The Baldur's Gate 3 Strange Ox explained

The Baldur's Gate 3 Strange Ox is found in the Druid Grove, but shows up again in the stables in the Last Light Inn during the game's second act. The ox is a strange thing - as you might've guessed from the name, duh - but it's actually even stranger than you think. There's a useful treasure tied to the animal though - the Shapeshifter Boon Ring. We'll explain how to interact with it and what you can do in the below guide to the Strange Ox in Baldur's Gate 3, whenever you choose to deal with it.

Baldur's Gate 3 Strange Ox location

The first time you'll spot the Strange Ox is just past the trader in Emerald Grove, the druid hideout encountered in the early hours of Baldur's Gate 3. To talk to it, you'll need some sort of potion, scroll, or spell that lets you converse with animals. Your party will roll a passive perception check, and if you pass, you'll notice that the ox's eyes are following you.

Now, you need to talk to it. You can buy a Potion of Animal Speaking from some vendors, or maybe one of your Baldur's Gate 3 companions has the spell in their inventory. Forest Gnomes have an innate ability to talk to all creatures, so you might already have this part sorted if you chose to play as one in character creation at the start of the game.

If you found the Strange Ox in the Grove earlier but have already rescued the tieflings, he'll vanish along with the refugees. You'll be able to interact with it again at the BG3 Last Light Inn, Act 2, instead. He's hanging out just behind  Dammon's forge, so as long as you didn't turn on the camp and kill all the refugees, you should still be able to track down the ox after leaving Act 1. 

What to do with the Strange Ox in Baldur's Gate 3 

Drink your potion or cast your spell if needed, and walk right up to the ox to get chatting. Talking to the Strange Ox only raises your suspicions more, so you'll need to perform an Arcana check to do so. Then, you can choose to use Persuasion, Deception, or Intimidation to try and get more intel. Whichever you choose, try to select one that gives you an advantage.

Even if you succeed the skill check, the ox still isn't letting on anything else other than the fact that he's on his way to Baldur's Gate. That's all you'll get out of him, so you can either leave him alone or choose to attack.

Attacking will immediately coat you in a strong acid that can easily decimate your health if you haven't been working your way toward the Baldur's Gate 3 level cap, so be mindful not to do this until you're strong enough. It will go down with a few heavy attacks, and you'll be able to loot a Shapeshifter Boon Ring from its corpse. It's a useful tool for companions like Halsin in Baldur's Gate 3, being a shapeshifter himself, but you can use it to bolster any of your party members' skills if they can cast some sort of disguise over themselves.

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