Cazador Szarr is Astarion’s vampire sire, and his death is part of his companion quest. As interesting as the drama of it all might be, bringing Astarion to this fight can make it more difficult. With or without Astarion, here’s how to find and defeat Cazador in Baldur’s Gate 3.
How to Find and Defeat Cazador in Baldur’s Gate 3
What is it about having Astarion in the party that makes the fight harder? He will be forced into a ritual, incapacitating him and putting a turn limit on combat counting down to Cazador ascending.
Szarr Palace Location
Cazador can be found in the Lower City, north of the Lower City Central Wall Waypoint. Enter the tower the Waypoint is on, then climb the stairs onto the wall to find a door to the Szarr Palace South Tower. You can talk your way past the guards into the tower and enter the palace without fighting.
To open the Sinister Door in the palace, I talked to Vilhelm and convinced him I was an honored guest. He’ll tell you to talk to Godey, who you’ll find down the stairs, to the right, then in the room to the right behind the door that says “Door to the Kennel.” You can kill him or persuade him to get the key, then return to open the Sinister Door.
Clear the room of enemies, then head to the left of the chair. You’ll find a hallway with a Dais, and that will take you to Cazador’s Dungeon. The signet from Godey will get you into the Crypt Gate. Keep heading straight to reach Cazador’s boss room.
Interrupt the Ritual
The turn limit and losing a party member can be intimidating, but there’s something you can do about it. You can interrupt the ritual by killing one of the vampire spawn, then help Astarion to have him return to combat. This removes the turn limit, making the battle a little less stressful since the ritual can’t be completed with a vampire spawn now dead.
Kill the Large Adds
After stopping the ritual, you can take care of the many adds that are in the room. Gale with Fireball did a lot of work here. You won’t be able to kill all of them because Cazador spawns more as he shifts from mist form to human. Once the larger adds are dead, focus on Cazador and burn him down.
Use Radiant Damage Against Cazador
Cazador is vulnerable to Radiant Damage, so Shadowheart did a lot of work against him. Since I saved Nightsong, I tried to keep Moonbeam on Cazador. When Concentration for that was broken, I had Shadowheart chase him around with Spirit Guardians (Radiant) active. Meanwhile, I sent one party member to free Astarion. After freeing him, I then used my resources on Cazador, only killing the bats when they were grouped for an AOE attack to hit them and Cazador simultaneously.
When the battle is over, you’ll have to open the sarcophagus in the middle of the platform to trigger that end cutscene. When it comes to the decision you have to make, you can take a bit of comfort in knowing that the option you pick won’t have huge consequences on the game’s story.
And that’s how to find and defeat Cazador in Baldur’s Gate 3. It’s a tedious fight more than anything, but you get to see Astarion finally free from his old master. For more content, head to our BG3 guide hub for topics like how to get to the House of Hope.
