Baldur’s Gate 3 presents players with a vast world filled with unique items and mechanics. Among these are Soul Coins, intriguing artifacts that hold a specific, potent use within the game. While their lore suggests broader applications within the Nine Hells, their primary in-game function is singularly focused: to significantly enhance the combat capabilities of the companion, Karlach. This guide will provide a comprehensive breakdown of how to use Soul Coin BG3 to maximize Karlach’s damage output.
What Are Soul Coins?
Soul Coins are physical manifestations of trapped souls, described as a currency of the Nine Hells. In Dungeons & Dragons lore, they can be used for various infernal transactions, to power infernal war machines, or even to torture the souls contained within. In Baldur’s Gate 3, their utility is streamlined for a direct impact on gameplay, specifically through Karlach.
The Core Purpose: Empowering Karlach
The most important aspect of how to use Soul Coin BG3 is understanding its direct link to Karlach. These coins are not general-purpose currency or crafting components; their value is almost exclusively tied to her unique infernal physiology. When consumed by Karlach, a Soul Coin triggers a temporary but powerful buff that greatly increases her destructive potential in combat.
Identifying Soul Coins
You will encounter Soul Coins throughout your journey in Baldur’s Gate 3. They are often found in areas connected to infernal themes, such as the Grymforge, or in the possession of devils and cultists. Keep an eye out for them, as collecting them directly translates to more power for Karlach.
Step-by-Step Guide: How to Use Soul Coin BG3 with Karlach
The process of using a Soul Coin on Karlach is straightforward. Following these steps will ensure you correctly apply the buff.
1. Recruit Karlach
Before you can use a Soul Coin on her, you must first recruit Karlach into your party. Karlach is typically found early in Act 1, near the Risen Road, engaged in a conflict. Upon resolving her initial situation and inviting her to join, she will become a permanent companion.
2. Access Karlach’s Inventory
Once Karlach is in your active party, you will need to access her inventory.
- Open your main inventory screen (default key ‘I’ on PC).
- At the top of the inventory screen, you will see portraits of your active party members. Click on Karlach’s portrait to switch to her individual inventory.
3. Select and Use the Soul Coin
With Karlach’s inventory open:
- Locate a Soul Coin within her inventory. Soul Coins are typically categorized under “Miscellaneous” items.
- Right-click on the Soul Coin. This action will open a context menu with several options.
- From the context menu, select “Use” or “Consume.” This action will prompt Karlach to absorb the power of the coin.
Upon consumption, a visual effect will play, and a new condition will be applied to Karlach’s character sheet, indicating the successful application of the Soul Coin’s power.
The Benefits for Karlach: Infernal Fury Explained
The primary benefit of how to use Soul Coin BG3 on Karlach is the application of the “Infernal Fury” condition. This condition significantly augments her damage output, making her an even more formidable front-line combatant.
Infernal Fury: Condition Duration
- Lasts Until Next Long Rest: The Infernal Fury condition remains active on Karlach until your party takes a long rest. This means you can benefit from the damage boost through multiple encounters and short rests within a single adventuring day. Planning your Soul Coin usage before challenging areas or boss fights is a good strategy.
Damage Augmentation: Pre-Patch 2
Prior to Patch 2 of Baldur’s Gate 3, Infernal Fury provided the following damage bonus:
- Additional 1-4 Fire Damage: While under the effect of Infernal Fury, Karlach’s weapon and unarmed attacks dealt an additional 1-4 fire damage.
- Conditional Trigger: This bonus damage was applied specifically when Karlach was:
- Raging: Actively using her Barbarian rage ability.
- Below 25% HP: Her hit points dropped below 25% of her maximum.
This meant that to get the most out of a Soul Coin, Karlach needed to be either raging or critically low on health.
Damage Augmentation: Post-Patch 2 Enhancements
Patch 2 introduced a significant improvement to Infernal Fury, making the Soul Coin buff even more consistently powerful for Karlach, especially for players focusing on unarmed combat.
- Fixed 2-8 Fire Damage to All Unarmed Strikes: Since Patch 2, Infernal Fury now adds a fixed 2-8 fire damage to all of Karlach’s unarmed strikes.
- Unconditional Application: Crucially, this 2-8 fire damage applies regardless of whether Karlach is raging or if her HP is below 25%. This makes the unarmed strike bonus much more reliable and potent, especially for Monk/Barbarian multiclass builds or any build that utilizes Karlach’s natural unarmed capabilities.
- Weapon Attack Benefits (Still Conditional): The original 1-4 fire damage to weapon attacks while raging or below 25% HP still applies. This means Karlach benefits from both effects if she meets the weapon attack conditions while also performing unarmed strikes.
This change greatly solidified the value of how to use Soul Coin BG3 for Karlach, particularly if you’re building her as an unarmed powerhouse.
Strategic Use of Soul Coins
Given their limited nature and powerful effect, strategic use of Soul Coins is recommended.
- Boss Fights: Save Soul Coins for challenging boss encounters where maximizing Karlach’s damage is critical for quickly dispatching high-HP enemies.
- Difficult Encounters: For difficult multi-enemy encounters where sustained high damage is needed to clear threats efficiently.
- Activating Before Long Rests: Since the buff lasts until a long rest, consider using a Soul Coin early in an adventuring day if you anticipate many fights before your next rest. This maximizes the value of a single coin.
- Unarmed Karlach Builds: If you’ve optimized Karlach for unarmed combat (perhaps with Tavern Brawler feat), Soul Coins become even more valuable due to the consistent 2-8 fire damage bonus.
Soul Coins in Lore vs. In-Game Mechanic
It’s worth noting the distinction between the rich lore surrounding Soul Coins and their specific implementation in Baldur’s Gate 3. In D&D lore, Soul Coins have various uses, reflecting their nature as infernal currency and power sources. However, in Baldur’s Gate 3, their main in-game use is limited to powering up Karlach. This singular focus streamlines the gameplay mechanic, making the decision of how to use Soul Coin BG3 clear and impactful for the player. While the game does offer descriptive text hinting at their broader infernal significance, mechanically, their utility is tied to Karlach.
Conclusion
Understanding how to use Soul Coin BG3 is key to unlocking Karlach’s full potential as a damage dealer. By simply having her consume these unique items, you grant her the powerful Infernal Fury condition, significantly boosting her fire damage output, especially for unarmed strikes. Collect these valuable unique items, apply them strategically before difficult combat encounters, and watch as Karlach unleashes even more destructive infernal power upon her foes.
How does a soul coin work?
A creature in possession of a soul coin could use its innate powers. The coin could be used to drain the life of a target creature. Another ability was that the soul inside the coin could be communicated with telepathically. It would answer questions but often gave vague answers.
What is the best use of soul coins in bg3?
For those curious and found this thread, monk is actually the most efficient way to use soul coins as it adds a (hidden-ish) permanently active 2d4 fire damage. Its been tested and survived multiple patches, so isn’t a bug. For some reason, a soul coin karlach just does 2d4 fire damage on unarmed strikes.
How to release a soul from a soul coin?
A soul can also be freed by destroying the coin that contains it. A soul coin has AC 19, 1 hit point for each charge it has remaining, and immunity to all damage except that which is dealt by a hellfire weapon or an infernal war machine’s furnace (see “Soul Fuel”).
Should you accept the soul coins in BG3?
From my experience, There’s not necessarily any wrong decision to make with Soul Coins in Baldur’s Gate 3, but for most campaigns, hanging onto them is the best way to avoid missing out on their unique advantages.