What is "Shadowboxing" in Baldur's Gate 3? New in-game exploit allows players to finish the game in 5 minutes

Baldur's Gate 3 is a game that takes plenty of hours for anyone to complete. Spread across three different acts, Larian's latest adventure should take around 70 hours or more for a player to complete. This is by the admissions of the developer, and although there are ways to speed up the process, doing so can hardly be rewarding. Nevertheless, the gaming community has found a new technique that can end a particular run as early as five minutes.

Nicknamed Shadowboxing, this technique has nothing to do with the actual sport. In fact, it's named so because the process involves killing Shadowheart and then stuffing her within a box. While it might sound too hard to believe, speedrunner Mae's quick run has resulted in the credits rolling in within four minutes and fifteen seconds. However, when analyzed properly, this might not be how you'll want to play Baldur's Gate 3.

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Baldur's Gate 3's Shadowboxing technique could lead to an unwanted outcome

Traditionally speaking, Shadowheart is one of the earliest companions you'll come across in the game. You'll meet her on the Nautiloid itself, and your first job will be to rescue her (you can choose not to do so as well). However, the quick run in question seems to involve killing her instead and stuffing her within a box.

In the video, Mae kills Shadowheart and then loots all her items. Then, they put her inside a box and set it on fire. Within a few seconds, the player is taken to the final boss battle of Act 2, which is an encounter with Ketheric Thorm.

Ketheric Thorm is one of the most challenging bosses to beat in Baldur's Gate 3, and he can be a big challenge even when you've leveled up properly. In this case, Mae is only at level 1, and it's nearly impossible to beat Thorm at this stage. Moreover, Mae also doesn't have Nightsong, who greatly helps players take down Thorm.

In this walkthrough, however, the battle doesn't occur as usual. Instead, Gale's Karsus Weave Chest Bomb gets triggered at the Cult of the Absolute's hideout (where the battle against Thorm occurs). This is one of the worst endings in Baldur's Gate 3, killing everyone in your party.

All remaining characters infected with the Illithid parasites turn into full-blown Mind Flayers. From here, nothing much can be done apart from watching the credits scene. In other words, Shadowboxing is one way to finish the game in less than five minutes if you do everything just like Mae. However, the outcome is far from positive, and it's better to take your time and play as it's meant to be played.