Highlights

  • The boss fight against vampire lord Cazador Szarr in Baldur's Gate 3 was initially easy but has been improved to become one of Act 3's most difficult battles.
  • Players used to be able to easily defeat Cazador by shoving him off a platform, but this exploit has been removed, and Cazador now has new abilities and legendary actions.
  • However, a major weakness of Cazador is his vulnerability to sunlight, so using weapons and spells that conjure sunlight is highly effective in defeating him.

The boss fight against vampire lord Cazador Szarr in Baldur's Gate 3 is a unique one. It is one of the few boss battles almost entirely disconnected from the game's central plot, having nothing to do with the struggle against the Cult of the Absolute. This fight, which serves as the culmination of Astarion's companion quest, was initially a bit of a letdown because it was fairly easy and could even be ended in one turn with a simple trick. However, consistent updates to Baldur's Gate 3 have improved the fight against Cazador to the point that it is now one of Act 3's most memorable and difficult battles.

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Cazador Could Be Shoved To His Doom

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When Baldur's Gate 3 first left Early Access, players quickly found an easy trick for defeating Cazador. As the fight against the Vampire Lord and his retinue took place on a raised platform above an abyss, he could be Shoved off the edge and perish immediately. Because Cazador then reappeared in his coffin during a cutscene with Astarion, players didn't even miss out on the loot he dropped. This resulted in several memes, such as putting the "Astarion approves" text over pictures of a falling Cazador. However, this exploit was removed in Patch #4, and Cazador now turns into mist if Shoved.

Now, Cazador Can Shove Away His Foes

Ironically, the meme was reversed entirely with the addition of Legendary Actions to Honour Mode boss fights. Cazador's Legendary Action, Vampiric Swarm, pushes enemies away from him if they get too close. He can use it as a reaction, making it one of the most dangerous Legendary Actions and causing many melee-based characters to struggle to even get close enough to deal damage.

Cazador's New Abilities Make Him A True Threat

Should You Kill or Release Cazador's Vampire Spawn in Baldur's Gate 3?

In addition to the removal of the Shove exploit, Cazador was granted new abilities, including Legendary Actions, that make him particularly difficult when fought on harder difficulties. These are:

  • Legendary Resistance in both Tactician and Honour mode.
  • Potent Mist Form: When Cazador turns into mist, the mist now emits an aura of necrotic damage that hurts anyone standing close enough. This is active in both Tactician and Honour modes.
  • Vampiric Swarm: Summons a swarm of vampire bats. Affected entity takes 12d8 Force damage, is pushed backwards, and is Swarmed for two turns. While Swarmed, target is vulnerable to Piercing damage and takes 4d8 Piercing damage per turn, while Cazador heals 4d8 health. Hotfix #16 made this even more powerful, as the damage and healing now increase depending on how many spawn Cazador still holds captive at the time.

In addition, more bat enemies were added to the fight, and the bats were made more aggressive, whereas in previous versions of the fight they would hang back and choose defensive options rather than swarming and attacking the party.

However, Daylight Is Still Effective

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The battle against Cazador has become far trickier than before, to the point where many players suggest skipping it entirely on Honour Mode because it is not required to complete the game. However, as a vampire - and not one affected by a mindflayer tadpole like Astarion - Cazador does still have one major weakness: the full, concentrated power of the sun. Weapons and spells that conjure up sunlight are the ideal tools for facing down Cazador. It is even possible to cast a Daylight spell on his starting position before the Vampire Lord begins speaking, causing him to be affected as soon as the battle starts.

Cazador on hardest difficulties and with Shoving disabled is now one of Baldur's Gate 3's toughest boss fights, and giving it a pass on Honour Mode may be recommended. However, players who do decide to take on the Vampire Lord should utilize sunlight, rescue the kidnapped Astarion as soon as possible, and avoid his powerful new mist aura.