Every good fantasy RPG needs at least one moon puzzle that tests your knowledge of the phases, and the same is true for Baldur’s Gate 3. If you plan on getting through the Defiled Temple and reaching the Underdark on this path, then you need the solution to the four-piece puzzle.
Where to Find the Defiled Temple
You’ll find the Defiled Temple in the Shattered Sanctum at the Goblin Camp, which is the eastern-most part of Act 1’s Faerun map. If you’ve been to the Druid Grove, you’ll likely have been pointed in this direction to rescue the Grove’s missing Druid leader, Halsin.
Once you’ve entered the Shattered Sanctum, the Defiled Temple will be to the west of the throne, up some stairs, and through a large door. The goblin priestess will actually take you here herself if you decide to go along with her. In this room will be another door that’s locked. You can lockpick it if you’re sneaky about it, but the goblin priestess will also have the door’s key on her which you can either pickpocket or loot off her dead body.
After entering the locked door, there will be a room with an ogre named Polma pacing around. She won’t be too happy to see you, but you can trick her into thinking you’re not a problem. Head left from here and down the hall will be the Defiled Temple’s stone disc puzzle.
How to Solve the Moon Puzzle in Baldur’s Gate 3
To solve the Defiled Temple stone disc puzzle, you need to rotate the stone discs in the order of the phases of the moon on the ground. All four pieces work together, so rotating one stone disc can change the outline of another. This makes getting all the moon phases aligned more tricky than just spinning each floor piece.
When you enter the room, you need to face the broken statue ahead. With that direction in mind, hit the top panel first. Then hit the left panel once and the right panel two times in a row. Follow this by spinning the bottom panel three times in a row, and finish the puzzle by spinning the left disc twice.
Defiled Temple Moon Puzzle Solution BG3:
- Top Panel – Spin 1 time.
- Left Panel – Spin 1 time.
- Right Panel – Spin 2 times.
- Bottom Panel – Spin 3 times.
- Left Panel – Spin 2 times.
That order is incredibly important because one wrong turn can completely change the order of your puzzle. If you start randomly spinning panels, then the solution is entirely different unless you can bring them back to the default state. We recommend just reloading if you can and walking back into the room with a neutral moon puzzle.
When you get the correct combination, the doors up ahead will open and you’ll get some XP. Simply move forward and you can reach the Underdark with no questions asked.
You can always get the answers to the puzzle from the Goblin Camp as well if you really want to test yourself in BG3. The moon phases are spread around each corner of the main camp, but if you want to get to the Underdark fast, we don’t recommend relying on that alone.
How to Skip the Stone Disc Puzzle in BG3
Believe it or not, you can actually skip the Defiled Temple’s stone disc moon puzzle altogether and still access the door to the Underdark. You’ll need to reveal a round gold lever via a Perception check to do so, but if you can (a character with high Wisdom should do the trick), then it’s just a matter of lockpicking.
Interact with the lever and succeed a DC15 Sleight of Hand roll, and the door to the Underdark will slide right on open. You won’t have to touch the stone disc puzzle at all.
But BG3’s stone disc puzzle doesn’t have to be approached alone. If you want to romance Shadowheart, then think about bringing her with you in Baldur’s Gate 3.
