Can you beat Commander Zhalk? You wander the Nautiloid, having recently been introduced to your own personal parasite. Things are going sideways, both literally and figuratively, and you have to reach the controls of the ship so you don’t get burnt to a crisp by the squad of dragon-riding Githyanki warriors. As usual, though, things aren’t quite as easy as just pressing a button and getting out of there. There’s a formidable enemy standing in your way, Commander Zhalk.
Our Baldur’s Gate 3 review goes into some of the trials and tribulations you’ll encounter when wandering around Faerun, not to mention a really awkward, romance-adjacent encounter with an Ogre. There’s one particularly difficult fight you’ll encounter early on, but thankfully, it’s completely optional. Here’s what you need to know about Commander Zhalk, and how to beat him if you choose to take on the challenge.
How to beat Commander Zhalk
When escaping the Nautiloid, Commander Zhalk will be sparring with a mindflayer. While the obvious solution is to simply bypass this engagement to reach your objective, with enough know-how you can beat this formidable foe.
Though Zhalk has his attention on the mindflayer, it won’t be long before he focuses on you and your party, so it’s vital that you act quickly. Your spells and attacks won’t be up to much this early in the RPG, so ensure that you use any and all explosive throwables you acquired wandering the Nautiloid. He has resistance to fire, lightning, cold, and poison, so holy damage is your best bet. Your party has access to holy damage if you managed to release Shadowheart from her pod.
Healing the mindflayer may seem counterintuitive considering the heinous acts they just performed on your body. That said, as long as they stay alive, Zhalk won’t be attacking your party so keeping them healthy should be a priority for your healers. Once Commander Zhalk has been defeated, you’ll be able to pick up the Everburn Blade; a great starting weapon for Lae’zel.
If you take on the challenge and succeed, you’ll be in a great position to smash whatever awaits you in the outside world. If you’re looking for the best builds for your character, you’re in luck, we’ve got the best barbarian build so you can make use of that new sword, the best rogue build so you can rob everyone blind, and of course, the best warlock build so you can turn the air into acid and dissolve your enemies from the inside out.