You've finally found it. That glowing sword or shimmering staff tucked away in a dusty corner of a Blighted Village cellar looks like the massive power spike your party needs. You equip it, feeling like a god for about three seconds, until you realize you can't take it off. Your character is stuck with a red border around their item slot, and suddenly, that "plus two" bonus doesn't feel worth the permanent inventory clog.
Can you remove hexed weapon BG3 players often ask? It’s a common panic point. You’re not alone.
Baldur’s Gate 3 thrives on making you live with your consequences. Sometimes those consequences are narrative, like accidentally getting a tiefling killed. Other times, they are mechanical, like being tethered to a weapon that actively drains your HP or forces a disadvantage on every saving throw. The short answer is yes, you can remove it, but the "how" depends entirely on why the game is blocking you in the first place.
Why Your Weapon Is Stuck in the First Place
Most people get "hexed" confused with "cursed." In the world of Faerûn, these are two very different headaches. If you’re a Warlock, you might have used Bind Pact Weapon. This isn't a curse; it’s a class feature. It locks the weapon to your hand so you can’t be disarmed. It’s actually a buff, though it feels like a bug when you want to give that cool mace to Shadowheart and the game says no.
Then there are the actual cursed items.
Think about the Staff of Crones found in Auntie Ethel’s lair. It lets you cast Ray of Sickness, which sounds great until you realize it can poison the wielder. Or the Sentient Amulet (not a weapon, but the same logic applies) that demands a madness check. When an item is truly cursed, the game prevents you from simply dragging it out of your equipment slot. The "remove" button basically disappears.
Larian Studios designed this to mimic the tabletop Dungeons & Dragons experience. In D&D, once you grab a cursed object, it becomes a part of your soul—or at least a very annoying part of your grip—until high-level magic intervenes.
The Most Reliable Fix: Remove Curse
If you are dealing with a genuine curse, there is a literal spell for this. It’s called Remove Curse.
Honestly, it’s one of those spells you forget exists until you’re desperate. It’s a 3rd-level Abjuration spell. Clerics, Paladins, Warlocks, and Wizards can all learn it. If you have Shadowheart in your party, she can prepare it as soon as she hits Level 5. You don't even need to keep it in her active spell book forever; just swap it in during a long rest, cast it on the afflicted character, and swap it back out for something more useful like Spirit Guardians.
Once the spell is cast, the red "cursed" border vanishes. You can then unequip the item and throw it into the deepest part of the Chionthar River. Or, you know, sell it to a vendor who doesn't know any better.
What if you don't have a level 5 caster?
Check the vendors. Volo often carries scrolls, and the various magic shops in the Lower City of Baldur’s Gate (like Sorcerous Sundries) usually have a few Scrolls of Remove Curse in stock. They aren't cheap, but they're cheaper than playing the rest of the game with a weapon that’s slowly killing you.
Dealing with the Warlock Pact Bind
Let's circle back to the Warlock issue because this trips up more people than actual curses do. If you’ve used Bind Pact Weapon, the weapon is bound until your next Long Rest.
You can’t just "un-bind" it with a spell.
You basically have to sleep it off. When you wake up the next morning, the weapon is no longer bound. If you want to switch weapons, do it before you use the Bind Pact action again. It’s a simple mechanical toggle, but because the UI doesn't explicitly tell you "this ends on Long Rest," players often assume they’ve permanently bugged their save file. You haven't. Just go to camp, eat some supplies, and you're golden.
The "Special" Cases: Weapons That Won't Budge
There are a few instances in BG3 where even Remove Curse won't help you immediately because the item is tied to a quest trigger.
Take the Iron Flask or certain necrotic items found in the Shadow-Cursed Lands. Sometimes, the game requires a specific dialogue choice or a specific ritual to "cleanse" an object. If you find yourself holding something like the Shattered Flail (the one Flind the Gnoll drops), you might notice it has a mind of its own. It heals you, sure, but if you don't hit someone every turn, you go mad.
In these niche cases, the "hex" isn't a status effect on the item; it’s a status effect on you.
- Check your buffs/debuffs bar: Look for icons you don't recognize.
- Long Rest: It fixes 90% of "stuck" animations and weapon states.
- Respec at Withers: This is the "nuclear option." If a weapon is truly stuck due to a glitch or a complex interaction of class passives, go to Withers in your camp. Pay the 100 gold to reset your class. This completely strips your character of all equipment and levels. It’s a forced reset that almost always clears the equipment slots.
Can You Remove Hexed Weapon BG3 Glitches?
Sometimes, it really is just a bug. Baldur’s Gate 3 is a massive, sprawling clockwork machine of code, and sometimes a gear slips.
If you aren't a Warlock and you haven't picked up a cursed item, but your weapon still won't unequip, try the "Chest Swap" trick. Open a chest or a crate in the world. Try to drag the weapon directly from your character sheet into the chest's inventory. For some reason, the game's logic sometimes allows a "transfer" even when it blocks an "unequip."
Another weird fix? Getting downed.
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If a character is reduced to zero HP and enters the "Downed" state, the game momentarily recalculates their active bonuses. Occasionally, once they are Revivified or helped up, the equipment lock resets. It’s a bit dramatic, but hey, if it works, it works.
Avoiding Future Curses
Knowledge is your best defense here. Most cursed weapons in the game have clues in their descriptions. If a sword's flavor text mentions that it "thirsts for the blood of its wielder" or that it "was found clutched in the cold, dead hands of a traitor," maybe don't put it on immediately.
Use the Examine tool. Hover over the item and press 'T' (on PC) or the right stick (on console). Look for keywords like "Cursed" or unique passives that don't have a "positive" lean.
Also, keep an eye on your gold. If a weapon has high stats but a suspiciously low gold value, it might be because no merchant in their right mind wants to touch it.
Actionable Steps for Stagnant Inventory
If you're currently staring at a stuck weapon, follow this exact sequence to fix it:
- Identify the Source: Right-click the item. Does it say "Bound" or does it have a red "Cursed" tooltip?
- The Warlock Check: If you're a Warlock, just Long Rest. Don't waste a spell slot.
- The Divine Solution: Use Shadowheart or a hired Cleric to cast Remove Curse. If you don't have the spell, head to the Stormshore Tabernacle in Act 3 or any major healer in Acts 1 and 2 to buy a scroll.
- The Withers Reset: If the spell fails, talk to the skeleton in your camp. Respec. It’s a 100-gold insurance policy against bugs.
- Cleanse the Item: Once removed, don't just leave it in your bags. Put it in the "Camp Chest" so you don't accidentally equip it again during a frantic gear swap before a boss fight.
Understanding the difference between a class mechanic and a magical hex is the key to managing your inventory. Most "hexed" problems are actually just "bound" problems. If it’s a real curse, the game gives you the tools to break it—you just have to be high enough level to wield them.
Always keep at least one Scroll of Remove Curse in your camp chest. You'll thank yourself when you accidentally pick up a necrotic relic in a dark tomb and realize you can't let go. Be careful with what you loot, especially in the Underdark or the Shadow-Cursed Lands, as these areas are notorious for gear that carries a heavy price.
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If all else fails, remember that even a cursed weapon can be useful if you build your character around mitigating its downsides, though most of the time, it's better to just break the hex and move on to something that won't bite the hand that feeds it.