In Baldur’s Gate 3, companions can consistently be revived using the revivify spell or Withers’ services, meaning players often won’t worry about losing their favorite characters. Despite this, there are several different ways for companions to leave the party. The most common way players will probably experience this is through loss of approval – if the player makes too many decisions that a companion disapproves of, then they will no longer want to travel with them.

However, in these situations, the characters will often give the player some form of warning before they leave forever. Throughout the game, there are several instances where the player can make decisions which will cause companions to immediately and indefinitely depart from the party. Betraying characters during their defining moments will often result in them giving up on the player.

Shadowheart

Shadowheart Strongly Disapproves Of Meddling With Her Faith

In Act One, players will probably find it quite difficult to get rid of Shadowheart. She’s the companion with the most chances to recruit if players miss her initially, and if the player doesn’t have high approval with her, then they can talk to her at the tiefling party to ask to be pointed in the right direction, meaning the game is generally built to keep her in the party. However, there are some instances in her Act Two and Three questline which will cause her to leave.

The most likely point where players will lose Shadowheart is in the Shadowfell in the gauntlet of Shar. She’ll leave if the player goes into the Nightsong’s prison without her, as she will see it as taking her chance to become a Dark Justiciar away from her. Also, if the player doesn’t allow her to make her own choices and is too pushy with her regarding not killing Aylin, it will make her turn hostile towards the party.

In Act Three, if she is surrendered to Viconia in return for the aid of Shar’s warriors in the final battle, she will not be able to be recruited again. Players can talk to her, but as shown in rndm.lys’s video on TikTok, there is no way to persuade her back to their side – not even giving her a night orchid will jog her memory. She can also leave in Act Three if the player kills her parents after rescuing them.

Astarion

Astarion Can Leave The Party In Acts 1, 2, and 3

Astarion can be handed over to Gandrel the monster hunter in Act One, which will permanently kill him. Players are also given the option to make him leave after the reveal of his vampirism at the end of the scene where he attempts to bite them. In the second act, if he makes a deal with Raphael, Astarion will also be upset if the player doesn’t kill Yurgir – but he can be convinced to stay in the party.

Similarly to Shadowheart, players have to be careful about how they achieve Astarion’s “good” ending. If they go through his quest and prevent Astarion from becoming the vampire ascendant without convincing him he is better off without the power, then he will feel betrayed and leave. He will also leave if the player does decide to let him ascend in the event where they romanced him, but show their displeasure with his new attitude with a swift kick.

Gale

Gale Will Leave If He Becomes Too Dangerous

Most of the ways that Gale can be made to leave are linked to his Netherese Orb. He’ll leave gracefully if the player tells him to after telling them about his condition, and if he’s not fed magic items for a long enough time, he will leave out of the worry that he’ll become volatile. Players need to talk to Elminster to stabilize the orb, so if they completely ignore him, or kill him before they can speak, then Gale will also be forced to leave.

Unlike Wyll and Karlach, who will always leave after raiding the grove, if players talk to Gale at the goblin party, he will be conflicted, and players will have the option to convince him to stay or encourage him to leave.

Jaheira

Killing Other Characters Will Prevent Players From Recruiting Jaheira

Besides dying in combat, Jaheira can be prevented from joining the party before she is given the chance to. In the event that Isobel is killed in Act Two, Jaheira can be convinced to stay in the player’s camp if they are sympathetic towards her loss. However, if Aylin is killed in the Shadowfell and Jaheira is not in camp, then it will prevent her from ever joining the party, as she will die in the Shadow Curse.

In Act Three, there are several things that will make Jaheira leave, mainly to do with her loved ones dying. She’ll leave if Minsc dies in the sewers, or if the player kills her children. She has lots of unique content around the temple of Bhaal – she can be handed over to Sarevok, and if the player is the Dark Urge, embracing Bhaal will turn Jaheira and Minsc hostile. In this situation, the player can also manipulate Minsc into killing her.

Minsc

Minsc Will Always Stand By Jaheira

Minsc and Jaheria are a two-for-one deal – if the player loses Jaheria, then Minsc will soon follow. If Jaheira isn’t recruited in Act Three, then Minsc will never be able to join the party. He can be surrendered to Sarevok alongside her, and will continue to be hostile towards the player if they force him to kill Jaheira.

There is no way to recruit Minsc without Jaheria – even if he is knocked out in the same way Jaheira’s quest details, the player will not be able to bring him to his senses.

Halsin

Halsin Will Stay Put After Lifting The Shadow Curse

For a character with such a tedious recruitment process, it’s a relief that there isn’t really any way to lose Halsin in Act Three. Assuming he was saved from the goblin camp in Act One, the only way for him to leave forever is to exit Act Two without lifting the Shadow Curse, in which case he will stay behind to fix it himself. He surprisingly doesn’t have much reaction to events such as embracing the Dark Urge.

In Act Two, Halsin will leave temporarily if the player fast travels to an area back in Act One with his questline active. The journal will show him as having permanently left, but he can be recruited again after heading back. He cannot be recruited again if the player travels to Act Three without finishing his quest, though.

Karlach

Karlach Will Stand By The Player In Acts 2 And 3, But May Make Some Judgments In Act 1

Karlach is strongly good-aligned, and won’t stand by if the player decides to prey on the innocent or leave those who have wronged her unscathed. Similarly to Wyll and possibly Gale, she will leave if the player raids the Emerald Grove with Minthara. She’ll also abandon the player if they venture into Act Two without fighting Anders and the fake paladins of Tyr.

Though it may not result in her instantly leaving, one of the biggest approval losses in the game is triggered after breaking up with Karlach and telling her, “I had my fun with you. That was enough for me.”

Wyll

Wyll Won’t Stand For Non-Heroic Actions

Wyll is benevolent at heart and will leave if the player raids the grove in Act One. If the player does not heed Mizora’s warning in Act Two and ends up not saving her from the mind flayer colony, a cutscene will be triggered where his soul will be dragged into the Hells to become a lemure. In an Origin run, this results in a game over.

“I will mourn the person you were. But I will not accept the one you’ve become.” – Wyll

Another possible way to lose Wyll is embracing the Dark Urge. If Jaheira and Minsc are alive to rally the party against the player, Wyll is the only companion who will actually join them. This is perhaps the saddest way to lose Wyll, given his constant support of the player up to this point.

Lae’zel

In Most Circumstances, Lae’zel Is Surprisingly Lenient If The Player Skips The Crèche

If the player fails a persuasion roll, Lae’zel can become hostile if the player decides not to hand the artifact over to the Inquisitor in the githyanki crèche in Act One, and may also attack the player if they try to use the zaith’isk before her. In Act Three, siding with the Emperor while she is loyal to Orpheus will make Lae’zel aggressive if the player cannot convince her to back down as well.

Despite what players may think, skipping the crèche itself usually won’t lose her. If Lae’zel leaves to go to the crèche by herself and is left for too long, she could later appear dead in the Shadow-Cursed Lands, likely having succumbed to her illithid parasite. The player can also allow Shadowheart to kill her in their altercation. In a Shadowheart Origin run, Lae’zel can be killed by the Astral Prism, as seen in a video by Lady Lilianne on YouTube.

Minthara

Once Properly Recruited, Minthara Will Not Leave The Party

The only cutscene event that causes Minthara to permanently leave the party is to kill her as the Dark Urge during her Act One romance scene. Similarly to Halsin, given how difficult players may find it to recruit her, it was a good choice not to have many opportunities for her to leave forever. Considering how players miss out on lots of characters in exchange for Minthara in an evil playthrough, it makes sense why Larian decided players shouldn’t have to worry about losing her – they just have to make sure she gets out of Moonrise safely.

Miscellaneous Ways Of Losing Companions

You Can Sacrifice Your Allies In Exchange For A Buf

In Act Three, Orin kidnaps one of the companions who isn’t currently in the player’s party. There are four possible victims she can choose, with these being Lae’zel, Gale, Halsin or Minthara. If none of these characters are available in the camp, then Orin will instead kidnap Yenna, a child who takes refuge in the player’s camp. During the confrontation with Orin, if the player fails to save her victim before they die, then they will not be able to be revived, as their soul will be sacrificed to Bhaal.

In the Underdark’s Festering Cove, players can choose to sacrifice one of their party members to the Kuo-Toa, in exchange for a permanent buff called BOOAL’s Benediction, which grants advantage on attack rolls against bleeding enemies. Much like Orin’s sacrifice to Bhaal, if a character is killed here then they will not be able to be revived once more. Though there are many ways to lose your companions in Baldur’s Gate 3, most players won’t have to actively worry about the choices they’re making, as they are only lost under certain conditions.