The Murder Tribunal is one of the most difficult encounters in all of Baldur's Gate 3, and it is their leader, Sarevok Anchev, that makes it so. Add in the Tactician difficulty, and you're really in for a world of hurt if you don't know what you're doing. While there are a number of mechanics you should be aware of, Sarevok being level 16 is one of the biggest factors as to why this fight is so hard. However, I've managed to put the deranged beast down for good in my playthrough, and I'm here to tell you how you can as well.
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Baldur's Gate 3 Sarevok Anchev Boss Guide - BG3
At the start of the encounter, you'll be facing Sarevok and his Murder Tribunal consisting of Echo of Sendai, Echo of Amelyssan, and Echo of Illasera. Each are key components of the fight, as they all provide Sarevok potent buffs when they are killed. Sarevok is already a strong enemy prior to these buffs, but with them, he becomes an unstoppable force unless dealt with carefully. Thus, the fight is about choosing which buffs you're willing to deal with when facing Sarevok. The buffs for each echo are the following:
- Bhaalspawn Essence: Sendai - Increases Sarevok's Armor Class (AC) by 6, giving him a total of 26 AC, making him very difficult to hit even at the level cap.
- Bhaalspawn Essence: Amelyssan - Sarevok's successful attacks will heal him for 2-24 health, giving him significant sustainability.
- Bhaalspawn Essence: Illasera - Sarevok becomes permanently Hastened and immune to practically all forms of crowd control. He has six attacks per turn with this buff.
As you can see, the buffs he gains from his Murder Tribunal are no joke; adding just one already significantly empowers him, and having three on at once makes him an utter juggernaut. Despite this, I recommend killing all three members of his Tribunal as soon as possible. Sarevok's Bhaalspawn echos are comprised of powerful casters that can easily destroy your party if they are left alone. Additionally, even if Sarevok gets all three of these nasty buffs, he still only has one turn. It is better to reduce the enemy's turn count to one versus having four.
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Now, let's talk about Sarevok himself. When Saravok lands a hit, he will get a buff called Murderous Strikes, which will count up to a total cap of four. When Murderous Strikes hits four, he gains a very dangerous new ability called Deathbringer Assault.
Deathbringer Assault is by far the most deadly ability in the encounter, as it can easily extinguish the life of any of your party members if used even once. The damage is unreal, so you want to avoid as many attacks as you possibly can to prevent him from being able to use it. Unfortunately, full prevention is impossible if you kill his Echos, because he can consume their buffs temporarily to enter a rage state that allows him to use Deathbringer Assault anyway.
Sarevok Anchev Strategy Guide - BG3
Now that you are aware of all the core mechanics, I will talk about positioning, stat requirements, and how to deal with Deathbringer Assault specifically.
Sarevok Anchev Positioning
Sarevok and his Echos hit very hard, so you want to position your front liners in the center of the room so all their focus remains on them. The three echos have permanent Metamagic: Distant, so this positioning is very important because they can target your party from anywhere in the room. That said, you want your back liners to be on the overlooking perches on either the left or right side of the room (as pictured below). Sarevok's AC can get as high as 28, so you'll want them to have Advantage and High Ground at all times for Attack Rolls.
Throughout the fight, these positions should not change unless your front liners need to flee. In this scenario, do your best to kite Sarevok toward the back of the room (where you first entered the encounter).
Recommended Stats for Sarevok Anchev Fight
For your tank, you want to have at least 23 AC before engaging in this encounter so Sarevok hits as little as possible and does not gain constant access to Deathbringer Assault. At the same time, you always want Sarevok to target your tank if he is going to throw anything out.
For your damage dealers that use Attack Rolls, you're looking for at least +8 with Advantage to reliably land hits on Sarevok. For range, the requirement amount can be a little lower due to the High Ground buff you should always have.
For your spellcasters, you want to have a minimum of 16 Spell Difficulty Class (DC) to reliably land saving throw-based spells on Sarevok. Wisdom is his lowest stat, so spells like Hold Person are rather effective (provided he is not enraged or immune).
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Additionally, you want to have two DPS in this fight that can dish out large amounts of damage per turn (40 without Haste is the bare minimum). My Necrolock build easily exceeded that, and I had no problems burning Sarevok down with it. That said, I highly recommend you use Haste on all members of your party, which should have it for the entire fight.
How to Deal With Deathbringer Assault - Sarevok Anchev BG3
You can deal with Deathbringer Assault by allowing Sarevok to land it on your tank. Despite how deadly it can be, if one of the attacks misses, they all will miss; a failed Deathbringer Assault prevents him from using it again immediately next turn, thus buying your party time to kill him. Spells like Mirror Image and Blur also make short work of any Deathbringer Assault attempts Sarevok makes on you.
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