So, a zombie servant has requested that you defeat his undead necromancy master. But how do you kill that which is not truly alive? Here’s the best way to kill Mystic Carrion in Baldur’s Gate 3.
How to Kill Mystic Carrion in Baldur’s Gate 3
In order to kill The Mystic Carrion, you must destroy his heart before fighting him. The Jar of Mystic Carrion’s Heart item is hidden inside Thrumbo’s body. The Mystic Carrion is located at the Philgrave’s Mansion, in the city of Baldur’s Gate, near the Counting House and Felogyr’s Firework. If you defeat the Mystic Carrion before destroying his heart, he will return after you take a long rest, kill Thrumbo, and move the heart to the basement of the mansion.
If you happened to break into Philgrave’s Mansion while exploring the Waterfront of Baldur’s Gate, then you’ll know that Mystic Carrion, who initially tasked you with tracking down some of his wayward zombie slaves, is actually incredibly evil. The servant that you track down, Thrumbo, begs your character to help him reclaim his second life by killing the Mummy Lord and allowing him to go free. You can choose to simply murder the zombie, but in the event that your moral compass wins out, your next objective is to bring an end to Mystic Carrion.
Related: Baldur’s Gate 3 Is the Game to Beat at The Game Awards
In order to defeat the powerful necromancy, there’s a series of steps you’ll need to follow. Much like any talented practitioner of mystical undead arts, Mystic Carrion has removed his vital organs and scattered them far and wide. Your task is to track them all down and destroy them, which will leave him vulnerable and very much mortal. You’re looking for four Organ Jars: the Heart, Lungs, Liver, and Brain.
Where to Find Mystic Carrion’s Lungs
The Jar of Mystic Carrion’s Lungs are at Lower City Graveyard inside a basement. From the house where you discovered Thrumbo, head North until you reach the graveyard of Baldur’s Gate Waterfront. Once you’re inside, head down the flight of stairs, and you’ll see a trap door on the right. Inside is the Mortuary. Open it however you see fit; break it or pick it open – there’s no one inside, so it doesn’t matter how you approach it. Inside, on a table in the back corner, you’ll be able to loot Mystic Carrion’s Lungs.
Where to Find Mystic Carrion’s Brain and Liver
You can find both organs in the Ancient Lair, which is an area of the Lower City Sewers. To do this, head down into the Sewers through the nearest entrance, which is likely a manhole in the street. Once you’re in the sewers, run to the northeast until you reach the Undercity Ruins waypoint. Alternatively, you could just fast-travel there if you’ve already unlocked it. From the waypoint, head West until you enter the Passageway. Inside, you’ll find a bunch of enemies, so before progressing, I advise burning those mummies to ashes.
Related: What Is The Max Level in Baldur’s Gate 3?
Now that your foes are just piles of burning bandages, scope out the wall on the right side of the room. One section will be interactable, so open it up with a deft explosion or a sneaky lockpick. Inside, you’ll find the Jar of Mystic Carrion Brain on the table in the center of the room. There’ll also be a chest that requires a DC 10 roll to open. If you succeed, you’ll find the Jar of Mystic Carrion Liver. If you’re unlucky and fail the roll, just blow up the chest. We’ll be destroying all these jars in a short while anyway.
Where to Find Mystic Carrion’s Heart
The Jar of Mystic Carrion’s Heart is hidden inside Thrumbo. Before you leave the Ancient Lair, check out the desk in the back of the secret alcove to discover a book titled Funerary Jar Form and Function. Doesn’t sound like a page-turner, but you should still pocket it and head back to Thrumbo. Show it to him, and the zombie servant will realize that Mystic Carrion’s Heart is inside his chest. With all the jars at your disposal, head back to Philgrave Mansion. Before chatting with Mystic Carrion, place all the jars down the room in a place where a single decent explosion should destroy them all. Obviously, that’s the key to killing him once and for all.
Fighting Mystic Carrion
The secret to making this fight significantly easier is to destroy the jars holding Mystic Carrion’s organs. While each is intact, they’ll buff the boss with various powerful abilities, such as Curdled Liver, which renders him invulnerable to fire, or Thoughtless Brain, which gives his spell a +3 to their DC.
After chatting with Mystic Carrion and informing him that the deal is off, combat will begin. Your first move should be to use a massive area-of-effect attack to destroy all four jars, robbing the necromancy of all his buffs. In doing so, the fight will become much more straightforward. The Mummy Lord will summon a few mummies (what did you expect) to distract you, but your primary goal should always be Mystic Carrion himself. He has an Armor Class of 17, so he can be tricky to hit, but the good news is that he’s vulnerable to both melee and magical attacks. He also only has 143 hit points, which seems like a lot, but at this point in the game, you should be well-equipped to effectively delete his health bar. Mystic Carrion and his undead henchmen all specialize in necrotic and poison damage, which can be a pain, so ensure everyone’s HP is relatively high throughout the encounter.
Since he’s also a working corpse, fire is particularly effective against him. I highly recommend trying to pull both Mystic Carrion and his mummies into a group around the jars before lobbing a vial of Alchemist’s Fire at them; I found it particularly effective. When the boss is down, the mummies won’t despawn, so quickly mop them up, and your quest for justice against the necromancy will be at an end.
Rewards for Killing Mystic Carrion
- Staff of Cherished Necromancy
- Key (Works on the locked double door in the mansion and gives access to the basement)
- Rusty Key (Opens the Gilded Chest in the mansion)
Looting Mystic Carrion’s body will grant you the Staff of Cherished Necromancy, Armor of the Sporekeeper, and the Veil of the Mornings. To thank you for freeing him and his friends, Thrumbo rewards you with the Crypt Lord Ring, a very powerful Baldur’s Gate 3 accessory, given that it allows the wearer to cast Create Undead at Level 6.
And that’s the best way to kill Mystic Carrion in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is available on Xbox, PlayStation, and PC.
The above article was updated on 4/9/2024 by Davi Braid to clarify information about Baldur’s Gate 3.
