While completely optional, the Underdark area of Baldur’s Gate 3 is also its most interesting one. There, you can experience fungi coming back to life with their own political agenda, hidden monstrous bosses, an abandoned tower with a dark history, and an uprising against a tyrant.
The Underdark also serves as the ending point of Act 1 if you wish to take this route to the Shadow Cursed Lands. However, finding an entrance to this ghoulishly grim world is a significant task.
Four significant entrances lead to the Underdark. We will be covering their difficulty in descending order.
Defile Temple Entrance in the Goblin Camp
The first and the easiest way to enter the Underdark is through the Goblin Camp. Save Goblin Sazza from the Druid Camp; she will lead you directly to the Shattered Sanctum without confrontation.
This central area of the Goblin Camp is also home to three goblin leaders. Talk to Priestess Gut and follow her to her quarters. Drink the potion she offers you to go to sleep.
You will wake up in a jail cell inside the Defiled Temple. Wait until an assassin named Korilla kills the Priestess Gut. Loot her body to obtain Priestess Gut Key.
Now go to the main chamber of the Defiled Temple, which has four rotating discs in the middle. Go north of the illuminated plate to find a keyhole (perception check). Use the key to bypass the Defiled Temple Moon puzzle. At the end, use the ladder to descend into the Selunite Outpost, a small dungeon in the Underdark.
FYI
If you decide to take the more violent route, you can always use our guide to solve the Defiled Temple Moon puzzle.
While traveling on the Risen Road, you will come across a party of travelers pinned down in a cave by some Gnolls. You can hijack the mind of the Gnoll leader, Flind, and make her kill her party before killing herself.
Talk to survivors Rugan and Olly to start the Find the Missing Shipment side quest. Then, allow them to take the shipment and travel to Waukeen’s Rest, northeast of the cave.
Go to the west of the Waukeen’s Rest, past the barn, to find a shabby door (X: -113 Y: 610). Remove the boxes to open the door. Upon entering the room, you will be confronted by a Zhentarim guard, Salazon. Give him the password Rugan gave you, and he will hand over the key to reach the hideout.
Enter the hatch and use the key on the locked wardrobe. If you were kind enough to Rugan and didn’t steal or open the shipment, Zhentarim will welcome you with semi-open arms.
The hideout has a false wall (X: 272, Y: -189). It is next to a sleeping guard wolf. Upon entering the area, you will find a locked elevator that you can start using a lockpick. You can also pickpocket its key from the guard roaming outside.
Don’t use the elevator in front of Zhentarim guards, as this will make the whole hideout hostile. Instead, ride the elevator to reach the upper section of Myconid Colony, which is full of stolen Zhent treasure.
Overgrown Tunnel in Auntie Ethel’s Teahouse
While not our favorite method of reaching the Underdark, it is still easier as it doesn’t involve any roadblocks. While traveling to the Southwest of Druid Camp, you will encounter Auntie Ethel being hackled by two hunters.
You can either side with her or the hunters to start the Save Mayrina side quest. This will lead you to the Sunlit Wetlands area, which is full of redcaps and traps. Make your way through it to find Auntie Ethel’s Teahouse.
Confront her, and she will run away through the illusory fireplace. Follow her inside and equip the Whispering Mask to pass the Gnarled Door. Remove the mask immediately to avoid getting mad. Defeat her minions and proceed to the Overgrown Tunnel.
This area is full of Toxic Fumes, and you need to traverse it carefully. To stop the poisonous gas, place containers or useless objects in your inventory on the vents. Once you reach the waterfall (X: -335, Y: 566), jump across it to find the hidden path.
Avoid traps and jump again to find the second Gnarled Door (X: -355, Y: 575). Wear the Whispering Mask to discover that this door is also an illusion. Pass through the door to find a mushroom circle (transportation point). Interact with it to go down to the Underdark.
Whispering Depths in the Blighted Village
While this is the fastest route to the Underdark in Baldur’s Gate 3, Whispering Depths has two significant roadblocks.
- Phase Spider Matriarch boss fight
- Dependency on the Feather Fall spell
You can enter the Whispering Depths dungeon from the well in the Blighted Village. Make your way to its northern end to find Phase Spider Matriarch’s boss.
It is very difficult to avoid her and her minions to reach the Underdark entrance. Once you defeat the boss, go to a massive hole at (X: -555, Y: -358). Cast the Feather fall spell on yourself and your part and jump down the hole to reach the Underdark.
Jumping without casting Feather Fall will result in you taking lethal damage.
