Baldur’s Gate 3 Arcane Tower – disable Arcane Turrets, fix elevator in BG3

The Baldur’s Gate 3 Arcane Tower isn’t essential to the game’s main story but it’s an interesting place that holds loots, a potential boss, and plenty of secrets. If those Arcane Turrets scared you off, we’ve got a fix for that.

If you’re looking to shake up your build, here’s how to respec in Baldur’s Gate 3. And if you need more companions, check out our Baldur’s Gate 3 Hirelings guide.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Arcane Tower walkthrough

The Arcane Tower is in the Underdark of BG3 and south of the Sussur Tree waypoint. You’ll spot a mysterious creature burrowing in the ground nearby. It’s Bulete, one of the many bosses in the game. 

Here’s a step-by-step guide to the Arcane Tower in BG3:

• Once you approach the tower, you’ll be blasted by the first turret.
• While you can sneak around the ones outside the tower, it’s a chore to evade the Arcane Turrets inside the ground floor of the Arcane Tower. I’d suggest you ungroup your party and enter the Arcane Tower entrance with a Rogue like Astarion. His Thieves’ tools and bonus Dash action will come in handy.
• Before entering the Arcane Tower, enter the nook behind the first Arcane Turret. You’ll find a locked chest with some items. Watch out for the Skybreaker, an uncommon hammer that grants its wielder the Searing Smite spell. A survival check will show you another chest with treasure. And with that, enter the BG3 Arcane Tower.
• Remember to scout the first room in the Arcane Tower afterwards to get Broken Machinery and read the Dusty Book in the room’s northeast corner. These books will offer clues to sidestep a boss fight later in the tower. Opening the door to the north leads you to the Chest of the Mundane.

BG3 Chest of the Mundane explained

This chest seems like an ordinary one at first, especially with the seemingly worthless loot inside. Collect the items and you’ll notice them transform in your inventory. Here’s what the Chest of the Mundane contains in Baldur’s Gate 3:

• Hearthlight Bomb
• Gold Ingot
• Scroll of Mage Armour
• Mystra’s Grace (Uncommon boots that grants the Feather Fall spell)
• Scroll of Protection From Evil and Good
• x2 Silver Ingots

The chest magically reduces items to half their weight so consider taking the chest along too. Now that we’re done on this floor, here’s how to erase this laser-guided nuisance by disabling the BG3 Arcane Turrets.

How to disable Arcane Turrets in BG3

There are multiple ways of disabling Arcane Turrets:

• One involves using Sussur Blooms that repel magic. These flowers can be found near the Baldur’s Gate 3 Sussur Bark area or west of the Myconid colony. Watch out for Hooked Horrors and the magic-wielding Filro the Forgotten. Remember that these flowers prevent you from casting spells too.
• Instead, you could choose to send a character through the arcane tower solo to evade the Arcane turrets and get to the bottom of the tower. This involves entering the Arcane Tower via the window, heading to the left and jumping off. 
• You’ll land on a mushroom and then the balcony of the lower floor. Scour this area for loot like Camp Supplies, Tinmask Spores, Tongue of Madness, a Shovel, Brimmed Hat, and a Hat. The Tinmask Spore and Tongue of Madness ingredients are essential for the Help Omeluum Investigate the Parasite quest. Don’t forget to read the Threadbare Book here.

• While you will take some damage, it isn’t much. Feather Fall and Misty Step are spells that could help here. Fixing the Arcane Tower elevator generator here will disable Arcane Turrets. 

You’ll have to fix the elevator generator in the Arcane Tower regardless of how you entered the Arcane Tower.

How to fix Arcane Tower elevator generator in BG3

You need a Sussur Bloom to fix the Arcane Tower elevator generator in Baldur’s Gate 3. 

Here’s how to fix the Arcane Tower elevator generator in Baldur’s Gate 3:

• Don’t worry about exploring the Underdark again. The bottom of the Arcane Tower has a garden with some Sussur Bloom growing. 
• You’ll also spot ingredients like Bullywug Trumpet, Laculite, and Bluecap here. A survival check shows you a chest nearby with some ingredients and a scroll of Stinking Cloud. 
• Now get back into the Arcane Tower by lockpicking the door. Or you could turn into a rat and enter via a small hole. Once you’re in, go to the generator in the centre of the room.
• Combine it with a Sussur Bloom to restore power across the Arcane Tower. 
• Before you head up, check out the Gilded Chest opposite the elevator for the Uncovered Mysteries necklace with the Detect Thoughts spell. Now head upwards to the rest of your party.

Bernard riddle solution in Baldur’s Gate 3

Now that you’ve returned to your other party members, you can use the elevator to move up in the elevator. Here’s what you need to do to crack the Bernard riddle solution in BG3:

• Ensure that you’ve read the Dusty Book and the Threadbare Book in earlier rooms.
• Now head upwards from the first room you enter in the Arcane Tower. Read The Roads to Darkness on the table. 
• Explore the room to get more loot like the Mage’s Friend Ring (+1 to Arcana and Religion), Camp Supplies, Carnelian Ring, and a Scroll of Flaming Sphere. A Handwritten Letter and An Open Letter on Oppression and Peacocks can be read here too.
• Now head up to the final floor to meet Bernard. He’s a magical construct and you’ll turn him into an enemy alongside other constructs if you pick the wrong dialogue options.
• Reading the books in the lower levels will give you the right choices for this conversation.
• The correct choices to the Bernard riddle in BG3 are: ”Or art thou friend, a rescue from my lonely wake” and “How can I trust? How can I ever know? / How can I show myself, my darkest me?”

Clearing the riddle makes Bernard place the Guiding Light ring on the desk in front of him. You’ll need this to enter the basement of the Arcane Tower. Instead, you can take on Bernard and his constructs to win the Light of Creation Glaive that deals bonus lightning damage and can stun the user. You’ll find Broken Machinery, a trap Disarm Toolkit, and scrolls of Magic Missile, Grease, and Dimension Door.

How to reach the Arcane Tower basement in Baldur’s Gate 3

This secret basement in the Arcane Tower has some valuable loot. Here’s how to reach the Arcane Tower basement in BG3:

• Use the Guiding Light ring and walk back to the elevator to reveal the hidden button that takes you to the BG3 Arcane Tower basement.
• Go up the stairs and you’ll find loot like the Staff of Arcane Blessing (Bless Enchantment spell, Mystra’s Blessing for +1d4 to saving throws and attack rolls, 2d4 to spell attack rolls). 
• You’ll also find a Gilded Chest with items like De Hurst’s Diary, The Sparkswall ring (Lightning resistance), an Elixir of Vigilance, a Scroll of Slow, and a Greater Elixir of Arcane Cultivation. Outside that, you’ll find Tinmask Spores, Basilisk Oil (remove petrify), Tongue of Madness, and a lot of scrolls.
• Now that you’re done, you can head back to the first room of the Arcane Tower via the elevator and leave. You can exit this room by using the lever.

That covers everything you need to know about the Arcane Tower in Baldur’s Gate 3. With the help of Baldur’s Gate 3 companions like Astarion, you can excel at any skill check this challenge throws at you. Remember that you can switch between Baldur’s Gate 3 classes by respeccing if you need to.

How to fix Arcane Tower bg3?

Combine the Sussur Bloom with the generator to fix the Arcane Tower in Baldur’s Gate 3.

How do I get into Arcane Tower basement?

Use the Guiding Light ring from Bernard to reveal a hidden button that takes you to the Arcane Tower basement in BG3.