BG3 player discovers how to raid Emerald Grove without losing Wyll & Karlach

Raiding Emerald Grove is usually reserved for evil playthroughs, especially because Karlach and Wyll tend to leave your party if you decide to do so. Nonetheless, one player has found a trick you can use if you want to raid the Grove and keep them both. 

The big decision in Act 1 of Baldur’s Gate 3 is how you decide to deal with the Tieflings and Druids in Emerald Grove, and there are a few ways to go about it. 

Either you can help them out by taking out the Goblin leaders, side with Minthara and kill them all, or steal the Idol of Silvanus and let the Druids do the job for you.

The latter options are usually done when players are doing an evil playthrough, or maybe to do a bit of nuanced storytelling while playing The Dark Urge. Some do it just so they can recruit Minthara, even though there is a way to save the Grove and get her anyway. 

The main sour note that comes with raiding the Grove, though, is that Karlach and Wyll will leave your party if you do so – and you’ve got no say about it. Even Gale can leave if you fail a dialogue check with him, and you’ll be left with very few of the Origin characters. 

If you don’t like that idea, though, ‘CrushCoalMakeDiamond’ shared a way on Reddit to work around this issue. Here is how they suggested raiding the Grove and keeping Wyll and Karlach: 

1. Steal the Idol of Silvanus and leave without attacking anyone. 
2. Tell Minthara where she can find the Grove. 
3. Take a long rest and travel to Emerald Grove. 
4. The Druids will have killed the Tieflings, and Minthara will attack without you. 
5. Kill Wyll and/or Karlach. 
6. Speak to Minthara to begin the Goblin party. 
7. Revive Wyll and/or Karlach after the party. 

Usually, Wyll and Karlach will leave during the Goblin party scene. If they are dead when this happens, though, the cutscene won’t trigger and they should both stay after the fact. They may not be happy with you, but they won’t leave. 

Alternatively, you can also play as Wyll or Karlach and raid the Grove yourself. It could make for some interesting storytelling to have these two characters coded as ‘good guys’ to make evil choices, too. 

Unfortunately with this method you won’t be able to raid the Grove yourself, but it all depends on what kind of playthrough you want. If you don’t mind losing both Wyll and Karlach, then by all means, just raid the Grove and enjoy. 

But, if you like these characters and don’t want to see them go, this is a solid workaround to make sure they stay behind in an evil playthrough. It’s just up to you how you want to see it through.