The Durge interactions with Gortash are really good. There's something sweet in how he says "I *tolerate* Orin. I liked you." A true buddy that any good pycho murderer should have.
You can find some notes the pre memory loss Durge wrote and in them Durge says he admits gortash especially his genius in making the steel watch. They genuinely had a ally/friendship built on mutual respect and goals. He may have been the only person you respected and vice versa
@@thedoomslayer5863 Gortash is also actually loyal to the end. If you agree to ally with him, even as Tav, and pass an insight check, you determine he is being sincere. If you hold up your end of the bargain, he never once indicates he's going to betray you, right up until the brain kills him. It's actually kind of sad you don't have more interactions. Of course you're kind of obligated to kill him if you're playing a good character, but even a neutral Tav could reasonably side with him to take down Orin.
@@TheBackwardsLegsMan Bruh I ended up betraying Gortash in my evil Durge playthrough because I was like "well I'm evil and I have no memory of Gortash so naturally I'm gonna betray Gortash" and his dialogue when you go to kill him actually made me feel bad which I didn't expect lmao.
I personally do think its no secret that The Dark Urge, especially the Dragonborn is the canonical antagonist/protagonist of the game. Tav felt more like he's part of it because he has to rid himself of the infection, while Dark Urge wants and needs to know who he is, what he is, and how he ended up like that in the first place. (And not to mention the character creation intro he has). Heck, the fact that you can actually find the Dark Urge's dead body in Orin's chamber playing as Tav further proofs he is indeed important, while playing as Durge, Tav is nowhere to be seen, though i've read somewhere he was also a victim in the mountain of corpses Durge made throughout his madness prior to being infected.
You’d be surprised as to how low the playerbase experience with this playthrough is. Only about 5% of players have earned the achievement that comes with obtaining the slayer form on steam, a milestone that’s rather mainstream within a journey as the dark urge. I’d imagine your average BG3 player has only experienced a single playthrough. Thanks for the comment!!
@@FiguringOutFantasy its absolutely not a mainstream milestone for Dark Urge, you only get the Slayer form by killing everyone at last light, or killing your romance companion. Thats extremely unlikely for someone who isnt playing an evil playthrough. Resisting the Urge is a core part of their character and is the more common way people will play it.
After playing dark urge I can never play Tav again. You actually feel like part of the world playing as Dark Urge, and whether you do an evil or good run or start evil become good or whatever, reject or accept Bhaal, it’s so well crafted.
this is why you should save the Dark Urge for last, it's like... eating dessert before dinner and getting full on it. eat your veggies ok? it's good for you.
yeah, I almost gave up on Baldur's gate 3 because of how my Tav was just there, making faces while people talked about their life problems. Dark Urge made the plot so much more integrated and less "Skyrim"
One cool detail is that the game actually gives a subtle explanation for why the Dark Urge isn’t involved in a Tav/Origin playthrough. In Orin’s room, you can find the corpse of a white Dragonborn labeled “Dead Bhaalspawn”, so it seems in this case, Orin just killed him instead of tadpoling him
Which is strange since the notes about Durge in the colony and being shipped out on the Nautiloid are still there in non-Durge runs. So either they ate it when the Nautiloid crashed or they rushed back to the city on their own and their broken body was no match for Orin.
This is wrong. If you examine the character, you see that Durge had the Toggle Non-lethal Damage On, which is the game dev's way of saying this Durge was likely resisting his Father's will. (Karlach also has this toggle on if you choose to kill her instead of recruiting her because she never wanted to fight you ). What likely happened is that Durge also had a face off with Orin, but simply wasn't strong enough to defeat her. Why? Because that playthrough is YOUR story, not Durge's.
Actually it's deeper that that. Both Durge and Orin are Bhallspawn, and only 1 could be Bhaal's chosen. Durge and Orin have an arranged Duel to the death to sacrifice the other.
The idea that Bhaal can just peer pressure and bully bhaalspawn into evil is so funny to me. If I ever DM a game where a murdergod is running amuck this will be his main tactic. Evil voice: kill them Party: why? Evil voice: they called you guys little bitches Party: blood for the blood lord, bones for the bone fort!
Agreed I play a durge that's trying to suppress urges to kill much like astarion (who she romances) by "only killing villains who need to be killed anyways. Oh what the Zent are keeping slave artists now? Guess it's time to kill.
@captainbarbossa289 I know what happened, but that's not what had to happen. Instead, Gale could have exited elsewhere where he was taken in and healed. In my mind, he ended up in BG and taken in by Lorroakan. When we later arrive in BG to confront Lorroakan, we find him dead on the floor in his tower, and a one-handed, pissed off Gale waiting for our Durge in his stead.
@@plpinkhamoh that sounds badass. I wish they would’ve done that instead of kill him outright. Hell if that could be a second chance as a companion or as you said a boss fight it would’ve been awesome
I've done 8 complete playthroughs of BG3, and my favorite experience by far was the run where I played as Durge but resisted my evil, violent nature at every opportunity. Such great story telling.
There is a way to avoid all scripted kills. After killing Alfira I reloaded and found a way to avoid killing her or her replacement. I got some great dialogue from the butler about the lengths I went through to avoid murder. I did not get the cloak.
I prefer the evil ones but I have to admit it was BALLER seeing withers show up in bhaals throne to just Bhaal the middle finger and resurrect you. Completely cucking Bhaal and taking all his agency away. Makes sense when you find out he is Jergal aka the one who gave the dead three their power.
@@sorenjensen3863 yeah, right? That shopkeeper was rude... close all doors and kill. The lady in the kennels? Cast darkness. You should really start worrying if you are a BG3 NPC and the adventurer casts darkness or starts closing all doors to the room you are in...
It still wanted the grand design instead but Durge was the ONE being it actually respected. It actually saw you as a respectable being instead of another meat sack to host it's tadpoles to become more obedient thrall
Aside from the fact that Larian themselves hinted at him being the real MC, the fact that Durge is the only origin character without a name and background all but screams "main character."
Durge is definitely the canon MC They're Tav, but with a story in game, and they're not present if you don't play them Plus its got the classic 'main character has amnesia' trope to get a character with an established backstory, without leaving the player not knowing any of it
After playing Durge, Tav feels so... hollow. Like I love my drow Tav, she's badass, but Tav doesn't feel as connected to the story, Durge is catalyst that caused this to happen, and is the hero redeeming himself to save the world
I create tavs for my own char backstories like my female dwarf bard once a wife of a Dwarven guild leader and entertainer/diplomat for that guild before the guild died to the mindflayers and she was taken
Elf Wizard wanting to read every script and book, note or letter, i try to play as neutral, but drifting to chaotic neutral if that makes sense....22 int.
@@preetshienh5922 Even with mods to make the slayer INTENTIONALLY op I could STILL make a martial class that matched it in power. And that was a mod that gave the slayer SIX actions and bonus actions! And buffed it's damage like crazy!
The quest log of the Dark Urge story line pretty much says it all. All entries are written in 3rd person and by Sceleritas Fel; he will praise Durge if they obey and criticize them for rejecting their urges. If you redeem Durge at the end of the quest, the last quest log entry will be written in 1st person and they will talk about how they feel like themselves for the first time in their life.
Wow what an incredible detail!! I had no clue about that little Easter egg. Thank you for mentioning it in the comments! I can’t imagine I’m the only one who didn’t pick up on that…
@@FiguringOutFantasy No worries, from what I have heard not a lot of people pick up on that. Which is kind of a shame, because when you read it for the first time it's really emotional.
I think Astarion, Lae'zel and Minthara is the best team for DU, even for resisting one. It just fitted so well in my resistDU playtrough, that I completely forgot about my dear wizard Gale))) I don't know why, it's just it. Shart also fits well, but I'm already tired of shar-talking, sry darling...
In my DU character i select every single DU option, so everyone is dead. I let Shadowheart kill La'zel, then I had to kill Shadowheart cause I was in love with her. Killing Shadowheart turned Astarion agro so I had to put him down too. Of course after a night of passion with Minithara, I broke her neck...
@@YurateYuratewhen I first had shadowheart I just had this eyes glazed over look when she began to spam shar this shar that like "look ill tolerate this because your hot but lets stfu about shar for five seconds"
@@lokdog257 so you did not kill Isobel if you had to kill shadowheart...? That means you didn't pick every bad option. And yeah, endgame playing as dark urge feels very empty. I mean the halls and camps that used to be full of people and npcs are sooo empty. Everyone is dead. In Act 2 I couldn't trade, because no shopkeepers were left alive...
Friend seeing my naked halfling Barbarian killing everything: "Ya bro playing Dark Urge bad route?" Me just being murderhobo in our game, which we never intended to play more than one-shot without knowing anything about DU: "Who?"
I feel Durge is the real main character of BG3. Especially if we’re going by the themes of BG1 and 2. Also considering he also has a canonical appearance and class. But most importantly, he is integral too the story. Tav if I recall correctly was an investigator, trying to solve the murders caused by Durge. But no canonical appearance or class.
Did they give any indication that Tav from the ARG survived the attack from Durge? I thought he was just dead and our mc Tav is just named that as default as an homage
Embracing the Dark Urge is some of the most fun I've had in gaming. It's so well done, and getting to destroy Orin with the slayer form after all the grief she's given me in other playthroughs was just beautiful. Let hill and hollow be a door, to screams that last forevermore.
She usually beats the slayer. It's very underpowered and she along with most classes by act 3 can wildly surpass the slayer in power. I find it mandatory to get some mod off the nexus to buff the slayer
There was something cathartic about one shotting Orin in her slayer form as a sorcerer while playing redemption durge. "Bitch do I look like I need the help of a murder hobo god?"
The crazy thing is a massacred her without my slayer form. She down right slaughtered me twice on Slayer Form before I said fuck it let’s go mano Y womano and proceed to whip the floor with her 😂
There's something enthralling about playing a Dark Urge that resists said urges. It's like Paarthurnax from Skyrim says. "What is better? To be born good, or to overcome your evil nature with great effort?" The feeling of overcoming your Dark Urges, to prove you can be someone better, there's a feeling of satisfaction and triumph that no other RPG has ever given me. I am so glad I played Dark Urge first in my game.
The Dark Urge to me seems like the writers asked themselves "Hey remember Knights of the Old Republic's big twist? I bet we can do some really wild shit with that concept since we don't have to be family friendly."
As I red once, Orin is the real hero of Baldur's Gate 3 If she didn't betray Durge then they wouldn't have memory loss (or even have died) and The Dead Three's plan would've been completed with ease Thank you Orin for saving the realms 😹
38:00 I'm pretty sure Durge is not a descendant of Sarevok at all. Orin might call you brother at some point, but that's because she is convinced she's a full Bhaalspawn and you can tell her the truth if you read Sarevok's diary or talk to her mom. If anything, you're Orin's grand-uncle.
@@RizzyKhaos Durge isn't a traditional Bhaalspawn. Durge was hand-crafted by Bhaal from a piece of his own body, then sent down to the world as a fully-formed infant, which was then adopted. It's why you have The Urge. You're not simply his progeny, you're a piece of Bhaal himself, and so you have the original Bhaal whispering in the back of your mind, which takes the form of The Urge
The thing about Dark Urge, is that Larian do one of the tropes that DMs in DND hate the most about character backstories right: amnesia. Seriously. Ask any DM, and they will mostly say it’s an excuse for something, either becoming a murder hobo, or laziness/disinterest on the player’s part. If done well like Durge, amnesia is usually best executed if there is both 1.) a reason for the amnesia (Orin’s mutilation of Durge), and 2.) is connected to established lore in some form (the Dead Three, BG 1 and 2, and generally established lore with the Forgotten Realms). Additionally, when done like this, the later reveals like the Bhaalspawn, the Crown Raid, and the conversation with Bhaal all lead up to more fantastic moments.
The scene after you spare isobel and get the urge to kill your lover (for me it was Gale) is actually so incredible. The way that you have to try your best to warn him about YOURSELF is so depressing but the way Gale treats you in that scene is so unbelievably wholesome and sweet. Seeing him still treating you with compassion while you are thrashing uncontrollably on the ground is genuinely so fulfilling and was the scene that finally set Baldurs Gate 3 into one of the top 2 favorite games of all time.
My first playthrough of the game had been with Durge, and I have zero regrets for it. Every moment you had to choose between resisting or embracing your blood had me on edge, weighing in the potential benefits and consequences of each. And the way you tie into the game's plot up to the reveal you are the very orchestrator of the Absolute crisis alongside the ties to Baldur's Gate history from previous installments is executed perfectly. I wholly agree with him being the true 'main' character of BG3. My only nitpick about Durge is... why the hell is he a storm sorcerer by default when that class has no real synergy with all the murder-themed items or slayer form...?
I felt the same about the default class for the dark urge, thats why for the playthrough in the video I used a barbarian which felt a bit more fitting, though not quite the assassin style through the rogue class. Thanks for the comment!
Got to fit into the variety of classes in the game. It's bad enough that we double up on Druids for example. And since Divine Soul isn't included in BG3 and would probably make things a bit too blatant the Storm Sorcerer who just goes maximum collateral damage with lightning is the next best option.
My first pass for the Dark Urge was for a monk. It's just that I was a little spoilt that the Dark Urge would have impulses to kill, but they can be resisted, and I wanted to imagine what if, after losing his memory in an attempt to restore his mind and resist impulses, my Dark Urge would spend his days in meditation in an attempt to calm his mind. Oh yes, and my Dark Urge was the Drow Seldarin, for who, no matter how they know how to resist being an evil race😂
One of my favorite pieces of dialogue comes from Sceleritis after you become the chosen. When you ask him what the worth thing he ever did was, he responds about the time you gave a beggar some coin. It might be a joke line, but that made me question about who the Dark Urge is as a person. Was he truly the murderous maniac who kills without mercy, or were these urges always the parasite that took him over. When he has these urges, it is his body that tingles in excitement, relishing a past experience. These urges are euphoric, but he might’ve never been in control of his body. Again, looking too deep into it, but food for thought.
That’s a really good point. It also leads me to ask if scleritas meant worst because the physical actions, if there was more to that moment than that, or if it was about durge’s intentions.
Video didn't go into what happens if you eat the healing mushroom, get heal cast on your character, or unique paladin dialogues as Durge. There's a lot of information to suggest that the Dark Urge resisted for a time before becoming the unhinged killer that murders Tav in the teasers leading up to release.
My biggest gripe with Tav is the game feels like it's tailored to give the player an ego trip. Durge has felt more like a wolf among sheep. They all can clearly see your teeth but you manage to convince them that you aren't immediately dangerous.
As someone who played BG2, I noticed the markings under the dark urge in the little "who am I speech" he gives in the character select, and when I saw the slayer I recognized it from BG2, leaving no doubt who we were
I would suggest playing Ranger or rogue (I suggest both: 5 ranger, 3 rogue, 3 Fighter, 1 War Priest) if you play The Dark Urge because that cloak you get for killing Alfira is so good for a stealthy assassin type, be it ranged or melee.
Lmao me too!! I had to resist the urge to please everyone. Man the Druid Cove was the worst. Damn Zevlor had to insist on asking me over and over why I would betray them. Damn near gave up on that part but pulled up my big boy Durge pants and slaughtered eveyone 😅😅😅
The Dark Urge can also regain a couple of their memories if you make them eat the Noblestalk mushroom found in the Underdark, or cast a Heal spell on yourself.
If you knockout alfira on the first night you get a dragon bard that comes to camp to die instead of her. And if you end up sacrificing the night song you still get the stalker form without losing allies.
I feel like people forget that it's a *roleplaying* game. You can be whoever you want to be. To me Durge is the Main protagonist with Shadowheart as the Deuteroganist but Tav can be as important as you want them to be. In my first playthrough my Tav was a simple Priest of Bahamut who got dragged into this mess and ended up being the heart of the party. Maybe your Tav is someone more important or a mere nobody in the end it all depends on how you play
I totally agree. There are more story beats built in for origin characters, but role-playing is ultimately left to the player. Also it's about having fun, not playing through the "most canon" experience like a chore. If that's fun, then more power and go to town. There is no correct way to play games.
I personally feel like in a sense his romance with Shadow heart is canon. Especially during the new Dark Urge ending where you took the crown and romancing her as enemy of Shar. You kill her and her last words are: "I thought we were supposed to save each other" hits hard ASF. Because their stories are pretty similar; especially when she said that she will try to save you just like you saved her from Shar when the dark urge tried not to kill her after act 2. Heck; even Lae'zel's last words hit very hard as well.
Ya know, I really think that there should have been a mention towards that one piece of dialogue that allows the Dark Urge to be WORSE than Bhaal himself, relishing that they are now truly free, and that their atrocities and wretched acts will finally be theirs and their alone, instead of being deemed as some outside influence
I always prefer to play Dark Urge rather then the generic custom character because It gives your character an arc or questline of your own whereas in a normal playthrough it feels like you're just around for everyone else's story.
7:33 that’s not entirely true, I have an almost perfect score with shardowheart, Lae’zel and Astarion and a relationship with Lae’zel even though I literally killed every other character in the game (half way through act 3). So for your evil play through you just have to choose the right companions.
holy shit dude i really thought your channel would have 10’s if not 100’s if thousands of subscribers, for such i high quality video i really thought you would have a larger audience, keep it up dude you got this and 10k in like 5months?! good shit.
I'll probably stick to just watching videos on a Dark Urge playthrough cause I'm too attached to the companions and characters to be a bloodthirsty killer. If I ever do a Dark Urge playthrough, I'll likely just defy Bhall and try to spare as many people as possible.
An interesting way to do it is paladin, the struggle between your bloodthirsty nature and trying to uphold your oath is narratively fascinating I also like spore druid and trying to find a balance
I just can't do a Durge playthrough. I like Alfira too much, even as a side character. It's a crime she doesn't join the regular Tav's party as a bard.
Imo the best way to play Durge is a resist Durge who fails. It turns the story into a tragedy where Durge is forced to kill against his will and tries to end it all by allowing Orin to kill him, only to be revived by Bhaal to continue his will. In a last act of defiance you destroy the netherbrain and kill yourself to spite your father.
The proper way to play The Dark Urge should be as the good guy. After all, in the intro, he literally says he needs to resist the urge. Which, while I've never played the other Baldur's Gate games, seems to more or less synergize with them.
Its up to the player. I saw him as a chance to REALLY cut loose. If I felt a npc so much as looked at me wrong I'd revoked their life membership and sent their screaming souls to Bhaal with express shipping.
Worth mentioning but Alfira can be saved from her grizzly fate. After finishing her interaction, however you ended up completing it, you can use non-lethal attacks to knock her out and once the Durge camp scene triggers a back-up character will appear to die in her stead. You still gain the Deathstalker Mantle for the murder as you do with Alfira and you gain the ability to get the quest rewards from Alfira in Act 2, a win-win scenario. It is crazy how many back-up characters exist to make up for an unexpected NPC death whether caused by the player or an inexplicable glitch. Definitely recommend using a companion to knock her out though since attacking her will stack up negative relations and she won't talk to her attacker later down the line. I used Astarion for poetic reasons and because Rogue.
Since the Alfira incident was spoilered for me by some youtube short I tried not to get friendly with her so she wouldnt come to camp. This didn't work but I was able to hide the body without any confrontation with my companions. They never noticed.
I left this comment on your Astarion video too, but might as well put it here. I’m doing a modded playthrough where I’ve combined Karlach and the Dark Urge storylines, the forced long rest taking me to the mountain pass contained 3 events: 1: Mizora showed up 2: Alfira shows up and I subsequently kill her and go back to bed 3: Astarion tries to bite me (and fails since I’m Karlach) This means Astarion wakes up after I murder Alfira, sees her body and me covered in blood, and then decides to try to bite me…to make it even better, none of my companions even commented on Alfira’s body.
Durge was honestly peak baulders gate for me because of the choices I made and the fact that I missed a couple of characters my party was strictly limted to Shadowheart Lazel and Minthira, which solved the whole camp full of followers I dont interact with prolbem i find in other RPG's so it made it felt like everyone in the party was completely in the loop at all times and were with me at every step of the way they were their witn every revelation every triumph, not only that but if you play your cards right your able to cut them off from everyone else they used to know essentially making them loayal to you no matter what happens in the end. Also durge and Minthira romance is probably the healthies relationship in the game, she's your literal evil cheerleader
my first playthrough was as the dark urge, man was a murderer and defied Bhaal to rule in his own name. I got so hyped when withers revived me after dying to Bhaal
"Helena (his daughter) gave birth to Orin (his daughter) and then Sarevok told Helena (his daughter) to kill Orin (his daughter) but then Orin instead killed Helena (her mother) which Sarevok is totally cool with" is such a loaded quote that also perfectly encapsulates the spirit of the dark urge
@@stellviahohenheim i was making fun of people fiercely defending Tav as the mc, even though it really doesn’t matter. But sure, be a sarcastic dick, i hope it makes you feel better. Lol
Seriously, after playing through Durge it the “normal” play through feels like it’s missing something. Like I’m just playing through the motions and just so happened to be caught up in an already ongoing story. Man, the times I got chills just from his normal banter had me hooked. the VA went all out and beyond to sell the urge man. From him saying “Into the bloody fray!” To my favorite line “They are dying for me. ALL OF THEM!!!!” To me he was THE MAIN CHARACTER!🔥😎🥶
The dark durge is the only origin character that can be customised he/she also has the most interactions with the main villains some even knew the dark urge before they lost their memory and then there’s Withers like yeah he interacts with everyone else but he interacts with the Dark urge more he even goes out of his way to bring us back from the dead basically reborn after Bhaal kills us
I remember my first durge playthrough, i was doing it in honor mode and I didn't want to kill Isobel because I needed Damon for my build, so I then got the Bhaal redemption camp kill where I was romancing Karlach. And I killed her. I was not happy, and absolutely rampaged through moonrise, playing so recklessly because I wanted to start over. That playthrough went all the way. I am still salty about killing Karlach though.
Very rare fact I can’t seem to find any footage of: If you keep Gale’s hand all the way to Act 3, you can talk to him at the murder tribunal! This is insanely rare though, as, being the Dark Urge, you don’t need to actually DO the tribunal to become an unholy assassin.
I’ve been running a very speciric DURGE, where he starts trying to fight off the evil, while secretly enjoying his Violence, in the middle of the game before act3, My Durge understood his true nature and stopped hiding, being a complete menace for all to see, while sometimes his senses come back to him, for the most part, he enjoys every single bit of misery he inflicts upon others….
I just finished my evil Durge playthrough the day before yesterday.. with the newer endings as well (would love to see a short bit of a PS follow up vid to this). Really want to do a redemption Durge playthrough sometime in the future
Goddamn... Durge is just a masterpiece of a character, being an evil him can be rewarding in the early stages but in Act 2 and 3... You really need to resist the urge at some point... Durge is also a huge homage to the previous main protagonist which was a Bhaalspawn as well, Gorion' Ward!
A first playthrough, full dark urge embrace is a very fun experience, I’m so used to games evil options to actively make the game less fun, blocking off content and barely making the rewards worth it, so when I heard BG3 had a really good evil path, I jumped to do it first and I don’t regret it, I was cackling like a maniac irl with each evil act, and was made stronger by it, truly this was my favourite evil path in any game
Well Larian did at one point mention that the dark urge was the only planned character or the main character but that they then expanded to include the origin characters and the custom characters as well. Gonna do my first evil playthrough when patch 7 comes out
I LOVE the dark urge character. I beat the game 4 times and 3 of those times i played dark urge. The first time was a good playthrough, second one was a chaotic neutral, and my last playthrough was very evil. I killed everyone in my evil playthrough except for Lae'zel and Astarion 😅 dark urge is a lot of fun imo
A hella fun class for an Evil Durge run that felt pretty good thematically for me is Fiend Pact of the Blade Warlock. You get so many great evil only items for that build and the best in slot weapon is the Shars Spear of Evening (which you get if Shadowheart kills the nightsong) and dual-wielding it with a dagger. When you get to act 3 and get baptized into the Bhaal cult you can buy the Bhaalist armor which will double all your damage since the spear and dagger both do piercing damage. So by the end, you're covering you and your enemies in darkness and then stabbing them to death in the dark. It's really cool.
@@Mnunnsr not necessarily, but you have to take evil story routes to get the two items I mentioned. So I would personally say it's better for an evil durge run. But I'd have to be the biggest asshole on the planet to tell you how to play a role playing game so if the vibe as a resist durge works for you go for it man.
There is another fun interaction if you consume the Noblestalk as the Dark Urge. You get a little flashback sequence that is pretty cool. Hope this helps anyone who wants to do a Durge run!
The talk my durge had with Jaheira about the slayer form really gave her allot to think about, up until that point she's been doing whatever she could to attain the power of her father while avoiding stupid mindless killing. I think it's because of that, the ending of my current playthrough is a coin toss. It could go either way really, but it might sway towards refusal of the power in the end because she doesn't want to lose the only mother figure she's ever known. Every time she talked to Jaheira she couldn't bring herself to tell her that she's the one responsible for the horrific shit that's happening. She wants Jaheira to still be there in the end.
One thing I find hilarious is that literally after I helped Minthara's gobbie squad massacre the Grove (which cost me both Wyll and Karlach in the process), Astarion immediately was DTF despite my affiliation with him being medium at the time.
Honestly playing as a Dark Urge will gift you with two of the best cutscenes in the game: Withers reviving you at Bhaal Temple and the bad ending, where Amelia (the narrator) give one of the best Videogame VA on recent times
The Durge interactions with Gortash are really good. There's something sweet in how he says "I *tolerate* Orin. I liked you."
A true buddy that any good pycho murderer should have.
You can find some notes the pre memory loss Durge wrote and in them Durge says he admits gortash especially his genius in making the steel watch.
They genuinely had a ally/friendship built on mutual respect and goals.
He may have been the only person you respected and vice versa
@@thedoomslayer5863 Gortash is also actually loyal to the end. If you agree to ally with him, even as Tav, and pass an insight check, you determine he is being sincere. If you hold up your end of the bargain, he never once indicates he's going to betray you, right up until the brain kills him. It's actually kind of sad you don't have more interactions. Of course you're kind of obligated to kill him if you're playing a good character, but even a neutral Tav could reasonably side with him to take down Orin.
@@TheBackwardsLegsMan Bruh I ended up betraying Gortash in my evil Durge playthrough because I was like "well I'm evil and I have no memory of Gortash so naturally I'm gonna betray Gortash" and his dialogue when you go to kill him actually made me feel bad which I didn't expect lmao.
@@thedoomslayer5863it’s hinted that it was more than a friendship
I personally do think its no secret that The Dark Urge, especially the Dragonborn is the canonical antagonist/protagonist of the game. Tav felt more like he's part of it because he has to rid himself of the infection, while Dark Urge wants and needs to know who he is, what he is, and how he ended up like that in the first place. (And not to mention the character creation intro he has). Heck, the fact that you can actually find the Dark Urge's dead body in Orin's chamber playing as Tav further proofs he is indeed important, while playing as Durge, Tav is nowhere to be seen, though i've read somewhere he was also a victim in the mountain of corpses Durge made throughout his madness prior to being infected.
You’d be surprised as to how low the playerbase experience with this playthrough is. Only about 5% of players have earned the achievement that comes with obtaining the slayer form on steam, a milestone that’s rather mainstream within a journey as the dark urge. I’d imagine your average BG3 player has only experienced a single playthrough. Thanks for the comment!!
I did not see the Dark Urges body in Orin’s chamber, that’s a very cool detail.
@@FiguringOutFantasy its absolutely not a mainstream milestone for Dark Urge, you only get the Slayer form by killing everyone at last light, or killing your romance companion. Thats extremely unlikely for someone who isnt playing an evil playthrough. Resisting the Urge is a core part of their character and is the more common way people will play it.
Where’s the body we need proof
@@8thgod769 it’s in a ritual circle in her chambers I believe
After playing dark urge I can never play Tav again. You actually feel like part of the world playing as Dark Urge, and whether you do an evil or good run or start evil become good or whatever, reject or accept Bhaal, it’s so well crafted.
Such an amazing excuse to play the game again.
this is why you should save the Dark Urge for last, it's like... eating dessert before dinner and getting full on it. eat your veggies ok? it's good for you.
yeah, I almost gave up on Baldur's gate 3 because of how my Tav was just there, making faces while people talked about their life problems. Dark Urge made the plot so much more integrated and less "Skyrim"
@@irgendwer3610real
@@irgendwer3610he’s dovahkin in their tongue…THE DARK URGE BORN!
One cool detail is that the game actually gives a subtle explanation for why the Dark Urge isn’t involved in a Tav/Origin playthrough. In Orin’s room, you can find the corpse of a white Dragonborn labeled “Dead Bhaalspawn”, so it seems in this case, Orin just killed him instead of tadpoling him
Which is strange since the notes about Durge in the colony and being shipped out on the Nautiloid are still there in non-Durge runs. So either they ate it when the Nautiloid crashed or they rushed back to the city on their own and their broken body was no match for Orin.
This is wrong.
If you examine the character, you see that Durge had the Toggle Non-lethal Damage On, which is the game dev's way of saying this Durge was likely resisting his Father's will. (Karlach also has this toggle on if you choose to kill her instead of recruiting her because she never wanted to fight you ).
What likely happened is that Durge also had a face off with Orin, but simply wasn't strong enough to defeat her. Why? Because that playthrough is YOUR story, not Durge's.
She did both. Killed em and they gave him a tadpole when patching him up. Those three in the Mind Flayer colony under Moonrise.
Actually it's deeper that that. Both Durge and Orin are Bhallspawn, and only 1 could be Bhaal's chosen. Durge and Orin have an arranged Duel to the death to sacrifice the other.
My idea is this: Durge was on the Nautiloid. He never met you and wandered off to Baldur’s Gate. He confronted Orin and was killed.
Fun fact: if you have speak with animals active, the durge won't automatically kill he squirrel
You're the hero we needed.
So that's why my Durge didn't kill it! I was very confused
Yup. I was so confused when people were upset that they were forced to kill characters when my Druid didn’t. The only one was.. well we all know who.
You can also bypass killing Alfira by knocking her out _before_ she comes to camp.
@@FinlayDaG33kTheres no way!
Me: I am conflicted about hurting my comrades.
Slayer Form: Sounds like you're scared.
Me: I am no longer conflicted about hurting my comrades.
The idea that Bhaal can just peer pressure and bully bhaalspawn into evil is so funny to me. If I ever DM a game where a murdergod is running amuck this will be his main tactic.
Evil voice: kill them
Party: why?
Evil voice: they called you guys little bitches
Party: blood for the blood lord, bones for the bone fort!
The Boulder is conflicted about fighting a little blind girl
DisplacerBeast form > Slayerform.
@@Smkpt42Get both to turn into a 3 phase boss fight
Gotta say, I think Redeemed Durge is the absolute best story in the game. Idk, I just found it so fulfilling
Agreed I play a durge that's trying to suppress urges to kill much like astarion (who she romances) by "only killing villains who need to be killed anyways. Oh what the Zent are keeping slave artists now? Guess it's time to kill.
I was planning to play as redeemed Durge, but I couldn't resist my urges. Plus, there are 2 achievements to be had if you don't resist.
It’s also the canon story considering the forgotten realms isn’t canonically rules by an elder brain
Durge 😂 Love that nickname. Gonna use it when I play.
I do wish Gale came back, after his limb was trimmed. Not as a companion, but as a boss fight. An angry, vengeful Gale would have been awesome to see.
He likely died in that portal. Gale doesn’t know healing magic, so he’d exsanguinate in a matter of seconds. Poor Gale.
@captainbarbossa289 I know what happened, but that's not what had to happen.
Instead, Gale could have exited elsewhere where he was taken in and healed. In my mind, he ended up in BG and taken in by Lorroakan.
When we later arrive in BG to confront Lorroakan, we find him dead on the floor in his tower, and a one-handed, pissed off Gale waiting for our Durge in his stead.
@@plpinkhamoh that sounds badass. I wish they would’ve done that instead of kill him outright. Hell if that could be a second chance as a companion or as you said a boss fight it would’ve been awesome
I mean to be fair, he didn't see our face while he was in the portal.
@@captain_kidding We assume that, but don't know that
I've done 8 complete playthroughs of BG3, and my favorite experience by far was the run where I played as Durge but resisted my evil, violent nature at every opportunity. Such great story telling.
The moments where you fail really stick with you when you're trying hard not to.
And here I am making every single evil choice when it comes up 😂
There is a way to avoid all scripted kills. After killing Alfira I reloaded and found a way to avoid killing her or her replacement. I got some great dialogue from the butler about the lengths I went through to avoid murder. I did not get the cloak.
I prefer the evil ones but I have to admit it was BALLER seeing withers show up in bhaals throne to just Bhaal the middle finger and resurrect you. Completely cucking Bhaal and taking all his agency away.
Makes sense when you find out he is Jergal aka the one who gave the dead three their power.
@@sorenjensen3863 yeah, right? That shopkeeper was rude... close all doors and kill. The lady in the kennels? Cast darkness. You should really start worrying if you are a BG3 NPC and the adventurer casts darkness or starts closing all doors to the room you are in...
One of my favorite details is that The Absolute was actually ready to follow Durge's plan. The literal big brain thinks you're a giga brain.
It still wanted the grand design instead but Durge was the ONE being it actually respected. It actually saw you as a respectable being instead of another meat sack to host it's tadpoles to become more obedient thrall
Aside from the fact that Larian themselves hinted at him being the real MC, the fact that Durge is the only origin character without a name and background all but screams "main character."
I really wish there was some name to him tho like in the game someone says our name or find a book or something with it in it
given that and the red princes makes me think they have a thing for lizard poeple
Durge is definitely the canon MC
They're Tav, but with a story in game, and they're not present if you don't play them
Plus its got the classic 'main character has amnesia' trope to get a character with an established backstory, without leaving the player not knowing any of it
@@Canadian_Zac Technically you can find Durge's corpse in Orin's bedroom if you play as Tav
@@Canadian_Zacthey are present tho if you don’t play as him. You just can’t have him as a companion
After playing Durge, Tav feels so... hollow. Like I love my drow Tav, she's badass, but Tav doesn't feel as connected to the story, Durge is catalyst that caused this to happen, and is the hero redeeming himself to save the world
Or the one bringing it to its knees in Bhaals name
Another Drow Tav! Neat :D Though mine's a guy. As opposed to my femDurge
With this comment... I just realized doing that is just playing kotor
I create tavs for my own char backstories like my female dwarf bard once a wife of a Dwarven guild leader and entertainer/diplomat for that guild before the guild died to the mindflayers and she was taken
Elf Wizard wanting to read every script and book, note or letter, i try to play as neutral, but drifting to chaotic neutral if that makes sense....22 int.
I like how if you embraced your heritage, it makes you feel like you are the boss fight for Orin
Agreed! It’s a very fresh perspective
Sadly the slayer sucks
@@thedoomslayer5863 Yeah, she killed slayer form in 2 turns. My Durge just went "eh" and proceeded to maul her as an owlbear in one turn 😂
@@preetshienh5922 Even with mods to make the slayer INTENTIONALLY op I could STILL make a martial class that matched it in power. And that was a mod that gave the slayer SIX actions and bonus actions! And buffed it's damage like crazy!
Yes!!
The quest log of the Dark Urge story line pretty much says it all. All entries are written in 3rd person and by Sceleritas Fel; he will praise Durge if they obey and criticize them for rejecting their urges. If you redeem Durge at the end of the quest, the last quest log entry will be written in 1st person and they will talk about how they feel like themselves for the first time in their life.
Wow what an incredible detail!! I had no clue about that little Easter egg. Thank you for mentioning it in the comments! I can’t imagine I’m the only one who didn’t pick up on that…
@@FiguringOutFantasy No worries, from what I have heard not a lot of people pick up on that. Which is kind of a shame, because when you read it for the first time it's really emotional.
Meanwhile Lae’zel and Astarion: You wanna kill more people? Nice let me help
I think Astarion, Lae'zel and Minthara is the best team for DU, even for resisting one. It just fitted so well in my resistDU playtrough, that I completely forgot about my dear wizard Gale))) I don't know why, it's just it. Shart also fits well, but I'm already tired of shar-talking, sry darling...
In my DU character i select every single DU option, so everyone is dead. I let Shadowheart kill La'zel, then I had to kill Shadowheart cause I was in love with her. Killing Shadowheart turned Astarion agro so I had to put him down too. Of course after a night of passion with Minithara, I broke her neck...
@@YurateYuratewhen I first had shadowheart I just had this eyes glazed over look when she began to spam shar this shar that like "look ill tolerate this because your hot but lets stfu about shar for five seconds"
@@lokdog257 so you did not kill Isobel if you had to kill shadowheart...? That means you didn't pick every bad option.
And yeah, endgame playing as dark urge feels very empty. I mean the halls and camps that used to be full of people and npcs are sooo empty. Everyone is dead. In Act 2 I couldn't trade, because no shopkeepers were left alive...
@wiewioragaming5726 no, I killed Isabel at Last Light Inn.
Friend seeing my naked halfling Barbarian killing everything: "Ya bro playing Dark Urge bad route?"
Me just being murderhobo in our game, which we never intended to play more than one-shot without knowing anything about DU: "Who?"
I feel Durge is the real main character of BG3. Especially if we’re going by the themes of BG1 and 2. Also considering he also has a canonical appearance and class. But most importantly, he is integral too the story.
Tav if I recall correctly was an investigator, trying to solve the murders caused by Durge. But no canonical appearance or class.
More than I recall
Did they give any indication that Tav from the ARG survived the attack from Durge? I thought he was just dead and our mc Tav is just named that as default as an homage
I remember a clip where the Durge gets a "Tear of joy in your eye" when witnessing the hyena give birth to a Gnoll.
Embracing the Dark Urge is some of the most fun I've had in gaming. It's so well done, and getting to destroy Orin with the slayer form after all the grief she's given me in other playthroughs was just beautiful.
Let hill and hollow be a door, to screams that last forevermore.
Agreed!
She usually beats the slayer. It's very underpowered and she along with most classes by act 3 can wildly surpass the slayer in power.
I find it mandatory to get some mod off the nexus to buff the slayer
There was something cathartic about one shotting Orin in her slayer form as a sorcerer while playing redemption durge.
"Bitch do I look like I need the help of a murder hobo god?"
The crazy thing is a massacred her without my slayer form. She down right slaughtered me twice on Slayer Form before I said fuck it let’s go mano Y womano and proceed to whip the floor with her 😂
@@KutluMizrak I couldn't 1 shot her so I had to use scrolls of ottos irresistible dance and disintegrate
There's something enthralling about playing a Dark Urge that resists said urges. It's like Paarthurnax from Skyrim says.
"What is better? To be born good, or to overcome your evil nature with great effort?"
The feeling of overcoming your Dark Urges, to prove you can be someone better, there's a feeling of satisfaction and triumph that no other RPG has ever given me. I am so glad I played Dark Urge first in my game.
The Dark Urge to me seems like the writers asked themselves "Hey remember Knights of the Old Republic's big twist? I bet we can do some really wild shit with that concept since we don't have to be family friendly."
More so they decided to make this an actual Baldur's Gate game and continuing the Bhaalspawn story instead of just using the name for marketing.
@@klammyvagikarp7578 those can both be true.
As I red once, Orin is the real hero of Baldur's Gate 3
If she didn't betray Durge then they wouldn't have memory loss (or even have died) and The Dead Three's plan would've been completed with ease
Thank you Orin for saving the realms 😹
True! Orin's incompetence really set the stage for us to save the sword coast XD
Idk if you guys knew this, it isn't mentioned in the video, but you can cast speak with dead on Helena's corpse!
redemption durge is def the canon protagonist. It just makes sense.
Wrong, it's Wyll.
@@OWlsfordshire Explanation?
38:00 I'm pretty sure Durge is not a descendant of Sarevok at all. Orin might call you brother at some point, but that's because she is convinced she's a full Bhaalspawn and you can tell her the truth if you read Sarevok's diary or talk to her mom. If anything, you're Orin's grand-uncle.
Durge is deffo a bhaalspawn, bhaal doesn't discriminate n will bed anything. Even gnomes n halflings.
@@RizzyKhaos Durge isn't a traditional Bhaalspawn. Durge was hand-crafted by Bhaal from a piece of his own body, then sent down to the world as a fully-formed infant, which was then adopted.
It's why you have The Urge. You're not simply his progeny, you're a piece of Bhaal himself, and so you have the original Bhaal whispering in the back of your mind, which takes the form of The Urge
“He’s trying to kenpachi us!” Thx u made me audible snort at work
As a man once said, "Blood For The Blood God."
Skulls for the throne of skulls
The thing about Dark Urge, is that Larian do one of the tropes that DMs in DND hate the most about character backstories right: amnesia. Seriously. Ask any DM, and they will mostly say it’s an excuse for something, either becoming a murder hobo, or laziness/disinterest on the player’s part. If done well like Durge, amnesia is usually best executed if there is both 1.) a reason for the amnesia (Orin’s mutilation of Durge), and 2.) is connected to established lore in some form (the Dead Three, BG 1 and 2, and generally established lore with the Forgotten Realms). Additionally, when done like this, the later reveals like the Bhaalspawn, the Crown Raid, and the conversation with Bhaal all lead up to more fantastic moments.
The scene after you spare isobel and get the urge to kill your lover (for me it was Gale) is actually so incredible. The way that you have to try your best to warn him about YOURSELF is so depressing but the way Gale treats you in that scene is so unbelievably wholesome and sweet. Seeing him still treating you with compassion while you are thrashing uncontrollably on the ground is genuinely so fulfilling and was the scene that finally set Baldurs Gate 3 into one of the top 2 favorite games of all time.
My first playthrough of the game had been with Durge, and I have zero regrets for it. Every moment you had to choose between resisting or embracing your blood had me on edge, weighing in the potential benefits and consequences of each. And the way you tie into the game's plot up to the reveal you are the very orchestrator of the Absolute crisis alongside the ties to Baldur's Gate history from previous installments is executed perfectly. I wholly agree with him being the true 'main' character of BG3. My only nitpick about Durge is... why the hell is he a storm sorcerer by default when that class has no real synergy with all the murder-themed items or slayer form...?
I felt the same about the default class for the dark urge, thats why for the playthrough in the video I used a barbarian which felt a bit more fitting, though not quite the assassin style through the rogue class. Thanks for the comment!
Got to fit into the variety of classes in the game. It's bad enough that we double up on Druids for example. And since Divine Soul isn't included in BG3 and would probably make things a bit too blatant the Storm Sorcerer who just goes maximum collateral damage with lightning is the next best option.
I made him a Bard for shits and giggles. But Bardurge's playthrough was pretty fun, NGL.
@@TheCuriousFan1barbarian makes sense. Fits the rage he'd feel at the world and his loss of glory and he enjoys being hands on with his murder
My first pass for the Dark Urge was for a monk. It's just that I was a little spoilt that the Dark Urge would have impulses to kill, but they can be resisted, and I wanted to imagine what if, after losing his memory in an attempt to restore his mind and resist impulses, my Dark Urge would spend his days in meditation in an attempt to calm his mind. Oh yes, and my Dark Urge was the Drow Seldarin, for who, no matter how they know how to resist being an evil race😂
I'm excited because Larian said they are adding more evil endings to the game.
They just had to wait for me to release this video huh...
Gonna go play a Dark Urge run, then I'll come back to this video. It's the only way I'll let myself watch it.
One of my favorite pieces of dialogue comes from Sceleritis after you become the chosen. When you ask him what the worth thing he ever did was, he responds about the time you gave a beggar some coin.
It might be a joke line, but that made me question about who the Dark Urge is as a person. Was he truly the murderous maniac who kills without mercy, or were these urges always the parasite that took him over. When he has these urges, it is his body that tingles in excitement, relishing a past experience. These urges are euphoric, but he might’ve never been in control of his body.
Again, looking too deep into it, but food for thought.
That’s a really good point. It also leads me to ask if scleritas meant worst because the physical actions, if there was more to that moment than that, or if it was about durge’s intentions.
Video didn't go into what happens if you eat the healing mushroom, get heal cast on your character, or unique paladin dialogues as Durge. There's a lot of information to suggest that the Dark Urge resisted for a time before becoming the unhinged killer that murders Tav in the teasers leading up to release.
My biggest gripe with Tav is the game feels like it's tailored to give the player an ego trip.
Durge has felt more like a wolf among sheep. They all can clearly see your teeth but you manage to convince them that you aren't immediately dangerous.
Literally an axe amoung trees convincing the trees he's one of them for his handle was made of wood.
As someone who played BG2, I noticed the markings under the dark urge in the little "who am I speech" he gives in the character select, and when I saw the slayer I recognized it from BG2, leaving no doubt who we were
I would suggest playing Ranger or rogue (I suggest both: 5 ranger, 3 rogue, 3 Fighter, 1 War Priest) if you play The Dark Urge because that cloak you get for killing Alfira is so good for a stealthy assassin type, be it ranged or melee.
Cape is op As a monk as well
playing as dark urge healed the people pleaser in me. I killed EVERYONE
Durge is the only excuse you need!
You have please Daddy Bhaal.
Lmao me too!! I had to resist the urge to please everyone. Man the Druid Cove was the worst. Damn Zevlor had to insist on asking me over and over why I would betray them. Damn near gave up on that part but pulled up my big boy Durge pants and slaughtered eveyone 😅😅😅
The Dark Urge can also regain a couple of their memories if you make them eat the Noblestalk mushroom found in the Underdark, or cast a Heal spell on yourself.
i refused all my urges, as ill never give in to baal
You're only describing how it feels to play a Durge AFTER having finished the game already. Playing it as your first playthrough is the way to go
If you knockout alfira on the first night you get a dragon bard that comes to camp to die instead of her. And if you end up sacrificing the night song you still get the stalker form without losing allies.
"secret main character"
shows the canon mc lol
I feel like people forget that it's a *roleplaying* game. You can be whoever you want to be. To me Durge is the Main protagonist with Shadowheart as the Deuteroganist but Tav can be as important as you want them to be. In my first playthrough my Tav was a simple Priest of Bahamut who got dragged into this mess and ended up being the heart of the party. Maybe your Tav is someone more important or a mere nobody in the end it all depends on how you play
I totally agree. There are more story beats built in for origin characters, but role-playing is ultimately left to the player. Also it's about having fun, not playing through the "most canon" experience like a chore. If that's fun, then more power and go to town. There is no correct way to play games.
I personally feel like in a sense his romance with Shadow heart is canon.
Especially during the new Dark Urge ending where you took the crown and romancing her as enemy of Shar.
You kill her and her last words are:
"I thought we were supposed to save each other" hits hard ASF.
Because their stories are pretty similar; especially when she said that she will try to save you just like you saved her from Shar when the dark urge tried not to kill her after act 2.
Heck; even Lae'zel's last words hit very hard as well.
He's like Gorion's Ward and the Nameless one joined together.
Well.. given a Bhaalspawn was the PC in BG1&2..
That was my reason to play as dark urge in the first place
It makes so much sense now....
Ya know, I really think that there should have been a mention towards that one piece of dialogue that allows the Dark Urge to be WORSE than Bhaal himself, relishing that they are now truly free, and that their atrocities and wretched acts will finally be theirs and their alone, instead of being deemed as some outside influence
You also end up with the bad ending if you lose against Orin. Basically then you're stuck with the urge even if you denied or embraced it.
I always prefer to play Dark Urge rather then the generic custom character because It gives your character an arc or questline of your own whereas in a normal playthrough it feels like you're just around for everyone else's story.
The dark urge line: when deliverance is more than just giving death
Hes absolutely my favourite orgin character the backround of his story is *chefs kiss*
7:33 that’s not entirely true, I have an almost perfect score with shardowheart, Lae’zel and Astarion and a relationship with Lae’zel even though I literally killed every other character in the game (half way through act 3). So for your evil play through you just have to choose the right companions.
Exactly. Minthara is actively turned on by you when you embrace the urge
Karlach, showing up with a great axe and non-lethal attacks turned on: "I'm sorry about this, Alfira. You're going to thank me later."
I appreciate the beginning of the vid I just got the game and I'm not ready to be spoiled
bro the withers speech left me in tears.. literally
holy shit dude i really thought your channel would have 10’s if not 100’s if thousands of subscribers, for such i high quality video i really thought you would have a larger audience, keep it up dude you got this and 10k in like 5months?! good shit.
Resisting the urge run is sooooo good
in BG1 and BG2 ur main hero was bhaals spawn by base so ofc in BG3 dark urge is main character
The best play through I had was for Dark Urge redemption. It was so rewarding
As it was not mentioned in the video, if you play as any origin character other than Durge, you can find his corpse in Orin's bedchamber
I'll probably stick to just watching videos on a Dark Urge playthrough cause I'm too attached to the companions and characters to be a bloodthirsty killer. If I ever do a Dark Urge playthrough, I'll likely just defy Bhall and try to spare as many people as possible.
An interesting way to do it is paladin, the struggle between your bloodthirsty nature and trying to uphold your oath is narratively fascinating
I also like spore druid and trying to find a balance
@@hipsterbrigadier9428isn't his default class Paladin ?
@@ghekor No, I think it's a sorcerer, or some kind of magic user.
@@PinkMarshmallows Yep you right, DU is a Storm Sorcerer by default
I just can't do a Durge playthrough. I like Alfira too much, even as a side character. It's a crime she doesn't join the regular Tav's party as a bard.
My tav/Durge playthrough started me as a paladin. Accidentally became a and learned that being and oathbreaker is VERY possible.
It was coming right at me!
Imo the best way to play Durge is a resist Durge who fails. It turns the story into a tragedy where Durge is forced to kill against his will and tries to end it all by allowing Orin to kill him, only to be revived by Bhaal to continue his will. In a last act of defiance you destroy the netherbrain and kill yourself to spite your father.
Dark Urge is quite literally the best way to play Baldur's Gate 3, and probably the best mode to play in any CRPG ever
The proper way to play The Dark Urge should be as the good guy. After all, in the intro, he literally says he needs to resist the urge. Which, while I've never played the other Baldur's Gate games, seems to more or less synergize with them.
Its up to the player. I saw him as a chance to REALLY cut loose. If I felt a npc so much as looked at me wrong I'd revoked their life membership and sent their screaming souls to Bhaal with express shipping.
Reading this comment after watching that one Durge video where they kill every single NPC, including party members and every civilian hits different
Just started a dark urge halfling play through
Assassin?
Worth mentioning but Alfira can be saved from her grizzly fate. After finishing her interaction, however you ended up completing it, you can use non-lethal attacks to knock her out and once the Durge camp scene triggers a back-up character will appear to die in her stead. You still gain the Deathstalker Mantle for the murder as you do with Alfira and you gain the ability to get the quest rewards from Alfira in Act 2, a win-win scenario. It is crazy how many back-up characters exist to make up for an unexpected NPC death whether caused by the player or an inexplicable glitch. Definitely recommend using a companion to knock her out though since attacking her will stack up negative relations and she won't talk to her attacker later down the line. I used Astarion for poetic reasons and because Rogue.
Since the Alfira incident was spoilered for me by some youtube short I tried not to get friendly with her so she wouldnt come to camp. This didn't work but I was able to hide the body without any confrontation with my companions. They never noticed.
I left this comment on your Astarion video too, but might as well put it here.
I’m doing a modded playthrough where I’ve combined Karlach and the Dark Urge storylines, the forced long rest taking me to the mountain pass contained 3 events:
1: Mizora showed up
2: Alfira shows up and I subsequently kill her and go back to bed
3: Astarion tries to bite me (and fails since I’m Karlach)
This means Astarion wakes up after I murder Alfira, sees her body and me covered in blood, and then decides to try to bite me…to make it even better, none of my companions even commented on Alfira’s body.
durge is the canonical mc for me since the first time i played it, just fits the game's plot so perfectly and makes act 3 much more impactful
Durge was honestly peak baulders gate for me because of the choices I made and the fact that I missed a couple of characters my party was strictly limted to Shadowheart Lazel and Minthira, which solved the whole camp full of followers I dont interact with prolbem i find in other RPG's so it made it felt like everyone in the party was completely in the loop at all times and were with me at every step of the way they were their witn every revelation every triumph, not only that but if you play your cards right your able to cut them off from everyone else they used to know essentially making them loayal to you no matter what happens in the end. Also durge and Minthira romance is probably the healthies relationship in the game, she's your literal evil cheerleader
Resisting the urge feels like Sirus in Infinity Blade former Lord Vile/Lord Aussar as also one of the most evil beings in it’s own lore.
my first playthrough was as the dark urge, man was a murderer and defied Bhaal to rule in his own name. I got so hyped when withers revived me after dying to Bhaal
"Helena (his daughter) gave birth to Orin (his daughter) and then Sarevok told Helena (his daughter) to kill Orin (his daughter) but then Orin instead killed Helena (her mother) which Sarevok is totally cool with" is such a loaded quote that also perfectly encapsulates the spirit of the dark urge
Lol i got downvoted on reddit for saying the dark urge is more the main character than Tav is, for some reason.
omg what a tragedy
It's reddit, what did you expect? They would downvote a post that would have common sense just so they could say they were right.
@@stellviahohenheim i was making fun of people fiercely defending Tav as the mc, even though it really doesn’t matter. But sure, be a sarcastic dick, i hope it makes you feel better. Lol
Seriously, after playing through Durge it the “normal” play through feels like it’s missing something. Like I’m just playing through the motions and just so happened to be caught up in an already ongoing story. Man, the times I got chills just from his normal banter had me hooked. the VA went all out and beyond to sell the urge man. From him saying “Into the bloody fray!” To my favorite line “They are dying for me. ALL OF THEM!!!!” To me he was THE MAIN CHARACTER!🔥😎🥶
The dark durge is the only origin character that can be customised he/she also has the most interactions with the main villains some even knew the dark urge before they lost their memory and then there’s Withers like yeah he interacts with everyone else but he interacts with the Dark urge more he even goes out of his way to bring us back from the dead basically reborn after Bhaal kills us
I remember my first durge playthrough, i was doing it in honor mode and I didn't want to kill Isobel because I needed Damon for my build, so I then got the Bhaal redemption camp kill where I was romancing Karlach. And I killed her. I was not happy, and absolutely rampaged through moonrise, playing so recklessly because I wanted to start over. That playthrough went all the way. I am still salty about killing Karlach though.
Very rare fact I can’t seem to find any footage of: If you keep Gale’s hand all the way to Act 3, you can talk to him at the murder tribunal! This is insanely rare though, as, being the Dark Urge, you don’t need to actually DO the tribunal to become an unholy assassin.
I literally laughed out loud at the Codt Parkey joke. As a Bears fan though, it gave me ptsd flashbacks to the double doink
I’m glad I could humor a few people who would get the joke 🤣 Thanks for the comment!
I haven't been right since Tamoko died.
who knew a murder hobo(or in this case the literal chosen to a god of murder) could be so interesting
I’ve been running a very speciric DURGE, where he starts trying to fight off the evil, while secretly enjoying his Violence, in the middle of the game before act3, My Durge understood his true nature and stopped hiding, being a complete menace for all to see, while sometimes his senses come back to him, for the most part, he enjoys every single bit of misery he inflicts upon others….
I just finished my evil Durge playthrough the day before yesterday.. with the newer endings as well (would love to see a short bit of a PS follow up vid to this).
Really want to do a redemption Durge playthrough sometime in the future
Hell, the fact of Durge being the only OC which cannot join the party made it clear to me that I should play that guy.
with the introduction of Durge, i no longer feel compelled to be a goody-two-shoes in games! thanks, Larian! :D
Goddamn... Durge is just a masterpiece of a character, being an evil him can be rewarding in the early stages but in Act 2 and 3... You really need to resist the urge at some point... Durge is also a huge homage to the previous main protagonist which was a Bhaalspawn as well, Gorion' Ward!
I've never been able to get that torture scene in the druids grove, dark urge or not. Weird.
26:27 Raphael catching strays
A first playthrough, full dark urge embrace is a very fun experience, I’m so used to games evil options to actively make the game less fun, blocking off content and barely making the rewards worth it, so when I heard BG3 had a really good evil path, I jumped to do it first and I don’t regret it, I was cackling like a maniac irl with each evil act, and was made stronger by it, truly this was my favourite evil path in any game
Well Larian did at one point mention that the dark urge was the only planned character or the main character but that they then expanded to include the origin characters and the custom characters as well. Gonna do my first evil playthrough when patch 7 comes out
The first time I did a durge run, I embarrassed the durge and felt really sad as everyone felt so empty
I LOVE the dark urge character. I beat the game 4 times and 3 of those times i played dark urge. The first time was a good playthrough, second one was a chaotic neutral, and my last playthrough was very evil. I killed everyone in my evil playthrough except for Lae'zel and Astarion 😅 dark urge is a lot of fun imo
funnily enough it feels even more like a sandbox experience than Tav!
8:30 When that necro line came up, I cackled. I was like "What the fuuuuuuuuuuuu!"
This was a pretty open secret.
A hella fun class for an Evil Durge run that felt pretty good thematically for me is Fiend Pact of the Blade Warlock. You get so many great evil only items for that build and the best in slot weapon is the Shars Spear of Evening (which you get if Shadowheart kills the nightsong) and dual-wielding it with a dagger. When you get to act 3 and get baptized into the Bhaal cult you can buy the Bhaalist armor which will double all your damage since the spear and dagger both do piercing damage. So by the end, you're covering you and your enemies in darkness and then stabbing them to death in the dark. It's really cool.
@@jahcode6132 this is only if you embrace the urges?
@@Mnunnsr not necessarily, but you have to take evil story routes to get the two items I mentioned. So I would personally say it's better for an evil durge run. But I'd have to be the biggest asshole on the planet to tell you how to play a role playing game so if the vibe as a resist durge works for you go for it man.
There is another fun interaction if you consume the Noblestalk as the Dark Urge. You get a little flashback sequence that is pretty cool. Hope this helps anyone who wants to do a Durge run!
The talk my durge had with Jaheira about the slayer form really gave her allot to think about, up until that point she's been doing whatever she could to attain the power of her father while avoiding stupid mindless killing. I think it's because of that, the ending of my current playthrough is a coin toss. It could go either way really, but it might sway towards refusal of the power in the end because she doesn't want to lose the only mother figure she's ever known. Every time she talked to Jaheira she couldn't bring herself to tell her that she's the one responsible for the horrific shit that's happening. She wants Jaheira to still be there in the end.
One thing I find hilarious is that literally after I helped Minthara's gobbie squad massacre the Grove (which cost me both Wyll and Karlach in the process), Astarion immediately was DTF despite my affiliation with him being medium at the time.
Honestly playing as a Dark Urge will gift you with two of the best cutscenes in the game: Withers reviving you at Bhaal Temple and the bad ending, where Amelia (the narrator) give one of the best Videogame VA on recent times