During Act 3 of the game, you will finally reach the titular zone, Baldur’s Gate. However, you will start Act 3 on the outskirts of the city in a settlement called Rivington. Access to the Lower City, the main hub of Baldur’s Gate 3, is blocked. So, how are you supposed to get to it and proceed with your main campaign?
Lower City is the heart of Baldur’s Gate, and its map is divided into two regions: the main city and the sewers. This is where the bulk of Act 3 takes place and is bustling with merchants and traders offering rare weapons and gear items. Our main journey also concludes here.
How to enter Baldur’s Gate 3 Lower City
There are multiple ways to cross South Span Checkpoint and Wyrmrock Fortress to enter the Lower City area. We will be covering all the methods that will grant you entry into the city. Before proceeding any further, also look at our Best PC Setting for Baldur’s Gate 3 guide to avoid any frame drops or lags once you arrive in the Lower City.
1. Getting the official Lower City entry pass
The first way to enter the lower city is to complete the quest, Open Hand Temple Murders. Completing this quest is relatively easy. You just need to complete the following steps precisely.
- Go to the Open Hand Temple. There, you will find a Hollyphant investigator, Valeria, talking to Sister Yannis.
- Talk to Yannis and accept the quest. Now investigate the crime scene, the crypt under the temple.
- Upon reaching the crypt, search it. You will find two buttons on the wall of the second room. Press these buttons, and a secret passage will be opened.
- Inside the path, you will be attacked by 3 shapeshifters. Kill them, and you will find a Key with a Flower Motif. You will also find a hole nearby; the murder weapon is inside the hole.
- Now go to Fraygo’s Flophouse, and on the third floor of that house, you will get access to a secret room through the wardrobe.
- The key you found earlier is used to open that passage. Investigate the room and, after investigating, report back to Investigator Valeria at Sharess’ Caress.
- She will give you a pass to the Lower City and instructions to talk to Gauntlet Devella.
2. Sneak past the guards to enter the Lower City
The guards won’t lower the gate at the Wyrm’s Rock Fortress until you have the pass. Fortunately, you can sneak past the guards and make your way to the Lower City in Baldur’s Gate 3.
- Go to the right side of the guards and go down the ladder.
- Now, use the Feather Falling spell to jump through the broken edge of the fence. You can also jump right away, but you will take fall damage.
- Go around the wall, and after a few seconds, you will reach a broken wall. From there, you can enter Wyrm’s Rock Prison. Move further, and you will come across a cracked wall again. Use a heavy weapon to break it.
- Once you are in prison, the guards will think of you as a prisoner. If a guard starts having suspicions, you must pass a DC15 deception check. Or you can fight all the guards in the area. You will also find Counsellor Florrick imprisoned here and can free her if you want. This will gain you another valuable ally for the “Gather the Allies” main quest.
- Lockpick the entrance door of the prison, and you can now go to the Lower City.
3. Deal with the Guards at the South Span checkpoint
There are multiple ways to deal with the guards at the South Span checkpoint. All these methods will get you one step closer to getting into the Lower City.
- You can convince the guards with your silver tongue to let you in. However, this is easier said than done. You will need to pass either Deception or Persuasion checks (DC15 each) to get through. Being a Baldurian also helps a lot in getting free access to the Lower City.
- If you helped Barcus Wroot and Wulbren during the saving the deep gnomes and managed to settle their dispute, they would attack the South Span checkpoint. This will give you enough time to enter the Lower City without any trouble.
- Start a commotion and attack the guards. Make sure that you disband Astarion from the party and move some lockpicks in his inventory. Surrender and let the guards take you to the prison. Then, use Astarion’s thieves’ skills to lockpick the prison gate and have a free entrance into the city.
4. Complete Investigate the Suspicious Toys side quest
The easiest and fastest way in Baldur’s Gate 3 to gain entry to the Lower City is by finding Arfur’s villa and then discovering the truth about him.
- Talk to Arfur and start the quest, Investigate the Suspicious Toys, by reading his thoughts.
- Find Arfur’s Basement and unlock it with the key, which is present in his room on the top floor.
- Clear the basement of traps and find the blackmail letter addressing Arfur.
- Go to the requisitioned barn and persuade Manip Nestor to let you enter it. Search it to find and disarm the rigged toys.
- Now go to Sharess’ Caress brothel, which is to the North of South Span Checkpoint. Confront Arfur, and he will give you some gold and a pass for the Lower City before running away.
