How to recruit hirelings in Baldur's Gate 3

Baldur's Gate 3 hirelings are like your permanent companions, except that you can hire and dismiss them whenever you please. It can be treacherous venturing through the Forgotten Realms on your own, so hirelings are handy if you haven't recruited many companions yet, or if you want a specific role filled within your party and you don't have a party member that fits.

You'll need to unlock a certain NPC first—the same one that lets you revive and respec—though he can be found pretty early on in the game. With that said, here's how to recruit hirelings in Baldur's Gate 3 so you can get a helping hand.

How to recruit Baldur's Gate 3 hirelings

Firstly, you need to find Withers and free him from his sarcophagus so he'll head to your camp. He can be found at the very northern end of the Dank Crypt, in a large room that has two sets of stairs at the far end. You'll find a button next to a stone doorway at the top of the left stairs. Once you've defeated the enemies that appear, you can open the sarcophagus inside the small room to find Withers. Exhaust his dialogue and he'll appear at your camp next time you go there.

Withers can also appear at your camp after you've had to revive someone, it seems. In Lauren's playthrough, he appeared after she had to revive Gale during a battle at the goblin camp and her party reached level 4, so it might be that he just appears after a certain amount of progress.

Once back at your camp, look for the yellow vendor icon on your map to locate Withers. Speak to him and he'll introduce you to the concept of hirelings and what they can be used for. Each hireling can be recruiting for 100 gold, though you'll need to have three or fewer party members in order to recruit one. 

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Here is a list of available hirelings:

• Eldra Luthrinn: Barbarian
• Brinna Brightsong: Bard
• Zenith Feur'sel: Cleric
• Danton: Druid
• Varanna Sunblossom: Fighter
• Sina'zith: Monk
• Kerz: Paladin
• Ver'yll Wenkiir: Ranger
• Maddala Deadeye: Rogue
• Jacelyn: Sorcerer
• Kree Derryck: Warlock
• Sir Fuzzalump: Wizard

Once you've recruited a hireling, you'll need to level them up, and assign any spells as you would with other companions. Press tab to see your party, and look for the Level Up button beneath the name of the newly recruited hireling. You can also double-click on their portrait and select level up from their character bar.

If you change your mind and want to dismiss a hireling from your group, perhaps because you've recruited a new companion, speak to Withers again and select the option to dismiss them.