You recruit her in act 2. The only requirement is to not kill her. So you can either help her destroy the grove or just ignore the grove, then she will destroy it without you.
You can still take the mountain pass after you have done all of the Underdark.
But in the end you just have to find her at Moonrise.
Ok thank you that helps a lot! Looking forward to exploring the underdark for the first time
I haven't gotten around to doing an evil playthrough after launch, but from EA I recall Minthara being recruited to your camp after destroying the grove and succeeding some dialog checks during the next camp section. As far as I can tell, it shouldn't matter which path you take after this, as the paths to moonrise come after attacking the grove and recruiting her.
Since I haven't tried this after launch there may be some further checks for her to become a componian rather than just a camp follower that I don't know about, but destroying the grove and passing the subsequent dialog checks to convince her you're on the same side should be sufficient.
Not quite true. Yes she is in the camp, but she is not recruited. She leaves after the night. (at least in my game - doing two different playthroughs atm, one with a buddy and the other solo and there are so many choices leading to different outcomes that I can't say for sure she always leaves). Recruitment is supposed to happen later on.
Minthara’s recruitment only relies on the fate of the Grove and if she’s alive of course. You can take either direction, or even do both, which is what I usually do for extra XP.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is a story-rich, party-based RPG set in the universe of Dungeons & Dragons, where your choices shape a tale of fellowship and betrayal, survival and sacrifice, and the lure of absolute power. (Website)
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Thank you!