How One Baldur's Gate 3 Item Can Inadvertently Be a…

Baldur's Gate 3 pushed the limits on magical items, with many weapons, amulets, and armor items providing magical effects. Some of these effects are less useful than others, but others can break the game if used correctly. While some of the most powerful items in Baldur's Gate 3 are only obtainable late in Act 2 or in Act 3, one magical item can cheese combat with its effect, and it's available as early as Act 1.

Baldur's Gate 3's Deathstalker Mantle already has one of the best enchantments in the game. While many cloaks in the game provide an enchantment, the Deathstalker Mantle offers an effect that can unintentionally make certain fights laughably easy.

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By Joe Grantham

How Baldur's Gate 3's Deathstalker Mantle Works

The Deathstalker Mantle is only available to the Dark Urge. It is gifted to players as a reward after the pivotal event in Act 1, where the Dark Urge takes their first victim. This scene is important as it introduces Sceleritas Fel, who reinforces the idea that the Dark Urge's murderous tendencies are not a result of the tadpole. The gifting of the Deathstalker Mantle as a reward also introduces another, more powerful, force than Sceleritas Fel.

The Dark Urge is able to use the Deathstalker Mantle immediately or to give it to another party member. The Deathstalker Mantle grants the wearer the passive ability The Shadow Itself, which grants the wearer Invisibility for two full turns immediately after killing an enemy, which can be activated once per turn. Unlike most invisibility spells or effects, this invisibility requires no action, consumes no spell slots, and doesn’t rely on concentration. The effect kicks in automatically, allowing the wearer to vanish from sight the moment they kill, and essentially allows the wearer to be Invisible for the entirety of combat.

In practice, this can make certain battles, particularly boss battles, far easier than intended. The ability to vanish instantly after every kill effectively allows players to chain Invisibility and force enemies to search for the Invisible character, essentially wasting a turn, and fundamentally shifts the pacing and dynamic of encounters. This can happen even if completely unintended by the player, who can complete entire combat encounters without taking damage.

Tactics For the Deathstalker Mantle

This benefits some classes more than others. Rogues, particularly Assassins, gain tremendous benefits by disappearing after landing a Sneak Attack kill, then are free to move to a better spot. Melee Fighters and Barbarians can use the cloak to break enemy aggression and force foes to spend turns searching for an invisible target. While this works best for classes like Rogue or the Gloomstalker Ranger, spellcasters or hybrid BG3 classes can make great use of the Deathstalker Mantle to stay alive longer and control the flow of combat.

The Deathstalker Mantle Includes Drawbacks

Playing as the Dark Urge means missing out on encountering Alfira in Act 2, which some players may find problematic, as she grants the Potent Robe as a reward after the player rescues the tieflings from Moonrise Towers. This isn't an issue on an evil Durge run, but players who have characters built on Charisma, such as a Warlock or Sorcerer, will miss out with the loss of the Potent Robe. However, if Alfira is knocked out in Act 1, with Quil Grootslang being murdered instead, players can get both the Potent Robe and the Deathstalker Mantle.

Another drawback is that the Invisibility effect on the Deathstalker Mantle isn't perfect. Enemies with abilities like See Invisibility or True Sight can counter it, and even those with unusually high perception can detect the wearer if they're actively looking for them. Despite this, the Deathstalker Mantle's benefits far outweigh its drawbacks, and make even Act 3's combat far easier.

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OpenCritic Reviews: Top Critic Avg: 96 /100 Critics Rec: 97%

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Released: August 3, 2023
ESRB: M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence
Developer(s): Larian Studios
Publisher(s): Larian Studios
Engine: Divinity 4.0
Multiplayer: Online Co-Op, Local Co-Op
Cross-Platform Play: Full cross-platform play.