Baldur’s Gate 3 players can’t resist Astarion despite their best efforts

Jake Nichols
Baldur's Gate 3 Astarion

Baldur’s Gate 3 players are struggling to resist the charms of their favorite vampire rogue, leading to some unexpected in-game romances.

In the world of Baldur’s Gate 3, players are faced with countless choices, from the paths they tread to the allies they keep. But one choice seems to be particularly challenging for many: resisting the charms of Astarion.

A recent Reddit thread captures the essence of the struggle as one player confessed they felt “humiliated” after romancing Astarion despite their best efforts not to do so.

“Spent 10 minutes explaining to my boyfriend why I wasn’t romancing Astarion this run,” the player explained. “Managed to reject him at the Tiefling party (white knuckling the controller), and this man has the audacity to come onto me again after the next long rest. I folded.”

Unsurprisingly, the Baldur’s Gate 3 community is full of understanding when it comes to the Astarion phenomenon. One player shared advice, “The best way to avoid romancing Astarion is to play Astarion. Try it next time.”

Another shared, “Don’t worry OP, my wife struggled her second playthrough. She constantly had to fight that pale urge.”

Astarion, with his sarcastic quips and undeniable charisma, has not only stolen the hearts of players but has also led some to forget about their real-life partners. One player shared that their spouse had changed their phone background to Astarion and even dreamt about him.

Other players are simply playing as the Dark Urge just to unlock special dialogues with Astarion.

But it hasn’t all been smooth sailing in the world of Baldur’s Gate 3 romances. Not long after the game’s launch, Larian Studios revealed that Astarion had already rejected almost 100,000 players. Those who face rejection from the dashing rogue often turn their attention toward other companions like Shadowheart or Gale.

But in the end, it seems that resisting Astarion is far from permanent, as one player put it, “I keep saying I’ll stop, and romance another character… And then Karlach was like ‘have fun with your pretty boy,’ so now I’m dual romancing with Astarion again.”

About The Author

Jake Nichols was formerly a Senior Writer on the Australian Dexerto team. A "washed-up" competitive gamer with an economics degree, he has a unique angle on industry trends. When not writing, he's snapping away in Marvel Snap and hunting purple sector times in sim racing games. You can contact Jake at jake.nichols@dexerto.com