Shadowheart is one of the first companions in Baldur’s Gate 3 and is voiced over by a video game veteran, Jennifer English. She is secretive and doesn’t like it when someone tries to poke their nose in her business. According to her stats, she can also be an integral part of the team if you choose the right gear.
There are many ways you can make Shadowheart a powerful ally. This is why we have made this guide to help you. You will find information like how to recruit Shadowheart, win her over, romance her, what gear suits her playstyle, and how to find and complete her companion quest in the game.
How to Recruit Shadowheart in Baldur’s Gate 3
Shadowheart is one of the earliest recruitable companions in BG3. You can temporarily recruit Shadowheart during the Prologue while still in the Nautiloid. As you are making your way out of the falling alien ship, you will find her in an alien pod.
She will cry for help and tell you to find a key and use the device near the pod to unlock the pod. The device will have a hole in the shape of a rune. You can free her by finding the key in the next room and unlocking the pod. She will ask to join you. You can agree to her request and continue your quest.
After the ship crashes, you can find her unconscious near the Abandoned Ruins on the beach. If you haven’t unlocked the pod and left her in it, you can later find her where the ship crashes. She will be found further along the beach behind a locked door.
Finally, if you don’t wake her up on the beach, you can find her at Druid Grove, and after talking to her, she will agree to join your party. However, if you have Lae’zel on your team, the conversation will be a bit more complicated.
How to raise Shadowheart’s Approval Rating
Shadowheart, being the follower of Shar, is not as evil as she tries to behave. She likes to spread love and avoid violence, especially against innocent animals. Petting dogs and helping children, and helping the elderly are the ways you can increase Shadowheart’s approval rating in BG3.
During the dialogue, using persuasion and intimidation rather than resorting to fights is preferred by her. Finally, she has a hatred for the Githyanki people and despises Lae’zel. During the dialogue, siding with Shadowheart and not with Lae’zel will further increase your approval rating.
As you progress through the story, she will disclose that she likes Night Orchids and swimming. She will also tell you about her past as a Shar worshipper. Don’t pry about her past; only what she shares with you.
How to Romance Shadowheart in BG3
Shadowheart is a secretive character and wants to resolve things peacefully. Before you consider romancing Shadowheart in Baldur’s Gate 3, you must increase her approval rating to green.
There are many instances throughout the game where you can flirt with Shadowheart and kiss her. This starts in Act 1. You must save Halsin and the Tiefling refugees from the goblins. This will let you earn a massive Shadowheart approval rating.
At the campsite, you can talk to her during the celebration and offer her a bottle. There will be no kissing in this scene like before because this has been changed, but her approval does go up.
In Act 2, you can try to win Shadowheart over by talking to her whenever she has an exclamation mark on her head. She will open up to you and tell you about her background. In this act, you must go to the Gauntlet of Shar. In the inner Sanctum, you will have a choice to either kill the Nightsong or spare it.
If you kill Nightsong, Shadowheart will devote herself to Shar, and her interactions with you will turn extremely cold. Once you reach the House of Grief and Shadowheat kills her parents, she will distant herself from you.
However, if you spare Nightsong, Shadowheart will shun Shar and become a follower of Selune. She will dye her hair white and will become much warmer towards you. Once you reach the House of Grief and find Shadowheart’s parents, she will get two options. Either kill them or become free of Shar’s curse, or save them and be cursed forever.
No matter which path you choose for Shadowheart, you can spend the rest of your days with her after the end of Act 3 if you go for the good ending.
Shadowheart’s Companion Quest
Shadowheart’s companion quest starts as soon as you recruit her. The companion quest is called the Daughter of Darkness, and it mostly revolves around the Artifact she is carrying. Nothing will progress through this quest until you reach the Blighted Village. There will be a statue in the village that will alter Shadowheart’s magic.
After conversing with Shadowheart, you will realize that she is a worshiper of Shar in BG3. You will now have the choice to either keep her at your party or let her continue her journey alone. If you let her go, this quest will end here.
If you go with her, you will find out more about Shar and her relationship with her. Near the end of this quest, during Act 3, you will find out about Shadowheart’s parents, and she can choose to either keep her parents, which will also trap her with Shar’s curse, or let them go and free herself from the curse.
All Shadowheart Endings in BG3
Shadowheart’s endings in BG3 depend on several things. Whether you are playing with Shadowheart as an origin character or going for a good ending, or not. A lot of things change if you are romancing Shadowheart.
We have listed all the possible endings that you can achieve for Shadowheart in Baldur’s Gate 3.
- Shadowheart becomes the ruler of all lands as the absolute (playing as the origin character)
- Shadowheart kills all the followers of Shar and Selune and becomes a goddess (evil ending while playing as the origin character)
- If you romance Shadowheart and let her kill Nightsong, she will leave you and become the high priestess of Shar.
- If you become the absolute, Shadowheart will either die or become your slave.
- If Shadowheart spares Nightsong and her parents, you get to live with her at her parents’ farm after completing Act 3.
- However, if Shadowheart spares Nightsong but kills her parents, you can still live with her, but she will be sad for the rest of her life.
Shadowheart Attributes and Proficiencies in Baldur’s Gate 3
Shadowheart belongs to the High Half-Elf race, and she is also an origin character. You can select her with her locked attributes at the beginning and play the rest of the game as her main character. Shadowheart is a light magic specialist due to her Cleric class and background of Acolyte. Below is her ability points distribution as default by the game.
- Str 12
- Dex 14
- Con 14
- Int 10
- Wis 16
- Cha 10
Shadowheart has proficiency in the following skills due to her cleric class.
- Insight
- History
- Religion
Her weapon and gear proficiencies are as follows.
- Glaives
- Armour (Light/Medium)
- Shields
- Weapons (Simple/Morningstar)
You can mix and match Shadowheart’s abilities to create a character that you want to play. However, you can’t change her race, background, and class, including her appearance.
Best build for Shadowheart in Baldur’s Gate 3
Shadowheart is a High Half-Elf and belongs to the Cleric class. She is the main healer of the group and can be valuable to the party. When you start with her, she has high Wisdom, Dexterity, and Constitution.
For the best Shadowheart build, ensure you have the Tempest Domain subclass. This is the best subclass of Cleric because it balances out all the damage and healing powers of the character.
