Can You Save Zombie Astarion In Baldur's Gate 3?

Baldur's Gate 3 is very character-heavy with several routes for each of the player's allies and companions to go down. They all follow their own, unique arcs, and it's possible for a player to sway one character towards their "bad" ending while pursuing the best ending for another. There are also many subjective choices which can change the direction of a character's story - for example, there is always a sacrifice when players decide whether to kill or save Shadowheart's parents.

Players will likely be familiar with the choice in Act Three regarding helping Astarion become the vampire ascendant or talking him down from succeeding Cazador. However, a lot of players will not have seen the consequences of him not being there in the first place, and there is technically a third outcome for him if he is not recruited. Characters like Lae'zel and Shadowheart give the player several chances to recruit them - so are players able to make amends for these consequences and perhaps give Astarion another chance in Baldur's Gate 3?

Players Can Find Astarion As A Zombie In Act 3 If They Killed Him Before Reaching Cazador

Getting Rid Of Astarion Won't Stop The Rite Of Profane Ascension

Close

A lot of casual Baldur's Gate 3 players may have never encountered Astarion as a zombie. In Act 3, Cazador uses Astarion and all of his vampiric siblings as sacrifices for his ritual. If by this point Astarion has already been killed - perhaps by the hands of the player on the beach or after being handed to the Gur, or after being ignored completely, then Cazador will raise his corpse to use instead. As shown in a Reddit post by Lorien431, this will cause him to appear in this confrontation as a zombie.

Unlike the living - or perhaps regularly undead - Astarion, as a zombie, he cannot be helped out of the ritual. Upon Cazador's death, he will also be killed. Many will see this as a bleak ending to Astarion's story in their evil playthroughs in Baldur's Gate 3, and not think much more about his fate.

Zombie Astarion Is The Exception To The Revivify Spell

Despite Not Being A Companion, Zombie Astarion Can Be Revived After He Is Killed In The Cazador Fight

Custom image by Katarina Cimbaljevic

Something strange about Zombie Astarion is that he appears to work differently compared to any other non-companion NPC in Baldur's Gate 3. As previously mentioned, encountering Astarion in this state can only occur when the player does not have Astarion in their party as a companion, since it requires him to be permanently dead by the time players reach Cazador. Despite not being able to interact with him in any normal way, players can still use the spell revivify on him, which, as stated in its description, is only reserved for companions.

In some circumstances, if the player ends up letting Lae'zel die before Act Two, she will also be able to be revived without joining the party. This will resurrect her properly as her living self and allow the player to recruit her. This is not the same for zombie Astarion.

It's unclear why Larian decided that zombie Astarion would be the exception to the revivify spell, or if it's intentional at all. NPCs who can help the player in battle without being a member of their party cannot be revived - this is even the same for characters that can later become companions, which makes it possible to lose some characters such as Halsin, Jaheria, and Minthara forever. Though it's a lot more impactful to be able to have these characters die permanently, in comparison, Astarion will have much less use to the player if they take this route.

You Can Use Revivify On Zombie Astarion - But It Won't Bring Him Back In The Way You Might've Hoped

Zombie Astarion Can Take His Place At Camp

If a player does figure out that they can revive zombie Astarion, they may do so because they regret getting him killed initially, and want to give him another chance as a companion. However, once Astarion is already a zombie, he cannot be turned back. The player can still take his body back to camp and use the spell on him, where he will surprisingly act like his living self, and resume his old camp activities where his tent would have been - cycling through his reading and other idle animations.

Related Neil Newbon Talks About Building Astarion In BG3, Favorite Games, AI, & More In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant, Neil Newbon chatted about playing Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3, his favorite games, AI, and more.

If zombie Astarion is present in camp, he will still not be able to be interacted with. He also won't appear anywhere at Withers' party at the end of the game. He serves no purpose other than being a stand-in for his old self, and cannot be summoned in battle like Connor Vinderblad or other zombie allies. There are several hidden discoveries for curious players in Baldur's Gate 3, with zombie Astarion perhaps being one of the saddest.

Source: Lorien431/Reddit