Should you let Abdirak hit you in Baldur's Gate 3?

Should you let Abdirak hit you in Baldur's Gate 3? A question you may have never expected to have but Baldur’s Gate 3 is nothing if not delightfully surprising on most occasions.

Abdirak is a worshipper of Loviatar, the goddess of pain. During you’re playthrough of the game you may stumble upon the curious devotee within the Goblin Camp in Act One.

Choosing to go through with his pain challenge will yield the Loviatar’s Love blessing, alternatively, dispatching of the worshipper will grant you a unique weapon.

Join us as we go through both options, choose the best outcome, and share how to complete Abdirak’s test effectively enough to get the blessing.

• For more Baldur’s Gate 3 tips and tricks, check out our Auntie Ethel guide, featuring her location and how to beat her

Where is Abdirak in Baldur’s Gate 3?

You can find Abdirak located within the Bloodied Shrine, connected to the Shattered Sanctum in the Goblin Camp.

The location is east of the Shrine to the Absolute, you can find it by following these steps:

• From the Goblin Camp main entrance, walk through the next set of doors and towards the shrine
• Turn east, heading up the first set of stairs on the right of the shrine
• Here there are three alcoves, the right alcove holds a torture rack (you can choose to let the prisoner go free), and the left is where Volo is being kept prisoner, whom you can also free
• Head towards the middle alcove, where Abdirak will be waiting (note that he will not be in the area if you have chosen to attack the Goblins and Minthara)
• Read the book on the table, this will help you unlock an additional dialogue option with Abdirak and choose the type of damager you wish to take (the book is called On Receiving Her Grace)

All Abdirak dialogue choices in Baldur's Gate 3

To receive the Loviatar’s Love blessing and pass Abdirak’s test the rule of thumb is to choose the intimidation dialogue options. Pass each intimidation check and remain above 40% of your total HP and you’ll satisfy him enough to grant you Loviatar’s Love.

Reading the book ‘On Receiving Her Grace’ first will give you the additional dialogue option “I saw your book. Let me try some of those techniques” effectively meaning you can choose which damage type you wish to take, Mace (Bludgeoning), Dagger (Piercing) or Handaxe (Slashing), tailoring your damage type will help if you have any resistances in play.

• For more Baldur’s Gate 3 tips and tricks check out our guide on how to get and use ceremonial weapons in the game

Best Abdirak outcomes

If you choose to engage with Abdirak and allow him to strike you, you will ultimately receive Loviatar’s Love, a buff that gives you a +2 to attack rolls and wisdom-saving rolls for three turns when you are at 30% health or lower.

Alternatively, if you choose to kill him you can loot his corpse to gain a Scroll of Hold Person, four Gold and a mace called Loviatar’s Scourge which will grant you resistance to necrotic damage when wielding it, plus 1d6 necrotic damage to nearby targets.

From personal experience, I think the blessing is the much more useful of the two and will help you in a pinch if combat goes sideways. There are hundreds of special weapons in Baldur’s Gate 3 that hold different enchantments, chances are you’ll pick up something equally as powerful if not more so soon after you leave the Goblin Camp.

An additional option is perhaps a little heartless, but hey – it won’t affect any outcomes if you succeed in the following dialogue options and if you’re already planning on siding with the Druids then more the better.

You can go through all of Abdirak’s pain challenges, get the blessing then kill him and loot his body to receive both the blessing and the mace. You will trigger an interaction with a goblin guard but a successful intimidation, deception or persuasion check will make them move along, leaving you free to loot the corpse and get both outcomes.

If you choose this option, having a companion with you who is either a Bard or can cast the Guidance or Friends cantrip for additional help is always a good idea. If unsuccessful you can, as always, use inspiration too for a re-roll.

Is Loviatar’s Love permanent in Baldur's Gate 3?

Loviatar’s Love is a permanent buff in Baldur’s Gate 3, although it is listed under conditions, it will remain even after a long rest.

Additionally, Shadowheart, Astarion and Lae’zel will approve of the challenge and Shadowheart will receive inspiration afterwards. Other party members will be less on board with the torture.

That rounds off our guide to all Abdirak dialogue choices and outcomes in Baldur’s Gate 3. For more tips and tricks, check out our guide to finding the Nightsong or see our main Baldur’s Gate 3 homepage.