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The most difficult dungeon inBaldur’s Gate 3, the House of Hope, lies hidden and beyond the average mortal’s reach somewhere within the Lower City. Should you be willing to find it and enter the lair of the devil himself, you could be rewarded with treasures beyond your wildest imaginings.
But if waltzing into a devil’s home and stealing his treasures were easy, everyone would do it. During your staycation in Avernus, you’ll be risking life, limb, and soul for these treasures. If you want to make sure you find the right path to survival, you’ll want to follow this guide as closely as possible. At least we won’t charge you your soul for it…
How To Prepare For And Find The House Of Hope
Before you go looking for the House of Hope, you’ll want toensure that you’re max-level (12).The fights inside the House of Hope are nothing to scoff at and are some of the most dangerous - but thrilling - experiences you’ll have in Act Three.
You’llalso want to have:
Thefirst and second notes are most importantas most damage in the House of Hope will be fire-based, andmost enemiesin the House of Hope willhave a special feature that reflects Radiant damageback at the caster.
With the added special dialogue and her pre-existing resistance to Fire damage, Karlach is hands-down the best person to take with your party to the House of Hope.
When you’re ready, you’ll want tohead over to the Devil’s Feein the Lower City of Baldur’s Gate (North side of the map and east of the Lower City central wall).
Theportal to the House of Hope is upstairsbut willrequire a specific ritual.You can either try figuring it out on your own through a journal upstairs or finish with the help of Helsik herself at the front counter.
If you’re having trouble with this ritual, you cancheck out ourofficial walkthrough guide on entering the House of Hope.
If you go upstairs without making a deal with Helsik, you’ll have to beware of the Thirsty Trap at the top of the stairs. Stepping on it will summon endlessFireballson your position.
How To Explore The House Of Hope Safely
When you enter, you’ll encounter Hope at the front doors.Try asking her questionswhile passing several checks to Persuade her.
Eventually, she willgive you the Debtor’s Attire.This will allow you to traverse the House of Hope without issue.
If you do not successfully Persuade Hope,you will not be able to progressthrough the House of Hope safely.
The debtors will immediately sound the alarm at the sight of you, and all units within will regard you as an enemy. Raphael will also appear at the entrance.
Once you’re inside, there’s a lot to explore.Your goal is the Archives, but there area few other notable locationsyou can explore beforehand:
Hope’s Prison
There aretwo entrances to Hope’s Prison:
Although you cannot free Hope until you take the Orphic Hammer, we do recommend youfight all enemies here before you take the hammer.
The reason for this is because of conservation of health, feats, and spell slots. There is a Restoration faucet that gives your party a long rest in the Boudoir. This faucet shuts off after you steal the hammer.
If you want to free Hope, look into ourofficial walkthrough guideon her questline and the enemies you must defeat.
Secret Vault And Mol’s Contract
Across the hall from the Boudoir isan Arcane Gem puzzle. It hidesa secret vault behind the walland a lofty 20DC Arcana check.
Inside,you’ll find the:
For a full walkthrough on this secret vault and Mol’s questline,refer tothis official guidefor more information.
Outer Portals
Youcannot use these teleportation mirrors for anythingor gain any prizes. However, fans of Dungeons & Dragons' Faerun will find there are several Easter-eggs here worth looking into.
You will not be teleported anywhere with any of these mirrors, so don’t pause in clicking each one.
How To Enter The Archives
The Archives will be your first real targetinside the House of Hope. They’re located on the far West side of the Archives.
You can eitherwalk all the wayaround the building via the right side (which is suggested for at least exploring and understanding the layout of the map)or try unlocking the door to the leftas you enter the dining hall.
You should still unlock this door as you get to the other side. This will be your shortcut for later and shorten the time it takes for you to reach Hope’s Dungeon if you wish to free her and the final boss of this dungeon, Raphael himself.
Hope can be found outside the Archives door.Talk to herand attempt to pass two checks inconvincing her to tell you the Archivist’s secret:
He’s afraid of Zariel’s High Inquisitor, Verillius Receptor.
As you enter the Archives, you may see Korilla speaking with the Archivist if you’ve spoken to her before. She won’t rat you out, but we recommend speaking with her if you’re looking for more lore and context about Hope.
Speak with the Archivist and tell him that you’re Verillius Receptor(Deception DC 15). If you don’t pass this check or didn’t get the clue-in from Hope, you’ll have to pickpocket the Archivist’s Boudoir Invitation to continue.
You can alternatively kill the Archivist for the invitation, but doing so will turn all members of the house hostile against you.
If you successfully posit as the High Inquisitor, the Archivist will answer any questions for you. However, it won’t allow you to take any of the items in here.
Of note,there are three notable artefacts:
How To Steal The Gauntlets of Hill Giant Strength And Amulet Of Greater Health
If you brokered a deal with Helsik for the gauntlets or otherwise want these great items, you’ll need to steal them. Stealing them, however, is no easy task.
No matter where you go in the room, theArchivist will always follow the greatest gathering of people. Several other indentured workers patrol the area as well.
Additionally,each item is sitting on a rigged trap platethat will turn the house hostile and summon Raphael if you trigger it. This is to be avoided.
To steal these items,you’ll need to:
We do not recommend attempting to steal these items in Honour Mode before taking the Orphic Hammer. The risk of rolling a Natural 1 even on excellent party members can undo your progress severely. However,these items remain after taking the hammer,and there is no further punishment for stealing them as the hammer will trigger Raphael anyway.
How To Enter The Boudoir And Find The Orphic Hammer’s Password
After taking the Boudoir Invitation from the Archivist, you’ll be able toenter the room on the farthest North sidewith the magical curtain over its doorway.
Interact with the glowing door, and you’ll now be able toenter the Boudoir.
Inside, there is an endless fountain of Restoration. Interacting with this faucet will grant your party a full rest.
From this point forward, there arethree options availablefor your progression:
If you wish to meet Harleep but aren’t sure whether to accept or deny their deal, you canrefer to ourofficial guide on Harleep here.
If you do not fight Harleep, you will not be able to get theHelldusk gloves. If you accepted their deal and they flew off, you will never have the chance to get them again.
If you don’t want to bother with Harleep at all, youcan try sneaking to the large painting of Raphael on the left side.
You’ll need topass a Perception check to notice the trapon the painting.Disable itbefore pressing the button and thenunlock the safewith Raphael’s password in it.
If you fail to notice or disable the trap, Harleep and their forces will attack as the rest of the house turns hostile. Raphael will appear at the exit as well.
You will need to disable the trap as well if you refused and killed Harleep.
How To Take The Orphic Hammer
TheOrphic Hammer in the Archives will require the passwordyou took from Raphael’s vault in the Boudoir.
Return to the Archives andspeak the magic words in front of the hammer:
Give me my heart’s desire.
The forcefield will drop. You can nowtake the Orphic Hammer,but be warned that taking it will immediately turn the house hostile, summon Raphael, and turn the Faucet of Restoration off.
With the Orphic Hammer in hand, you nowhave two options:
We recommend freeing Hope asher spell Banishment can remove up to two non-Raphael enemiesfrom the field entirely. She’s also a Life Cleric, meaning she’ll be instrumental in balancing the immense damage Raphael and his minions can deal. In short: she’s worth the risk. It’s all the better if you took the time to defeat her guards before taking the hammer.
How To Leave The House Of Hope
With the hammer in hand (and possibly Hope), you’ll want to make your way back to the location you started your House of Hope journey at: thefar southern point of the map.
The house is now hostile to you, meaningyou’ll have to face:
TheHell Spheres resist mostly anything except Cold damage. They can become extremely dangerous due to their high damage and healthpool, and they have decent movement each turn.
Their aura can deal additional damage, so we recommendusing your spellcasters withRay of Frostto slow them downa bit while keeping a party tank, like a Berserker, up front to distract it.
If you’re having problems with the Hell Spheres and need to reset, entering Hope’s Prison will take you out of combat as enemies above cannot follow you into it. This can allow you time to heal, think, and better prepare to face them above.
The debtors are also problematic aslowering their HP or allowing them to reach you in meleewill result in them exploding and becoming stronger, hellish enemies.Their explosions can deal large amounts of additional Fire damage.
To deal with the debtors,strike them from afar with powerful ranged attacks.This will keep their explosions far away from your party. Then, pick them off in any way you choose.
When you’re ready to leave, make sure no one is following you as you go through the southern door.Raphael will appear when you interact with the portalin the center of the room.
How To Defeat Raphael
Raphael is no pushover. With 666 health and a mighty span of powerful feats and special fight gimmicks, you’ll have your work cut out for you.
We do have anin-depth guide on how to defeat him, so refer to itfor the most expansive form of information available.
However, if you’re only looking forsome short tips,here are some to get you by:
You will have the choice to spare or kill Korilla during this fight. You can toggle Non-lethal if you wish to save her for Hope’s sake. You receive no reward for it, however, beyond making Hope happy.
With Raphael defeated, you’ll have theHelldusk Armour- a legendary piece and the strongest armour in the game. This is thefinal piece of the Helldusk setin the House of Hope.
Speak with Yurgirif you recruited himandloot anything elseyou may wish forbefore interacting with the portal.
