There’s nothing worse than getting softlocked — having no way to progress forward — and you may think this happened to you in Baldur’s Gate 3 Act 2. Once you reach the Shadowlands, if you don’t have a working Moonlantern or a Pixie, you may think you can’t get to Moonrise Towers and therefore can’t progress through the campaign.
I thought I was softlocked, doomed to reload an old save near the start of my time in the Shadowlands. I’m here to tell you you don’t need to do that! Here is how to prevent getting softlocked in Baldur’s Gate 3 Act 2 and how to fix it if you think you are.
Note: As you progress through Baldur’s Gate 3, you should try out these three OP spells.
How to prevent getting softlocked in Baldur’s Gate 3 Act 2
The Shadowlands in Baldur’s Gate 3 has two types of Shadow Curse: a major and a minor type. The minor Shadow Curse can be dispelled by carrying a torch and by getting the Blessing of Selune from saving Isobel. However, you can’t penetrate the major Shadow Curse blocking your way forward without a Moonlantern or a Pixie.
There are three ways to get a Moonlantern in Baldur’s Gate 3: through Kar’ness in the Mountain Pass and the Shadowlands, through Nere in Grymdark, and through Balthazaar in Moonrise Towers. Notice how if you missed the first two options, there’s still a way to get a working Moonlantern by getting to Moonrise Towers… but you have to cross the major Shadow Curse and get to Moonrise Towers.
I chose to go through the Underdark, but after I defeated Grym, the Forge boss, I found Nere dead and his Moonlantern broken. There is no way to fix a broken Moonlantern, so I was out of luck. Luckily, you’ll find Kar’ness going toward the Moonrise Towers, and he has a working Moonlantern.
You can and should ambush Kar’ness no matter what to get his Moonlantern, but I successfully rolled a Stealth check to not ambush since I felt underleveled. If you do that, Kar’ness and his crew keep going forward and you’ll be unable to get the Moonlantern because they enter the major Shadow Curse area.
If you traveled through the Mountain Pass, there are many ways for you to get the Moonlantern from Kar’ness. You can also keep the Pixie inside or free the Pixie and receive a bell that you can use to traverse through the major Shadow Curse sections. To do that, open your inventory, select the Pixie bell, and use it.
In my case, the two Moonlantern options were gone for good which meant I was softlocked, right? Time to load an old save and undo hours of progress? No!
How to fix Baldur’s Gate 3 Act 2 softlock
If you can’t get a Moonlantern or a Pixie in Baldur’s Gate 3, you are not softlocked — there’s still a really easy way to get through the major Shadow Curse and into Moonrise Towers.
To get through the major Shadow Curse and get to Moonrise Towers, you need to go to the southernmost part of the Shadowlands, where you need to kill Rolan or toggle non-lethal mode to knock him out.
Screenshot: PC Invasion
Once here, it’s a really short jog through the major Shadow Curse section to the Moonrise Towers which is protected by Moonshield lights that dispel the major Shadow Curse.
To get through, I ungrouped my party and progressed through in one turn with my high Dexterity Monk by using Dash and Misty Step. I then used my Warlock to cast Fly on both himself and my Wizard which allows them to make it to Moonrise Towers in two turns, and they only took five to 10 Necrotic damage per turn which isn’t bad at all. Lastly, I turned my Druid into a raven and flew over which took two turns.
Screenshot: PC Invasion
There are multiple ways for you to get through the major Shadow Curse section and into the safety of Moonrise Towers. I recommend Dash, Fly, and Misty Step.
Once you are at Moonrise Towers, quicksave immediately. Then, I highly recommend you convince the guard that you’re on their side since you’re a True Soul so that you can explore the entirety of Moonrise Towers without any threats. I also recommend you travel north first to unlock the Moonrise Towers fast travel point which is just inside the major Shadow Curse section past the northern Moonrise Towers bridge.
Now that you’re in Moonrise Towers, you have a fast travel point to get from the Last Light Inn to Moonrise Towers with ease, you can defeat Ketheric Thorm, and you can find the Balthazaar Moonlantern to explore the rest of the major Shadow Curse sections. I really hope you found this guide useful and that you share it with anyone who might think they are softlocked in Baldur’s Gate 3.
