Baldurs Gate 3: Explore the ruins walkthrough Baldurs Gate 3 guide, walkthrough

Explore the ruins is the main quest in BG3, which is related to the exploration of the Overgrown Ruins location. There are several ways to get inside, and this guide page describes them all.

Last update: 20 August 2024

One of the first quests you may encounter while playing Baldur's Gate 3 is Explore the Ruins. As the name suggests, it involves exploring the Overgrown Ruins, which can be found on the beach, right next to the Nautiloid's crash site. On this page of the guide, we described how to get to the ruins, what you will find inside and who Withers is, the mysterious figure resting in the sarcophagus.

• How to prepare before entering the ruins?
• Main entrance
• Wooden door on the beach
• Hidden hatch
• Crypt
• Encounter with Withers

How to prepare before entering the ruins?

Before entering the ruins, you should do two things: assemble a party of four and reach the second level of experience. These are not demanding tasks - four potential party members, namely Shadowheart, Astarion, Gale and Lae'zel, can be found on or near the beach. You should gain the second level of experience right after defeating the Intellect Intellect Devourers in the Nautiloid wreck or during the prologue - depending on how many enemies you have already fought.

There are several entrances to the ruins, which we have listed below. They are:

Main entrance

You can enter the ruins through the main entrance, which is located east of the Nautiloid wreck. Before entering the dungeon, in the ruined chapel, you will find four bandits. As soon as you approach, a conversation will begin. The bandits are aggressive and will attack unless you pass a Persuasion (DC 10), Deception (DC 12) or Intimidation (DC 10) check - in which case they will leave without a fight.

Contrary to appearances, it is better to start the fight from the front entrance than from the window to the west, which would give you an advantage in height. If you start the fight at the front entrance, two bandits will be standing directly under a large hanging stone. If any of your characters has a turn before these two, you can shoot the rope with any ranged attack. The stone will fall and immediately kill two of the bandits - you will only be left do deal with an archer to the west and a spellcaster near the stairs.

After dealing with the bandits with either violence or diplomacy, you will have to get inside the ruins - six more bandits are waiting inside. You have two main options on how to proceed:

1. Through the door - approach the wooden door and talk to the bandit. You can convince him to let you in by passing either a Deception test (DC 10) or a Performance test (DC 10). If you succeed, the bandit will open the door. You'll still have to fight the six inside, but they'll be spread out - two of them will be separated from the rest of the group, so you can easily eliminate them before fighting the main force. If you fail to deceive the bandit or let him know of your presence, the door will remain locked - you will have to open it with a lockpick. You will find the item in the bag right next to the door. Moreover, the bandits will be ready for you and will set up a defensive formation in a narrow passage, which will make the fight much more difficult.

1. Through a hole in the floor - the stone block mentioned above will make a hole in the floor when you let it fall, through which you can jump inside. Five bandits will gather in a group right next to you - at the same time positioning themselves right next to an oil barrel. Light it up (Shadow or Gale's fire bolt is best here) and the barrel will explode, killing or at least seriously injuring the bandits. After the fight, you can get rid of the single bandit guarding the entrance door.

After getting rid of the enemies, explore the area - you will find a lot of food on the large table, and behind the large statue, a very simple passive Perception test (DC 1) will reveal a hidden lever. Pulling it will open a locked door nearby, which leads to the crypt.

Wooden door on the beach

The second entrance to the ruins is a wooden door on the beach, right next to the fast travel point, near the meeting point with Shadowheart. The door is locked - to open it with a lockpick, you must pass a Sleight of Hand check (DC 20). This is a very demanding test at this point in the game - Astarion has the greatest chance of success, and he can be found not too far away. Unlike most doors in the game, these doors cannot be smashed. If you manage to open it, you will go directly to the crypt and you will be able to get the most valuable loot without tangling with the bandits.

Hidden hatch

The third entrance can be found on the path just east of the ruins - it leads to a closed hatch, which also needs to be opened with a lockpick - a Sleight of Hand check (DC 20). Like the wooden door mentioned above, this hatch is best opened with Astarion's help and it will also lead you directly to the crypt, bypassing the bandits.

Crypt

The crypt consists of a small central room (you'll find several chests with random loot here) and a northern and southern wing. The southern wing is opened immediately, while the northern one requires opening a locked door with a lockpick (DC 10). First, go to the south wing.

The south wing is riddled with traps. They are all connected to one source - the igniter on the sarcophagus in the middle of the room. If you don't notice the trap (passive Perception check) and try to open the sarcophagus or fail to disarm the trap through a Dexterity test (DC 10), the room will fill with oil and the gargoyles in the walls will start shooting fire - you will most likely die, so just in case, only bring one character into the room, separated from the rest of the party. If the trap is triggered, you can save yourself by quickly pressing the button on the column next to the sarcophagus.

In the open sarcophagi by the walls, you will find some basic equipment. In the central sarcophagus you will find a universal key to the ruins and a rare spear, The Watcher's Guide.

In the northern wing, you will find several chests and skeletons. Search the skeletons and take their weapons - especially the scimitar held by the skeleton in front of the large statue. This will help in the upcoming battle. Then press the button to the left of the statue - you will open the secret room, but you will also wake up the skeletons.

You will face four spellcasters and one warrior. Mages mainly focus on crowd control, casting area spells that blind you and prevent you from casting your own spells, occasionally attacking with a ray of frost. The warrior fights hand-to-hand and throws stones. Let your most resilient hero (e.g. Lae'zel) focus the warrior's attention while your other heroes eliminate the casters. Mages are not very durable and their area spells require concentration, which can be interrupted by dealing damage to them. It's worth mentioning that if both you and your opponent are in a blinding fog cloud, you will not receive a penalty to attack, as you are both fighting blindly.

Encounter with Withers

After the fight, go to the hidden room. Here you will find a chest containing The Amulet of Lost Voices, thanks to which you can cast the spell of talking to the dead. There is also a sarcophagus here that you should open. You will engage in conversation with Withers, a friendly undead. It doesn't matter how you conduct this conversation - you can even attack Withers, but he is immortal and will completely ignore the attack. After finishing the conversation, Withers will leave. This will end the quest - remember to search his sarcophagus, where you will find a lot of gold.

During your next long rest, Withers will make herself at home in your camp. He offers extremely useful services - for a small fee, he can resurrect killed party members, enable you to change your character's class and statistics, and recruit mercenaries with whom you can fill your party if for some reason you lose your story companions. It's worth changing Shadowheart's stats right away - her equal Strength and Dexterity stats are not very optimal, so it's better to allocate points to only one of these statistics.