The battle with Viconia in BG3 is a tough one because you will have to take care of her companions as well. However, there are weaknesses in the ranks of the Sharran coven that you can exploit to seize victory. The coven has a mix of dark clerics and paladins who are annoying for different reasons.
The clerics primarily deal necrotic damage and apply crowd control spells but are pretty frail. The paladins, on the other hand, are quite tanky and lethal on account of dealing smite damage. Fighting them in dim areas lets them assume their nocturne form, bolstering their damage resistance further.
High-damage attacks and making sure they fail saving throws is your best bet in getting rid of them. Potions that boost your resistance to Necrotic and Smite damage will come in quite handy. Other than that, the opposition will also try to surround you to apply AoE spells.
The main one to watch out for is Darkness, a field that dims your vision and applies necrotic damage. Using the elixir of Guileful Movement can be quite a boon, granting unimpeded terrain traversal to reposition however you want.
Your party composition will also be vital in deciding the difficulty of this encounter. Your character and Shadowheart will be staples in the Baldur’s Gate 3 party. As for the other slots, it would be best to have a mage like Wyll for some powerful AoE spells. Also, ensure your casters have the War Caster feat to avoid breaking concentration in a battle of this scale.
Defeating the Sharran Coven
You can divide the battle into three objectives in order: Kill the Casters, Kill the Paladins, and Defeat Viconia in BG3. Defeating the Casters as soon as you can is critical. Not only to prevent them from stacking Darkness casts but to avoid their cantrip, Bone Chill.
This Cantrip prevents you from healing for an entire turn. With how outnumbered you are starting, a debuff like this will only further reduce your chances of victory. To mitigate the effects of darkness, you can apply the Daylight spell devoid of concentration requirements to dispel the darkness.
Try getting Shadowheart and another caster to equip a Hold Person spell to paralyze the casters. Repeat for as many as you can, and while paralyzed, have a spare party member go in for the kill.
The Paladins may not be as dangerous, but their resilience and impressive smite damage make them a viable threat. There’s no specific cheese tactic beyond chucking your most potent spells and attacks and making sure they fail the saving throws. Avoid fighting them under the effects of Darkness in their nocturne form and they should go down steadily.
Another option would be to reposition yourself above the stairs to force the enemies into a chokehold. With the high ground advantage to attack rolls and the enemies grouped up, you can go all in on offense.
Having the Root spell would be ideal to keep enemies restrained. With that applied, let your casters bombard them with powerful level 5 or 6 group spells. This tactic, if successfully applied, basically solves the caster and paladin issue in one fell swoop.
Defeating Viconia DeVir
Viconia herself in BG3 isn’t the toughest nut to crack, provided you don’t fall into certain pitfalls. For starters, Viconia will begin the battle in wolf form, along with some Justicars. In this form, her attacks are limited, so it’s best to leave her as is and focus on the spellcasters. After dealing with them, attack Viconia until she reverts to her original form.
You should discard any sources of Radiant damage since her passive, Radiant Retort, returns double the damage to you. Focus all your most potent spells and abilities to end her quickly, preventing her from using any Channel Divinity abilities. Keep it up, and she will fall soon enough.
Viconia exploit
As of patch 4, an old exploit to cheese the Viconia battle in Baldur’s Gate 3 has been fixed. However, one exploit still works. According to this new exploit, you start by triggering the cutscene with Viconia, which locks Shadowheart and the player character in conversations.
After that, one needs to click the bottom left panel to switch to the other two active party members. One of the party members must be a caster with the silence spell available, such as Gale. With the switch done, it’s ideal to have both drink an invisibility potion and move to Viconia.
Cast a silence spell on her to prevent her from using Sanctuary and then start attacking her till she dies. Once the deed is done, the rest of the coven won’t even be hostile until you proceed to the second chamber so you can reposition as needed to handle the rest.
BG3 Viconia Fight bug
A rare bug involves using a non-lethal attack to finish Viconia, which prevents the cutscene from triggering. Users have mentioned that the glitch may have to do with Viconia being knocked out when you defeat her normally.
As such, using a knockout instead of a lethal spell may trigger some glitches to that end. Killing her should get the ball rolling. You will experience some companion disapproval, but at least you can progress. It’s best to avoid non-lethal spells and just kill her in battle normally to avoid cutscene issues.
Should you Spare or Kill Viconia DeVir?
Viconia, as a separate entity from her past iterations, can make the decision a tad easier for veterans. Seeing the extent of her cruelty, especially to Shadowheart, killing her may feel a far more liberating option.
Let’s make it clear from the get-go: sparing Viconia results in gaining absolutely nothing in BG3. After being spared, Viconia disappears for the rest of your playthrough. As a paladin, though, the choice does lead to your oath being broken, so take heed.
On the topic of the alternative, choosing to kill Viconia comes with a great deal of benefits. Whether you choose to do it yourself or let Shadowheart do it, either option works. In any case, you can loot a Legendary shield, Very Rare mace, and Rare clothing from her body.
You also obtain Viconia’s Personal Chest Key, which you can use to access her chest to get some exciting loot. A detailed breakdown of all the things you obtain by killing Viconia is listed below.
| Viconia’s Walking Fortress | Legendary shield, Rebuke of the Mighty, Spellguard |
| Viconia’s Walking Fortress | Viconia’s Priestess Robe |
| Rare clothing, Shar’s Umbrae, Sharran Veil, and Armor Class +1 | Viconia’s Personal Chest Key |
| Opens Viconia’s chest in the dormitory, which gives you Some Pricey Jewelry and Counting House Vault 8 Key. | Very rare mace with a +2 Weapon Enchantment. |
And there you have it. When the cards are down, it seems killing Viconia is the more rewarding option. If your feelings of sympathy or lingering attachment somehow overpower the desire to slay Viconia, then that’s alright. After all, what you value more is for you and you alone to decide.
