In an RPG like Baldur’s Gate 3, there’s naturally going to be some characters and companions that are more popular than others. The reasons are countless. Some companions are harder to hire, while others might have stories and interactions that resonate with a wider audience. Whatever the case might be, there will always be some winners and losers, even if you’re one of those players who tries to vary things up with every playthrough.
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Larian Studios has previously released some information regarding the most popular companions, so we have a small idea of what players tend to pick. Shadowheart, Karlach, Astarion, and Lae’zel tend to be some of the highest-rated companions by BG3 fans, but what about the other end of the spectrum? If you’re looking to completely change things up for your next adventure, try getting these companions into your party instead.
Find all 10 pairs
Find all 10 pairs
Hirelings
They Are Basically Blank Canvases
Well, it should come as no surprise that the hirelings you can get by talking to Withers are the least picked characters for a party. They don’t have strong personalities and interesting backgrounds; they’re simply husks working for Withers that will do whatever you say without approving or disapproving. It’s definitely a solution if you’ve somehow made such an evil and heinous character that literally all of the origin characters are either dead by your hand or have left your awful company.
There are also some niche ways of utilizing these hirelings, particularly in Honour Mode. It’s not uncommon for some strategies to employ something called a camp alchemist, whose only job is to craft potions for your party. Other than that, there’s almost no reason to use the hirelings, unless you’re one of those players who don’t want to deal with the origin characters and their lore. But why not? You’d be sorely missing out.
Minsc
He’s Introduced Far Too Late In The Game
For those who are familiar with the earlier Baldur’s Gate games, as well as general D&D lore, Minsc was a nice callback character. He gets introduced in the third Act of Baldur’s Gate 3 during one of Jaheira’s quests that sends you investigating the infamous Stone Lord. After freeing Minsc from the Absolute’s control, he can be sent to your camp and used as a companion.
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Unfortunately, Minsc just gets introduced a bit too late in the game. While his character concept is super fun and he’s a nice, nostalgic addition for anyone familiar with the franchise, we simply don’t get that much time with him. It feels even more limiting because once you enter Act 3, the previous Acts are locked, and you can no longer visit those areas with him.
Jaheira
She Only Becomes Available At The End Of Act 2
Jaheira will be very familiar to a lot of Baldur’s Gate fans when she’s first found protecting the Last Light Inn. Unfortunately, if you’re at all playing a selfish, evil character, you probably won’t be able to get her on your side, but the grand majority of players will still have her as a major NPC throughout Act 2. Although this is where you meet her, you actually don’t unlock her as a companion until you’ve dealt with Ketheric and Moonrise Towers, so she really only becomes a playable companion in early Act 3.
As a druid, she’s incredibly powerful and useful, but she’s directly competing with that spot with Halsin, who you can have as part of your party as early as Act 1 if you finish up the quest with the Druid Grove fairly fast. If you’re playing on higher difficulty, it’s also unfortunately possible to lose her during the Moonrise Tower battle, which might contribute to the reason why not everyone has her along in Act 3. It’s a shame, because lore-wise, she’s a great choice to have walking around with you through the city.
Minthara
Most People Might Not Even Realize She Can Join You
Minthara is framed as a classic main antagonist in Act 1 when you’re trying to help the Thieflings and the inhabitants of the Druid Grove. You find her at the Goblin Camp, and she either insists you join her against the Grove or perish by her hand after giving up the location. Not the best introduction, to say the least! That said, you don’t actually need to kill her here (or turn against the entire Grove if you want to get her as an ally).
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If you lower her health enough and then knock her unconscious with a non-lethal final blow, the quest will still complete and state that you’ve dealt with the Goblin Camp leaders. Later on, you can find her in Moonrise Tower in Act 2 and rescue her. She’ll show up to camp, and from there on, you can have her as a companion throughout the entirety of Act 2 and Act 3. That said, Minthara is a companion who doesn’t like goody-two-shoes, being a Drow and all, so you’ll have to cultivate a certain cutthroat playstyle to please her. She’s a very powerful companion, too, starting off as a Paladin, which is one of the best classes in the entire game. Due to how difficult it is to get her, though, and how the game doesn’t exactly telegraph that to you, it’s no surprise most players have never had her in their party.
Wyll
A Bit Bland Compared To Other Origin Characters
Now, to the most tragically underrated character, Wyll. He’s an origin character and is available early on in Act 1 when you enter the Druid Grove. A Warlock searching for Karlach, he’s the ultimate good guy hero who’s stuck in an unfavorable deal with a cambion called Mizora. Wyll’s character is one that went through some major rewrites, and even a VA change, and fans find him to be rather lackluster to this day due to how shallow his character has become. With all the challenges he goes through, you really would expect Wyll to have a sharper personality and not be so rigid in his beliefs. Right now, he comes across as a paladin more than a Warlock with a blade, and for that reason, many tend to sadly leave him in camp.
It’s a real shame, because he has one of the most interesting quest lines in the whole game that can quite literally change his whole future depending on player choices. His quest is also deeply tied to the main story of Baldur’s Gate 3 due to his father and his lineage, and that can’t be said for a lot of the other more popular characters, like Astarion, for example. Because of that, some speculate and argue that he could be the secret main character of the game.
- Released
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August 3, 2023
- ESRB
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M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence
