Where to go after the Nautiloid ship crash in Baldur's Gate 3

Where do you go after the Nautiloid ship crash in Baldur's Gate 3? The tutorial in the Mind Flayer ship ends with you crashing in a shipwreck on the beach, but no clear indication about where to go or what you're supposed to do about the tadpole in your head. There are actually a lot of options for where to go after the crash and none of them are wrong - you play Baldur's Gate 3 how you want! - but that doesn't mean that there aren't some routes better than others. In fact, what you'll probably want to do is acquire some companions to help you deal with the area's threats, then head to the nearby Grove, a hub area where you can get the lay of the land and decide what to do next. I'll lay out the best path below, and where to go after the Nautiloid ship crashes in BG3.

Where to go after escaping the crashed ship in Baldur's Gate 3

Once you escape the crashed Nautiloid ship and the Mind Flayers in Baldur's Gate 3, you'll want to take the following route on the map above (which will fill in and clear the fog of war as you explore).

1. Waking up. You'll wake up on the beach with wreckage and some dead fisherman, who you should probably loot for food and resources.
   
   
2. Shadowheart. The party cleric can be in one of two places, depending on whether you freed her from the pod inside the ship or not. If you freed her, she'll be on the beach ahead of you, but if you didn't, she's up at the Overgrown Ruins, at the entrance to the Baldur's Gate 3 Dank Crypt. 
   
   
3. Astarion. The silver-tongued, silver-haired rogue is back through the destroyed Nautiloid, and you'll likely have to fight or sneak around some intellect devourers before you reach him. Unlike the choice to remove or destroy the brain in Baldur's Gate 3 you went through earlier, there's no way to make any of these brains into allies. Once through that, Astarion will be yelling semi-convincingly for help, so as you get close he shouldn't be hard to pin down.
   
   
4. Gale. Head up the hill, you'll see a series of sparking, purple runes with a hand reaching out of them - free the occupant and you'll meet Gale of Waterdeep! He's the cheerful, dinner-party wizard who'll join the team and serve as a glass cannon. At this point your party might be full, but there's still more friends to find.
   
   
5. Lae'zel. The angry Gith you met at the ship is up here, having been caught in a cage by two antsy Tiefling hunters who think she's a threat. You can attempt a dialogue check to have them free her, but if you fail, it might go to combat, which is why it helps to have found allies before then. Either, afterwards used a ranged attack to break the base of the hanging cage so Lae'zel can drop down out of it.
   
   
6. Goblin siege! Further North you'll hit a cutscene where numerous goblins and other monsters are attacking a gate guarded by tieflings and various warriors. It's very helpful to have found a full party of teammates before then, as this is a tough fight for beginners, even with the friendly NPCs helping. Once you win, head through the gate into the camp.
   
   
7. Wyll and the Grove. Head through into the little settlement and speak to Wyll, the spellcaster who helped you at the gate and who is now helping train the kids in swordfighting near the back. He's the final addition to your party within the area, at least until you find Halsin and Karlach, plus now you're in a nice hub area with merchants and lots of potential quests and threads to follow!

The whole point of this route is to assemble a full Baldur's Gate 3 party as early as possible, so you have a team full of versatile and able warriors, then to find the Grove, which is a passive and friendly (mostly) location to work from. You can buy and sell loot here, as well as get some leads on how to remove the parasite or find some answers about the world and what's going on around you. 

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