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

The Arcane Tower in the Underdark of Baldur’s Gate 3 holds many secrets, including its basement. A locked door prevents would-be plunderers from delving deeper and uncovering the truth of the tower. But when has that ever stopped a truly intrepid explorer?

Much like the cast of Attack on Titan, we need to get into that basement. But first, we need to get to the Arcane Tower itself.

How to get to the Arcane Tower in BG3

To get to the Arcane Tower, you must travel to the Underdark, near the coordinates X: -55, Y: 293. There are multiple ways to reach this area, including an elevator at Zhentarim Hideout, jumping down a giant crater in Blighted Village, or the Goblin Camp’s Defiled Temple. The Underdark – Beach is the closest fast travel point to the Arcane Tower.

To get to the Arcane Tower basement, you’ll first need to turn on the power in the Arcane Tower.

How to power the Arcane Tower elevator

You can power the Arcane Tower elevator by activating the power generator on the bottom level. Look to the left side of the Arcane Tower to spot a few giant mushrooms. Don’t worry; they’re friendly and can be used as a platform to reach the locked door at the bottom floor. Before heading inside, go to the left to pick up a Sussur Bloom, which will power up the power generator.

For a full breakdown of how to power the Arcane Tower, head over here to our guide on getting the shining blue spire up and running again. Once you’ve done that, you can use the elevator to reach different floors of the building. But while it goes up and down, the elevator does not go to the basement of the Arcane Tower in Baldur’s Gate 3. Curiously, to go down, we must go up. And we’ll need to pick up some literature on the way there.

Find all the poetry scraps in the Arcane Tower

Before you head to the top floor, go through the first three or so floors, looking for any scraps of paper with poetry on them. You’ll know you have something when it’s a clearly torn-out sheet with a scant few stanzas on it.

Additionally, you want to find a specific play called “The Roads to Darkness” in the library area. Make sure you flip through both pages, too. Honestly, just work your way from the bottom floor to the top, reading all the books you can find, and you should be good. Raid the shelves, and make sure to use the Left-Alt key to highlight interactable objects around you.

Once you’re well-read, keep heading up. You’ll know you’ve reached the top when you’re accosted by a magical robot who speaks in Shakespearean form. If you hadn’t read the play before reaching here, you’d be forced into combat. And though they love plays, these robots do not play around. Instead, your character should recognize the verse, and have an appropriately thematic response.

Using the Guiding Ring to access the Arcane Tower basement

Once you’ve cleared that first check, the robots are no longer hostile. From here, you’ve established a call-and-response program with the bots. You can use different poetry to elicit different responses.

For basement-treading reasons, we want to use the following dialogue option: “How can I trust? How will I ever know? / How can I show myself, my darkest me?”

Doing this will cause the robot ringleader to respond positively, allowing you to get an item called the Guiding Ring on the nearby desk.

Grab the ring, equip it, and you’ll unlock a special new option on the elevator, which will take you to the Arcane Tower basement. Down there waits some excellent goods, a new staff, and plenty of extra lore to dig into.

Oh, one more thing

While you’re up here exchanging poetry, offer the call: “The silence stretches on – I’m all alone. / Please, can I hold your hands, for just a while?”

You’ll get a nice hug from your new robot pal and some words of encouragement. Does it offer any gameplay benefit? No. Does it offer some much-needed emotional encouragement in this time of economic uncertainty and global strife? God, yes. The wizard who built a poetic robot that hugs is one of the most endearing characters in Baldur’s Gate 3, frankly.

What’s in the Arcane Tower basement?

In the Arcane Tower basement, you can find many treasures, such as scrolls, coins, and the Staff of Arcane Blessing. The staff features:

• 2~9 Damage
• 1d8 (1d6) +1 Bludgeoning
• Mystra’s Blessing – Grants an additional 1d4 to Saving Throws, Weapon Attack Rolls, and an additional 2d4 to Spell Attack Rolls
• Bless Level 1 Enhancement Spell
• Topple Weapon Actions

In addition to these valuables, grab three Tongue of Madness from the wooden desk. Use it to craft the Tadpole Elixir via the Alchemy section.

The Tadpole Elixir can be used for the Help Omeluum Investigate the Parasite quest. So, you’ll need to return to this character at Myconid Colony to progress further in the mission.