Baldur's Gate 3: House Of Hope Complete Walkthrough (2024)

The most difficult dungeon in Baldur's Gate 3, the House of Hope, lies hidden and beyond the average mortal's reach somewhere within the Lower City. Should you be willing to find it and enter the lair of the devil himself, you could be rewarded with treasures beyond your wildest imaginings.

But if waltzing into a devil's home and stealing his treasures were easy, everyone would do it. During your staycation in Avernus, you'll be risking life, limb, and soul for these treasures. If you want to make sure you find the right path to survival, you'll want to follow this guide as closely as possible. At least we won't charge you your soul for it...

How To Prepare For And Find The House Of Hope

Before you go looking for the House of Hope, you'll want to ensure that you're max-level (12). The fights inside the House of Hope are nothing to scoff at and are some of the most dangerous - but thrilling - experiences you'll have in Act Three.

You'll also want to have:

• A way to resist Fire damage
• Alternative methods of damage if you normally deal Radiant damage
• A surplus of healing potions and special potions such as Bloodlust, Vigilance, etc.
• A balanced team of one physical tank, one healer, one spellcaster, and an additional member of preferred choice

The first and second notes are most important as most damage in the House of Hope will be fire-based, and most enemies in the House of Hope will have a special feature that reflects Radiant damage back at the caster.

When you're ready, you'll want to head over to the Devil's Fee in the Lower City of Baldur's Gate (North side of the map and east of the Lower City central wall).

The portal to the House of Hope is upstairs but will require a specific ritual. You can either try figuring it out on your own through a journal upstairs or finish with the help of Helsik herself at the front counter.

If you're having trouble with this ritual, you can check out our official walkthrough guide on entering the House of Hope.

How To Explore The House Of Hope Safely

When you enter, you'll encounter Hope at the front doors. Try asking her questions while passing several checks to Persuade her.

Eventually, she will give you the Debtor's Attire. This will allow you to traverse the House of Hope without issue.

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If you do not successfully Persuade Hope,you will not be able to progress through the House of Hope safely.

The debtors will immediately sound the alarm at the sight of you, and all units within will regard you as an enemy. Raphael will also appear at the entrance.

Once you're inside, there's a lot to explore. Your goal is the Archives, but there are a few other notable locations you can explore beforehand:

• Hope's Prison
• The Secret Treasure Vault
• Mirror Teleportation Hall

Hope's Prison

There are two entrances to Hope's Prison:

1. Via a manhole in the floor to the right of the east wing door requiring a Strength check to open
2. Via a secret passage off the northern balcony (the second door on the right when going counter-clockwise) accessible only by jumping down toward a green crevice

Although you cannot free Hope until you take the Orphic Hammer, we do recommend you fight all enemies here before you take the hammer.

The reason for this is because of conservation of health, feats, and spell slots. There is a Restoration faucet that gives your party a long rest in the Boudoir. This faucet shuts off after you steal the hammer.

Secret Vault And Mol's Contract

Across the hall from the Boudoir is an Arcane Gem puzzle. It hides a secret vault behind the wall and a lofty 20DC Arcana check.

Inside, you'll find the:

• Helldusk Helmet
• Mol's Contract
• Staff of Spellpower
• 666 gold

For a full walkthrough on this secret vault and Mol's questline, refer to this official guide for more information.

Outer Portals

You cannot use these teleportation mirrors for anything or gain any prizes. However, fans of Dungeons & Dragons' Faerun will find there are several Easter-eggs here worth looking into.

You will not be teleported anywhere with any of these mirrors, so don't pause in clicking each one.

How To Enter The Archives

The Archives will be your first real target inside the House of Hope. They're located on the far West side of the Archives.

You can either walk all the way around the building via the right side (which is suggested for at least exploring and understanding the layout of the map) or try unlocking the door to the left as you enter the dining hall.

Hope can be found outside the Archives door. Talk to her and attempt to pass two checks in convincing her to tell you the Archivist's secret:

He's afraid of Zariel's High Inquisitor, Verillius Receptor.

As you enter the Archives, you may see Korilla speaking with the Archivist if you've spoken to her before. She won't rat you out, but we recommend speaking with her if you're looking for more lore and context about Hope.

Speak with the Archivist and tell him that you're Verillius Receptor (Deception DC 15). If you don't pass this check or didn't get the clue-in from Hope, you'll have to pickpocket the Archivist's Boudoir Invitation to continue.

If you successfully posit as the High Inquisitor, the Archivist will answer any questions for you. However, it won't allow you to take any of the items in here.

Of note, there are three notable artefacts:

1. Orphic Hammer
2. Gauntlets of Hill Giant Strength
3. Amulet of Greater Health

How To Steal The Gauntlets of Hill Giant Strength And Amulet Of Greater Health

If you brokered a deal with Helsik for the gauntlets or otherwise want these great items, you'll need to steal them. Stealing them, however, is no easy task.

No matter where you go in the room, the Archivist will always follow the greatest gathering of people. Several other indentured workers patrol the area as well.

Additionally, each item is sitting on a rigged trap plate that will turn the house hostile and summon Raphael if you trigger it. This is to be avoided.

To steal these items, you'll need to:

1. Split the party. Leave the large group in the center of the room as one dextrous individual sneaks over to your object of choice.
2. Walk up to the plate to pass a Perception check on perceiving the trap. If they don't, you'll need another party member to at least stand nearby temporarily and point it out.
3. Begin sneaking (via Hide or through any Invisibility methods) and undo the trap (DC20) before stealing the item of value. Repeat the process on the other side.

How To Enter The Boudoir And Find The Orphic Hammer's Password

After taking the Boudoir Invitation from the Archivist, you'll be able to enter the room on the farthest North side with the magical curtain over its doorway.

Interact with the glowing door, and you'll now be able to enter the Boudoir.

From this point forward, there are three options available for your progression:

1. Speak with Harleep and accept their deal.
2. Fight Harleep and steal the password details and Helldusk Gloves.
3. Avoid Harleep entirely by sneaking.

If you wish to meet Harleep but aren't sure whether to accept or deny their deal, you can refer to our official guide on Harleep here.

If you don't want to bother with Harleep at all, you can try sneaking to the large painting of Raphael on the left side.

You'll need to pass a Perception check to notice the trap on the painting. Disable it before pressing the button and then unlock the safe with Raphael's password in it.

If you fail to notice or disable the trap, Harleep and their forces will attack as the rest of the house turns hostile. Raphael will appear at the exit as well.

How To Take The Orphic Hammer

The Orphic Hammer in the Archives will require the password you took from Raphael's vault in the Boudoir.

Return to the Archives and speak the magic words in front of the hammer:

Give me my heart's desire.

The forcefield will drop. You can now take the Orphic Hammer, but be warned that taking it will immediately turn the house hostile, summon Raphael, and turn the Faucet of Restoration off.

With the Orphic Hammer in hand, you now have two options:

1. Free Hope.
2. Leave Hope and fight Raphael alone.

How To Leave The House Of Hope

With the hammer in hand (and possibly Hope), you'll want to make your way back to the location you started your House of Hope journey at: the far southern point of the map.

The house is now hostile to you, meaning you'll have to face:

• Two patrolling Hellfire Spheres (one East side; one West side)
• The Debtors

The Hell Spheres resist mostly anything except Cold damage. They can become extremely dangerous due to their high damage and healthpool, and they have decent movement each turn.

Their aura can deal additional damage, so we recommend using your spellcasters with Ray of Frost to slow them down a bit while keeping a party tank, like a Berserker, up front to distract it.

The debtors are also problematic as lowering their HP or allowing them to reach you in meleewill result in them exploding and becoming stronger, hellish enemies. Their explosions can deal large amounts of additional Fire damage.

To deal with the debtors, strike them from afar with powerful ranged attacks. This will keep their explosions far away from your party. Then, pick them off in any way you choose.

When you're ready to leave, make sure no one is following you as you go through the southern door. Raphael will appear when you interact with the portal in the center of the room.

How To Defeat Raphael

Raphael is no pushover. With 666 health and a mighty span of powerful feats and special fight gimmicks, you'll have your work cut out for you.

We do have an in-depth guide on how to defeat him, so refer to it for the most expansive form of information available.

However, if you're only looking for some short tips, here are some to get you by:

• Bring someone with high-level Counterspell to mitigate some of Raphael's damage.
• You can convince Yurgir to join your party on a DC30 Persuasion check. You should use your Inspiration for it if possible.
• Hope can Banish up to two creatures from the fight that are not Raphael, this includes Yurgir if you failed to convince him.
• Defeat all other enemies before Raphael to prevent becoming overwhelmed.
• Raphael gets his power from the four Soul Pillars. Destroy them with Bludgeoning and Force attacks.
• Radiant damage will turn off a Soul Pillar for a round if you cannot destroy it right away.
• Do not use Radiant damage on any enemies in this room.

With Raphael defeated, you'll have the Helldusk Armour - a legendary piece and the strongest armour in the game. This is the final piece of the Helldusk set in the House of Hope.

Speak with Yurgir if you recruited him and loot anything else you may wish for before interacting with the portal.

It's finally time to get the hell out of Hell.