Summary
WhileBaldur’s Gate 3’sPatch 6, released on July 21, 2025, was primarily focused on camp interactions and Honour Mode tweaks, it also brought with it one long-awaited improvement to an Act 3 battle. Previously,Baldur’s Gate 3players were repeatedly frustrated by a battle where rescuing friendly NPCs was nearly impossible due to their low health, lack of combat abilities, and refusal to prioritize escape. Changes made in Patch 6 will likely make this fight far less frustrating in the future.
Rescuing The Gondian Gnomes Was Nearly Impossible
In Act 3 ofBaldur’s Gate 3,players have the opportunity to weakenLord Enver Gortash’spower over the city by attacking the Iron Throne Prison and the Steel Watch Foundry and freeing the trapped gnomes. These gnomes, members of the Gondian clan, were captured by cultists of the god Bane and forced to endlessly manufacture mechanical Steel Watchers to patrol the city. Some were also kept in the Iron Throne prison as hostages. While these were tricky to rescue due to the Iron Throne being a timed mission, it was the Foundry Gondians who became particularly notorious.
Players had the option to rescue the Gondians by keeping them alive while they defeated the manySteel Watchers in the Foundry. Unfortunately, this was a near-impossible task due to a number of factors. The Gondians had low health, wielded weak weapons, and wore almost no armor. Despite this, they would prioritize charging into battle and attacking the powerful Steel Watchers, even if said Watchers were about to self-destruct, rather than running away.
Saving The Gondians Became An Unofficial Achievement
Due to this, keeping every Gondian gnome alive was seen as an unofficial achievement, with players who completed this task often bragging about it. “Save every Gondian” became a popular challenge run, and was often considered just as difficult as playing the game in Tactician or Honour Mode. Memes were created naming the Gondians as the true hardest boss ofBaldur’s Gate 3,rather than the Netherbrain or notoriously tricky optional bossRaphael.
Patch 6 Strengthens The Gondians Greatly
Amidstnew kisses and improvements to party switching,Baldur’s Gate 3’sPatch 6 improved the Gondians' chance of survival greatly. The following changes were made to the gnomes who can be rescued in the Steel Watch Foundry:
The patch did not directly state if theGondians’AI was improved to prioritize running away over fighting, but this is hopefully the case. The gnomes' reckless behavior was one of the elements that made saving them so tricky prior to Patch 6.
However, rescuing the Gondian gnomes will still be quite difficult, especially when playing in Tactician orHonour Mode. Patch 6 removed the Steel Watchers' vulnerability to Lightning damage on these two higher difficulties. Previously, Lightning was considered one of the most effective ways to defeat a Steel Watcher. In addition, Flashblinders, a type of bomb specifically designed for disabling Steel Watchers, now stuns them for only a single turn on Honour Mode. On lower difficulty, however, they still remain stunned for two turns.
Fortunately, players still have access to theRunepower Bomb and Runepowder Barrels, massive explosives that can take out a large chunk of the Foundry at once. With these tools, plus the Gondians' improved defenses, taking out the Foundry and winning victory over Gortash’s mechanical army will hopefully be much less difficult than before.
