested in today is the Displacer Beast Shape in Baldur’s Gate 3. This ability is offered in the outer ring of Illithid powers (third ring), and you can only complete it after finishing a multitude of prerequisites. However, contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to be a Druid class to change into Displacer Beast in the game.
How to Become the Displacer Beast in BG3
To become the Displacer Beast in Baldur’s Gate 3, you must advance in the storyline that results in the Emperor giving you the Astral-touched Tadpole during Act 2 of the game.
At the end of Act 2 of BG3, you must assist the Emperor in a battle, concluding with the Emperor offering you the Astral-touched tadpole. The emperor will persuade you to consume it as it will grant you special abilities available in the outermost ring of the Illithid powers tree. You can even do the relevant checks to ensure if the Emperor is right or wrong.
Upon eating or opening your mind to Astral-Touched tadpole, you can unlock the Displacer Beast Shape ability in Baldur’s Gate 3. You will become Half-Illithid if you pursue this option with quite a bit of curious change to your physical appearance.
Your eyes will fade into the darkness, and black veins will materialize on your face. After completing this, go to the Illithid Skill menu to choose what skill you want to acquire. Navigate to the outer ring of the Illithid Skills tree, and you will find the Displacer Beast Shape option in Baldur’s Gate 3.
However, there is a catch to it. To reach the outermost or the third ring of the Illithid skills tree, you first need to purchase two more specific Illithid skills. Psionic Overload from the first ring and the Stage Fright from the second ring. So, you need at least two more mind flayer parasites and must consume them before you can unlock the Displacer Beast shape Illithid skill in Baldur’s Gate 3.
You will remain in Displacer Beast’s form until you quit it manually, die, or take a long rest. You can also shapeshift into legendary coeurl once per long rest.
Can you change your party members into a Displacer Beast?
Irrespective of their class, you can change any party members into a displacer beast in Baldur’s Gate 3. To achieve this, refuse the emperor when he asks you to consume the Astral-Touched tadpole. Don’t consume the tadpole, and keep it in your inventory.
You can then move the parasite to your part member’s inventory and make them consume it. They will be disgusted by this act. However, you can pass persuasion checks to convince them. Once they are turned into a Displacer Beast, you can use them in battle and pet them as much as you like at the camp.
Displacer Beast Abilities
Changing into a Displacer Beast in Baldur’s Gate 3 has its own perks. You get to keep the beast’s HP (85) and physical traits (strength, dexterity) while keeping a hold on your own Charisma, Intelligence, and Charm stats. You also gain access to Displacer Beast’s unique attack skills, which include:
- Tentacle Whip: This massive tail swipe deals 2d6+4 bludgeoning damage in addition to 2d6 piercing damage. This makes the total range of damage from a single hit to 8-28.
- Illusory Copy: Creates a fake to distract enemies while you attack them. However, you can use this skill every three turns.
- Displace: This offensive skill allows you to deal 2d8 damage (2-16) to enemies while transporting yourself and the enemy to a new location. Displace skill leaves behind an illusory copy to distract enemies. You can use this ability once every three turns.
