In Baldur's Gate 3, there is a huge assortment of different weapons that can improve your character builds, offering powerful abilities or nice synergies with Class or Racial Features. These items can be obtained in a range of different ways. Players can purchase them from vendors, stumble upon them in chests while exploring, or even loot them off the corpses of notorious boss characters.
Among the numerous weapons available in the game, one standout is the Hellfire Hand Crossbow. This bow has the potential to be a worthwhile addition to DEX-based ranged builds, such as Rogues or Rangers, so knowing how to obtain it is key.
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How to Get the Hellfire Hand Crossbow
In Baldur’s Gate 3, the Hellfire Hand Crossbow is restricted to Act 2. Players can obtained it if they defeat Yurgir, a potential boss encounter within the Gauntlet of Shar. It’s essential to know the best steps for succeeding in this fight and obtaining this ranged weapon, as the Hellfire Hand Crossbow can be a brilliant addition to many ranged character builds.
First, you will need to locate Yurgir by traveling deep into the Gauntlet of Shar, jumping down the dark stairs, and following the cat-like creature known as a Displacer Beast. However, finding Yurgir’s den can be quite tricky, especially if you’ve missed the sight of the Displacer Beast. If you find yourself lost, feel free to refer to the map screenshot below, which indicates this location within the Gauntlet of Shar.
When you find this den, you will notice a group of Merregons hanging around the area, as well as the Displacer Beast you had previously seen. Before walking too close to this location, determine how you would like to approach the encounter. You can either face Yurgir in combat, or take steps to make him kill himself instead.
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How to Beat Yurgir (All Methods Explained)
Method 1: Trick Yurgir Into Killing Himself
To make Yurgir kill himself, there are two important factors to consider. Firstly, this will not work in the presence of a Warlock companion. If you have a Warlock Tav or if Wyll is in the party, it’s best to send them to Camp temporarily, or separate them from the group and leave them behind at the stairs where you spotted the Displacer Beast.
The second thing to consider is that you will need to succeed in some checks to get the desired outcome. The first will be an Insight Check that takes place after asking about Yurgir’s contract and triggering his song. The next series of checks will all be Charisma-based, so it’s important to have a character with strong WIS (Insight) and CHA stats leading the conversation.
If you fail the initial Insight Check, then this method will automatically fail, forcing you to take the combat route to secure the Hellfire Hand Crossbow instead.
To trick Yurgir into killing himself, select the following dialogue options in order:
- Your contract is a song?
- The lyrics are a trick. You’ve always had an audience - your followers. Get rid of them.
- You’re not finished yet - the Displacer can hear you, can’t she? Get rid of her.
- Exactly. Kill yourself, complete the contract, and you’ll be reborn in Avernus. Free.
Yurgir will then perish in front of your party and crumble into a pile of ash. Thankfully, this ash is lootable. A look inside will allow you to snag the Hellfire Hand Crossbow, as well as a price of Infernal Iron that can come in handy for progressing Karlach’s personal quest.
Method 2: Defeat Yurgir In Combat
If your attempt to get Yurgir to kill himself fails, you will need to resort to combat. If possible, try to prevent combat from triggering automatically, perhaps even offering a temporary truce and attempting to break Yurgir’s contract by investigating the Gauntlet of Shar. The reason for this is not to follow through with this choice, but rather to give you a chance to better set up your fight against Yurgir. This gives your party the best opportunity for success.
Although it's not as quick and easy as having Yurgir kill himself off, there is a way to chew through this fight with minimal struggle. This can be done with a strong physical weapons-oriented party, utilizing both melee and ranged attacks. In this scenario, the exemplar party consists of the following lineup:
- Rogue 2 / Ranger 5
- Fighter 7
- Paladin 5 / Cleric 2
- Rogue 3 / Warlock 4
By carefully selecting Classes that have strong utility in physical weapon combat, as well as the Rogue’s skills in hiding and ambushing, you can trigger a surprise round. This will catch all enemies off guard and force them to skip their first turn, enabling you to stack a lot of damage and potentially wipe Yurgir out before he gets to make a move. An example of how this can be successfully achieved using the exemplar classes above is as follows:
- Ranger/Rogue uses Hide and Ranged Sneak Attack to initiate combat, triggering a surprised round.
- Ranger/Rogue uses Gloomstalker Ranged Attack.
- Ranger/Rogue uses second Attack Action.
- Ranger/Rogue uses Hunter's Mark.
- Rogue/Warlock uses either Ranged Attack.
- Rogue/Warlock uses Bonus Action Hex: Strength.
- Fighter uses Menacing Attack.
- Fighter uses second Menacing Attack.
- Fighter uses Bonus Action Attack (Flourish, Vampire Bite etc).
- FIghter uses Action Surge.
- Fighter uses third Menacing Attack.
- Fighter uses fourth Menacing Attack.
- Paladin uses Divine Smite at second level.
- Paladin uses Divine Smite at second level.
Note that results will depend on maximum damage output / accuracy achieved with rolls.
After taking down Yurgir, the next target to prioritize is the Displacer Beast. This creature can make clones of itself that all pose a threat to your party. The Displacer Beast can be a pesky disruption to this fight, but as long as you damage it before it manages to make any clones, you will be able to tell which one is its true form, and focus damage on that particular target.
After the Displacer Beast is taken care of, you will be left with the Merregons. These critters are quite heavy-hitting melee range fighters, so this is where your tankier melee classes will come in clutch. In the exemplar scenario, the Paladin/Cleric and Fighter are perfect choices. The Paladin/Cleric had strong damage output with Divine Smite and brilliant utility with the addition of Sanctuary, Cure Wounds, and Mass Healing Word when they needed to pivot to team healing.
The Fighter, on the other hand, is the primary damage dealer, dishing out blows with Menacing Attack, while absorbing incoming hits from the Merregons and opening up space for the Ranger/Rogue and Rogue/Warlock to hit Ranged Sneak Attacks on every turn.
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How to Get the Most Value From the Hellfire Hand Crossbow
Hellfire Hand Crossbow Skills & Buffs
- Hellstalker: May inflict Burning when hitting a creature with this weapon while Hiding or Invisible.
- Scorching Ray Shot - Level 3 Evocation Spell
To get the most value from the Hellfire Hand Crossbow, you will need to equip it with a strong ranged character with a high DEX stat, as this is the primary damage modifier for Bows. Classes that operate perfectly in this spot are the Rogue, the Ranger, and in some scenarios, even tweaked builds, such as a DEX-based weapon fighter Bard.
A magic + physical weapon half-caster build, in particular, is a wonderful fit for this weapon. They will frequently use ranged bow attacks in each combat, and are capable of using magic through a limited number of Spell Slots and smaller Spell pools. In this scenario, the Hellfire Hand Crossbow not only enables them to inflict the Burning status effect, but also adds Scorching Ray to their Spell List. This frees up another slot for further Spell versatility, adding utility to your build. In this case, Arcane Tricksters, DEX-based Eldritch Knights, and College of Swords Bards may all be viable options.
If you're not so focused on the use of Scorching Ray, you can also equip the Hellfire Hand Crossbow with your physical weapon snipers, aiming to optimize the chances of inflicting the Burning status effect through the many attacks per turn these builds can pull off. Classes to consider in this case are Assassin Rogue, Gloomstalker Ranger, and Battlemaster Fighter.
Baldur's Gate 3
- Franchise
- Baldur's Gate
- Platform(s)
- PC , macOS , PS5 , Xbox Series X
- Released
- August 3, 2023
- Publisher(s)
- Larian Studios
- Genre(s)
- RPG
