Baldur’s Gate 3 is so full of secrets and easter eggs that we will likely still be discovering new ones for months to come.
Recently, a very unique secret has been found regarding the item Dark Mind, which is only acquirable at the very beginning, before the Nautiloid Ship crashes. This item was seemingly useless, but it turns out it does in fact have a use—it’s just so far removed from where you actually find it that it’s truly a marvel it was discovered at all.
Where to find the Dark Mind in Baldur’s Gate 3
While aboard the Nautiloid ship, you will inevitability encounter the large circular room full of Mind Flayer Transformation Pods where Shadowheart can be found trapped in a pod.
The focus of the room is to free (or not free) Shadowheart, however, if you move to the very back of the room (just to the right of the opening to the next area), you will find the Dark Mind sitting on a desk.
It is not marked as a special item in any way, cannot be interacted with in any way, is worth almost nothing, and is unreasonably heavy (maybe not unreasonably when you consider that the average human head weighs 20 pounds).
In any event, there seems to be literally no reason you should pick it up, and even less of a reason that you should hang onto it for the first two acts.
Looks can be deceiving though, and this item found during the first hour actually does serve a purpose some 20 to 30 hours later.
Strangely, this isn’t the only Mind you can find on the Mind Flayer Ship that can later be used in the Necrotic Laboratory. If you continue into the next room past Shadowheart’s pod, you will find Slave Mind on the ground in the back of the room next to a dead thrall.
How to use the Dark Mind in Baldur’s Gate 3
If the location and specifics of Dark Mind were odd, then the way you use it is downright shocking. Towards the end of Act Two, players venture into a deep system of tunnels beneath Moonrise Tower—the Mind Flayer Colony. Within this colony, you’ll be able to find the Necrotic Laboratory, known for its incredibly difficult Brain Puzzle.
Just before the Brain Puzzle (still in the Necrotic Lab), you’ll be able to find the area where you use Dark Mind. Face the Brain Puzzle, and turn right. After about a quarter of the circular room, you’ll see an area that can be reached by jumping down a few feet.
Across the way is a small pedestal-like contraption labelled Mind-Archive Interface, next to which a severed head named Slack-Skinned Head is situated. Yuck. In this same area, you’ll find a Resonating Orb, which can be picked up and carried for an aura that grants advantage on Physical Checks and disadvantage on Mental Checks.
On the interface you will see Willing Mind and True Mind… and both the names and portraits on the items may ring a bell—they look just like Dark Mind.
Placing either of these Minds into the Interface will result in a unique conversation with Slack-Skinned Head, as the Interface is using the brain as the operating system for the severed head. In fact, all throughout the Mind Flayer Colony, Minds can be found—Butchered Mind, Open Mind, Closed Mind, etc.
You can locate them by listening for disembodied voices in the Colony.
Dark Mind can be placed into this Interface just like the others, and doing so will result in Slack-Skinned head singing a very creepy and macabre song about a man who murdered his brother over romantic jealousy. Dark Mind indeed.
The bizarre part of all of this is the fact you cannot return to camp while within the Necrotic Laboratory, nor can you return once you have left. This means in order to access the secret dialogue, you must have picked up Dark Mind during the game’s intro and kept it in your inventory this entire time. As I mentioned before, I can’t begin to imagine why somebody did this in the first place, but now we know.
Is it worth it to start a new playthrough and progress all the way to the end of Act Two just for this easter egg? Not really. Is it something you should keep in mind for your next playthrough? Absolutely! Baldur’s Gate 3 has tons of replayability, especially now Larian Studios has made it less of a hassle to play with friends.
Published: Aug 31, 2023 11:16 pm