So yesterday I decided to finally tackle that annoying “Pest Control” achievement in Baldur’s Gate 3, the one where you gotta whack those little kobold critters in act one. Heard it breaks all the time, so I fired up the game on my machine, ready for some nonsense.
The Setup & The Broken Part
First thing I did was head straight to that cave near the river. You know the one? Found Barth there near the entrance, gave him the gold piece like the game says. Felt pretty confident clicking through his dialogue. Then the fight started… and everything went sideways fast.
- Problem one: Half the little kobolds just froze. Like statues. Wouldn’t move, wouldn’t attack, just stood there looking dumb.
- Problem two: Barth himself got stuck running into a wall repeatedly. Guy completely forgot he was supposed to fight!
- Problem three: Killed the few kobolds that did work, achievement didn’t pop. Total waste of time.
Okay, Time For Plan B (And C… And D)
Figured I’d try reloading my save, right? Maybe just a one-off fluke. Nope. Tried it three times. Same exact crap happened every single time. Little kobold statues everywhere and Barth the wall inspector. Pretty frustrating.
Heard online some folks talking about pushing or pulling the stuck kobolds. Grabbed a character with that telekinesis shove thing. Tried yeeting one frozen kobold. It slid two feet… and stayed frozen. Didn’t help.
Another reload, tried attacking a frozen kobold before talking to Barth. Big mistake. Whole camp turned hostile instantly! Barth started yelling, all the kobolds jumped me – even the ones who were frozen seconds ago! Managed to kill them all that time, still no achievement popped. Game just ignored it.
The Fix That Actually Worked (Finally!)
Was about ready to give up when I stumbled onto this weird workaround. Didn’t believe it at first, but hey, desperate times:
- Went back to camp before heading to the cave. Made a brand new save. Fresh start.
- Instead of talking to Barth first thing, I ignored him completely. Walked past his grumpy self.
- Found one of those big, sturdy crates near the entrance. You know, the ones you can drag around? Picked that sucker up.
- Carried the crate into the cave and plopped it down right in front of the area where Barth usually triggers the fight.
- Snuck a character up high on the right side of the cave, near the water barrels.
- Went back to Barth THEN, paid the gold. Fight starts.
And what do you know? The stupid crate somehow stopped the pathfinding freakout! All the kobolds started running around like crazy little gremlins. Barth actually fought this time! Didn’t kiss any walls. My high-up character started knocking barrels down onto them, splash! Took ’em out fast.
Got the notification the second the last one bit the dust. Achievement popped! Finally. Worked perfectly twice more when I tried it later on another run. Something about blocking that specific spot with the crate just… helps the game figure it out.
So yeah, that “Pest Control” mess. Classic BG3 jank, fixed by dragging a box around like a weirdo. If your kobolds are turning into garden gnomes, try the crate trick before you chuck your machine out the window.