Instead of winding things down for Act 3, as you approach the eponymous city of Baldur’s Gate you’ll find new quests to undertake, new dungeons to explore, new NPCs to talk to, and new merchants whose wares you can peruse. In the latter case, more merchants mean more magical items to look out for, and this page will provide the location of one of the more iconic bits of Dungeons and Dragons gear - Elven Chain, as well as providing a discussion of its stats and how best to put it to use.
Where to Find Elven Chain in BG3¶
As implied earlier, Elven Chain can be purchased once you reach Act 3, which is a significant way through the game (although, perhaps, not unusually so for a Baldur’s Gate game). Once you get through the Wyrm’s Crossing area at the start of Act 3 you’ll advance to Rivington, a town on the outskirts of Baldur’s Gate itself. From the Rivington waypoint, follow the road north and you’ll spot a circus to the west, and a smithy to the east. If you talk to Gyldro Anglerion the Blacksmith you’ll have an… odd encounter, but this isn’t necessary, as you’re actually looking for The Rivington General store, which is along the northern end of this building complex. Talk to the proprietress - a Brass Dragonborn named Exxvikyap - and survive her sugary personality long enough to peruse her wares, which includes the Elven Chain you seek. This will set you back around 800 gold… or you could take a five-finger discount, Exxvikyap is surprisingly easy to rob.
Elven Chain Stats and Uses¶
Elven Chain does what you’d expect it to do, if you’re a veteran of Dungeons and Dragons games - it allows you to cast spells uninhibited while not wearing armor. This… isn’t exactly special anymore, as any character that multiclassed into or from a warrior vocation (Fighter, Paladin, Ranger, etc.) will likely have light and medium armor proficiency, at the least, and quite possibly heavy armor proficiency (if they chose a warrior class as their base class). If you’re proficient in a type of armor, you can cast spells while wearing it, so to replicate its old functionality, Elven Chain just counts everybody as proficient in its use, despite being medium armor.
That’s not to say its base stats are terrible; it grants an Armor Class of 14, although this is hindered somewhat by a maximum Dexterity bonus of +2, meaning without supplemental bonuses to Armor Class you’ll be stuck with an Armor Class of 16. This isn’t terrible, but it’s not exactly front-line material, not when a multiclass Fighter/Mage archetype could well be wearing Half-Plate +2, enjoying a base Armor Class as high as 19. Heck, a Warlock could also just use Mage Armor and the Gloves of Dexterity to reach a base Armor Class of 17. Point is, the defensive properties of Elven Chain are somewhat easy to replicate for many multiclass combos.
The best use for it is arguably pure spellcasters (Sorcerers and Wizards) who otherwise don’t have access to light or medium armor, and who also aren’t burdened by an abundance of Dexterity. Gale comes to mind, although Elven Chain is at best a marginal improvement over just using Mage Armor, or Bracers of Defense, especially since it takes up an armor slot that could otherwise be used to wear some robe or another that boosts spellcasting abilities. This is a really hard sale for Warlocks, who’d likely rather be using the Potent Robe.
To make this armor somewhat more attractive, at least to ne’er-do-wells like Bards, Rogues and Rangers, the armor also gives its wearer the “Elven Agility” boon, which gives a +2 bonus to Initiative Rolls and Advantage on Dexterity Saving Throws, although these characters are more likely to be hindered by the Dexterity cap than casters are, making the defensive properties of the armor something of a wash.
Whether you find Elven Chain in Baldur’s Gate 3 to be an attractive piece of armor or not, check out the following walkthrough pages for quests and activities in and around Rivington:
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