Commander Zhalk is an enemy in BG3 who shows up in the finale fight when you are trying to make it off of the crashing Nautiloid ship in the tutorial.
He is very powerful and wields an early-game weapon, the Everburn, that is in your best interest to gain.
Zhalk won’t be an easy fight. We have a list of his stats below.
Commander Zhalk’s stats in BG3
| Information | Stats |
| HP | 150 |
| Armor Class | 18 |
| Speed | 9m |
| Resistances | Slashing Piercing Bludgeoning Fire Lighting Cold Poison |
| Feats | Darkvision (can see up to 12m in the dark) and Fiendish Ancestry (Zhalk gets an AC boost from his Charisma score). |
How to reach Commander Zhalk in BG3
Following the prologue section naturally will lead you straight to Commander Zhalk, who is at the helm of the nautiloid ship. During the prologue, you will fight a few enemies.
Most importantly, you have to free Shadowheart before attempting to fight Zhalk. The spells and buffs she provides as a cleric are crucial to defeating this tough enemy.
You want to make sure you have Us, the little brain creature known as the Devourer at your side when going against Zhalk.
Before entering the helm, take a Short Rest to replenish Lae’zel’s Pommel Strike and Rush Attack.
Upon reaching the helm, you’ll come across a Mind Flayer and Commander Zhalk locked in a duel. Before you can reach Zhalk, you’ll have to dispatch two Imps and a Lesser Hellsboar. With them out of the way, it’s time to take on Zhalk.
How to kill Commander Zhalk in BG3
To kill Commander Zhalk, you should prioritize buffing and healing the Mind Flayer. This is because the Mindflayer deals a great amount of damage to Zhalk. Plus, Zhalk will turn his attention to you and your companions if the Mind Flayer is defeated, so keeping it alive and focusing on the other enemies is your best bet.
The Mind Flayer can get some good hits in on Zhalk and has much better health than you or your companions at this point.
As a Sorcerer, I found casting True Strike on the Mind Flayer each turn to give him Advantage way more useful than trying to attack.
Zalk will focus on the mind flayer until death. You’ll want to take advantage of the tanks nearby only when the mind flayer is about to die. Use a fire spell to set off a chain explosion.
Killing Commander Zhalk doesn’t seem to have any long-term consequences on the story. In the lore, Zhalk is subservient to Zariel the Archduchess.
Shadowheart and Lae’Zel are best to use during the fight against Commander Zhalk.
I often find myself hesitating to use spell slots for fear of needing them later, but after this encounter and after you reunite with Shadowheart on the beach, you can take a much-needed Long Rest at camp.
- With Lae’Zel, make use of her special attacks that have a chance to cause additional effects: Pommel Strike (chance to daze), Lacerate (chance to bleed), and Rush Attack (chance to knock off balance). Since Lae’Zel doesn’t have any buffs to support the Mind Flayer, consider sending her towards the transponder early to deal with the other Imps and Lesser Hellsboar, so that you can flee quickly once Zhalk is dead.
- With Shadowheart, Guiding Bolt or Inflict Wounds are strong damage spells to use against Zhalk, since they use damage types he’s not resistant to. There is a chance these could miss though, so you could also buff the Mind Flayer with Shield of Faith or save your Healing Word. With your spells spent, use Resistance on the Mind Flayer to give him an extra 1d4 on saving throws, then use Sacred Flame or Fire Bolt to attack.
This fight is very challenging, and there’s a chance you will need multiple tries. If it takes too long to kill him, his level four Cambion minions will flank you and take you out quickly. If you do kill Zhalk, loot him quickly and then run towards the transponder before the Cambions get to you. After he dies, the Mind Flayer may attack you, but I got lucky and the Cambions arrived to distract him.
You must loot Zhalk with your player character. Attempting to loot the body with another character like Shadowheart or Lae’zel will result in missing out on the Everburn when moving on to the next part of the story.
This is because you do not have real ‘companions’ yet, therefore, the loot will not register once you break up with the group later on when you reach the beach.
Try to get past the two Imps and the Lesser Hellsboar that appear when you get close to the transponder. Even if the other party members are downed, as long as one member reaches the transponder, you all get away safe.
If you followed my advice and had Lae’Zel run ahead, you should be in good shape to finish the fight strong.
How to get Everburn Blade in Baldur’s Gate 3
You can get the Everburn Blade by killing Commander Zhalk. This two-handed greatsword deals 2d6 slashing damage plus 1d4 fire damage and enables three special attacks to those proficient with greatswords. You can find out how to defeat Commander Zhalk from the appropriate section above.
This is a terrific starting weapon for Lae’Zel, who is proficient in greatswords, or for yourself if you are proficient as well. I used it on Lae’Zel, and it was so good that it took a surprisingly long time to replace.
Everburn Blade stats
The Everburn is a Greatsword weapon used best with those who have this weapon proficiency. It is a powerful tool and here are its stats:
| Information | Stats |
| Damage | 2d6 Slashing, +1d4 Fire |
| Type | Greatsword |
| Ability | Ever-burning |
| Traits | Two-handed |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Weight | 2.7 |
| Sale Price | 240 Gold |
