One of the biggest appeals ofBaldur’s Gate 3is the fact that it truly is a game where you can do anything. So if you can do everything, why not do everything? Fighting Elminster’s Simulacrum construct definitely isn’t a route this game encourages you to go, but itis actually an option!

Whether you choose to attack the ‘weary traveller’ on the side of the road or eliminate the wizard’s construct in your own camp, killing the construct is a fun challenge to take on early in the game. Be warned, though; Elminster came in peace, and interrupting his mission could have grave consequences.

An old wizard in red robes standing nearby a dead tree in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Where To Find Elminster’s Construct

Elminster hassent a construct to contact Galejust before you reach Act Two, and as such, Elminster can be found atboth location that lead into Act Two.

The first location you may find Elminster isat the end of the Mountain Pass (X: -135 Y: -167).This path ispast theGithyanki creche. You can follow the quest marker for ‘Travel through the Mountain Pass.’

The Weary Traveler’s location as shown on the world map in Baldur’s Gate 3.

you’re able to also find Elminster after youtake the elevator in Grymforge (X: -592 Y: 383). He will be standingnear the entrance tothe Shadow-Cursed Lands(X: 46 Y: -1172).You can follow the quester marker for ‘Travel through the Underdark’ to find the elevator in Grymforge.

How To Fight Elminster

Finding Elminster is relatively easy; it is knowing how to start combat with him that is more difficult.

There are two possible ways to interact with Elminster, and it alldepends on whether or not Gale is in your party. IfGale is not in your party, Elminster will ask you if you know of Gale.

The Weary Traveler’s location as shown on the world map in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Lying to Elminster will cause Elminster to stay where he is. This means that you can initiate combat with him either on the Mountain Pass or in the Sharran Temple.

Telling Elminster you know Gale will send Elminster to your camp. You can still fight Elminster in your camp if he ends up going there.

Elminster with a doubtful expression in Baldur’s Gate 3.

If Gale is in your party, Elminster must go to your camp. Having Gale in your partyautomatically triggers the cutscene with Elminster, so you will not be able to start combat with him in the overworld. No matter what dialogue options you pick, Gale will eventually insist that Elminster go to your camp.

Killing Elminster’s construct means that you cannot progress in Gale’s personal questline, ‘The Wizard of Waterdeep.’ This will cause Gale to leave your camp by the end of Act Two. Proceed with caution when deciding whether or not to kill Elminster.

Tav crouched down and readying to attack an old wizard in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Once you have finished speaking to Elminster, starting combat with the construct is easy. Simplyhit Elminster with an attackand combat will begin. Elminster can either befought in the overworldif you lied about knowing Gale orfought in campif you told Elminster about Gale or if Gale is with you.

In order to fight Elminster’s construct, you must attack himbefore he speaks with Gale. Elminster vanishes the moment he is done speaking with Gale.

An old wizard in red robes pulling out his quarterstaff in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Fighting Elminster

So you’ve decided to challenge the most powerful wizard on the Sword Coast; well, his Simulacrum, at least. Luckily, given that it is a four-against-one fight, it isn’t too tricky to take the construct down, but being prepared is key to emerging victorious.

Preparing For The Fight

Unfortunately, there isn’t much you can do to prepare for the fight.Elminster is a powerful and diverse caster, and he willuse any means necessary to defeat you. His versatility in combat is what makes the fight most difficult.

The most important thing you can do ismake sure you have Counterspell prepared, possibly on two characters, even. While it only has a chance to succeed against Elminster’s powerful spells, it can certainly help limit his power.

Elminster glowing while casting a spell with a Counterspell notification on the screen in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Elminster’s damaging spells can deal eithercold or radiant damage, so you can drink an Elixir of Cold-Resistance orRadiant-Resistanceto help negate the damage you take.

Lastly,Sunbeam will blind your characters, so havingLesser RestorationorArrows of Salvingcan help take care of this status condition.

Elminster’s character statistics as shown in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Elminster’s Abilities

Elminster is a20th-level Construct, meaning he has plenty of feats and spells to take down his foes. Luckily for you,spells above sixth-level are not in Baldur’s Gate 3, so his fight is perhaps a bit easier than it should be.

HP: 185

An overgrown, ruined temple where Tav and party is fighting Elminster in Baldur’s Gate 3.

AC: 17

STR: 13

Tav and party fighting Elminster in a dark room with highlights over their characters in Baldur’s Gate 3.

DEX: 18

CON: 24

INT: 27

WIS: 18

CHA: 17

Notable Features: Alert, Empowered Evocation, Focused Conjuration, Magic Resistance, Spell Sniper, Mage Armor

2nd-Level Spells

3rd-Level Spells

4th-Level Spells

6th-Level Spells

Quarterstaff

1d8+1 Bludgeoning

Elminster’s abilities do not change, regardless of what difficulty you are playing on. The only difference is that, in Tactician or Honor Mode, Elminster’shit points increase to 240.

How To Beat Elminster

The first trick to beating Elminster is tofight Elminster in your camp. If you attack Elminster in your camp,your allied party members will all join the fight, meaning you can turn combat from a 4v1 into a 7v1 (Halsin, for some reason, doesn’t want to get his hands dirty).

Party members you don’t control will default to throwing or using their most powerful items, so ensure toremove anything you don’t want them to use in this fight.

Fighting Elminster in your camp means you also haveless hazardous terrainto worry about, which helps limit his mobility but also limits your ability to Shove him if you use that strategy.

Sunbeam is Elminster’s favorite spell, and he isn’t afraid to use it to its full capacity. Elminster willuse Misty Step to teleport aroundand get the best angle he can to hit as many people as possible.

The best way to get around this is toarrange your party members in a square formationso Elminster can never hit more than two of them per turn. You can alsotry to break Elminster’s concentration, since he can recast Sunbeam for free every turn while concentrating, but his feats and stats make this a hard task.

Keep yourreactions available for Counterspells and rely on your melee fighters, since Elminster is resistant to magic. Because Sunbeam and Otiluke’s Freezing Sphere are 6th-level spells,Counterspell is not guaranteed to work.

Try saving your counterspells for when Elminster uses Misty Step or Slow, andheal your party membersthat inevitably get hit by the powerful spells.

Ultimately, if youstrategize the field layout, fight in camp to recruit more allies, and buff your melee fighters, you should achieve a swift victory in the fight.

Elminster is aconstruct, so certain abilities (such as Astarion’s Vampire Bite) will not work on him.

Rewards

Unfortunately, there aremore punishments than rewardswhen it comes to defeating Elminster’s construct. Your whole party willgain 1,000 XP eachfor defeating Elminster, but that’s pretty much it.

Surprisingly enough,fighting Elminster has no immediate repercussions when dealing with your party members.If you kill Elminster’s construct in your camp,Gale will briefly glitch if you speak to himand insist that he needs to speak with Elminster. This clears after one interaction with him. Ultimately, nobody bats an eye if you kill the construct.

On the bright side, defeating Elminster does provide a fun environmental reward and a hint into the construct’s crafting. Elminster’s body vanishes into a puddle, and Simulacrums are made of snow or ice. So, while a puddle isn’t a tangible reward, it is a fun hint as to the nature of Elminster’s construct!