While Baldur’s Gate 3 is filled to the brim with characters that you just can’t help but love, players should give some serious consideration to letting their favorites sit on the sidelines for a bit as they near the end of the game. That’s obviously not an easy decision for those who have already given their hearts to one of the party members already, but there’s a very good reason why it’s worth making the sacrifice to do so.

There are 10 companions to be recruited in BG3, including the six Origin characters – Lae’zel, Shadowheart, Astarion, Gale, Wyll, and Karlach – who can optionally be chosen as the player’s own character, plus Halsin and Minthara, who are both first encountered in Act 1 of the game. Last but not least are Jaheira and Minsc, who don’t join until late in the game. Being late to the party can make them easy to overlook, but they’re actually the best choices to bring along as players head through the third act of Baldur’s Gate 3.

Jaheira & Minsc Are More Than Just Fanservice

Legacy Characters Bring A Unique Value To The Game

Each companion in Baldur’s Gate 3 brings something special to the table with their unique backstories and character arcs explored throughout the course of the game. Astarion’s quest for revenge against his abusive master is filled with equal parts comedy and tragedy, and Karlach’s fight to stay alive will tug at the heartstrings of any player (no pun intended). Jaheira and Minsc are particularly special among the cast thanks to their history as returning characters from previous Baldur’s Gate games, which comes with a number of added benefits.

While Baldur’s Gate and its sequel featured dozens of characters that could potentially be recruited into the player’s party, Jaheira and Minsc are among those considered to be the canonical party members, as evidenced by their inclusion across multiple games.

Jaheira and Minsc can trace their origins back to the original Baldur’s Gate where they first appeared as recruitable party members 25 years before their appearance in BG3. As one of the first characters players can meet in BG1, Jaheira built a rapport with many players, often sticking with them for the entire game. And though he joins much later in the story, Minsc is easily the fan favorite of the old games thanks in large part to his relationship with his trusty miniature giant space hamster, Boo.

Being established characters in the setting of Faerûn lends a bit of extra weight to Jaheira and Minsc’s stories in Baldur’s Gate 3 that the game’s bespoke characters don’t have. They feel a little more real, a little more fleshed-out than other characters in the game do. When they talk about their pasts and the people they once adventured with, that’s not just a tidbit of extra lore invented by the talented writers at Larian – it’s something that actually happened in a previous game that players can experience for themselves.

Why Jaheira & Minsc Are The Best Party Members For Act 3

Experience Everything The City Has To Offer

“Baldur’s Gate” isn’t just the name of the series, it’s also a central location where the story of each installment either begins or ends. As the setting of Baldur’s Gate 3‘s third act, it’s a sprawling location packed with shops, side quests, and potential enemies and allies. As one of the largest and most important cities in Faerûn, Baldur’s Gate is almost a character itself, complete with its own history and personality.

Much of that history has been personally shaped by Jaheira and Minsc who, along with the other heroes of BG1, had a hand in saving the city from crisis more than a century earlier. Both are known and revered among the denizens of Baldur’s Gate for being the ones who stopped the villain Sarevok. Walking down the streets of the city with those two in the party is like going for a walk in your neighborhood with a pair of movie stars at your side.

Jaheira and Minsc are written in a way that only characters with centuries of history could be. Only Jaheira can stop to pop in on her children and pick up a gift from her deceased husband; only Minsc can reminisce about the places he used to go shopping with his companion Dynaheir. Both have personal experience with the Dead Three, the trio of evil gods who are always present in the background of BG3. As companions, Jaheira and Minsc add a level of richness and flavor to the story of Baldur’s Gate 3 that’s truly unique to them.

Sticking To Favorites Limits The Baldur’s Gate 3 Experience

Sharing The Spotlight Leads To A Richer Story

The heart and soul of Baldur’s Gate 3 is in the writing of its characters, and how they interact with each other and with the world around them. Faerûn is a big place, and each companion represents a different piece of the world, from the magical to the mundane to the just plain weird. Jaheira and Minsc represent the history of not just the world, but of Baldur’s Gate 3 as a game and serve as a tribute to the franchise’s roots in the olden days of RPGs.

Fortunately, RPGs have become a bit more merciful in the years since Baldur’s Gate 1. While you’re limited to only bringing three companions with you at a time (assuming you aren’t availing yourself of any Baldur’s Gate 3 mods), any experience earned is distributed throughout the party, whether they’re on the battlefield or lounging in camp. Once upon a time, swapping out party members as you went might have left you hamstrung, but everyone is able to keep pace easily in BG3.

BG3 isn’t a story about just one character.

Party composition in a game like this matters a lot, but not just for combat reasons. Much like the games of Dungeons & Dragons that inspired it, BG3 isn’t a story about just one character; just as a party needs to work together to slay monsters and explore dungeons, it takes the full cast of BG3 to weave the tapestry of its story. By leaving Jaheira and Minsc on the bench, players are doing themselves a disservice by ignoring some of the biggest highlights that Act 3 has to offer.

It’s natural to play favorites, especially with a cast of characters as lovable as BG3‘s, but players should make the effort to change their lineup when they can, even if it’s just for a little bit. Especially for players starting their second (or third, or fourth, or fifth) playthrough, it’s a good idea to get to know the companions you may have overlooked the first time. Spending time with each one of them is required to experience the full breadth of the story available in Baldur’s Gate 3, and while that may be a large endeavor, it’s a worthwhile one.