Erected to honor Lady Shar and her Dark Justiciars, Gauntlet of Shar is a dungeon in Baldur’s Gate 3 that appears in the second act. Most of the second act revolves around this Gauntlet and its puzzles. Gauntlet of Shar is also important to progress in the storyline of Shadowheart, who will eventually evolve into a dark justiciar.
It also serves as a boundary to Shadowfell once you complete all its puzzles and gain rewards. I will be discussing all the activities you can partake in the Gauntlet of Shar area in Baldur’s Gate 3. These activities involve finding relics, Trials of Shar to earn Umbral gems, fighting Yurgir, and finally accessing a brand-new area.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Gauntlet of Shar location
Gauntlet of Shar is in the Northern part of Shadow Cursed Lands. However, it can only be accessed through the Thorm Mausoleum at (X: 190, Y: 110). Once inside the Thorm Mausoleum, solve its painting puzzle to open the portal to the Gauntlet of Shar.
At this point, I recommend completing all the quests and recruiting Shadowheart. She must access a certain puzzle and solve it to obtain a rare weapon.
As you enter the Gauntlet of Shar, you will encounter a few enemies and then Balthazar. I recommend siding with him to learn about his relic and defeat him after entering the Shadowfell.
There is also a Vault door that you can open to get the infernal iron for Karlach. The door is just before you reach Balthazar.
How to complete Gauntlet of Shar in BG 3
This is the list of activities you can do inside Gauntlet of Shar.
Jump To
- Faith-Leap trial
- Self-Same trial
- Soft-Step trial
- Kill or save Yugir
- Find Spear of Night from Silent Library
- Save Nightsong or kill her
- Balthazar boss fight
Faith-Leap trial
Faith-Leap trial is one of the three Gauntlet of Shar trials that nets you one umbral gem. These gems are required to open the path to the Shadowfell realm. This trial is North of the Gauntlet of Shar waypoint in BG3.
During this trial, all you have to do is follow the glowing bricks on the ground. There are three chances to complete this trial. I recommend using Fly or Misty Step to cover the distance in one move. Alternatively, you can use the Daylight magic spell to make the glowing path appear visibly.
Self-Same trial
The second one from the Sharran trials list is the Self-Same trial. This trial takes place to the west of the Gauntlet of Shar waypoint. Self-Same trial also earns you one umbral gem in BG3 if you are successful.
During this trial, you must fight the doppelgangers of your party members. I recommend disbanding the party and attempting this trial with just one character. This improves your chances of completing the Self-Same trial astronomically inside Gauntlet of Shar.
Soft-Step trial
The third and final trial of the Sharran Trials is the BG3 Soft-Step trial. It is required to acquire the third Umbral Gem. This trial is to the south of the Self-Same trial.
The purpose of the Soft-Step trial is to be incognito and avoid detection at all costs. Once again, disband the party and select a good character at stealth and lock-picking. Avoid the guard and pull the lever to enter a new area. Use a lock pick to open the locked gate and complete a Soft-Step trial inside the Gauntlet of Shar area.
Kill or save Yugir
Now you have three umbral gems in your possession. Sadly, you need four gems to unlock the mechanism and enter Shadowfell. The fourth and final Umbral gem in BG3 Gauntlet of Shar is in the possession of Yugir. He is in the eastern part of the dungeon, opposite the room where you first met Balthazar.
Yugir is a very irritating boss as he summons Nessa and Merregons to aid him during the battle. If you have a high persuasion check, you can force Yugir to kill his minions and then kill himself. However, if you fail, prepare for a battle that will make you go half crazy.
Find Spear of Night from the Silent Library
The next optional step is to find a weapon, Spear of Night, by solving the Silent Library’s puzzle. However, if you have Shadowheart in your team, she will refuse to go to Shadowfell until you find this weapon. Completing this Silent Library puzzle and finding the spear is required for Shadowheart’s companion quest.
The silent library is on the bottom floor of the Gauntlet of Shar area in BG3, east of the Soft-Step trial. The riddle in question is called Riddle of the Night, which can be completed by carefully exploring the silent library. This will net you a Dark Justiciar armor set and Spear of Night in return.
Save Nightsong or kill her
If you decide to let Balthazar live in the early encounter, the next two sequences will take place simultaneously. Once you enter the Shadowfell realm, you will realize Nightsong is a person. You can listen to her story and then decide what you want.
Shadowheart’s story will take a dramatic turn if you decide to kill her. I recommend against killing Nightsong and saving her, as it will have long-lasting implications on your journey.
Balthazar Boss fight
If you take our advice and refrain from killing Balthazar in BG3 during the first encounter, he will be available inside the Shadowfell region. After completing Gauntlet of Shar in BG3, this is the last step and the point of no return.
Balthazar will ask you to kill Nightsong. If you refuse and take Nightsong’s side by saving her, Balthazar will get offensive and initiate a boss battle.
With this, the Gauntlet of Shar and its trials will end in Baldur’s Gate 3. If you keep Nightsong alive, she will aid you in the fight against Ketheric Thorm, and later, you will get the legendary Selune’s Spear of Night weapon. After this, you can also visit the rat treasure location and the Mirror of Loss in the Chamber of Loss during Act 3.
