Throughout the captivating story of Baldur’s Gate 3, there is an incredibly diverse variety of companions for you to meet and recruit for your fateful journey and all the challenges it holds. They each have their own personal story and ambitions that can affect the direction your story takes, and one of the most unique of them is Minsc. If you’re wondering how to go about bringing him into your ranks, here is our handy guide for how to recruit Minsc in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Who is Minsc & How to Recruit Him in Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3)
Despite his otherwise intimidating appearance, Minsc is a rather surprisingly eccentric character (especially when voiced by none other than Matthew Mercer) and good potential companion to have. Of the 10 possible companions to recruit throughout the game, he’s sequentially the last one you can obtain as you won’t find him until well into Act 3.
The key to finding him, however, is Jaheira. If you kept her alive and then recruited her during Act 2, you will soon learn that Minsc has been unknowingly working with a fake Jaheira in service to the Absolute, having been “tadpoled” and thus put under their control.
Going into Act 3, you’ll unlock Jaheira’s companion quest ‘The High Harper’, and as you progress you’ll gain access to the Counting House. There, you learn that Minsc is actually hiding down in the Sewers with the fake Jaheira, where they continue the agenda set by the Absolute. The next step in the quest is thus to make your way down to those Sewers and stop them.
While there are a few different ways to get into the Sewers, the one most recommended is via the Well southwest of Bloomridge Park in the Lower City. Once you’re inside, make your way to (X:-200, Y:865) where you’ll find the Abandoned Cistern. To get past it, you’ll need to solve a quick puzzle to balance the temperature and water levels. Do the following:
- Select one character from your party to handle all of the valve actions. That way if something should go wrong, only that character will receive blowback damage rather than the whole group.
- First interact with the water valve, you’ll see the indicator light fill up.
- After 4-6 seconds then switch to the temperature valve. Your goal is to balance the two until both indicators hit the correct mark on the gauge.
Once done, the nearby gate will open that will take you on to Minsc’s hideout.
A cutscene will ensue that shows Minsc himself speaking to the fake Jaheira. They’ll spot you and a fight will commence that must be handled correctly. First dispatch of all the side enemies flanking Minsc, including the fake Jaheira. Leave Minsc for last, and the rather obvious goal is not to kill him. When his health is low, deal him a Non-Lethal blow, ending the fight with him scuffed but alive.
In the subsequent dialogue with him, you need to convince him that the Jaheira he was working with that you killed was an imposter. Having the real Jaheira with you is what makes this possible, and while he’ll believe you, he’ll then run off in an unknown direction. Follow him until you discover that he was simply searching for his own miniature companion — a hamster named Boo. Minsc proclaims that above all else, Boo is his guide while he wields the “poking finger of justice”. That seals a two for one deal, sort of.
That concludes our guide for how to recruit Minsc in Baldur’s Gate 3. We hope you found this helpful, and let us know who your favorite companion is.
Be sure to check out all of our other guides for Baldur’s Gate 3, including our own official review of the game.
