Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Story & Character Discussion Act 3 Points of No Return (when does the endgame start)

I've done most of the things in act 3 that there are to do, and now I've really only got two major story/plot threads left. Going after Gortash (which includes going to the irone throne and destroying the steel watch) and going to get the hammer from Hell and then (maybe) saving Orpheus. It feels like going to the iron throne will trigger an enemy relationship with Gortash, after which point I'll need to go straight after him, which to me seems like it will trigger whatever the endgame is. Is this true? Or can I go after the iron throne without immediately skipping to endgame? In my head my path of desire is do irone throne > destroy steel watch > kill gortash > go get the hammer > do endgame, but I'm afraid to start this sequence for fear of getting railroaded out of going to hell.

At what point does the endgame actually trigger? Is it an event? How much time do I get to wrap up before delving into the final areas?

If you've already

So if I'm reading you right, I can

The point of no return will warn you when you get there, as it did in act 1 and act 2. There is the usual pretense of urgency but I've been incapable of triggering a forced ending no matter the amount of long rests. There are brief, small changes to at least two locations in the city after you take down both Orin and Gortash but those will end when you've been there. Shouldn't lock you out of any quests. You can do the House of Hope at any point as well. Getting the Orphic Hammer does not lock you out of content and it's actually one of the most rewarding areas. Not getting the Orphic Hammer can be bad.

Basically, yes. Though it's more that you get access to the endgame area and some very obvious clues that you should HURRY.

yes, they do. taking out the iron throne makes the entire Wyrm's fort hostile to you including the civilians in the castle. it's a notable change.

makes it a bit tougher to do a quick in and out if you want to do the dragon quest, but still doable. You can use a similar method to bypass the entire lower fort area if you want, but yes, taking out the iron throne does make vast changes to the fort area.

Just did the Iron Throne last night. How else would you learn about the dragon other than from Ravengard? Seems like the iron throne is requirement to the quest