If you're torn about whether or not to evolve in Baldur's Gate 3, that's fine, because transforming into a Mind Flayer is a huge decision to make. And since the Emperor is an ambivalent, secretive, and distrustful character, choosing between them can be tricky. As you progress, certain choices, like using Tadpole or Illithid powers, have consequences that can affect your storyline or ending. As you use these powers, you can evolve as a Mind Flayer or resist becoming powerful like the Emperor. But should you evolve in BG3 or not? Check out our guide to find out whether or not you should let the Emperor evolve you into a Mind Flayer.

Yes, you should evolve in BG3 if you want to use the best Illithid powers. Just like using these powers, evolving the Emperor in Baldur's Gate 3 has multiple outcomes. When you're first prompted to evolve, the Emperor will give you an Astral-touched Tadpole to transform into a Half-Mindflayer. While it's only a partial Illithid transformation, you'll unlock more Illithid powers and its skill tree.

But the downside of this transformation is that all of your party members will disapprove of your decision. However, you can convince them to use the Tadpole to increase and enhance their Illithid powers. Speaking of physical appearance, your character will get veins all over his body after this transformation. If you don’t want to go through with this decision to use Illithid powers or evolve into a Mindflayer in BG3, you can choose to reject the Tadpole. As a result, you can find the Astral-touched Tadpole in your inventory, which you can use whenever you want.

While transforming into a Partial-Illithid has no impact on the storyline, completing your Mindflayer evolution does affect the ending. Once you've evolved into a Half-Mindflayer in Baldur's Gate 3, choose to complete the transformation by consuming the Supreme Tadpole. Doing so will unlock all of the Illthid's powers along with their advanced upgrades.