Baldur’s Gate 3’s Ascended Astarion is Not His Worst Ending

Astarion is one of the most enigmatic in Baldur’s Gate 3, thanks to the personas he builds to protect himself and his traumatic past. Like the other party members, he has several endings that vary in the outcome of his fate. Depending on the player’s outlook, intentions, and the character they’re roleplaying, most of the outcomes can be considered “good”. However, reaching the end of Baldur’s Gate 3, and having failed to kill Cazador, results in an ending that is objectively terrible for Astarion, no matter the perspective.

The Two Fates For Astarion Post-Baldur’s Gate 3

Why Ascended Astarion is Considered the “Bad” Path

Astarion has two main endings that are directly tied to the outcome of his personal quest, The Pale Elf. Astarion can either remain as a vampire spawn, or he can become an ascended vampire. Both of these fates come with benefits and consequences, and players have been split on which is the best fate for Astarion. Overall, because the ascended vampire ending perpetuates a cycle of abuse that began long before Astarion existed, turning him into just the latest rung in the ladder rather than one who breaks the cycle, many players do think that allowing Astarion to go through with the ritual to ascend him is his “bad ending”.

Astarion chooses ascension because he believes it will make him safe. Ascension feeds into Astarion’s fears, rather than giving him the strength to let go and heal from generational trauma, and turns him into a tool to abuse others in turn. His spawn ending defies this and, while he doesn’t have the powers of a vampire lord and can no longer walk in the sun, he is noticeably happier and expresses relief that he didn’t go through with the ritual. Rather than sacrificing the best parts of himself to keep himself safe, he instead kept his humanity and broke an abusive cycle to choose to heal.

The Worst Path For Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3

The Pain of Doing Nothing for Astarion

There is, however, a worse path for Astarion than losing himself forever as an ascended vampire lord. Both of these endings, ascended and spawn, show growth and a move toward something new. The third option is not completing The Pale Elf and leaving Cazador alive, leaving Astarion under the control of Cazador and in perpetual fear of him. In this ending, Astarion describes how he had to flee the sun, then slipped away. He then spent the next six months hiding in the shadows and off the streets to hide from Cazador, and returned to eating vermin to avoid his master’s notice.

Astarion begs the player to kill Cazador if they can. He quickly changes the subject if the player agrees, but it’s obvious to anyone who understands his character that this is his usual deflection. He’s spent the past six months running and hiding from his tormentor, too frightened to be seen in public and unable to bring himself to break old rules, even though he likely could if he wanted to. This is even worse for him than remaining static as a character: it’s a regression.

This ending has Astarion being abandoned by his friends and people that Astarion trusted. Cazador still has real power over him, and could exert that power whenever he likes. No matter the drawbacks of ascending Astarion or the lives taken on that path, for him and the 7,000 spawn Cazador has imprisoned, keeping Cazador alive is far and away the worst outcome for Astarion.

Baldur’s Gate 3

Baldur’s Gate 3 is a Dungeons and Dragons inspired RPG developed and published by Larian Studios. Featuring both a single player and cooperative element, players create their character by selecting a starting class, take on quests, level up, and engage in turn-based combat using the D&D 5th edition rule set.

Franchise

Baldur’s Gate

Released

August 3, 2023

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence

How Long To Beat

30 Hours

Metascore

96