The House of Hope, arguably the most challenging dungeon in Baldur’s Gate 3, is a hidden realm within the Lower City, far from the reach of ordinary mortals. Venturing into this infernal domain, the lair of a powerful devil, promises rewards beyond imagination for those brave enough to seek them.
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However, infiltrating a devil’s stronghold and plundering his treasures is no simple feat. Your excursion into Avernus will put your life, your companions, and even your souls at risk. To ensure your survival and success in this perilous endeavor, follow this comprehensive House Of Hope Guide meticulously. We offer this guidance freely, without demanding your eternal soul in return.
Preparing for Your Descent into the House of Hope
Before embarking on your quest to locate the House of Hope, it’s crucial to reach the maximum level of 12. The battles within this domain are exceptionally demanding, representing some of the most intense and exhilarating encounters Act Three has to offer.
Furthermore, ensure your party is well-equipped with the following:
- Fire Resistance: A significant portion of the damage within the House of Hope is fire-based.
- Alternative Damage Types: If your primary damage source is Radiant, prepare alternative strategies as many enemies here reflect Radiant damage.
- Healing Potions and Buffs: Stock up on healing potions and powerful consumables like Bloodlust and Vigilance potions.
- Balanced Party Composition: A well-rounded team is essential. Aim for a physical tank, a dedicated healer, a potent spellcaster, and a fourth member to complement your strategy.
Fire resistance and alternative damage types are particularly vital, given the prevalence of fire damage and the Radiant reflection ability of many House of Hope denizens.
Considering her inherent fire resistance and unique dialogue options, Karlach is an invaluable companion to bring along for your House of Hope expedition.
Once prepared, journey to the Devil’s Fee, located in the northern part of Baldur’s Gate’s Lower City, east of the central city wall.
The portal to the House of Hope resides upstairs, but accessing it requires a specific ritual. You can attempt to decipher the ritual from a journal found upstairs, or seek guidance from Helsik at the front counter for a more direct approach.
If you encounter difficulties with the ritual, our comprehensive guide on entering the House of Hope provides step-by-step instructions.
Be warned: venturing upstairs without Helsik’s assistance will trigger a “Thirsty Trap” at the top of the stairs, unleashing a barrage of endless Fireballs upon your location.
Navigating the House of Hope Safely
Upon entering the House of Hope, you’ll be greeted by Hope herself at the entrance. Engage in conversation with her, attempting to persuade her through dialogue checks.
Success in persuading Hope will reward you with the Debtor’s Attire. Donning this disguise allows you to move freely within the House of Hope without raising suspicion.
Failure to persuade Hope will result in immediate hostility. Without the Debtor’s Attire, the house’s inhabitants will recognize you as intruders, triggering an alarm and summoning Raphael to the entrance.
Once inside and disguised (or prepared for combat), the House of Hope offers numerous areas to explore. While your primary objective is the Archives, consider exploring these notable locations beforehand:
- Hope’s Prison
- The Secret Treasure Vault
- Mirror Teleportation Hall
Hope’s Prison
Hope’s Prison is accessible through two entrances:
- A manhole on the floor to the right of the east wing door, requiring a Strength check to open.
- A secret passage off the northern balcony (the second door on the right when moving counter-clockwise), reached by jumping down to a green crevice.
Although Hope cannot be freed until you acquire the Orphic Hammer, clearing the enemies within her prison beforehand is highly recommended.
This strategic approach allows you to conserve valuable resources like health, spell slots, and feats. The Boudoir contains a Restoration faucet, providing a long rest for your party, but this faucet becomes unusable after stealing the Orphic Hammer.
For a detailed walkthrough on freeing Hope and defeating her captors, consult our guide dedicated to Hope’s questline.
Secret Vault and Mol’s Contract
Across the hall from the Boudoir, you’ll find an Arcane Gem puzzle concealing a secret vault. Unlocking it requires a challenging 20DC Arcana check.
Inside the vault, you’ll discover valuable treasures, including:
- Helldusk Helmet
- Mol’s Contract
- Staff of Spellpower
- 666 gold
For a comprehensive walkthrough on accessing this secret vault and resolving Mol’s questline, refer to our official guide on freeing Mol from her contract.
Outer Portals
The teleportation mirrors in the Outer Portals room serve no functional purpose for progression or rewards. However, fans of the Forgotten Realms setting of Dungeons & Dragons will find several intriguing Easter eggs within this area.
Feel free to interact with each mirror, as none will teleport you anywhere.
Gaining Access to the Archives
The Archives are your primary target within the House of Hope, located on the far west side.
You can reach the Archives by either navigating around the building from the right side (recommended for exploration and map familiarization) or attempting to unlock the door on the left as you enter the dining hall.
Unlocking this left door is advisable as it provides a valuable shortcut for later, significantly reducing travel time to Hope’s Prison and Raphael’s location should you choose to free her and confront the final boss.
Hope can be found just outside the Archives door. Speak to her and pass two persuasion checks to learn the Archivist’s secret:
“He’s terrified of Zariel’s High Inquisitor, Verillius Receptor.”
Upon entering the Archives, you might encounter Korilla speaking with the Archivist if you’ve interacted with her previously. She won’t betray you, and speaking with her offers further lore and context regarding Hope.
Engage the Archivist in conversation and claim to be Verillius Receptor (Deception DC 15). Success grants access; failure, or neglecting Hope’s clue, necessitates pickpocketing the Archivist for his Boudoir Invitation.
Alternatively, you can eliminate the Archivist for the invitation, but this action will turn the entire House of Hope hostile.
Successfully impersonating the High Inquisitor allows you to question the Archivist freely. However, simply talking will not grant you the artifacts within.
Three significant artifacts reside within the Archives:
Stealing the Gauntlets of Hill Giant Strength and Amulet of Greater Health
Whether you struck a deal with Helsik for the Gauntlets of Hill Giant Strength or simply desire these powerful items, you must steal them. This is no easy feat.
The Archivist constantly monitors the largest group in the room, and numerous indentured servants patrol the area.
Furthermore, each artifact rests upon a pressure plate trap that, when triggered, will alert the entire house and summon Raphael. Triggering these traps must be avoided.
To successfully steal these items, employ the following strategy:
- Split your party. Leave the majority of your group in the center of the room as a single, stealthy character approaches the desired artifact.
- Approach the plate and pass a Perception check to detect the trap. If unsuccessful, have another character briefly approach to trigger the check again and reveal the trap.
- Engage stealth mode (using Hide or invisibility) and disarm the trap (DC 20) before taking the item. Repeat this process for the second artifact.
Attempting this theft in Honour Mode before obtaining the Orphic Hammer is highly risky. A critical failure (Natural 1) could severely jeopardize your run. However, these items remain accessible even after acquiring the Orphic Hammer, and stealing them afterward carries no additional consequence as the hammer acquisition itself triggers Raphael’s hostility.
Accessing the Boudoir and Uncovering the Orphic Hammer’s Password
With the Boudoir Invitation obtained from the Archivist, you can now access the room on the far north side, marked by a magical curtain.
Interact with the glowing doorway to enter the Boudoir.
Inside, an endless Restoration fountain awaits. Interacting with it grants your party a full long rest.
From this point, three paths diverge:
- Accept Harleep’s deal. Engage in a pact with the incubus.
- Fight Harleep. Defeat Harleep to claim the password and the Helldusk Gloves.
- Evade Harleep. Stealthily bypass Harleep entirely.
If you choose to interact with Harleep but are uncertain about accepting their offer, consult our dedicated guide on Harleep’s deal for a detailed analysis of options and outcomes.
Note that failing to fight Harleep means forfeiting the opportunity to acquire the Helldusk Gloves. If you accept Harleep’s deal and they depart, the gloves become permanently unobtainable.
To avoid Harleep altogether, attempt to sneak towards the large painting of Raphael on the left side of the Boudoir.
Pass a Perception check to detect a trap on the painting. Disarm it before pressing the button to reveal a safe. Unlock the safe to retrieve Raphael’s password.
Failing to detect or disarm the trap will trigger an attack from Harleep and their forces, turning the entire House of Hope hostile and summoning Raphael to the exit.
Disarming the trap is also necessary if you choose to fight and defeat Harleep.
Claiming the Orphic Hammer
Acquiring the Orphic Hammer in the Archives requires the password obtained from Raphael’s safe in the Boudoir.
Return to the Archives and speak the magic words in front of the hammer:
“Give me my heart’s desire.”
The protective forcefield will dissipate. You can now take the Orphic Hammer. Be warned: doing so will instantly turn the House of Hope hostile, summon Raphael, and disable the Restoration faucet in the Boudoir.
With the Orphic Hammer in hand, you now face two choices:
- Free Hope.
- Leave Hope imprisoned and confront Raphael alone.
Freeing Hope is highly recommended. Her Banishment spell can remove up to two non-Raphael enemies from the battlefield, significantly easing the encounter. As a Life Cleric, her healing abilities are invaluable against the substantial damage output of Raphael and his minions. If you cleared her prison guards previously, freeing her becomes even more advantageous.
Escaping the House of Hope
With the Orphic Hammer (and potentially Hope) in tow, retrace your steps back to the southernmost point of the map, where your House of Hope journey began.
The house is now hostile, meaning you’ll contend with:
- Two patrolling Hellfire Spheres (one on the east side, one on the west side)
- Numerous Debtors
Hellfire Spheres resist most damage types except Cold. Their high damage, substantial health pool, and considerable movement range make them formidable foes. Their damaging aura further amplifies the threat.
Utilize spellcasters with Ray of Frost to slow them down, while a durable tank, like a Berserker, draws their attention.
If overwhelmed by Hellfire Spheres, retreating into Hope’s Prison will temporarily disengage combat, allowing you to heal, regroup, and strategize. Enemies above cannot follow you into the prison.
Debtors also pose a significant threat. Reducing their HP or allowing them to reach melee range triggers a fiery explosion, transforming them into stronger, hellish adversaries. Their explosions inflict substantial fire damage.
Engage Debtors from a distance with potent ranged attacks to minimize the risk of their explosions reaching your party. Eliminate them methodically.
Once you’re ready to depart, ensure no enemies are pursuing you as you approach the southern door. Raphael will appear when you interact with the portal in the center of the room.
Defeating Raphael
Raphael is a formidable final boss, boasting 666 health, a vast array of powerful abilities, and unique fight mechanics. Prepare for a challenging encounter.
Our in-depth guide on defeating Raphael offers comprehensive strategies and information.
For quick tips, consider these key points:
- Counterspell: Bring a character with high-level Counterspell to mitigate Raphael’s spellcasting.
- Yurgir: Convince Yurgir to join your side with a DC 30 Persuasion check. Utilize Inspiration if needed.
- Hope’s Banishment: Hope can Banish up to two non-Raphael creatures, including Yurgir if persuasion fails.
- Prioritize Minions: Eliminate all other enemies before focusing on Raphael to avoid being overwhelmed.
- Soul Pillars: Raphael draws power from four Soul Pillars. Destroy them using Bludgeoning and Force damage.
- Radiant Damage on Pillars: If immediate destruction is not possible, Radiant damage will temporarily disable a Soul Pillar for one round.
- Avoid Radiant Damage on Enemies: Do not use Radiant damage on enemies in this fight as it is ineffective and can be counterproductive.
During the fight, you can choose to spare or kill Korilla. Toggling Non-lethal attacks allows you to spare her for Hope’s sake, though there is no material reward beyond Hope’s gratitude.
Upon defeating Raphael, you’ll acquire the Helldusk Armour – a legendary and arguably the strongest armor in Baldur’s Gate 3, completing the Helldusk set within the House of Hope.
Speak with Yurgir if recruited, loot any remaining items, and then interact with the portal to finally escape the infernal House of Hope.
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