28 November 2025

Every Game Like Baldur’s Gate 3 Needs Its Own Take on the Illithid Powers

By newsgame

Baldur’s Gate 3 opens with the ultimate violation of agency: a parasite in the player’s skull, rewriting the party’s fate day by day. From that moment on, Larian’s masterpiece becomes a study in control, with manifestations of hunger, corruption, temptation, and redemption given to the player. Every choice a player makes reflects the idea that someone can become a hero with something alive inside their mind. Alternatively, the same circumstances can consume a different would-be hero, transforming them into a monster.

The Illithid Powers distill Baldur’s Gate 3’s themes into a tangible, mechanical form. They’re powerful, sometimes absurdly so, but they come with undeniable narrative weight. Each new tendril of strength feels like leaning just a little closer to the edge. BG3 makes sure a player is always aware of it. Every ability is a temptation, every upgrade a flirtation with the monster they could turn into. Mechanically, Illithid Powers enhance combat. Narratively, they test your character’s soul. It’s the perfect intersection of theme and gameplay, and it’s exactly the kind of system every narrative-driven RPG should aspire to.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Players on a ‘No Illithid Powers’ Run Can’t Recruit This Character

While the No Illithid Powers run adds a fun twist to Baldur’s Gate 3 playthroughs, players will have to miss out on one of the game’s best characters.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Illithid Power Tier List

S-Tier

Cull the Weak: The best passive damage booster in the entire Illithid Power tree; it cleans up mobs like nothing else.
Force Tunnel: Unmatched repositioning tool that gets a player out of danger instantly.
Luck of the Far Realms: A guaranteed crit in any fight is too good not to use.
Psionic Dominance: If “no you don’t” were an actual D&D spell. Psionic Dominance completely shuts down enemy spellcasting.
Fly: Managing around BG3‘s action economy alone makes this broken; movement without using actions or bonus actions is incredible.
Freecast: Getting the next spell or action for free is game-changing every single time.

A-Tier

Favorable Beginnings: A consistent early boost during battles that empowers any player.
Stage Fright: Devastating enemy debuff potential and surprisingly reliable.
Charm: Useful in tight scenarios and early encounters alike.
Psionic Backlash: A handy reaction that adds chip pressure and disruption.
Illithid Expertise: Strong aid for Baldur’s Gate 3‘s roleplay across dialogue-heavy moments.
Black Hole: Great control option with very satisfying pull.
Mind Blast: Solid cone damage with good crowd-control potential.

B-Tier

Illithid Persuasion: Excellent in Baldur’s Gate 3’s Act 1, but dramatically weaker later on as the characters one could reasonably persuade dwindle.
Concentrated Blast: Perfect when deployed, but the conditions for spell concentration are too inconsistent.
Displace: Strong when it lands, but triggers too rarely.
Repulsor: Good in theory, but Force Tunnel grants more flexibility.
Shield of Thralls: Fine, but overshadowed by stronger defensive options.
Perilous Stakes: Powerful risk-reward tool, depending on party composition.
Mind Sanctuary: Excellent on paper; unreliable in practice without tight party formation.

C-Tier

Psionic Overload: Too weak to merit consistent use.
Transfuse Health: The HP cost outweighs the benefit.
Ability Drain: Lackluster, especially by BG3’s Act 3, which is when it first becomes available.
Fractured Psyche: Armor reduction when it becomes unlockable in Act 3 isn’t impactful.
Absorb Intellect: Great for targeting mages, but far too situational.
Displacer Beast Shape: Baldur’s Gate 3‘s Druids can do better, and this doesn’t justify the opportunity cost.

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Baldur’s Gate 3 fans have a head start in D&D, but the transition isn’t seamless, with differences in rules, roleplay, and mindset.

Baldur’s Gate 3’s Illithid Abilities: Power, Corruption, and Everything In Between

Illithid abilities are more than combat tools; they’re a constant moral barometer. BG3 excels at creating pressure points that force players to reckon with the party’s trust, the player character’s identity, and the stakes of their decisions. The powers themselves act as a living embodiment of the game’s core conflict: the tension between survival and corruption.

Choosing to use these abilities raises questions no spellbook or skill tree typically asks. It forces the player to ask how much potentially corrupting power is “acceptable” if it keeps their friends alive. It forces the Good- and Lawful-aligned players to ask whether resisting corruption is always noble or just another form of fear. When companions respond—approving, disapproving, disgusted—it reinforces that this system isn’t just mechanical. It’s interpersonal. It’s psychological. Even characters who support the choice to consume tadpoles bring their own emotional biases to the table, adding nuance to every decision.

Baldur's Gate 3 Mind Flayer Parasite (2)

By rooting progression in temptation, BG3 ensures that even the strongest abilities feel earned or damning. That emotional weight is something many RPGs attempt but rarely achieve. Here, it’s inseparable from the story’s DNA. Whether one pursues the path fully, dabbles, or refuses it outright, the choice becomes part of the character one is playing. And the brilliance lies in the fact that no answer is universally correct; each option reframes the narrative in a meaningful way. It’s like the most genuine moral conundrum of an excellent D&D campaign.

What Other RPGs Could Learn from Illithid Powers

RPGs That Officially Last More Than 100 Hours

Illithid Powers succeed because they do more than boost stats or unlock some of the strongest spells in Baldur’s Gate 3: they reinforce themes. Other RPGs can borrow this model without copying the fantastical body-horror trappings. What matters is the design philosophy:

Tie the power system to the story: If an RPG revolves around corruption, fate, ancestry, trauma, eldritch magic, cybernetics, or literally anything that has the power to transform a protagonist, the player’s skill tree should reflect that thematically.
Make power tempting, not free: The reason Illithid abilities hit so hard is that they come with narrative consequences. Judgment, risks, and identity shifts that threaten ceremorphosis must be counterbalanced by benefits. Other RPGs can mirror this with faction consequences, personal costs, or moral repercussions.
Allow companions to respond dynamically: RPGs with memorable companions shouldn’t be neutral observers to the transformation wrought by skill tree progression. Their reactions add emotional layers that make the choice feel real.
Design abilities that feel transformative: Illithid Powers aren’t just spells or boosts. They alter traversal, dialogue, combat, and strategy. Future RPGs can aim for systems that meaningfully change all aspects of gameplay rather than just inflate numbers.
Give the player room to reject the power: This is where BG3 truly excels. Saying “no” is as meaningful as embracing it. The best RPGs benefit from giving players the ability to resist, delay, or shape their transformation instead of forcing a binary endpoint.

When used thoughtfully, a system like this turns an RPG into something far richer: a character study shaped not just by choices, but by the power structures that tempt or pressure the player. BG3 proved that progression can be storytelling, and storytelling can shape progression right back.