The Underdark is even bigger than it seems when you first arrive in Baldur’s Gate 3, and the Arcane Tower is the first real sign of the exploration you have ahead. Read on for our complete walkthrough of the Arcane Tower in BG3.
How to Get to the Arcane Tower in BG3
The Arcane Tower in BG3 is located in the Underdark of the game’s first Act. There are multiple ways to access the Underdark, including going through
- The Whispering Depths underneath the Blighted Village.
- The Defiled Temple in the Goblin Camp.
- A gnarled door beneath the Riverside Teahouse, revealed by equipping a Whispering Mask.
- The Zhentarim Hideout in Waukeen’s Rest.
We recommend going through the Defiled Temple for the easiest, no-nonsense pathway.
Once you’re in the Underdark, you’ll need to make your way to the central Underdark Beach far south of the Myconid Colony. You’ll face a group of aggressive dwarves here, but if you circle around the top and head east of the little run-down shack, you’ll be able to make a small jump beside a suspicious rock full of an uncomfortable amount of holes. You should now be in an area full of large orange mushrooms and spores.
Directly to your right will be a short set of stairs that will lead up to the Arcane Tower’s entrance courtyard. Careful before you dash through though: you’re about to be assaulted by some Arcane Turrets.
How to Disable the Arcane Turrets in BG3
You can disable all the Arcane Turrets around the Arcane Tower in Baldur’s Gate 3 by restoring power to the Arcane Tower. But that first requires getting to the Arcane Tower’s ground floor, where you’ll simply place a Sussur Bloom found in the basement garden (X:-70, Y:-286) in the elevator box. This will cause all the turrets to permanently flip over and become useless, which gives you an easy path forward.
But before then, you can temporarily power down Arcane Turrets by tackling them head-on. They’re sturdy, so any attack you use must do at least 10 damage for it to take any damage at all. But luckily, Arcane Turrets are weak to Lightning, which will do double damage and easily get past their defenses.
Witch Bolt and Call Lightning are high-damaging lightning spells you can cast without expending multiple spell slots each turn.
If you don’t have access to any Lightning spells or scrolls, you do have one more option: Sussur Blooms. Arcane Turrets are magical constructs, and Sussur Blooms have a rude habit of blocking any kind of magic in the vicinity. So if you’ve been picking up Sussur Blooms around the Underdark and have a pocket full of them, you can throw them or drop them in front of the Arcane Turrets. This will power down the Arcane Turret as long as the bloom remains next to it.
Other than at the Arcane Tower’s basement garden, you can find Sussur Blooms around the giant Sussur Tree at the Underdark’s Dread Hollow (X:-46, Y:-140) in the western-most part of the map. You can recognize the blooms by the glowing blue aura they radiate. Just be mindful that they will inhibit your ability to use magic if you pick them up and keep them sitting in your inventory.
How to Access the Arcane Tower in BG3
To get into the Arcane Tower, you must run by the Arcane Turrets and use the large mushrooms on the cliff to reach the bottom of the tower. By default, the two Arcane Turrets will target and attack your party. Using the turn-based mode can help you get by with less damage, but we were able to run and then camp to full health after reaching the mushrooms.
When you first approach the Arcane Turrets, there is one in the center courtyard and one on the stairs to the tower. You need to run behind the turret on the stairs to find the mushrooms. Once you get there, simply use the jump action to reach the mushroom platform. All of your party members will be able to make the jump without any distance issues.
Keep jumping down the mushrooms until you reach the bottom of the cliff and the Arcane Tower itself. At this point, you can break through the Arcane Tower ground floor door or lockpick it and gain access to the Arcane Tower in Baldur’s Gate 3.
How to Restore Power to the Arcane Tower
The full tower needs power back and here’s how to easily restore it:
- Go to the outside garden area and grab one of the Sussur Blooms from around the tree (X:-70, Y:-286).
- Bring one of them back into the Arcane Tower ground floor.
- Combine the bloom into the elevator box.
The elevator box will have some large blue petals on the floor in front of it, signaling where to use the Sussur Bloom. Once you combine the bloom with the elevator, the tower will be back to normal and fully operational. This same action will also turn off all of the turrets around the Arcane Tower, meaning you can reach every floor without any turrets targeting you.
Arcane Tower Levels
Once you restore power to the Arcane Tower, you’ll be able to use the “Ascend” and “Descend” buttons on the floor of the giant middle glass elevator to reach several different levels. There are a total of six levels, each with their own treasures and pieces to a riddle that will help you avoid a fight on the top floor. Here’s a list of each level in the Arcane Tower and some of the notable items you’ll find:
- Ground Floor: Arcane Tower generator which restores power to the Arcane Tower elevator, Uncovered Mysteries necklace.
- 1st Floor: Timmask Spores (for the Help Omeluum Investigate the Parasite quest picked up from Blurg at the Myconid Colony), and Threadbare Book.
- 2nd Floor: Chest of Mundane which holds Mystra’s Grace boots, and Dusty Book.
- 3rd Floor: The Careful Art of Tir’su Ciphers (used to translate Orpheus, Prince of the Comet discs), Engraved Githyanki Disc (Prince of the Comet Part 1), and Mage’s Friend ring. There’s also a button that dispenses steak (if you’re wearing Myrna’s dog collar found at a grave west of Underdark Beach), Torn-out Scrap of Paper, and The Roads to Darkness.
- 4th Floor: Bernard who has the Guiding Light ring (needed to access the basement) and the Light of Creation halberd, and Patched Parchment.
- Basement: Staff of Arcane Blessing, the Sparkswall ring, and Tongue of Madness (for the Omeluum quest).
How to Solve Bernard’s Riddle
As you move through the many levels of the Arcane Tower, you’ll want to read any and all books and scraps of paper you come across. At the top 4th floor of the tower is an automaton named Bernard. Your intrusion in the Arcane Tower will cause him to act aggressively and initiate a fight unless you can speak with him through pieces of a poetic play found across the various levels of the Arcane Tower.
To interact with Bernard Peacefully, you’ll need to have read The Roads to Darkness located on the 3rd floor. The instant you ascend to the 4th floor, Bernard will speak to you. Answer using the following dialogue option, assuming you’ve read the required reading material:
- “Or art thou friend, a rescue from my lonely wake?”
This option will pacify Bernard and you can safely leave the conversation, but you can also give a few other commands if you’ve been reading the other bits of content found around the Arcane Tower. The content and their locations are as follows:
- 1st Floor: Threadbare Book located on a shelf next to a Supply Pack.
- 2nd Floor: Dusty Book located on a reading pedestal to the right of the western entrance door.
- 3rd Floor: Torn-Out Strip of Paper on a table beside a bookcase behind the elevator entrance, The Roads to Darkness on a table against the wall southeast of the elevator.
- 4th Floor: Patched Parchment located on a table directly to the right of where Bernard stands.
Reading these materials will give you the option to give Bernard the following commands:
- To get Bernard’s secret Guiding Light Ring, choose this command:
- “How can I trust? How will I ever know? / How can I show myself, my darkest me?”
- To get a Scroll of Prayer of Healing from Bernard, choose this command:
- “These empty sheets are all that’s left of you. / The last of all the thoughtless gifts you gave.”
- To get a hug from Bernard, choose the option below. There’s no benefit to this—it’s just nice, albeit slightly unnerving.
- “The silence stretches on – I’m all alone. / Please, can I hold your hands, for just a while?”
- To make Bernard hostile, you’ll need to choose the option below. Avoid this option unless you want his spear, Light of Creation, which you can get by looting his body. You’ll also be able to loot Guiding Light and the Scroll of Prayer of Healing if you had not yet received them.
- “There is light in every living thing. / It’s crawling t’wards the surface to survive.”
Light of Creation Stats
If you opt to fight and kill Bernard in the Arcane Tower, he will drop Light of Creation, a halberd of uncommon rarity with the following properties:
- Weapon Enchantment +1.
- Damage: 1D10+1 + Strength modifier Slashing.
- +1d6 Lightning.
- Overcharge: Chance to stun the wilder, unless it is a Construct.
- Weapon Proficiency Actions: Rush Attack, Lacerate, Cleave.
- Range: 2.5 m.
- Weight: 2.7 kg.
- Value: 130 gold.
How to Access the Arcane Tower Basement in BG3
To access the Arcane Tower Basement in BG3, you need to obtain the Guiding Light ring from Bernard, the automaton on the top 4th floor of the tower. If you read the Threadbare Book located on a shelf on the Arcane Tower’s first floor, you can give Bernard the following command to receive the ring:
- “How can I trust? How will I ever know? / How can I show myself, my darkest me?”
Or if you prefer violence, you can kill Bernard and loot the ring from him.
With the Guiding Light ring equipped, a new button will appear on the elevator floor labeled “Basement.” Push this button to be lowered down to the Arcane Tower’s secret basement level.
If you want to access the Arcane Tower basement sooner, you can use Fly or Misty Step by the railing in front of the elevator on the ground floor mezzanine. Target through a small window, and you’ll be taken to the basement’s hidden stairwell.
Here in the Arcane Tower basement, you’ll find a Staff of Arcane Blessing beside a table next to the elevator along with Tongue of Madness—one of the mushrooms you need for the Help Omeluum Investigate the Parasite quest picked up from Blurg at the Myconid Colony. The other mushroom you need, Timmask Spores, is on the above first floor.
Beside the staff, you will also find a chest containing De Hurst’s Diary, the Sparkswall ring which grants resistance to Lightning damage, 173 gold, and a Scroll of Fear. You’ll also find many more scrolls within the various bookcases lining the room.
Staff of Arcane Blessing Stats
The Staff of Arcane Blessing is an uncommon quarterstaff with the following properties:
- Damage: 1D6 + Strength modifier Bludgeoning.
- Mystra’s Blessing: Bless grants an additional 1d4 to Saving Throws and Weapon Attack Rolls, and an additional 2d4 to Spell Attack Rolls.
- Special: Bless level 1 enchantment spell.
- Weapon Proficiency Actions: Topple.
- Range: 1.5 m.
- Weight: 1.8 kg.
- Value: 100 gold.
Loot Found in the Arcane Tower
- Skybreaker: An uncommon light-hammer that deals a 1D4+1 damage on attack. Comes with the spell Searing Smite. Can be found in front of the entrance to the Arcane Tower. Coordinates: (X:22 Y:-296).
- Uncovered Mysteries: A necklace that comes with the Detect Thoughts level 2 spell.
- Mystra’s Grace: A pair of boots that comes with the Feather Fall level 1 spell.
- The Careful Art of Tir’su Ciphers.
- Engraved Githyanki Disc (Prince of the Comet Part 1).
- Mage’s Friend: A ring that gives Arcana +1, Religion +1.
- Staff of Arcane Blessing: A quarterstaff with the Bless spell and further enhances it.
- Sparkswall: A ring that grants resistance to Lightning damage.
- Gold.
- Various scrolls: Single-use items that allow you to use specific spells.
- Ingots: Sellable items.
- Broken Machinery: Alchemist ingredients.
The Chest of the Mundane
You can also find the Chest of the Mundane on the Arcane Tower’s second floor balcony through the northern door (X:37, Y:265). If you pass an Arcane check, your character will note that it’s no ordinary chest and steeped with magic. Inside will look like a bunch of useless junk and cutlery, but once you pick them up and add them to your own inventory, they’ll transform into the magic items they truly are.
Previously, the Chest of the Mundane itself could also serve as a pseudo Bag of Holding, reducing the weight of items you put into it to 0.5kg. This was an extremely valuable item for all those hoarders out there, but developer Larian seems to have since patched this utility out.
The rare items contained in the Chest of the Mundane are as follows:
- Scroll of Mage Armor: Increases a target’s AC to 13 + its Dexterity modifier.
- Mystra’s Grace: Uncommon boots that give the player Feather Fall.
- Scroll of Protection From Evil and Good: protects an ally from the attacks and powers of aberrations, celestials, elementals, fey, fiends, and undead.
- Hearthlight Bomb: bathes an area in light, illuminating a 9m radius.
- Two Silver Ingots.
- Gold Ingot.
That’s it for the Arcane Tower in BG3. If you took too much damage on the way to the tower, make sure you read our guide on how to rest in Baldur’s Gate 3.
