It’s crazy that Baldur’s Gate 3 is already a year old. Still, it’s even crazier to believe that in all that time, while gamers have been beating Elden Ring by playing the guitar, blindfolded and teaching their dog to win speed running contests, only 35 players have managed to unlock Baldur’s Gate 3’s rarest ending.
But let’s go back. As part of the ongoing birthday celebrations for Baldur’s Gate 3, Larian has unveiled some super awesome stats about the players who have been enjoying the game over the last year and broken down just how those players have been spending their time.
Before we go further into this, I want to warn you that even though the game is a year old, there is still a whole plethora of content for players to discover. So, if you’re afraid of even the mildest of spoilers, turn away now—you’ve been warned.
So, from the stats that Larian has released, we now know that over the last year, 1,223,305 of players’ playthroughs ended in defeat—not just any defeat, but defeat so brutal that 76% of those players just ended up deleting their saved game altogether.
We also know that 1.9 million players have somehow found themselves turning to a wheel of cheese. And yes, you did read that right. Players were also not afraid to get their freak on while playing because over 658,000 players chose to have sex with Halsin, and 30% of those chose to do it while he was in bear form.
Players were also not averse to getting it on with the Emperor, with 1,1 million players seducing him and 37% choosing to experience what all the mind flyer tentacles can be used for…
However, not everyone was falling into bed or onto a tentacle with the Emperor; 1.8 million players had no issue betraying him, and 54,000 players chose just to mind their own business and pet Tara… although how Tara ended up as something pettable is a story for another day.
But perhaps the most interesting of all the stats shared was that only 34 players, and no, not 34%, just plain 34 players, got a very specific ending.
The ending in question sees Lae’zel choose to kill themselves at the end of the game after Vlaakith rejects their ascension. And if you’re wondering not why someone would do that but why only 34 people would, well, the answer is that this is an exceptionally tricky ending to end up with.
Basically, this ending only exists as a true testament to how fully Larian embraces player choice and freedom throughout the game. In order to pull it off, players would need Lae’zel to remain loyal to Vlaakith in the Gith’s personal quest while choosing to become a mind flayer when offered the choice by the Emperor.
At the very end of the game, Flayer Lae’zel will give Vlaakith a little astral projection call, which will go unanswered. After realising she’s been rejected, body and soul, Squid’zel has the choice to end her life then and there or try to carry on regardless.
This means that players will not only have to choose the evil path for Law’zel throughout the game but also not pull it off too well because they need to become one of the Githyanki’s mortal enemies for no real reason right at the very end.
So, kudos, I guess, to those 34 players. You set out to break the game and the story for the lols, and you succeeded.
But now I want to know which of these stats surprised you the most. Let me know in the comments.