Things look awfully bleak in the House of Hope, as the Baldur’s Gate 3 baddie Raphael reigns over this special circle of hell with an extra degree of cruelty. As you travel here in Act 3 of BG3, you’ll meet its tortured residence and tackle a risky to-do list snooping around in the devil’s domain. However, he’s not exactly passive about trespassing, and the hammer comes down when trying to leave the House of Hope. To really escape, here’s how to fight Raphael in Baldur’s Gate 3.
How to defeat Raphael in BG3 – Claws come out
To defeat Rapheal in BG3, focus your fire on his cannon fodder Korrilla and Yurgir (unless you convince the latter to join you), and the Pillars of Souls in the four corners of the room. Those can power up Raphael and sap strength from your party if they enter a downed state near them, so best to take them out quick. Raphael has a total of 666 HP, so don’t even think about attacking him right away.
Raphael has an ability to summon more enemies, but he rarely used it in my fight, so I think it’s safe to let him do it and take the new enemy out as soon as you can.
If you have a Barbarian in your party, have them rely on melee attacks to bring the pillars down, while Clerics and other magic users with access to Flame Strike or Eldritch Blast can use those to speed things along. If one of your characters has access to Black Hole, feel free to use it liberally to take the heat (no pun intended) off of your more vulnerable party members. It’s also good to remember that Hope is also a Cleric and she has access to a healing spell that heals the entire party, so rely on her.
Also — all Clerics have a sort-of doomsday scenario called Divine Intervention. This ability can manifest in several different ways, the most helpful of which are Sunder the Heretical, which does damage to all enemies in a 15m radius, and Opulent Revival, which resurrects fallen enemies and restores abilities and spells as if you just Long Rested. These can only be used once in a cleric’s lifetime, so you might be concerned that I am telling you to use it, but use it.
Especially if one of your party members is a cleric in addition to Hope, because it’ll give you essentially two get-out-of-jail free cards. Hope is a one-time ally, so using the Intervention here is a freebie. If you choose to use Sunder the Heretical, however, be sure that you’re not close to an enemy getting yeeted, because you will also die.
As soon as the four pillars are destroyed (and presumably all or most of his allies are killed), the focus needs to shift to Raphael. I had two Barbarians (Karlach and my original character) wailing on him up close, while Shadowheart would try (and fail) to hit him using Fire Bolt or Sacred Flame. If you have the level VI spell “Heal,” try to keep that in reserve in case you need it. And Astarion was just spamming him with Eldritch Blast. In time, I chipped away at the devil’s HP until he collapsed in a pile before my eyes.
And, as I looked upon my deeds and recognized my victory, I felt like Jack Black and Kyle Gass in the age-old epic, Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny. Or Tribute, if you prefer. And this success was, too, just a tribute to my love of Baldur’s Gate 3 and its over-the-top boss fights.
Is the BG3 Raphael fight hard?
I’d like to paint a picture for you of one of the most epic — and I don’t use that word lightly — boss fights in recent memory. At this point, I have become accustomed to the sheer level of freedom to be found in Baldur’s Gate 3, but the battle against the devil Raphael takes the cake in every way imaginable. I have never been so happy to be on the receiving end of a nuclear suppository and I mean that literally.
In a lot of tough boss fights, it can feel like you’re bashing your head against a brick wall; nothing works, and you are pushed to the point where you want to quit a game that you otherwise love. But, the fight against Raphael is — well, it’s tough, but it’s probably one of the most fun encounters in the game (and that’s only in part thanks to the fight’s theme song, which features Raphael’s audition for a Disney villain.
It’s a criminally underrated boss fight, and while it may be challenging, it’s entirely possible to bring Raphael’s HP meter from 666 all the way to 0. I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily easy, but it’s still do-able.
Who is Raphael in BG3? – Dealing with the Devil
In BG3, Raphael is, quite literally, the devil. The fiendish Cambion calls the hells home, and he’s the torturous ruler over the House of Hope. As a demon with a long history of manipulation and swindling, Raphael may first appear to you and your party in Act 1, but you’ll hear other characters reference him often. More vulnerable NPCs, like the young Tiefling child, Mol, even come under his influence at some point, sending you down a rabbit hole to Find Mol and save the kid from life with Raphael as a patron.
As for other quests, you’ll encounter Raphael again in Act 2, right outside the Gauntlet of Shar. It’s also much easier to reach him in Avernus if you work out a deal with Helsik later in Act 3.
