Raphael is an optional boss you can fight in Baldur’s Gate 3. You fight him by sneaking into the House of Hope during Act 3 and stealing the Orphic Hammer, a critical item you might need, depending on your playthrough.
When Raphael catches you in the House of Hope, several things could occur during this fight, and many of them could be in your favor. You’ll need every advantage to defeat him. Here’s what you need to know about how to beat Raphael in Baldur’s Gate 3.
How to Prepare To Beat Raphael in Baldur’s Gate 3
One of the significant ways you can prepare to fight against Raphael is by grabbing Hope and freeing her from the house. Hope is a captured Cleric that you can find in the prison, which you can do only after you’ve acquired the Orphic Hammer and make your way to the basement. You’ll then be able to use the hammer to smash Hope’s crystals, and she’ll briefly join your Baldur’s Gate 3 party before you leave the House of Hope and can be a critical asset against Raphael.
The second thing you can do is convince Yurgir to fight with you. Yurgir appears next to Raphael regardless of whether you’ve defeated him in the Gauntlet of Shar. You’ll have one opportunity to convince Yurgir to fight with your Baldur’s Gate 3 party, and you need to beat a 30 Persuasion check, which typically means hitting a natural 20.
After you have these two factors helping you out, you’ll be ready to fight against Raphael. He does have a handful of mechanics that you’ll want to figure out how to work around when battling him.
All Raphael Weaknesses & Mechanics in Baldur’s Gate 3
Raphael is a powerful Devil that you need to fight against in Baldur’s Gate 3. You’ll want to avoid using Fire-based damage, Ice, Lighting, and Poison-damage. Raphael is immune to becoming Poisoned, so you’ll want to focus on hitting him with Melee-based damage. However, you don’t want to focus on Raphael. Rather, you’re going to want to focus on fighting against the Cambions, the minions assisting Raphael. However, these creatures will receive a boost from Raphael, as he has an area passive that boosts their AC and Dexterity.
A good way to take out the Cambions is to focus on each with your Baldur’s Gate 3 party members, and use any AoE attacks to chip away at them. One spell my team used was Confusion, an excellent way to potentially turn them against each other, rather than attacking my party.
While most of your party handles the Cambions and clears them out, one party member should begin focusing on the Soul Pillars in the corners of the room. These Soul Pillars empower Raphael, give him access to various spells, and make hitting him much harder. Eliminating them will be a top priority for your team, and making these destroyed before focusing on Raphael himself will be critical. He does have a chance to reach an Ascended Form and unleash Hellfire. Fire resistance is a must-have during this encounter.
After you’ve done those two objectives, fighting against Raphael is the last thing you do. Raphael is a formidable combatant, but he’s much easier to take out if you’re actively focusing on him when he doesn’t have the benefits of the four Soul Pillars. What makes this fight possible is Hope, a Cleric who can support your team with various healing spells. I also found her extremely helpful with the Divine Intervention ability, and using the one that revived every downed party member, and those that were up were healed as if they had a Long Rest.
After you’ve defeated Raphael, you’ll be able to leave the House of Hope. In addition, without a master of the house, Hope decides to take it over, potentially giving Hell a beacon of hope for your Baldur’s Gate 3 playthrough.
