KEY POINTS
- The grueling battle in Act 3, where saving friendly NPCs was almost impossible because of their low health and lack of combat ability, was fixed in Patch 6 of Baldur’s Gate 3.
- Similar to engaging in Tactician or Honour Mode during gameplay, players regarded saving every Gondian gnome during the fight as an unofficial accomplishment.
- Patch 6 gave the Gondians stronger armor, increased their Dexterity, and granted them access to the Blur spell, all of which increased their odds of surviving. It was hoped—but not stated—that the gnomes’ AI would choose fleeing over fighting.
Patch 6, which was published on February 16, 2024, for Baldur’s Gate 3 mainly addressed camp interactions and changes to Honor Mode. However, it also included a much-needed update to an Act 3 combat. In the past, a battle in Baldur’s Gate 3 would frequently frustrate players because it was practically impossible to rescue friendly NPCs because of their low health, lack of combat skills, and unwillingness to prioritize escaping. Patch 6 changes should make this fight much less annoying in the future.
Rescuing The Gondian Gnomes Was Nearly Impossible
Players can lessen Lord Enver Gortash’s hold over the city in Act 3 of Baldur’s Gate 3 by storming the Iron Throne Prison and the Steel Watch Foundry and releasing the gnomes that are imprisoned there. These gnomes, who belonged to the Gondian clan, were taken prisoner by followers of the god Bane and made to produce Steel Watchers on a never-ending basis in order to guard the city. A few were also held as hostages in the Iron Throne jail. The Iron Throne was a timed assignment, thus these were challenging to rescue, but the Foundry Gondians gained particular notoriety.
By keeping the Gondians alive as they killed the numerous Steel Watchers in the Foundry, players might choose to save the Gondians. Unfortunately, there were several variables that made this endeavor nearly impossible. The Gondians wore nearly no armor, had poor weaponry, and were in poor health. Even if the formidable Steel Watchers were about to self-destruct, they would still prefer to charge into battle and assault them than to flee.
Saving the Gondians Turned Into An Unofficial Success
Because of this, gamers that succeeded in keeping every Gondian gnome alive frequently boasted about having accomplished this unofficial goal. The challenge run “Save every Gondian” gained popularity and was frequently seen as equally challenging as engaging in Tactician or Honor Mode gameplay. There are memes that declare the Gondians to be the real hardest boss in Baldur’s Gate 3, not Raphael, the notoriously difficult optional boss, or the Netherbrain.
Patch 6 Strengthens The Gondians Greatly
Patch 6 for Baldur’s Gate 3 introduced additional kisses and enhanced party switching, which significantly increased the Gondians’ chances of surviving. The gnomes that can be saved in the Steel Watch Foundry now have the following modifications:
- They received a 14 on their Dexterity test.
- They earned proficiency with both medium and light armor.
- Better armour was bestowed to them; depending on the gnome, it was a combination of Light and Medium.
- Blur is an illusion spell that every Gondian now possesses that disadvantages any strikes directed toward the caster.
Whether or not the Gondians’ AI was enhanced to prefer fleeing over combat was not made clear by the patch, but hopefully it was. Before Patch 6, one of the things that made saving the gnomes so difficult was their careless behavior.
Even in Tactician or Honor Mode, though, it will still be quite challenging to save the Gondian gnomes. On these two higher difficulties, Steel Watchers were no longer susceptible to Lightning damage thanks to Patch 6. Lightning was once thought to be among the best strategies for taking down a Steel Watcher. Additionally, in Honour Mode, Steel Watchers are only stunned for one round by Flashblinders, a kind of bomb made expressly to disable them. But even at a lesser level of difficulty, they are stunned for two turns.
Thankfully, big explosives like the Runepower Bomb and Runepowder Barrels, which may destroy a sizable portion of the Foundry all at once, are still available to players. Hopefully, defeating Gortash’s mechanical army and capturing the Foundry will be much easier with these weapons in addition to the Gondians’ strengthened fortifications.