Baldur's Gate 3 offers several permanent bonuses throughout the game, and here's how you can obtain them:

In the expansive world of Baldur's Gate 3, you will undoubtedly encounter a plethora of buffs that will enrich your journey. While many of these benefits may fade after a short rest, a few selected advantages will accompany you from one challenge to the next, remaining by your side throughout the entire game.

Whether it's the ability to make your blood explode or to utilize specific actions as bonus actions, these enhancements are indispensable for any adventurer seeking to save the world from the Absolute. This comprehensive guide will provide you with precise information on how to acquire every enduring bonus that the game offers.

Every Permanent Buff In Baldur's Gate 3: Act 1

Each buff is elaborated upon in detail below the table.

Buff Name	Effect	Location	How To Get
Instrument Proficiency	Allows you to perform with musical instruments.	Emerald Grove	Help Alfira, the tiefling bard, finish her song.
Find Familiar; Scratch	Allows you to summon Scratch, a dog.	Wilderness	Invite Scratch to your camp
Brand of the Absolute	Allows you to use items associated with the Absolute.	Shattered Sanctum	Let Priestess Gut brand you
Loviatar's Love	Grants you a +2 bonus to Attack Rolls and Saving Throws when under 30 percent health.	Shattered Sanctum	Submit to Abdirak's beating and react accordingly
Paid the Price	Grants you a +1 to intimidation checks, but imposes disadvantage on Perception checks.	Riverside Teahouse	Allow Auntie Ethel to take your eye.
Auntie Ethel's Hair	Gives you a +1 to any ability score of your choice.	Riverside Teahouse	Weaken Auntie Ethel and then spare her.
Volo's Ersatz Eye	Allows you to see invisible creatures.	Campsite	Rescue Volo, then let him attempt to extract the parasite
Necromancy of Thay	Allows you to cast Speak with Dead, a second-level Necromancy spell.	Blighted Village	Read the Necromancy of Thay book
Forbidden Knowledge	Grants you a +1 to Wisdom Saving Throws and Ability Checks.	Blighted Village	Read the Necromancy of Thay book and succeed on a series of checks
Find Familiar: Shovel	Allows you to summon Shovel, a quasit.	Blighted Village	Use the "Summon Quasit" scroll found in the Necromancer's cellar.
BOOOAL's Benediction	Grants you advantage on Attack Rolls against bleeding targets.	Festering Cove	Allow the kuo-toa to sacrifice one of your companions to BOOAL
Survival Instinct	Grants you the "Survival Instinct" Illithid power, which lets you prevent an ally from going into a downed state and heal them instead.	Myconid Colony	Help Omeluum try to extract your parasite, and pass three skill checks
Awakened Illithid Powers	Allows you to use your Illithid powers with a Bonus Action, instead of an Action.	Crèche Y'llek	Use the Githyanki Zaith'isk and pass three skill checks.

Instrument Proficiency

Alfira, the Tiefling bard, can be found in a small alcove north of the Druid Grove, where the druids perform their ritual. You must engage in conversation with her and assist in completing the lyrics of her song. Subsequently, you will acquire proficiency in musical instruments.

While they may not be the most conspicuous buffs, in Baldur's Gate 3, there are more applications for musical instruments than just jamming at the campsite!

Find Familiar: Scratch

You can find Scratch in the forest northeast of the contaminated village. You must pass a perception or animal handling test to convince him to sniff you and follow you to the campsite, after it has been determined that his previous master is deceased.

Please note that shouting at the deceased master or attempting to steal from the corpse before calming Scratch will result in Scratch becoming hostile and attacking.

After a long period of rest, you will encounter Scratch in your camp, where he will be permanently present.

The ability to speak with animals, whether through the spells of bards, druids, and rangers, or through the summoning of warlocks, will aid you in better understanding the situation and providing better support to Scratch!

Brand of the Absolute

Priestess Gut can be found in the goblin camp. You will encounter her as she is branding goblins in the center of the main hall of the Shattered Sanctuary. When you speak with her, you have the option to be branded yourself.

Upon acquiring the Seal of the Absolute, you will gain the ability to fully utilize the following items:

• Gloves of Power
• Absolute's Warboard
• Faithbreaker
• Ring of Absolute Force
• Vision of the Absolute

Loviatar's Love

Abdirak, a devout worshiper of Loviatar, can be found in the goblin camp. You will locate him in a room within the Shattered Sanctuary, to the left of where Liam and Spike are situated. Engage in conversation with him and accept his offer to undergo flagellation.

During this encounter, you must succeed in a series of three rolls (your choice between Intimidation, Performance, or Constitution), upon completion of which you will receive this buff.

The love of Loviatar grants you a hefty +2 bonus to attack rolls and saving throws when you have less than 30 percent of your hit points—a significant boost within Baldur's Gate 3's limited accuracy system. Placing this ability on a frontline fighter such as a fighter or barbarian, who regularly takes hits in combat, can be incredibly powerful.

Paid the Price

Aunt Ethel is a witch who can be found in the Sunlit Wetlands (or the Putrid Marsh if you pass the Arcana check to discover illusion magic), near the Riverbank Teahouse waypoint (X:-10, Y:252).

You might encounter her earlier in the Emerald Forest or near the contaminated village, where she appears to be harassed by two men. Regardless of what you do during these encounters, you will meet her in her teahouse, where she will offer to free you from your tadpole in exchange for one of your eyes.

If you accept her offer, one of your eyes will be replaced with a glowing, whitish-green eye. Mechanically speaking, this grants you a +1 bonus to Intimidation checks, but you will have a disadvantage on Perception checks. This is a rather significant compromise, as Perception checks are widespread in the game, but a +1 bonus to Intimidation can be beneficial for the social face of the group. Consider it carefully before agreeing!

If you accept Aunt Ethel's offer, it will result in a permanent cosmetic change to your character!

Auntie Ethel's Hair

After finding Aunt Ethel as mentioned in the previous section, you will have the ability to fight against her in her teahouse or hideout. If you successfully survive this challenging battle, you can choose to leave her alive with low hit points (10 HP) instead of killing her. In this case, she will offer you a deal where sparing her life will grant you her hair in return.

If you use her hair, you will receive a +1 bonus to an ability score of your choice.

Volo's Ersatz Eye

Volo can be found in the goblin camp, imprisoned in a cage to the left of where you find Abdirak (as mentioned in the "Love of Loviatar" section of this article).

You can free him from his predicament by killing his new goblin owner or persuading them to give you the key. Regardless of what you do, you can then invite him to your camp. While he is in your camp, you can explain your situation with the Mind Flayer parasite to him. After a long rest, he will claim to have a cure for you.

If you attempt to have Volo remove the parasite, it will result in a permanent cosmetic change to your character!

If you agree to it, he will perform dubious surgical procedures, ultimately replacing your eye with a magical eye that allows you to see invisible creatures.

BOOOAL's Benediction

The Festering Cove is located east of the Arcane Tower, and there you can interact with some kuo-toan cultists who are attempting to worship "BOOOAL," their conceived god of murder.

Here you have several options, including the sacrifice of one of your companions to "BOOOAL" in order to obtain this blessing for the entire group.

Your sacrificed companion cannot be revived in any way and will remain permanently dead in the game. Mercenaries will not work for the purpose of obtaining the buff.

This buff grants you an advantage on attack rolls against bleeding targets. Naturally, the price to obtain it is extremely high. However, if you have harbored resentment against Astarion all this time because he tried to stab you during your first encounter, this is a pretty solid buff—especially if you have multiple group members who can cause bleeding.

Survival Instinct

Omeluum is a brain-eater located in the Myconid settlement (X:99, Y:-101) in the Underdark, right next to the Ebonlake Cave. Speak with Blurg, the Hobgoblin merchant in the settlement, to summon Omeluum.

You can explain your situation with the brain-eater parasite to him, after which he will send you on a quest to gather ingredients. Complete this quest, drink his potion, and pass several skill tests to obtain this buff.

Survival Instinct allows you to empower an ally with survival abilities, enabling them to heal for 3d4 hit points instead of falling unconscious when reaching 0 hit points.

Awakened Illithid Powers

This is a permanent condition effect that you can obtain by entering the Githyanki Zaith'isk in the Y'llek Crypt. Endure the treatment until the end and pass several increasingly difficult saving throws (Intelligence, Wisdom, and Constitution).

Although Lae'zel wants to undergo the Zaith'isk treatment first, the buff will only be applied to the character who does so.

With "Awakened," you can use any Illithid ability as a bonus action instead of an action. Bonus actions are an underutilized resource for most classes, so this is a great buff for players who want to further develop their Illithid powers.

The failure of any saving throw will impose a -2 penalty on the corresponding ability of the throw, potentially costing you 2 points in Intelligence, Wisdom, and Constitution.

This is a massive penalty, and we recommend saving before attempting this throw - or carefully considering it before proceeding.

Every Permanent Buff In Baldur's Gate 3: Act 2

Buff Name	Effect	Location	How To Get
Potion of Everlasting Vigor	Grants you a +2 modifier to Strength score.	Moonrise Towers	Force Astarion to drink Araj Oblodra's blood
Mystra's Benevolence	Grants Gale Advantage on checks to maintain Concentration on spells. (Gale Only)	Moonrise Towers	Destroy the ritual circle in Balthazar's Laboratory
Arabella's Shadow Entanglement	Allows you to cast Entangle on Undead creatures.	House of Healing	Investigate and inform Arabella about her parents' fate
Conjure: Us	Allows you to summon Us, an Intellect Devourer.	Necrotic Laboratory	Prevent Us from dying on the Nautiloid, then free it from its cage.
Githzerai Mind Barrier	Grants you advantage on Intelligence Saving Throws.	Necrotic Laboratory	Complete the brain puzzle in the Necrotic Laboratory, and insert the Waking Mind into the Mind-Archive interface.

Potion of Everlasting Vigor

Araj Oblodra is a Drow who can be found in the Moonstone Towers.

You will be able to give her some of your blood and - if you have Astarion with you - force him to drink some of her blood in exchange for a potion that permanently increases your Strength score by +2.

This will permanently impact your relationship with Astarion. So, if you're trying to pursue a romance with the vampire rogue, you may want to avoid doing this.

Mystra's Benevolence

Solving the bookshelf puzzle in Balthazar's chambers grants you access to a private laboratory where you have the choice to either craft a Shadow Lantern using dark magic or destroy the facility to prevent it from being used to create Moon Lanterns for the Cult of the Absolute.

The consequences of each choice are explained in more detail in our guide to Balthazar's laboratory.

If you allow Gale to destroy the ritual circle, he will benefit from Mystra's favor, granting him an advantage on concentration checks. This is a significant advantage for the relatively fragile spellcaster classes.

This advantage can only be obtained by Gale and only if you allow Gale to destroy the ritual circle.

Arabella's Shadow Entanglement

Arabella can be found during the second act in front of the Thorm Mausoleum as she searches for her parents. You will be able to find her parents in the House of Healing, although unfortunately they will already be deceased by the time you arrive there.

If you inform Arabella about the fate of her parents, she will grant you her ability called "Shadow Enveloping," allowing you to cast "Entangle" on undead and shadow-based creatures in the Shadow Curse-infested lands.

Conjure: Us

Us is an Intellect Devourer that you can encounter right at the beginning of the game on the Nautiloid ship. If you helped it and kept it alive during the tutorial of the first act, you will be able to find Us again in the Mindflayer colony beneath the Moonstone Towers.

If you free Us here, it will become a loyal ally that you can summon once per rest to assist you in combat.

Githzerai Mind Barrier

To obtain this buff, you must solve the brain puzzle in the Necrotic Library within the Mindflayer colony beneath the Moonstone Towers. Afterwards, you need to place the Waking Head you found into the interface of the Memory Archive and accept the offer from the Slack-Skinned Head.

This buff grants you an advantage on Intelligence saving throws - a rarely used but still useful advantage.

Every Permanent Buff In Baldur's Gate 3: Act 3

Buff Name	Effect	Location	How To Get
Partial Ceremorphosis	Unlocks Tier Three and automatically completes Tier One of the Illithid Power Skill Tree.	Campsite	Eat, or open your mind to, the Astral Tadpole
Unstable Blood	Makes your blood flammable and explosive.	Blushing Mermaid	Drink Araj Oblodra's potion after meeting her at the Blushing Mermaid
Monk's Curse	Lets you cast Tasha's Hideous Laughter at will.	Open Hand Temple	Complete the "Help the Cursed Monk" questline
Vampire Ascendant	Grants Astarion the ability to use Misty Escape (turn into a gaseous form) and Ascendant Bite (6d6 Necrotic Damage + 6d6 Healing), as well as a bonus of 1d10 on all weapon and unarmed Attack Rolls. (Astarion Only)	Cazador's Dungeon	Kill Cazador and allow Astarion to go through with the ascension ritual
Mirror of Loss	Grants you a +2 bonus to an ability of your choice.	House of Grief	Interact with the Mirror of Loss and pass the skill checks in the House of Grief
Tharchiate Vigor	Grants you 20 Temporary Hit Points per long rest.	Ramazith's Tower	Obtain and read the Tharchiate Codex
Danse Macabre	Allows you to cast Danse Macabre, a Fifth-Level Necromancy Spell that summons six ghouls to fight alongside you.	Ramazith's Tower	Obtain and read the Tharchiate Codex, then read the Necromancy of Thay book again.

Partial Ceremorphosis

At the beginning of the third act, your camp will be attacked by Githyanki warriors, and the Absolute will begin to take control of your mind. You must flee to the Astral Plane and then rescue your Dreamer from further Githyanki attacks.

After all this, your Dreamer will offer you a way to undergo a partial Ceremonial Metamorphosis that will greatly enhance your Illithid powers but will cause black veins to appear on your face.

Swallowing the Astral Tadpole will cause a permanent cosmetic change to your character!

The partial Ceremonial Metamorphosis on any party member will...

• Automatically give you every Illithid skill in the first tier of the Illithid Powers skill tree
• Refund every Mindflayer Parasite Specimen you've invested in the first tier of Illithid Powers
• Unlock the third tier of the Illithid Powers skill tree
• Give you access to the "Fly" action.

Players who have no issue consuming Mindflayer parasite samples and harnessing Illithid powers should definitely weigh the cosmetic changes against the powerful new advantages provided by the partial Ceremonial Metamorphosis.

You will also be able to persuade your party members to undergo the partial Ceremonial Metamorphosis through various social checks. The requirements and consequences for doing so are detailed in our guide on the Astral Tadpole.

Unstable Blood

Araj Oblodra, a Drow you can encounter during the second act in the Moonstone Towers, can be found again in the city of Baldur's Gate during the third act - this time in the tavern called "Blushing Mermaid."

If you gave her your blood the first time (although you don't have to force Astarion to bite her), she will be willing to work with you again to give you another potion.

This potion will make your blood explosive and flammable when it comes into contact with fire.

Monk's Curse

The Sentient Amulet is an item you can acquire in Grymforge during Act One. You can complete the questline "Help the Cursed Monk" in the city of Baldur's Gate by traveling to the crypt beneath the Temple of the Open Hand and bringing the amulet to a specific coffin.

You must pass a series of trials and risk two points of Wisdom to gain the ability to cast Tasha's Hideous Laughter, a first-level enchantment spell, at will.

Nevertheless, the Sentient Amulet offers several great effects for the Monk class, which may make it a potentially poor trade-off if you have a Monk in your party.

Vampire Ascendant

Astarion is a companion you can recruit at the beginning of the game during Act One. If you follow his personal quest, "The Pale Elf," you will ultimately be led to the Szarr Palace in the Undercity of Baldur's Gate, where you help him prevent his former master, Cazador, from ascending to become a Vampire Ascendant and gaining incredible power.

After defeating Cazador, you have the option to allow Astarion to ascend in place of Cazador, resulting in Astarion becoming a Vampire Ascendant but at the cost of thousands of lives.

Ascending grants Astarion the ability to use Misty Escape to transform into a gaseous form and perform an Ascendant Bite (6d6 necrotic damage + 6d6 healing). Additionally, he receives a bonus of 1d10 to all weapon and unarmed attack rolls.

While this is an incredible empowerment for Astarion, be warned that his personality will be permanently altered. Astarion becomes more arrogant and unpleasant, treating all other creatures disrespectfully.

If you have a romantic relationship with Astarion, he will also become uncomfortably possessive.

Mirror of Loss

The Mirror of Loss can be found in the House of Sorrow during Shadowheart's personal story. For more information on locating and using the mirror, please refer to our detailed guide on using the Mirror of Loss.

When the Mirror of Loss is operated correctly, it grants you a +2 bonus and a -2 penalty to two separate ability scores. However, the penalty can be removed with Remove Curse, allowing you to retain only the +2 bonus.

Tharchiate Vigor

The Tharchion Codex can be found in the Enchanted Chamber within Ramazith's Tower. After a series of puzzles, you can obtain this book from the Elminster Vault within the tower.

At the beginning, after reading the book, you will be cursed with a status effect called Tharchion Withering. However, use Remove Curse on yourself to transform it into a buff called Tharchion Power, which instead grants you a benefit of 20 temporary hit points every Long Rest.

Danse Macabre

After obtaining the aforementioned Tharchion Codex, you can revisit the book "Necromancy of Thay" that you could acquire in the ravaged village during the first act (as described in an earlier section of this guide).

Now you will be able to fully read the "Necromancy of Thay" and gain a powerful 5th-level necromancy spell called "Danse Macabre." This spell grants you the ability to summon ghouls that will fight for you.