Should You Release The Pixie?

As the long-awaited third installment in its series, Baldur's Gate 3 allows for player choice to drastically affect the outcome of the game's many quests and narratives, with many decisions also having a major impact on gameplay and companion approval. One especially important-seeming decision comes in the game's second act, once players have finally acquired a Moonlantern and discovered that a pixie is trapped inside. While the decision of whether to free the pixie is a tough one to make for first-time players, the solution can be relatively simple.

[Warning: The following article contains mild spoilers for Baldur's Gate 3.]

In Baldur's Gate 3's second act, the game begins to revolve around surviving the deadly Shadow Curse, which deals continuous damage to any character not protected by light. In the Shadow-Cursed Lands, options will be limited to torches, spells that emit light, or Shadowheart's personal protection from the curse's effects in less heavily affected areas. The blessing of Selûne, which can be obtained from Isobel at the Last Light Inn, will also help to protect the party, but it can't block the curse in certain areas. To become completely immune, players will have to find a Moonlantern, which can completely nullify the effects of the curse.

Baldur’s Gate 3: How to Get Through The Shadow Curse

How To Get A Moonlantern In Baldur's Gate 3

For most players, the Moonlantern will probably be obtained from the drider, Kar'niss, either through combat or through dialogue checks. A broken Moonlantern can also be repaired in the lab of Balthazar, one of Baldur's Gate 3's bosses, or simply given to players at Moonrise Tower. Once players have obtained the lantern, however, they are faced with a choice - freeing the pixie trapped inside the lantern and potentially losing immunity to the curse, or keeping the lantern functional. While the choice might seem like a major decision, choosing either option will still allow players to progress, with only minor differences between them.

"An Iconic, Engaging Mess Of Brilliant Ideas": Baldur's Gate 3 Review

Freeing The Pixie In BG3 Has Interesting Benefits

While first-time players may be afraid of losing the immunity to the Shadow Curse that the Moonlantern provides, freeing the pixie supplies the entire party with a passive effect that achieves the same Shadow Curse protection, making them completely immune. Once freed, the pixie will also give the party a Filigreed Feywild Bell, which can be used to refresh the pixie's blessing if it's lost for any reason. This carries the additional benefits of not having to equip the Moonlantern to a party member and not having to worry about staying within its light, giving the party more freedom with its equipment and movement.

Interestingly, figuring out whether to free the pixie is one situation where high stats can be unhelpful. Succeeding an Intelligence roll will warn the protagonist that pixies are known for their trickery, a prompt that would seem to indicate potential consequences for listening to its pleas. The pixie turns out to not be engaged in any trickery at all, rendering that bit of knowledge more distracting than beneficial. This provides one of Baldur's Gate 3's many examples of various fantasy races breaking their stereotypes, and for anyone who's played enough DnD, this one might be more surprising than most.

Jennifer English On How Baldur's Gate 3's Shadowheart Was "Her Dream Job"

The Moonlantern Is Still Helpful In Baldur's Gate 3

However, keeping the Moonlantern intact also has some benefits - especially against the shadow enemies that are present in many of the second act's encounters. Farther into the Shadow-Cursed Lands, many of the shadows will have the ability to automatically become invisible when not near bright lights, which the Moonlantern can easily nullify. Furthermore, certain shadows will have an aura that extinguishes most sources of light within a certain radius, which the Moonlantern is immune to, making it a strong option for many of the second act's fights.

All the same, many of the fights involving shadows are on the easier side of the second act's encounters, and the freedom of movement and lack of gear restriction afforded by the pixie's blessing will likely prove more valuable in most cases. For roleplay purposes, freeing the pixie will also likely be the correct decision for a "good" playthrough, with the opposite being true for an "evil" playthrough. Whichever option a player chooses, however, there are a few later-game consequences that arise from each possible choice - although none of them are particularly important, mostly revolving around one quest in Baldur's Gate 3's third act.

Freeing The Pixie Has Some Effect On BG3's Third Act

Once players have arrived in Baldur's Gate in the third act and made their way to the Lower City, they may run across the headquarters of the city's newspaper, Baldur's Mouth. Talking to the editor reveals that the paper is planning to publish a negative article about the player's party, beginning the "Stop The Presses" side quest. This quest involves sneaking into the building's basement, past guards and a few steel watchers, to sabotage the paper and change the article. Once players have made it to the printing press in the basement, a consequence of their earlier choice will become clear.

The printing press will be revealed to be both sentient and friends with the pixie trapped in the Moonlantern, Dolly Dolly Dolly. If players have previously freed the pixie, the printing press is automatically friendly, agreeing to change the article without requiring any sort of ability check. If players have not freed the pixie, however, they will need to pass an ability check in order to convince the printing press to accept a different article. As the quest involves sneaking through the rooms of the Baldur's Mouth's basement, where two powerful steel watchers are present, skipping the ability check can be useful in completing the quest.

How Important "Stop The Presses" Is In Baldur's Gate 3

"Stop the Presses" can feel like one of the most critical side quests in Baldur's Gate 3, as the game makes it clear that the paper running as is will pose a serious threat to the party's reputation. For anyone attempting to use diplomacy in the many challenges of Act 3, losing the city's trust seems like a terrible outcome. In practice, however, it doesn't have much effect on critical elements, but it does unfortunately make some minor NPCs unwilling to engage. Taking care of Lord Gortash will ultimately right things regardless, so this can just be a temporary effect.

How To Beat Lord Enver Gortash In Baldur’s Gate 3

It isn't actually necessary to free the pixie before progressing through the Shadow-Cursed Lands to gain this advantage, as helping it out at any point in Act 2 will have the same effect on the printing press situation. The pixie may spend the entire act shouting vitriol at the party, but as long as its demands are met before Act 3 starts, it seems that it's quick to forgive. The opportunity to free the pixie disappears once Act 3 starts, however, closing off that possibility forever.

You Can't Go Wrong With The Pixie In Baldur's Gate 3

Aside from this relatively minor side quest, however, there are practically no consequences for the player's decision to free the pixie or not. The Shadow Curse is not a factor past the game's second act, completely removing the need for either the pixie's blessing or the Moonlantern. Although the Moonlantern's light can potentially prove useful in some of the game's later encounters, other sources of light are relatively easy to access as spell slots become more plentiful, the opportunity cost for holding onto the Moonlantern instead of a more powerful weapon becomes far greater as some of the third act's more powerful loot becomes available.

Whether to free the pixie in Baldur's Gate 3 can seem important to first-time players, but aside from roleplay, the choice's effects on gameplay are relatively minor. Once players have acquired the Moonlantern, they are immune to the Shadow Curse regardless of their decision, and freeing the pixie only has a minor effect on a late-game side quest. For most players, freeing the pixie in Baldur's Gate 3 will likely be the correct decision.