Karlach is one of the Origin characters that you can recruit as early as Act I, who is known to be hunted by Wyll before they were both abducted and brought aboard the Nautiloid.
You can later find Karlach with or without the help of Wyll and recruit her to join your party or stay at your camp after helping her get rid of her enemies.
Karlach, also known as Karlach Cliffgate is a Barbarian who has an Outlander background and plays a powerful role when it comes to close-quarters-combat.
Where To Find Karlach?
Karlach can be found early during Act I and all you need to do is head to the area between Emerald Grove and the Goblin Camp.
This will be where you find a dog named Scratch and his owner Gomwick, where you will need to head north to find the easiest path to Karlach.
Jumping onto the large rock in the river and to the other side will bring you to The Risen Road and if you follow the path to the right, you will eventually find Karlach across a log.
How To Recruit Karlach?
Recruiting Karlach is as easy as talking to her and you can do this once you find her as a cutscene will begin when you approach or speak to her.
She will tell you her story and you can team up with her but before anything else, it would be good to help her out with a group that is hunting her.
Once you defeat the group, Karlach will happily join your party or stay at your camp as you continue searching for a cure for the tadpole in your head.
Karlach Uses
Karlach is a powerful Barbarian who can make use of her abilities later to overpower your enemies and even boost the capabilities of your party.
Aside from her abilities in battle, Karlach has a mechanical heart, and this can be upgraded twice as you progress with the main story.
Her mechanical heart can give her an advantage against charming effects and later make her immune to them.
Karlach has the Legacy of Avernus: Searing Smite spells, which allows her to attack with extra fire damage, causing enemies to burn every turn until they pass a saving throw.
Karlach Romance
Karlach can be romanced by any gender, but it can get a little intense when she starts to burn up, which the two of you must sort out later.
Gaining her approval includes being passionate towards innocent people and helping them out while she dislikes it when you show acts of cruelty and make bad decisions.
One of the best ways to gain her approval is to help her out with her mechanical heart, which eventually needs to be repaired due to its malfunctioning.
How To Fix Karlach’s Heart?
Repairing Karlach’s mechanical heart is done in the Hellion’s Heart is a sub-quest, which allows you to help Karlach by finding an infernal mechanic and she mentions one is nearby.
She is referring to Dammon, who you meet in The Hollow at the grove, and you can get him to upgrade Karlach’s Heart by providing Infernal Iron for him to use.
This will upgrade Karlach’s Heart and give her the Heart of Iron passive, which gives her an advantage on Saving Throws against Charmed effects.
You may later meet Dammon at the Last Light Inn for another upgrade, which involves using another Infernal Iron to give her the Heart Ablaze passive.
Heart Ablaze makes Karlach completely immune to Charmed effects, which also allows her to touch others without burning them.
Karlach Unbridled Wrath
Upon joining your group for the first time, Karlach will need your help dealing with hunters that are going after her, which are just nearby.
Once the fight is over, she will start raging and destroying several objects and this will last for 10 turns, but this doesn’t put your party in that much danger.
All you need to do is to wait for Karlach to finish blowing off steam and you will be able to control her after she has calmed down.
Recruiting Karlach with Wyll in Party
If you have met Wyll earlier and have added him to your party, you will know that he is after a devil, and this turns out to be Karlach.
Should you have Wyll in your party, he will be hostile to Karlach in a cutscene but choosing the right dialogue can convince him otherwise.
Choosing the right dialogue and passing Ability Checks will allow you to sort out their feud, revealing that Karlach is innocent and preventing them from slaughtering each other.
Verdict
Karlach can be quite the warrior when it comes to a fight and with her set of skills available when you first meet her, she can deal a good amount of damage.
When it comes to her mechanical heart, taking the time to help her get it repaired can be helpful later when you face more challenges.
Even though Karlach and Wyll have a bad history, there is no need for one of them to be killed and you can even have both in your party.