Who is Baldur’s Gate 3’s Shadowheart? Shadowheart is one of the first Baldur’s Gate 3 companions you’ll come across in the Early Access build of the game – and although she’s immediately happy to cooperate with you in order to find a solution to the wiggly little problem you’ve both got festering in your ocular region, you’ll soon find her to be sassy, condescending, and frequently disagreeable.
For those of you who need a helping hand gaining her favor in the fantasy game, we’ve got everything you need to know about gaining approval with Shadowheart. If you’re wondering how she can be best used in your party, we’ve got some tips for you – warning; there will be extensive Baldur’s Gate 3 spoilers ahead. Don’t forget to check out our other companion guides for Minsc, Halsin, and Wyll if you want to try something different.
How to recruit Shadowheart
Shadowheart can be found banging on the door to the Abandoned Ruins at the very start of Chapter One after you crash land on the beach. If you don’t recruit her there, she’ll show up in the druid enclave, and eventually turn up at your camp with murderous intent – after which you can persuade her to join you. It’s difficult not to bump into her at some point.
If you’re wondering how to free Shadowheart from the pod on the nautiloid ship – it’s not possible. Even if you pass the skill checks in the dialogue while interacting with the pod, Shadowheart will remain stuck inside – though your efforts are recognized when you meet her again after the prologue.
Shadowheart approval guide
You gain approval with Shadowheart by prioritizing finding a healer, and declining other solutions to the tadpole problem.
You’ll also gain her approval by disagreeing with Laezel – who she really doesn’t like – and by being kind to animals. Petting the dog, Scratch, while he’s in your camp gives you approval with Shadowheart each time you do it, and you can give that good boy infinite pets to achieve maximum approval with Shadowheart. True, that might seem like an exploit, but then again, who doesn’t love to see that little tail wagging away?
There’s another trick you can use to gain approval indefinitely – once you find out that Shadowheart worships Shar, you can earn infinite approval with her by asking her to tell you something about herself ‘besides Shar, besides tadpoles’ and then asking her to point out any night orchids you see.
You’ll lose approval with Shadowheart by agreeing with Laezel about anything whatsoever, and she definitely won’t like it if you decide to help Lae’zel fight the Tieflings that imprisoned her. She’s also not a fan of Wyll’s plan to help the refugees, and prying into her past when you talk to her will you earn an approval loss.
A more comprehensive list of interactions can be found at the Baldur’s Gate 3 fextralife wiki, but there are plenty more approval opportunities to be discovered throughout Early Access.
How to romance Shadowheart
Larian Studios has confirmed that all of the Baldur’s Gate 3 companions can be romanced. There’s currently only one location to begin a romance with most companions. You have to rescue the Druid Halsin and complete the Save the Refugees side quest in order to trigger a celebration. Here, you may approach any companion to begin a relationship with you – with a catch.
To romance the devoted Shadowheart, you must have a high enough approval rating with her. Approach her during the celebration. After a little chit-chat about your recent adventures, she will ask to share a bottle of wine with you. Tell her you’ll find her after everyone has turned in for the night.
After, head to your bedroll and select Shadowheart as who you’d like to spend the night with. You’ll find her near a waterfall and share pleasant conversation with wine. This romance scene is markedly less saucy than the others, ending in only a kiss. How lovely – given what we’ve seen of Baldur’s Gate 3 so far, expect a more explicit love scene later in the game.
Shadowheart companion quest
Shadowheart’s personal quest is called ‘Daughter of Darkness’, and is automatically unlocked upon recruiting her. At the moment, the only progression available for this quest involves a statue near the windmill in the blighted village – Shadowheart has a ‘strange, magical flare-up’ upon nearing it. You’ll also get her to reveal she’s a worshipper of dark goddess Shar and is on a mission for her – and has had her memories suppressed in order to better serve her.
Shadowheart build guide
According to Larian’s early access statistics, Shadowheart has the highest death rate of all the companions. That’s not surprising when you consider her tragically low dex and dangerously small AC, plus useless amounts of strength. However, if you want to keep her in the party, Reddit user /ucarnivoroustofu recommends giving her either the Heavy Armored feat at level 4 to improve her AC, or giving her an extra +2 wisdom.
That’s everything we know about Baldur’s Gate 3’s Shadowheart for now – if you’re about to embark on a brand new adventure in Larian’s latest RPG game, we’ve got a guide to Baldur’s Gate 3 classes and Baldur’s Gate 3 races to answer all your burning questions.