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In Baldur's Gate 3, you're encouraged by friend and foe alike to harness the powers of your Illithid parasite to decimate enemies and control minds. But, of course, unlocking this immense potential isn't without its price. You'll need to consume other Mind Flayer Parasite Specimens to gain new powers, and they're challenging to find.
These wriggly worms need to come from certain foes—specific ones that are high-ranking in the Absolute's army, such as other True Souls, or the Chosen of the Absolute themselves. If you're looking to fuel your newfound powers, our guide will show you exactly where you can find these specimens.
Parasite Specimen 1: Emerald Grove – Drow Corpse
You'll be able to find your first specimen very early on in the game: within the Enclave Library of the Emerald Grove, shortly after speaking to Nettie, the grove's healer, about your parasite.
She'll lead you into a room and question you—whether it comes down to a fight or she deems you trustworthy enough to let go, however, depends on your answers.
After you've placated (or killed) Nettie, explore the Enclave Library for your specimen. The specimen can be found on a table, next to the Dissected Drow.
Parasite Specimen 2: Forest – Edowin
The next parasite can be found close to the Emerald Grove again, though you'll need to venture out into the wilderness a bit for this one.
Travel west of the Emerald Grove, following the path until you find a group of Absolute cultists standing over a dying man (X: 140, Y: 446).
Speaking to them will reveal that the dying man is Edowin, a True Soul of the Absolute—a title that you share, he'll reveal before he dies.
His siblings will be yours to command after this, and you can send them away or to their deaths at the hands of an angry owlbear.
The specimen can be found when you interact with Edowin's body after his siblings are gone or dead. Choose the "Open your mind to the parasite" option when prompted to receive the specimen.
Parasite Specimen 3: Shattered Sanctum – Priestess Gut
The next three parasites are all in one place, but they're far from easy to get. You'll obtain one from the bodies of each of the three leaders of the Goblin Camp in the Shattered Sanctum: Priestess Gut, Dror Ragzlin, and Minthara.
Priestess Gut is one of the easiest to pick off since she isolates herself with you in a room after a short conversation. You can find her in the main hall of the Shattered Sanctum (X:292, Y:-13), near the Goblin Camp Waypoint.
Speak to her, and she'll request to brand you—barring that, to speak to you privately in a room to the west. If you're planning on killing her, this is the perfect time to do it.
Prevent her from alerting any guards or getting to the wardrums –which will summon more goblins, and she should be a pretty easy kill for a 4-person party.
The specimen can be found in Priestess Gut's corpse after her death. Knocking her out will not yield a specimen.
Parasite Specimen 4: Shattered Sanctum – Dror Ragzlin
The next of the Goblin Leaders is Dror Ragzlin, who is preoccupied with performing a séance in the northernmost room (X:290, Y:26) of the Shattered Sanctum.
You can listen in for some interesting insight into the mindflayer colonies, after which Ragzlin will order you to seek out Minthara.
There are a few ways to tackle this fight. We recommend climbing the ladders in the room for height advantage and utilizing the hiding and surprise mechanics for an edge in the otherwise tough battle.
Remember to pay a visit to Ragzlin's treasure hoard to the north of the room, where you'll be able to grab a piece of Infernal Alloy and lots of loot.
The specimen can be found in Dror Ragzlin's corpse after his death. Knocking him out will not yield a specimen.
Parasite Specimen 5: Shattered Sanctum – Minthara
The third of the Goblin Leaders is Minthara, a drow paladin and one of the potential companions of the game if you don't mind getting a little blood on your hands.
You can find her in the northeast room (X: 333, Y: 43) of the Shattered Sanctum, speaking to a goblin in an isolated room.
That said, if you're siding with the grove and the tieflings in Act 1, the most use you'll get out of her is by grabbing her parasite for your own use, as she won't join your party unless you perform some pretty heinous acts.
Needless to say, if you're planning to invite Minthara to your party or romance her, killing her and ripping the parasite from her brain will put a rather permanent damper on your pursuits.
Much like the previous fights, ensure that you stop the goblins near her from summoning backup via the wardrums—it's a good idea to break the wardrum before the fight if you can do it secretly.
Other than that, Minthara hits hard, has control spells, and can buff her allies significantly. Hit her back with control spells of your own and focus her down before she can incapacitate you for the rest of the goblins to hit hard.
There is a bridge nearby—if you break it while Minthara is standing on it, she will die instantly, but her body (along with the specimen) will be lost.
The specimen can be found in Minthara's corpse after her death. Knocking her out will not yield a specimen.
Parasite Specimen 6: Risen Road – Flind Warlord
You can find the next specimen on the Risen Road, where a group of Zhentarim merchants are hiding for their lives from a roving gnoll warband (X: 31, Y:602). The Risen Road is to the far west of the Emerald Grove.
Once you fight your way through the gnoll hunters, you'll be faced with a Flind—the leader and warlord of the pack. You'll learn that she's also been infected with a tadpole, which is struggling to maintain control of the Flind through her base instincts.
Following this discovery, you can command her to eat her own pack and, following that, to devour herself in a gory display.
Alternatively, you can kill her yourself; however, if you send her away, you cannot obtain her mindflayer parasite specimen.
The specimen can be found in the Flind Warlord's corpse after her death. Knocking her out will not yield a specimen.
Parasite Specimen 7: Grymforge – True Soul Nere
The last specimen of Act 1 brings you through quite a change of scenery—it can be found in the Underdark, in the duergar outpost of Grymforge.
Grymforge is a sprawling, abandoned forge full of dangers, but you can head straight to the main hall to obtain this specimen, though there are a few steps in between.
This specimen lies within the mind of True Soul Nere, a drow currently trapped within a cave-in rapidly filling with poisonous gas. You'll need to journey to find some explosives and return quickly to save him.
After this, he'll attempt to take his frustrations out on the nearby slaves: you can stop him by force or attack him after his tantrum—either way, Nere's corpse will yield a specimen.
If you leave the Underdark or long rest after discovering Nere's predicament, Nere and the slaves he was trapped with will die. You can still retrieve the specimen from his body if you return, however.
The specimen can be found in Nere's corpse after his death. Knocking him out will not yield a specimen.
Extra Parasite Specimen: Gift Of The Absolute
In the Nere encounter, you may choose to side with him when he attacks the duergar slavemasters and deep gnome slaves. This will result in the death of everyone present except Nere and your party. Nere will reward you with a Gift of the Absolute, which acts as a mindflayer parasite specimen.
After this, you can choose to betray and kill Nere to take his parasite, which will grant you another one, making it possible to obtain two specimens from Nere.
That said, killing the slaves will affect quests later down the line and prevent you from learning about Wulbren, an important gnomish NPC who plays a big part in Acts 2 and 3. Choose wisely.