What to Do With Mind Flayer Parasite Specimens in Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3)

Look, we get it. Despite all of the Guardian’s reassurances and declarations that it’s necessary to use them, you can’t quite decide what to do with Mind Flayer Parasite Specimens in Baldur’s Gate 3. They could very well be a way to gain otherworldly powers, but they could also turn you into a tentacled monster or force you toward an ending you don’t want to reach As such, you went looking for more info to inform your decision and found your way to our guide.

Luckily, we have the answers you’re looking for. Do be warned though:

We will get into some minor spoilers for the plot in order to give you the best answers possible. With that in mind, there are *Spoilers Ahead.*

Should You Use Mind Flayer Parasite Specimens in Baldur’s Gate 3? Answered

First off, let’s get one thing straight: You should definitely use Mind Flayer Parasite Specimens in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Though the game offers tons of flavor text about how they take away parts of you each time they’re used, there aren’t any long-term consequences of using them. You aren’t locked into a specific ending if you choose to utilize them, and they don’t corrupt your character or force you to do anything unless you roll terribly during a skill check. Likewise, the game ends with them being removed permanently, so your character returns to normal whether you used only one or every single parasite in the game.

Not only that, but using them opens up a new skill tree for you to work your way through, and it offers several passive and active abilities that can make the game significantly easier. You can manipulate enemies more easily, counter anyone or anything that hits you with a spell, and otherwise turn your character into a DPS wrecking ball of a fighter.

How to Use Parasite Specimens

With all this in mind, you might now need to know how to use Mind Flayer Parasite Specimens in Baldur’s Gate 3.

First, you’ll need to use them as an item from your inventory. This is as simple as pressing the Tab button or clicking the icon in the light blue circle next to your active character’s portrait. Do this, and then find the Parasite Specimen, which should be denoted with an Orange-colored square to show it’s a rare item.

Once you find one, right click it and select the Consume option. This should cause all of the Specimens you’re currently carrying to transfer over to a newly unlocked Illithid Powers menu. You can access this new menu by clicking on its icon, which is located to the left of the map in the upper right corner of the screen.

Click on the icon, and you’ll be taken to the Illithid Powers skill tree. From here, you can select which powers you want to unlock by clicking the Illithid Potential circle on the right and then clicking on the power you want to gain access to.

Bear in mind, though, that you can only open up a new node if you have a Parasite available to use. Likewise, some powers are only available after you reach a certain level or hit a specific point in the main story.

That covers everything we have to share regarding what to do with Mind Flayer Parasite Specimens in Baldur’s Gate 3. For more on the game, check out our other guides down below.