Brandon Collins 
Baldur’s Gate 3 has cut content that could hint at DLC plans, including an unreleased companion character named Helia
It’s well known that Baldur’s Gate 3 has been an early access success story. Since its EA release on October 6, 2020, devoted fans have been able to see the world of Faerun materialize in front of them and evolve into one of the most-played games in Steam history.
While Baldur’s Gate 3 was being incrementally released on Steam early access, players tore through the files of each update searching for clues about what was to come. While many of their discoveries can be found in the retail version of the game, there is one notable exception. One companion character has seemingly been left out of the action. Here’s everything that’s known about the Baldur’s Gate 3 character who wound up on the chopping block, and whether she might appear as DLC.
Who is Baldur’s Gate 3’s cut companion Helia?
Helia is a character from an early build of Baldur’s Gate 3, who is now either unreleased or cut content. She was meant to be a halfling bard werewolf.
During Baldur’s Gate 3’s development, players were data mining every release for hints and traces of upcoming content. During one of these excavations, traces of three characters were found. Two of these characters were tiefling barbarian Karlach and Minsc, who returned from appearances in past Baldur’s Gate games. Both made triumphant appearances in the final build of the game, but the third character is yet to appear.
The other one is Helia, who was seemingly intended to be a Baldur’s Gate 3 origin character. Helia was inflicted not just with the mind flayer’s tadpole, but also lycanthropy. While it’s unclear how being a werewolf might have affected her role in the party, it could have led to some unique conversations with the vampiric Astarion, or the devil-spawned Karlach.
It’s unknown why Helia was seemingly cut from the game. The reverse Little Red Riding Hood motif would’ve made for a solid addition to Baldur’s Gate 3. She also could have served as a core cast member from a “short” race, a void that is oddly absent from the game. There are elves, tieflings, and humans abound in the party, but there’s no named dwarf, hobbit, or gnome.
Some players suspect that Helia was merged with or replaced by the druid Halsin. His plot thread of struggling to control his druidic transformations mirrors lycanthropy. It’s possible the two arcs may have overlapped too much for the developers, or they did not have time to polish a dedicated mechanic for lycanthropy. Whatever the reason, the halfling is absent from the final product.
Will Helia Appear in Future Baldur’s Gate 3 content?
It is unknown whether Helia will appear in Baldur’s Gate 3 as DLC or in any other content.
Hidden files show that Helia was already partly built, including responses to several first-act scenarios. Her werewolf shenanigans have plenty of story potential, and her presence would add a whole new dimension to resting at night. She’s also a bard, a class not yet represented by any of the core game’s companions. All this makes her stand out from both a story-telling perspective and a gameplay one, which could make her the centerpiece of a Baldur’s Gate 3 DLC release.
Baldur’s Gate 3 already has a bustling modding community that is creating new content for the game. If the dedication of modders for games such as Fallout New Vegas and Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodline is instructive, Helia may one day be restored in the game.
