Hit Dungeons and Dragons-inspired RPG Baldur’s Gate 3 recently introduced its fourth post-launch patch. The patch focuses on fixing a number of glitches, including erasing some repetitive dialogue from Gale and removing a game-breaking bug that sometimes prevented the progression of Karlach’s character story. Among the changes made was the removal of an unconventional yet humorous way of defeating Cazador Szarr, a master vampire seeking the return of his lost spawn – the party’s rogue, Astarion.
As the Act 3 battle against Cazador and his minions takes place over a massive chasm, it was previously possible to use the simple “Shove” action to send the vampire lord to his doom – even if he was in his intangible mist form. (Sadly, Astarion himself probably isn’t strong enough to do the deed unless you reclass him, but Strength-focused party members like Karlach or Lae’zel could easily succeed on the check.) As Cazador’s corpse then “teleported” back to the platform for an emotional cutscene with Astarion, players who used the Shove strategy weren’t even deprived of the opportunity to loot the body.
Unfortunately, that option has now been removed – in Larian Studios’ own words, “Cazador suddenly remembered he can turn into mist and fly, so he’ll no longer give up the ghost if he falls into a chasm.” The fight against Cazador was also made more difficult; he has a large field of vision, can turn into a swarm of bats, and possesses Legendary Resistance on Tactician difficulty. Luckily, this Baldur’s Gate 3 guide is loaded with tips and tricks for defeating this villainous vampire and stopping his Ascension ritual without making use of Shove.
Daylight Is Still A Vampire’s Greatest Weakness
Although Astarion himself can walk in the sun without risk due to the influence of a mindflayer tadpole, Cazador possesses no such advantage. The spell Daylight, which can be learned by Clerics, Druids, Sorcerers, Rangers, Paladins, and Bards, is extremely powerful when used against a vampiric enemy. Players who do not wish to get too close to Cazador and potentially trigger an attack can even enchant a throwing weapon or even a mundane object (such as Scratch the dog’s ball) and throw it at him.
Because the battle does not begin immediately upon entering Cazador’s chamber, it is also possible to set things up by throwing an enchanted item at the vampire lord’s feet before engaging with him. Due to his vampiric “Sunlight Hypersensitivity” condition, this will cause him to begin taking damage as soon as the battle starts, potentially even before he is able to act. As his boss fight has somewhat of a time limit (he will still be actively performing his Ascension ritual and trying to drain Astarion’s life while you fight him) this bit of setup can be extremely valuable.
Bring The Blood Of Lathander
When it comes to dealing light-based damage, the legendary mace Blood of Lathander has no equal. This mace can be found hidden at Rosymorn Monastery in the Mountain Pass area of Baldur’s Gate 3’s map. In Astarion’s own rather dramatic words, this mace allows you to channel “the full, concentrated power of the sun.”
The wielder can cast the spell Sunbeam, which deals 6d8 Radiant damage, once per short rest. In addition, the weapon itself emits a holy light that can Blind undead creatures – such as Cazador. It is highly recommended that one of your party members be wielding the Blood of Lathander in this fight, and use its Sunbeam ability to attack Cazador directly while fending his minions off using its holy light.
Magical Weapons Are A Must
Cazador is resistant to all types of non-magical damage. Thus, your non-casters should still be wielding magical weapons – otherwise, you won’t be able to keep up with the vampire’s frequently regenerating health. Other than the previously mentioned Blood of Lathander, good options include the following:
- Any Masterwork Weapon crafted using Sussur Bark (found in the Underdark), which can deal Acid damage
- Any Adamantine Weapon forged in the Adamantine Forge in the Underdark, as they ignore resistances
- The Blade of Oppressed Souls, found in the Mindflayer Colony, which can deal Psychic and Acid damage
- The hammer Foebreaker, found in the vaults beneath Sorcerous Sundries, which ignores Bludgeoning resistance
- The morningstar Sacred Star, purchased in Stormshore Tabernacle, as hits have a chance of Turning undead enemies
You can also have a Wizard, Paladin, Eldritch Knight Fighter, Arcane Trickster Rogue, or War Domain Cleric cast the spell Magic Weapon on a non-magical weapon to achieve a similar effect.
Keep The Minions Away
It can be tempting to want to go all-in on the vampire lord himself – he’s powerful, smug, and his face is just so punchable. Unfortunately, he’s surrounded by minions: Werewolves, ghastly Fallen Gur Hunters, Bats, and an irritating support skeleton named Chatterteeth.
Deal with the lower-HP targets, such as the bats, using passive area-of-effect damage like the Spiritual Guardians (Radiant) spell. Have your casters or magic-weapon wielders focus on the werewolves, who are completely immune to non-magical damage. Chatterteeth, on the other hand, is weak to Bludgeoning damage, meaning that a heavy hitter wielding a hammer or mace can make quick work of him. The Fallen Hunters, as lower-level Undead, are particularly susceptible to the Turn Undead spell. (Technically, that spell can also work on Cazador himself, but his high stats mean that he is very unlikely to fail that save.)
At least one of your party members should be focused on dealing with the minions at all times. Even if you’re on a time limit, taking out the minions as early as possible is key, as they may otherwise swarm your party and even kill off a member or two before you can deliver Cazador his death.
Come Packing Counterspell
While Cazador will spend many of his turns turning into mist and/or bats and running away from you, he is unfortunately a high-level spellcaster who can use Call Lightning and other powerful damage-dealing spells. At least one member of your party should have Counterspell prepared, especially if he and his many minions decide to all team up and target one of your vulnerable characters.
To Bring Astarion Or Not?
Before even facing this vampire lord, you have an important decision to make: include Astarion in your attacking party or not? On the one hand, it may seem obvious to bring him – this is, of course, the epic final fight of his personal fight. However, bringing him and leaving him at camp actually result in two drastically different versions of this fight, each with their own pros and cons.
With Astarion
If you take Astarion with you, Cazador will immediately capture him and bind him in chains as part of the Ascension ritual. He will be removed from the fight, essentially leaving you with a party of three. (Fortunately, Patch 4 removed a bug where any summoned creatures controlled by Astarion would fight on Cazador’s side following his capture.) This will also start a countdown to the ritual – and, if Astarion is not freed or Cazador defeated within about three turns, the rogue will be permanently killed and the fight will get a lot trickier as you now have a Vampire Ascendant to take down.
Fortunately, you can free Astarion from his chains, at which point he will immediately rejoin the fight as a controllable party member. Send your most mobile party member across the room to use the “Help” action on him and rescue him as soon as possible, both to stop the ritual and restore your party to its full size.
Without Astarion
If you do not bring Astarion with you, Cazador will not be able to chain him, and the countdown to the Ascension ritual will not occur. While the fight is still a difficult one, you will have your entire party with you and will not be on any time limit, as Cazador no longer has access to enough spawn to Ascend. However, you will earn disapproval from Astarion upon returning to camp, as he wanted to be there when confronting his cruel former master. Some players who chose Astarion as their romantic partner have also reported that they cannot properly complete his romance path, as his Act 3 love scene is triggered by him confronting Cazador.
Even if you did not choose to romance him, you will miss out on a very emotional cutscene, as well as the ability to choose whether or not Astarion becomes the Vampire Ascendant instead of Cazador, which will affect the character’s scenes, dialogue, and behavior for the rest of the game. Finally, some players have also reported that they are unable to loot Cazador’s staff from his body unless Astarion is present, missing out on a fairly solid equippable weapon.
With the help of these handy tips and tricks, you will hopefully be able to take down this tricky Baldur’s Gate 3 boss even if he can no longer simply be Shoved to his much-deserved doom! Are there any other tips and strategies for defeating Cazador Szarr that you would like to see added to this guide? What other Baldur’s Gate 3 topics would you like to see GameLuster cover in the future? Comment below and let us know!
