Skip to main content
Join The Community
- Join our community
11
Premium Benefits
24/7
Access Available
21K+
Active Members
Commenting
Join the discussion
Exclusive Articles Coming Soon
Member-only articles
Weekly Newsletters
Weekly gaming & entertainment news
Member Badges
Earn badges as you go
Exclusive Competitions
Members-only prize draws
Curated Deals Coming Soon
Tech and gaming deals worth grabbing
GET COMMUNITY ACCESS QUICK
For the quickest way to join, simply enter your email below and get access. We will send a confirmation and sign you up to our newsletter to keep you updated on all your gaming news.
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
FIND OUT ABOUT OUR MAGAZINE
Want to subscribe to the magazine? Click the button below to find out more information.
Find out more
GET Community ACCESS QUICK

Join the GamesRadar community for quick access. Enter your email below and we'll send confirmation, and sign you up to our newsletter.

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Background
Welcome to GamesRADAR+ Community !
Hi ,

Your membership journey starts here.

Keep exploring and earning more as a member.

MY ACCOUNT

Badge picture
Earn your first badge
Read 1 article to unlock your first badge.
Keep earning badges
Explore ways to get more involved as a member.
Latest Games News

Latest Games News

Breaking gaming news and updates

Read Now
Latest Games Reviews

Latest Games Reviews

Expert verdicts on the newest releases

Read Now

See what you’ve unlocked.

Explore your membership benefits.

Explore
Member Exclusives

Stay Ahead with GamesRadar+

Get the biggest gaming news, reviews, and releases straight to your inbox.

Explore

Sign Out
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+
US EditionUS CA EditionCanada UK EditionUK AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Games
    • Game Insights
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
    • Genres
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
    • Franchises
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • Insights
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
    • Computing
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
    • Accessories & Tech
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
    • Video
    • GR+ Replay - Submit Your Clips
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
  • home
  • Games
    • View Games
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • View Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • View Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • View TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • View Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • View Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • View Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • View Hardware
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • View Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • View Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
    • View Video
    • Video
    • GR+ Replay - Submit Your Clips
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
Trending
  • Crimson Desert
  • Pokopia
  • Arc Raiders
  • The Boys S5
  • Starfield
  • Submit your clips. Win prizes
  1. Games
  2. RPG
  3. Baldur's Gate 3

Should you remove or destroy the brain in Baldur's Gate 3?

Guides
By Joel Franey last updated 10 November 2023

The Intellect Devourer Us is a living brain you'll find in a thrall's skull at the start of BG3 - with a choice

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Us the Intellect Devourer in Baldur's Gate 3
(Image credit: Larian Studios)
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
  • Email
Share this article
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more


By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful


Want to add more newsletters?

GamesRadar+

Every Friday

GamesRadar+

Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.

GTA 6 O'clock

Every Thursday

GTA 6 O'clock

Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.

Knowledge

Every Friday

Knowledge

From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.

The Setup

Every Thursday

The Setup

Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.

Switch 2 Spotlight

Every Wednesday

Switch 2 Spotlight

Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.

The Watchlist

Every Saturday

The Watchlist

Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.

SFX

Once a month

SFX

Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!


Join the club

Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.


An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
Subscribe to our newsletter

Should you destroy or remove the brain at the start of Baldur's Gate 3? Us the Intellect Devourer is a living creature stuck in Myrnath's head, because until recently, it was a just a regular human brain. Now it's a frankenstinian Baldur's Gate 3 creature made by the Mind Flayers - so what should you even do with it? I'll explain what to do with the brain and Us the Intellect Devourer at the start BG3, and if the little monster might come back later.

Recent updates

This Baldur's Gate 3 remove or destroy the brain walkthrough was edited on 10 November. It's still fully up to date with the correct information pertinent to the game's full release on PC and PS5.

Choice to remove or destroy the brain in Baldur's Gate 3

(Image credit: Larian Studios)

Should you choose to remove, destroy or mutilate the brain in Baldur's Gate 3?

There are several outcomes to your interactions with the Brain, aka Us the Intellect Devourer, in Baldur's Gate 3.

1. Remove the brain. You can extract the brain from Myrnath's skull with either a strength or dexterity check. If you pass an Investigation check, you can attempt to free it via a following Medicine check with advantage. If you succeed in removing it via any method, Us becomes a temporary ally and companion throughout the tutorial section on the Mind Flayer Nautiloid ship. Otherwise it remains stuck in Myrnath's skull.

2. Destroy the brain. This effectively cancels out the choice. The brain is destroyed before Us can be fully formed and you walk away. There's no real advantage to this.

3. Mutilate the brain. If you successfully free it, you can attempt a Dexterity DC 15 check to make it less dangerous. If you fail, Us attacks you, leading to combat. If you succeed… there's actually no advantage or disadvantage that we know of, at time of writing. That may come in later versions of the game. 

More Baldur's Gate 3 guides

Baldur's Gate 3 spells
Baldur's Gate 3 difficulty
Baldur's Gate 3 moon puzzle
Baldur's Gate 3 owlbear cub
Baldur's Gate 3 Dank Crypt

For that reason, we suggest freeing and not mutilating this new lifeform. Us is basically a small, temporary advantage in the earliest chapter of the game - a controllable, and pretty powerful (if limited) ally who has a lot of health and some good melee attacks that match many of the standard Baldur's Gate 3 weapons. 

Mutilating the Intellect Devourer may sound like a safety precaution, but the only consequence we know of is that if you fail, you'll have to fight it - and there's no positives to succeeding mutilating it at time of writing.

Article continues below

Does Us the Intellect Devourer come back in Baldur's Gate 3?

Combat between imps and intellect devourer in Baldur's Gate 3

(Image credit: Larian Studios)

Yes, you will meet Us again in Act 2 of Baldur's Gate 3, once you reach Moonrise Towers and discover the Mind Flayer colony beneath it after first fighting Ketheric Thorm on the roof of the towe. You need to look for a room where a butcher is slaving away over rotting corpses, with Us kept in a cage nearby for being an anomalous aberration. If you can unlock the cage, Us joins the team and becomes a permanent summon for the rest of the game, a minion who will follow you around and help in combat!

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission

Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Joel Franey
Joel Franey
Social Links Navigation
Guides Editor, GamesRadar+

Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and Very Tired Man with a BA from Brunel University, a Masters from Sussex University and a decade working in games journalism, often focused on guides coverage but also in reviews, features and news. His love of games is strongest when it comes to groundbreaking narratives like Disco Elysium, UnderTale and Baldur's Gate 3, as well as innovative or refined gameplay experiences like XCOM, Sifu, Arkham Asylum or Slay the Spire. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at Eurogamer, Gfinity, USgamer, SFX Magazine, RPS, Dicebreaker, VG247, and more.

Latest in RPG
Caleb poses with the Love and Deepspace main character against a pink background
RPGs After gracing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 with his voice, Ben Starr is ready for Love and Deepspace
 
 
Bethesda
The Elder Scrolls From Arena to Skyrim, Elden Ring streamer beats Bethesda's entire RPG series "first try" with 0 damage
 
 
Baldur's Gate 3
RPGs Divinity "is coming alive," Baldur's Gate 3 boss Swen Vincke teases
 
 
A photo of Cascade and her old crew in Zero Parades: For Dead Spies
RPGs Disco Elysium studio's new RPG Zero Parades is coming out soon, the first game since key devs left
 
 
The Elder Scrolls Online
The Elder Scrolls Final Fantasy 14 lost me with Dawntrail, but The Elder Scrolls Online promises to mend my broken heart
 
 
The Elder Scrolls Online naval combat
The Elder Scrolls Elder Scrolls Online will feel like a new MMO, with naval combat, solo dungeons, and a return to Skyrim underway
 
 
Latest in Guides
Arc Raiders Canto
Third Person Shooters How to get the Canto SMG blueprint in Arc Raiders
 
 
Dust on the Wires quest in Arc Raiders
Third Person Shooters How to complete Dust on the Wires in Arc Raiders
 
 
Clamoring for Attention in Arc Raiders
Third Person Shooters How to complete Clamoring for Attention in Arc Raiders
 
 
Arc Raiders flex rubber
Third Person Shooters Where to find Arc Flex Rubber in Arc Raiders
 
 
Arc Raiders Dolabra
Third Person Shooters How to get the Legendary Dolabra in Arc Raiders
 
 
Sableye stands in from of a Pokemon Center in Pokopia
Pokemon Pokopia Sableye event date, time, and details
 
 
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. Crimson Desert open world gameplay showing the dragon mount flying above Pywel
    1
    Crimson Desert players are speed-gliding using this "game changer" of a trick that may or may not be a bug: "Dear devs, please do not patch this"
  2. 2
    Marvel's next big comic event kicks off with a special release that includes an exclusive Magic: The Gathering Card tying into its new Marvel Super Heroes set
  3. 3
    "Any update is a bonus not a right": Peak co-developer Landfall reminds impatient fans it's not a live-service studio
  4. 4
    Switch 2 prices will go up, says ex-Nintendo sales lead: "It's inevitable"
  5. 5
    Nintendo's physical price split is "a pro-consumer move," says ex-sales lead, and the company is just passing profits on cheaper digital games back to you while it swims in "Scrooge McDuck money"

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Careers
  • About us
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...