Is the thought of permanent See Invisibility a tempting prospect? Well, if you help out Volo when you’re in the Goblin Camp, you have the chance to give your character or a companion this spell as a passive effect. So, let’s go through how to get Volo’s Ersatz Eye in Baldur’s Gate 3.
How to Get Volo’s Ersatz Eye in Baldur’s Gate 3
Volo’s Ersatz Eye is no longer an item, so you can only obtain it by helping him escape the Goblin Camp and letting him perform surgery on you or your companion.
In Early Access, Volo’s Ersatz Eye was an item, so you could retrieve it from his body if he died and decide what to do with it later. This is no longer the case in the full version. Because the eye isn’t an item, the only way to obtain it is through Volo’s botched surgical attempt to remove your Mindflayer Tadpole. Additionally, if you have Volo’s Ersatz Eye, you can’t get the Hag Eye from Auntie Ethel. However, the Ersatz Eye has more benefits than the Hag Eye, making it more worthwhile to obtain.
How to Save Volo in BG3
You can first meet Volo in Emerald Grove among the Druids, and if you speak with him, he’ll ask you questions about Goblins and reveal that he plans to go to the Goblin Camp. As such, when you head through Blighted Village and into the Goblin Camp, you’ll see him performing for the Goblins. And this is where the path to getting Volo’s Ersatz Eye officially begins.
When you enter the Goblin Camp, speak with Volo and choose any option that isn’t “Leave.” The Goblins aren’t thrilled about him interacting with your party, so they’ll haul him away to a cage. From here, your next step is freeing him. If you just kill all the Goblins in Shattered Sanctum and the camp, Volo will appear in your camp. This is how he ended up at my camp in my recent game, which I didn’t expect.
The other way to free Volo is entering the Shattered Sanctum and heading to the right from the main room. He’s in the last door on that side of the area, which is right before the wooden path. I’ve included an image below that shows the room and the minimap with coordinates to help you find him.
Gribbo guards him, and has the key, so you can try to convince her to free Volo, or you can kill her to take the key and free him. The first option requires you to make Skill Checks, but if you want to side with the Goblins in the end, you’ll probably want to use that route and avoid fighting as much as possible.
How to Get Volo’s Ersatz Eye Implanted in BG3
After Volo is freed, he’ll appear in your camp. Speak with him and tell him about the tadpole. He won’t believe you at first, but after you convince him, he pledges to help look for a solution. Take a Long Rest, and in the morning, he’ll have an exclamation point. Speak with him again and inquire about his research. If you really don’t want to lose an eye, but still want the benefits of Volo’s Ersatz Eye, take control of a different party member for this step and make them undergo the procedure instead of you.
Letting him try to remove the parasite isn’t what I’d consider a pleasant cutscene, but you have to commit to the entire procedure to get Volo’s Ersatz Eye. So, keep selecting the options to bear with the process and lose your eye. After his botched surgery, Volo gives you his Ersatz Eye because he feels partially responsible for you losing an eye. Look, Volo, even if I went along with it, you’re wholly responsible for my lost eye. I’m only letting you off the hook because I got permanent See Invisibility out of it.
Although it’s a bit gruesome, that’s how you get Volo’s Ersatz Eye in Baldur’s Gate 3 and the passive See Invisibility effect that comes with it. It’s important to note that if you accept this eye, it will look different from the eyes you chose in character creation. But if you’re okay with that, you can move onto other topics from our BG3 guide hub like should you take the Mountain Pass or Underdark or if you should help The Emperor.
