Baldur's Gate 3 is a game crammed full of content, with a single playthrough only allowing for a limited look at a larger whole, depending on decisions made. One such "secret" many players may have missed is Minthara, a sadistic Drow Paladin and potential party member, who could previously only be recruited under very special circumstances. Vague spoilers for Act I to follow.
Released on Friday, Larian's monstrous Update 5 added an enormous amount to the game, like a new epilogue sequence and the Ironman-esque Honour Mode difficulty, amongst hundreds of fixes, tweaks and alterations. If, like us, you read every line in rapt attention, one would have stood out in particular: "Minthara will still appear at Moonrise Towers if she was knocked out in Act I."
Now, if your first playthrough went anything like ours, you'd know that sneaking into the Goblin Camp, allying with Minthara, and opening the gates to the Druid Grove to let her warband slaughter the Tieflings is a great way to get on her good side. Short of a glitch the community discovered, this was actually the only way to recruit the character, as she would survive and end up imprisoned in Moonlight Towers, where she could potentially be recruited to your party.
Players now have more options. They can take the Goblin Camp head-on or trick Minthara (and double-cross her while attacking the Druid Grove), making sure to toggle on the Non-Lethal Damage passive and knock her out instead. She will still end up at Moonrise Towers, where she gets some needed characterisation, and from there, players can decide her fate one way or the other.