Commander Zhalk is the tutorial boss of Baldur’s Gate 3. Defeating him is entirely optional, but it does yield great rewards. This includes enough experience points to reach level 2 and one of the best greatswords for most of the main story.

Even though it is early on in the game, be sure to use dedicated “hard” saves before and during the fight. Unlike quick saves, this allows you to reload during different parts of the action. Dubbed “save scumming“ by the community after LucasArts’ decades-old SCUMM game engine, Larian fully intends for players to reload to gain new results.

Preparing the Party

Defeating Zhalk in Baldur's Gate 3 can significantly depend on your initial team composition. Even if playing as a primary caster or healer, the main character, Tav, should contribute some damage with either spells or weapons. This can be in the form of helpful Cantrips, melee attacks, or ranged weapons. Additionally, all of the custom party will be added in the multiplayer, giving superior numbers. However, with more human players, everyone will be fighting over the dropped rewards.

Outside of the player character(s), you will always have Lae’zel on the team. It is also highly recommended that you recruit Shadowheart to help fight Commander Zhalk. Finally, you should also save the Brain Pet named Us. While they only deal some damage, Us can activate switches to progress cutscenes or heal the party.

If you've picked Lae’zel as your origin character, you will get another temporary companion, Losiir. He is another Githyanki Fighter, making him mostly a carbon copy of Lae’zel.

Escaping the Nautiloid

As you go to the bridge, you will find Commander Zhalk and his minions fighting with a Mindflayer. This Illithid will be a temporary ally as long as Zhalk is still alive but will become hostile even if other foes remain. You want to help him and ensure both parties die in succession.

You want to kill the weaker enemies with single strong attacks. This includes both the initial group at the door and the second one closer to the main console. Once this group is dead, you can sit Us near the controls in case time starts to run out. They will always leave at the end of the tutorial, but Us can be found again in Baldur's Gate 3's Act 2.

Let the Mindflayer deal most of the damage to Zhalk. Help the Mindflayer with buffs like Shield of Faith or Inspiration. You can also fully disarm Zhalk with the Cleric spell Command, lowering his overall damage. You want to balance out both Commander Zhalk and the Mindflayer’s hit points, so both can be killed by one of your team’s turns - around 20 or fewer hit points. Attack either side and heal the Mindflayer accordingly. As noted, save during this encounter and reload if either enemy becomes weaker than the other.

With both Commander Zhalk and the Mindflayer dead, grab the respeced to a melee class. It can be your weapon of choice for much of Baldur’s Gate 3. If time runs out, have Us trigger the control to progress to Act 1. But if turns remain, grab the rest of the loot or fight off any remaining reinforcements before moving on.