Halsin is the first Druid and leader of Emerald Grove and stands out as one of the important NPCs you can recruit in your party during Act 2 of Baldur’s Gate 3. Even if you are unwilling to have him with your party, Halsin still plays a crucial role in building the story narrative.
Recruiting this bear-formed druid can drastically improve your party’s healing and defenses. However, finding and recruiting Halsin is not as easy as it sounds. In this guide, we will be thoroughly looking at all the steps you need to follow precisely if you wish to recruit Halsin.
Where to find Halsin
As soon as you leave the Nautiloid crash site and arrive at the Emerald Grove, you will learn about Halsin but can’t find him anywhere. He left to investigate the looming Goblin threat to the West. Finding and rescuing Halsin is among the very first quests you will come across in your playthrough.
To find Halsin, we will be making our way to the Goblin Camp through the treacherous Blighted Village. As our guide deals with both finding and recruiting Halsin, we will be dividing it into Acts with Act 1 covering his release from Shattered Sanctum, while Act 2 covers his companion quest leading to him becoming a member of our party.
How to Get Halsin to Join Your Party in Act 1
While you are busy trying to solve the conflicts between Druids and Tieflings, the Druids demand you rescue their leader, Halsin, to show loyalty to their side. He is also instrumental in solving the conflict between the two sides. To do so, you need to get inside Goblin Camp and rescue Halsin from their captivity. From there, the quest to recruit Halsin begins.
Halsin location inside Goblin Camp
Halsin is kept as a prisoner inside the Shattered Sanctum area of the Goblin Camp. It is the central area of affairs and where you will come across three Goblin Leaders. After reaching there, continue walking to the Worg Pens. You will see some angry goblins irritating and a large bear being held captive in a cage. The bear in question is Druid Halsin. You can talk to him using the “Speak with the Animals” spell.
Rescuing Halsin from the Captivity
Start talking with the goblins to stop their brutal pestering which leads to a brief fight. Meanwhile, the bear Halsin will break free from his cage and join you in teaching a lesson to the goblins. Having eliminated the goblins, you Halsin will turn back to his human form. Don’t tell Halsin to accompany you as this will turn the whole camp hostile. You will end up losing Minthara in this way. Either ask Halsin to stay there or sneak back to Emerald Grove.
Kill the goblin leaders
As you have been kind to him and even helped him get out of the cage, Halsin regards you as a friend now. However, it would help if you eliminated the goblin leaders to prove your true positive intentions toward him.
As the only way to save Emerald Grove is by destroying Goblins, Halsin asks you to kill the three goblin leaders, Minthara, Dror Ragzlin, and True Soul Gut. Carry out his request to continue your journey forward. We recommend that you don’t kill Minthara at this point and knock her out with a non-lethal strike. This will allow you to recruit both Halsin and Minthara in the same playthrough.
Talk to Halsin at the Emerald Grove
After eliminating all the goblin leaders, return to Emerald Grove. Halsin will already be there, eagerly waiting to hear the good news. The Tieflings and Druids will celebrate their victory over their ultimate enemy. Talk to him at the camp and Halsin will agree to accompany you in your next endeavors if you are willing. The remaining recruitment story takes place in Act 2.
How to Get Halsin to Join Your Party in Act 2
Once you are in Act 2, continue the main storyline until you reach the Shadow Cursed Lands. This area is accessible through both the Underdark and the Mountain Pass routes.
Upon reaching the Shadow Cursed Lands, keep going forward until you reach the haven known as the Last Light Inn. It is situated in the northeastern portion of the Underdark map. This is where you will Halsin’s companion quest and officially recruit him.
Find Art Cullagh and wake him up
Many people have taken refuge at the Last Light Inn to save themselves from the Shadow Curse. One of these is Art Cullagh, who’s barely alive from the curse’s effects and is in a coma. Try to wake him up and Art Cullagh will utter Thaniel from his mouth in a meek voice. As Halsin has mentioned the name Thaniel before, it is the right time to bring him here.
Bring Halsin to the Last Light Inn
After finishing the talk with Art, make your way back to the camp and inform Halsin about the things back there. The druid decides to visit Cullagh and immediately approaches the Last Light Inn.
Through Halsin’s powers, you will learn that you need to play some music in front of Art Cullagh. You will need to find the Battered Lute, which is in the possession of Malus Thorm. Only this item can save Art Cullagh from his damned fate and solve the mystery of Thaniel.
Visit House of Healing to get Battered Lute
Head to Reithwen Town, south of the Last Light Inn to reach the House of Healing being led by a mad doctor, Malus Thorm. You will see him at the back of the House of Healing after crossing the initial large room. He will be operating on a patient alongside two nurses.
Approach the boss and start talking with him according to the dialogue prompts. At this point, you will get two options. Either to fight Malus Thorm and his nurses or convince the nurses to kill Malus Thorm and then themselves.
This battle is a bit difficult due to the healing capabilities of the nurses. We recommend that you pass the ability checks and take the latter option. Once killed, loot Malus Thorm’s body to obtain the Battered Flute.
Return to Last Light Inn with the Battered Flute
After looting the battered Flute from the House of Healing, return to the Inn. Stand beside Art Cullagh’s bed and start playing Lute to wake him up. After waking from his bed, Art will tell Halsin that he should find the Shadow Curse soul, Thaniel to lift the Shadow Curse.
Follow Halsin to the Lakeshore as he peers into another dimension (Shadowfell region) to save the kid, Thaniel. While talking to Halsin, he will ask you to guard the portal as he goes in to protect the kid. This is a difficult fight as the Shadows will relentlessly attack the portal, which has a meager HP. Use AoE attacks to clear the area of enemies as fast as possible.
Defend the portal
Your sole task now is to defend the portal from the undead enemies as they try to interrupt Halsin’s rescue plan. The 150 health of the portal will be enough to survive until things are done, provided you let a minimum number of Shadows hit it with their blows.
Using Gale’s Fireball spell can help a great deal in clearing hordes of less powerful enemies. Beware of Wraiths, as they can pose a greater threat than their allies.
Once you have defended the portal, Halsin will finally come out of the portal with Thaniel in his arms. The druid will then suggest you visit him back at the camp. Talk to Halsin at the camp and this will finally allow you to recruit Halsin as a companion in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Can you recruit both Halsin and Minthara?
As of patch 5, it is officially possible to recruit Halsin and Minthara in the same playthrough. However, Halsin won’t ever accept his quest completed unless you kill all the Goblin leaders in Act 1. To solve this conundrum, follow the steps below precisely.
- Find and rescue Halsin without setting off the alarm. Make sure everyone in the goblin camp is friendly around you (or do it with stealth).
- Tell Halsin to stay put and stop him from following you as this will make Minthara hostile.
- Don’t kill any goblin leader yet. Go to Minthara and make her angry (steal anything and then attack her). Do this before you start talking to her.
- Hit Minthara with a non-lethal strike when her HP nears the end. Loot everything from her body.
- Now kill True Soul Gut inside her chamber followed by killing Dror Ragzlin (this is of utmost importance as killing Dror earlier will turn Minthara hostile).
- Now return to Emerald Grove campsite and talk to Halsin. The game will register Minthara as gone as Halsin will acknowledge that the main quest has been completed.
- During Act 2, make your way to Moonrise Towers and save Minthara from her torturers. Once saved, she will return to camp, and you can recruit her.
- Now complete Halsin’s companion quest and after saving Thaniel, talk to him at the camp to recruit him.
- This way you can recruit both Minthara and Halsin in the same playthrough in Baldur’s Gate 3. Emerald Grove will remain intact and the conflict between Druids and Tieflings will be solved.
