The journey through Baldur’s Gate 3 will eventually lead you to a final stand-off against the Netherbrain itself in a tough battle.
Baldur’s Gate 3’s finale sees you and your allies go up against the Illithid and the Absolute, with multiple large battles occurring on your way to reach the location of the Netherbrain before the final showdown.
Thankfully, there’s the opportunity to heal just before the brain stem, which you need to interact with to reach the final battle, so make sure you do so.
From there, there are a lot of tactics you need to consider and you will also need to have luck on your side.
Reach the Crown of Karsus
In order to defeat the Netherbrain, you will need to reach the Crown of Karsus. Doing so is not easy as there are several enemies atop the Netherbrain and more will spawn in. However, not everyone needs to reach the Crown.
To interact with the crown, you will need to have your Illithid ally alive, whether that is the Emperor or Orpheus. You’ll need to be within eight meters to activate the spell and then channel the spell for two turns.
I had several attempts at this mission before finally completing it. I found the best tactic to be to stick your team together, moving them as far as they can in each turn and attacking along the way. Taking down the Dragon is not required, though it is advisable if you can due to the massive damage output it does.
After four turns, a Nautilod spawns in above and drops bombs across the area. It’s unlikely you will make it to the Crown of Karsus before this happens, so make sure to avoid the marked areas that will detonate at the end of the Nautilod’s next turn.
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While your allies are weak and can be defeated easily, I recommend spawning them in purely for distraction and extra damage against enemies. Even a single turn of not having a companion attacked is a huge bonus.
To get close to the Crown of Karsus, utilize abilities that allow you to fly or warp to a location. If you don’t have any with a character and have no enemies to attack, simply using a dash will suffice.
Aside from the Dragon’s powerful AOE attacks, the Mindflayer enemies are your biggest problem as they can easily stun you with an attack, forcing you to miss a turn. If too many of these stack up, the fight becomes even more difficult, so I used allies and summoned companions to focus on the Mindflayers, which usually resulted in them being targeted and not members of my party.
After you have activated the spell and channeled it for a turn, a portal will open to take you to the final stand-off against the Netherbrain itself.
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Enter the Netherbrain’s Psyche
The Netherbrain has no direct attacks but is a deadly foe, as it will highlight areas of the arena that will be destroyed on the next turn, and it must be defeated within five turns.
Move as many allies through the portal as possible to maximize your attacks against the Netherbrain and whittle down its health as much as you can. However, the priority needs to be avoiding the areas that will fall away as it’s instant death.
Any ally with multiple attacks in a single turn is extremely valuable in this fight, or someone with an attack that is capable of doing high damage. At 210 health, the Netherbrain is sturdy but can be defeated within the timeframe.
It’s worth noting that you do not need all your allies to be in the portal and the fight outside will continue. If the Netherbrain is defeated in time, the allies outside are still safe and feature in the final cutscene.
