Highlights
- The Everburn Blade is a powerful early weapon in Baldur's Gate 3 that requires players to defy the obvious path and defeat Commander Zhalk.
- The game encourages players to break the presented "rules" and make their own choices, with the Everburn Blade showing the benefits of this early on.
- Baldur's Gate 3 stands out for its emphasis on player choice and creativity, allowing players to forge their own path and defy the expected options in the game.
It's been well established that the Everburn Blade is one of the best early weapons in Baldur's Gate 3, and it's well worth the effort it takes for players to get it. While defeating Commander Zhalk can be a challenge on BG3's Tactician mode, he's much easier to beat on the other difficulties, as it usually amounts to a few extra turns spent escaping the Nautiloid. The thing is, it may be one of the best early weapons, but that's not the only reason it's remarkable.
SPOILERS AHEAD FOR BALDUR's GATE 3
Baldur's Gate 3 is a game about choice, with player actions resulting in thousands upon thousands upon thousands of possible story, character, and ending permutations. Players can rely on their Illithid tadpoles or outright reject them; they can cherish an ally, push them to the dark side, or murder them on sight; and they can be whoever they want to be in Baldur's Gate 3. Where this shines best is where the game encourages players to outright and openly defy the obvious path, just as with the Everburn Blade.
Baldur's Gate 3: Getting the Everburn Blade Means Ignoring the "Rules"
The opening of Baldur's Gate 3 sees players trying to escape the Nautiloid, and they can temporarily recruit Lae'Zel and Shadowheart in this endeavor (or not). The end result is a rush across the bridge to escape, but just before that, players must fight their way through some of Avernus' baddies. Commander Zhalk will be engaged with a Mind Flayer, who will instruct the player to ignore the combat and get to the control panel. Acquiring the Everburn Blade means ignoring the obvious goal and joining the Mind Flayer is fighting Zhalk. This process, depending on how it unfolds, means players must defeat Zhalk for BG3's Everburn Blade, but perhaps face off with even more of his minions and the Mind Flayer on top of that.
With the Everburn Blade, Baldur's Gate 3 encourages players to ignore the obvious and break presented rules. This is by no means an easy feat given all the quests and choices in BG3, and it should be noted that there are certain "railroads" in the game. For example, players cannot recruit Minthara without destroying the Druid Grove, nor can they kill the Guardian until a very specific time. However, players can be told that Wyll has to choose between himself and his father, but players can circumvent that. They are told there are only a few ways into the city proper, but can get creative with their entry. The game will make it seem like the only path to Act 2 will be by going through the Mountain Pass or the Underdark, but technically speaking, players can explore both until it's time to move on.
Presenting players with choices and letting them pick between good, bad, or any other option is pretty common in RPGs. Letting players forge their own path, make their own choices in defiance of presented options, and enable the creativity of the community is where Baldur's Gate 3 truly shines. Whether it's as simple as defying the Mind Flayer or as creative as blowing up the Goblin Camp with explosive barrels, BG3 is much more than option A or option B, talk or fight. Because of this, Baldur's Gate 3 has earned its place as one of the best-reviewed PC games of all time.
Baldur's Gate 3 is available now for PC. A PS5 version releases on September 6.
