The vampire lord Cazador is one of the toughest bosses in Baldur’s Gate 3, but challenging him in his lair at the Szarr Palace is a critical turning point for your companion Astarion. Throughout most of the game, you may have heard Astarion speak about his desire to free himself from Cazador’s control. You will have the opportunity to do just that when the party finally arrives at Baldur’s Gate.
There are a few ways to track Cazador, including speaking to the Gur tribe in Rivington. Their leader, Ulma, will explain that Cazador abducted their children and requests the party’s assistance. You can also encounter Petras and Dalyria, two vampire spawn, at Fraygo’s Flophouse in Wyrm’s Crossing. If present, Astarion will intimidate them into revealing that Cazador plans to ascend via a dark ritual known as the Black Mass.
How To Find Cazador In The Lower City
Discover The Ancient Vampire’s Hidden Lair
Once you’ve started the quest, the location of the Szarr Palace will be marked on the Lower City map. To get into BG3‘s Lower City, you can:
- Solve the Open Hand Temple Murders by bringing evidence to Inspector Valyria in Sharess’ Caress. Valyria will issue a pass granting access to the Lower City.
- Investigate the Suspicious Toys and track down Arfur Gregorio at Sharess’ Caress. Arfur will provide an Archdural Coronation Admission Pass, allowing you to enter Wyrm’s Rock and the Lower City.
- Bluff your way past the Flaming Fist guards – some classes, such as the Bard, have class-specific dialogue options.
- Sneak past using spells such as Dimension Door,
Feather Fall , and more.
Once you’ve reached the Lower City, head to the Lower City Central Wall Waypoint. From here, you can ascend through the watchtower, defeat or intimidate Cazador’s guards at the top, and travel along the wall to enter the Szarr Palace.
When taking a Long Rest in the Lower City, an event may occur where some of Cazador’s vampire thralls attack your camp. If downed during the fight,
Astarion may be kidnapped and taken to the Palace.
At this point, you will have to decide whether to proceed. It can be tempting to challenge Cazador immediately, especially if your character has chosen to romance Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3. Astarion will be particularly open about wanting to kill Cazador so he can ascend instead, even though the Black Mass requires sacrificing thousands of lives.
However, fighting Cazador can be extremely challenging, even for parties at Level 12. Your party will need to kill Cazador, take out his minions, and halt the Black Mass ritual all at once, putting your party through a grueling test of tactics and strategy. In summary, make sure you’re well-prepared before facing the vampire lord.
How To Solve The Sinister Door Puzzle In The Szarr Palace
Unlock The Way Down Into The Dungeon
To unlock the Sinister Door in Cazador’s Palace, you need to read a passphrase in Kozakuran while using the Szarr Family Ring. To translate the Kozakuran language, head to the first floor and find the guest room. Inside the room is Victoria’s body, afflicted with a curse that deals necrotic damage to anyone caught within a certain radius.
The curse will quickly drain your HP, so it’s highly recommended that you separate your party and only send one character in. Alternatively, you can target the body with Remove Curse to nullify the magic. Pick up the Kozakuran Dictionary from the Mahogany Wardrobe.
To find the Szarr Family Ring, head to the Kennels on the same floor to find Godey, one of Cazador’s servants. If Astarion is present, the party will have options for dealing with Godey, including Deceiving or Intimidating him. If not tricked, Godey will have to be killed and the ring taken from his body.
All the dialogue options for dealing with Godey are Charisma checks. Any of
Baldur’s Gate 3’s
Bards
, Paladins, Warlocks, or Sorcerers should ideally handle this conversation, as these classes typically have high Charisma.
How To Clear Cazador’s Dungeon
Defeat Enemies To Make The Boss Fight Easier
Behind the Sinister Door is a ballroom, the site of a recent bloodbath. You will be drawn into a fight against some werewolves, wolves, and bats. This fight isn’t difficult, and saving your Spell Slots is a good idea at this point. After the fight, head to the western side of the room to find an elevator that leads down to Cazador’s Dungeon.
As you proceed through the Dungeon, you can enter a chamber to your left using the 
Family Ring , revealing Cazador’s private rooms. Inside is the skull of Cazador’s former master, Velioth, and a scroll explaining the scope of the Black Mass and the scale of the sacrifice required.
You can also access the lower level of Cazador’s Dungeon using spells. The
Pelorsun Blade
, which deals Radiant Damage, can be found in one of the rooms and is an excellent weapon for fighting Cazador. A path into the Lower City Sewers can also be found and unlocked with a DC30 check.
As you approach the ritual chamber in Baldur’s Gate 3, the party will interact with two groups of captives: Astarion’s victims and the Gur children, all transformed into vampire spawn and imprisoned in preparation for sacrifice. You can challenge Astarion about his past actions and express your feelings about whether you should free or kill Cazador’s vampire spawn. However, either path requires taking Cazador’s staff, which is the key to his power.
How To Defeat Cazador
Shine Some Light On Evil
In the ritual chamber, the party will meet Cazador for the first time. Cazador will use his magic to trap Astarion, removing him from the party. You can rescue Astarion from the trap, but he must be rescued within three turns. If not rescued, Cazador will complete the ritual, killing Astarion.
Cazador is joined by his minions, including bats, Fallen Gur Hunters, and werewolves. The bats are generally easy to deal with in BG3, especially if you have AOE spells like 
Spirit Guardians . The Fallen Gur Hunters can use Stench, which can inflict Nauseous debuff on anyone close to them. Nauseous characters can’t use their main actions, essentially taking away your characters’ most useful abilities. As such, it’s highly recommended that you kill them as soon as possible to avoid this.
Watch out for Cazador’s Vampiric Swarm Legendary Action if you’re playing on Honor Mode. This is one of the
toughest Legendary Actions
you will have to face.
Cazador will attempt to complete the ritual and continuously draw on the trapped vampire spawn as Ritual Sources. There are seven spawns, and for each active Ritual Source, Cazador gains an extra 10 HP, an additional 1-10 damage to his attacks, and an extra 1m of movement speed. You should aim to defeat Cazador as quickly as possible or take out the Ritual Sources, as the buff makes him much harder to kill in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Cazador’s main weakness is Sunlight Hypersensitivity. If caught within light at the start of his turn, Cazador suffers 20 Radiant damage and has a Disadvantage on all attack rolls and ability checks. This weakness alone is enough to tip the scales in your favor. The 
Daylight spell is essential here, as it can catch Cazador in the light, inflicting damage and debuff. You can strike Cazador with some of the best spells in Baldur’s Gate 3, forcing him back into his coffin.
One alternative tactic that only works on lower difficulties is shoving Cazador off the ritual platform for an instant kill. As Cazador teleports back to his coffin, you don’t lose any loot.
Should You Let Astarion Replace Cazador in the Ritual?
Finish The Pale Elf’s Story
Taking down Cazador triggers a cutscene where Astarion stops the ritual by pulling the vampire lord out of his coffin. You can now allow Astarion to complete the ritual and become a Vampire Ascendant. This kills Cazador and all the vampire spawn, including the Gur children. Astarion then gains the passive Vampire Ascendant feature, and his allies can be summoned in the story’s final battle.
When leaving the dungeon, the party will have to fight Ulma and the Gur, and many of your other companions will disapprove. This only happens if you let Astarion ascend, but keep in mind that your party will likely be weak from fighting Cazador at this point. If you do choose this route, be prepared to use Astarion’s newfound power immediately to take down these new enemies.
Astarion can also be Persuaded not to complete the ritual. A DC 20 Insight check will allow you to point out that he is acting out of fear. There are also two DC 15 Persuasion options to convince Astarion not to go through with the ritual. However, he will kill Cazador regardless. You also have the option to release the vampire spawn so they can search for a new home in the Underdark, leave them imprisoned, or kill them.
The final possible ending occurs if you refuse to help Astarion with the ritual or fail to persuade him. In this ending, Astarion kills Cazador, locking the vampire spawn and leaving the party permanently. Any previous relationship with your character is permanently broken.
The ending you choose ultimately depends on your character’s morality. Good-aligned characters will generally want to persuade Astarion not to complete the ritual and free the spawn. In contrast, evil characters may wish for the support of a vampire lord and his minions during the final battle of Baldur’s Gate 3.
Rewards For Defeating Cazador
Collect Two Powerful New Weapons
No matter what you choose, you should still loot the body of the ancient vampire for some reward for the ancient evil’s defeat. Cazador drops another Szarr Family Ring, but you won’t have much use for this item other than to sell it. The most important rewards come in the form of two Very Rare weapons, the 
Rhapsody dagger and Woe magical staff.
Rhapsody is the perfect weapon for Astarion if he remains in your party since the +1 Dagger inflicts extra Bleeding damage if its wielder is invisible or hidden. Woe is a powerful artifact for any spellcaster, giving you access to the 
Blight necromancy spell. The +2 Quarterstaff also gives allies healing if they happen to fail a Saving Throw tied to a spell you cast.
Most of the reward for defeating Astarion’s abuser is the justice of seeing the old vampire die. However, with the items you get from Cazador once you beat him, you will have great tools to make other challenging fights easier in Act 3 of Baldur’s Gate 3.
