The Best Puzzles In Baldur’s Gate 3 Act 1

Summary

• Baldur’s Gate 3 includes creative puzzles like enchanted books and magical mirrors, leading to Act 2.
• The puzzles in Act 1 locations like Autnie Ethel’s Lair & Blighted Village are full of chilling secrets.
• Solve puzzles like the Selunite Shrine and Whispering Masks with wisdom for thrilling gameplay.

All RPGs use puzzles as part of their gameplay and exploration, and Baldur’s Gate 3 includes riddles in a myriad of creative forms. Players can discover enchanted books, magical mirrors, secret passages, and hidden compartments, all before moving on to the Shadow-cursed Lands of Act 2.

Even though the Wilderness of Act 1 seems mostly harmless, it’s filled with tricks and traps, and locations like Autnie Ethel’s Lair and the Blighted Village are filled with chilling secrets. By the time an adventuring party reaches Act 2, they’re ready for the higher-stakes puzzles in locations like the Gauntlet of Shar, which is essentially a dungeon comprised of several dark enigmas. However, they’ll be well-prepared thanks to the many challenging puzzles in Baldur’s Gate 3’s first act.

9

The Selunite Shrine

Next To The Owlbear’s Lair

• Find a prayer, remove the magical seal.

It’s essential to visit the Owlbear Cave at some point if players want to adopt the adorable cub and make them a part of their camp. This puzzle, however, can be found and solved without interacting with the Owlbear or his mother.

Upon first entering the cave, players can turn to their left and climb down a rock into a pleasant but long-abandoned Selunite shrine. There are a few valuables here, but the most interesting feature is the locked chest, and if someone in the party passes a Perception check, they recognize that this is a Selunite Shrine and that the chest is magically protected.

The riddle is an easy one to solve; it just takes a bit of exploring. Use Jump or Fly to reach the alcove behind the statue, and pass another Perception check to find a stray piece of paper. Recite the prayer written on the paper to break the spell and safely open the chest.

8

The Temple Entrance

Beneath The Shattered Sanctum

• Find clues to match the moons.

This is the secret door that the mercenaries who recruited Halsin were looking for, but the Goblins grabbed them before they reached this spot. It’s not the only way to reach the Underdark, with other possible entrances being Auntie Ethel’s Lair and the lift and ladder attached to the Zhentarim hideout.

For those who have raided Priestess Gut’s quarters, they might find a book called the Selunite Journal, which includes a clue as to how the tiles should be arranged for the solution. The clue is subtle, but it makes more sense when players get a look at the actual puzzle, which is arranged in a series of circles on a stone floor. Turn the tiles until all four of the dark “moons” are on the same circle—the one with the light shining on it—and the door to the Defiled Temple will open.

7

Druid Grove Rune Puzzle

Easily Solved Once The Grove Is Saved

• Use the wolf tile to reveal the stairway.

Should the player choose to side with Halsin and the Druids, they’ll be rewarded with the Wolf Tile, which is one of the keys to opening the Druid Vault. The other three are already in place, but they have to be touched and glowing to work, and this process is timed so the party has to be quick.

Place the Wolf Tile in its proper place and right-click the tile to make sure it glows. Push the three others in the same way, and the stairway that leads to the vault opens up under the statue. For those seeking even more adventure, there’s a secret door in a small room next to the vault entrance that leads to a trapped corridor with even more treasure.

6

The Whispering Masks

Use Wisdom To Solve These Deadly Riddles

• Use the power of the Masks to infiltrate the Hag’s Lair.

Players take their chances in the Hag’s Lair if they choose to try and rescue her victims instead of fighting their way through, because the only way to do so is by using the Whispering Masks. Make sure to give these to a Cleric, Ranger, or other class with a high Wisdom, or only use them for a few turns at a time; anything else and they risk becoming a thrall of Auntie Ethel.

Wearing one of these Masks allows the character to see through most of Ethel’s secrets, including the illusion of the main door, and prevents the player from being attacked by her minions. At any point in time, should the player fail a saving throw, they’ll attack their allies, and the only way to cure this condition is death and looting the mask from the body.

5

The Wizard’s Tower

Find The Books And Flowers

• Two puzzles, two sides of the same tower.

These puzzles are still present in the tower even if the player isn’t on any of the quests that can be acquired from the nearby Myconid Colony. The previous resident has gone missing, but all the magical traps and guard constructs she built remain in place, and the player must find a way to destroy, bypass, or disarm them.

The elevator on the lowest floor is powered by magical plants that can be found in the back garden, which is hidden at the bottom of a long line of shelf mushrooms. Explore every floor, even though it seems tedious, to find the books and scraps of paper that contain the lines of poetry, which are used to ensure the robots don’t become hostile. Bernard will start a conversation with the leader of the party when they arrive on the top floor, and if they don’t know the proper recitations, he and his fellow constructs will attack.

4

The Necromancy Of Thay

A Magic Mirror And A Secret Door

• Find the secret cellar and speak to the Ornate Mirror.

There are a few clues in the Blighted Wilderness that lead the party to the Apothecary’s Cellar, and it takes a Perception check to see the trapdoor behind the counter once they find the shop. As usual, explore the nooks and crannies in the secret laboratory below to discover that the humble Apothecary was secretly a Wizard of Thay.

The lab is also connected to the Whispering Depths, where the Dark Amethyst awaits beneath the spider encounter, which is also essential for this quest. With these components, speak with the Ornate Mirror, and it will ask the character a series of questions that vary depending on their race or class.

The following room contains several traps, locked doors, and chests, along with some impressive loot, including the Necromancy book. Make sure a character is present with a decent Sleight of Hand skill to unlock or disarm the traps, and be prepared to pass a few Wisdom checks to unlock the deadly book. Succeed, and begin a quest that leads all the way into Act 3.

3

The Dank Crypt

Pick A Lock Or Tell A Story

• The real treasure here is Withers.

Getting into the Dank Crypt is one part of the puzzle, and finding a way through and around it is another. Players can cheese their way through a dialogue with the thieves that are already there, which includes conning their way into the main door, but it’s also possible to pick a lock and sneak in through a trapdoor on the cliff or the door next to the Wayshrine.

Open the lower door and walk into a room with several stone coffins and a whole slew of traps. This can be a puzzle itself, and players have to use both Perception and Sleight of Hand to clear the traps and loot the room.

If the party talks their way in, any character with a Charlatan background gets an Inspiration point, but then they have to fight the bandits immediately. Clear the place out and use the hidden levers to open certain doors, including one even deeper into the crypt that can’t be opened from the inside.

2

Rosymorn Monastery

Four Weapons And A Stained Glass Window

• Follow the clues to open the secret compartment.

Some exploration inside the Rosymorn Monastery reveals a room with a broken stained-glass window and four altars. There’s already a longsword on one of them, and players have to find the three other weapons to open the secret compartment that reveals some lovely loot and a special item called the Dawnmaster’s Crest, which is important for solving another puzzle.

Searching throughout the Monastery can yield the necessary weapons, and there’s more than one possible solution, thanks to more than one weapon lying around. A few books are also scattered about, which describe the historical figures involved in the puzzle. Some are only accessible by fighting enemies or stealth, but others are easily found in graves, treasure chests, or dropped by enemies.

1

Blood Of Lathander

More Fun To Set Off Than Solve

• If Astarion is in the party, this is hysterical.

After exploring the Gith Creche, the player discovers two statues with cryptic messages saying they must be moved to face a certain way. One is easily adjusted, but the other needs to be pushed by a character with a high Strength rating.

What follows is a corridor lined with traps, but one player with a high Dexterity can sneak around them and disarm them one at a time. In most cases, there’s a crystal that must be destroyed to disarm the trap and allow the party to advance.

Getting access to the Blood of Lathander is one thing, and actually removing it is something else entirely. The Dawnmaster’s Crest is needed to disarm the final trap, but the player still has the option of picking it up and taking it even if they don’t have it, but that means they have only four rounds to escape from the Temple before it’s destroyed in an explosion of fiery light.