Balthazar’s room puzzle BG3 guide: how to open the bookcase in Baldur’s Gate 3

Baldur’s Gate 3 is full of tricky puzzles you can solve to get some of the best-hidden treasures in the game. The bookcase puzzle in Balthazar’s room is among them, and it’s one of the craftiest challenges you’ll encounter.

You can find this room while exploring Moonrise Tower during Act Two. Balthazar’s room is inside this heavily guarded tower, and you should try exploring it before attacking the tower close to the end of Act Two. Inside this room, you’ll find items revealing more about the necromancer and Ketheric’s plans, highlighting why you should oppose him and everyone else there. Here’s what you need to know about how to solve Balthazar’s room bookcase puzzle in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Where to find Balthazar’s Room Bookcase Puzzle in Baldur’s Gate 3

Balthazar’s bookcase is hidden in the necromancer’s room (X: -145, Y: -168) on the first floor of Moonrise Towers in Baldur’s Gate 3. To access this room, you must visit Moonrise Towers and interact with Disciple Z’rell. Moonrise Towers is where Ketheric Thorm resides, and this area is heavily guarded accordingly, as it’s related to the main story.

I recommend visiting Moonrise Towers after defeating Gerringothe, Thisobald, and Malus Thorm in the Shadow-Cursed Lands. These are other enemies you can find as you explore this region, but you want to take your time working through them. Once you enter Moonrise Tower, a cutscene ensues where Disciple Z’rell and Ketheric Thorm decide a few goblins’ fates. Wait to speak up until Ketheric asks you about what to do with the goblins. When that happens, select the dialogue choice to eliminate the goblins. 

Disciple Z’rell asks you to dispatch the goblins, and it’s best to follow this command, as the NPC will search your mind for proof later on. Z’rell informs you about Balthazar’s mission to retrieve an artifact from the Gauntlet of Shar. She asks you to join and aid the necromancer, but Z’rell instructs you to collect a functioning Moonlantern from Balthazar’s room before this. She hands over Balthazar’s room key, which you can use to access the necromancer’s abode.

There are several ways to approach this dialogue, but agreeing to dispatch the goblins and siding with the group is the easiest path. This way, they’re more inclined to trust you as a True Soul in Baldur’s Gate 3.

How to get inside Balthazar’s room in Baldur’s Gate 3

Use the key given by Disciple Z’rell to enter Balthazar’s room. This area is filled with traps, and it’s best to get inside alone without your party members. Once inside, you must find some specific items to disarm the traps and solve the bookcase puzzle. Inside the room, you’ll discover Balthazar’s Moonlantern, which can assist you in traversing the Shadow-Cursed Lands without getting harmed.

How to complete Balthazar’s Bookcase Puzzle in Baldur’s Gate 3

Balthazar bookcase Puzzle (X: -145, Y: -163) is located on the room’s southern wall. After entering the room, hold down the Alt button to reveal all the items in the vicinity. You’ll notice a book called “Attention Acolytes” on a table close to the entrance. Check the yellow arrow on the image above to see its exact location.

Pick up the book and read it, which contains clues for solving the bookcase puzzle. Read the last paragraph twice, as it notes “the Absolute’s purpose is better served by a beating heart than a poisoned mind.” This clue indicates that you need a heart to solve the puzzle in this room.

Next, pick up the heart on the table next to the Moonlantern. Check the yellow arrow on the image above to see its precise location. With the heart in your inventory, move to the bookcase and interact with the top set of protruding books on the right-hand side near the metal Altar.

This activates the Altar near the bookcase. Now, all you need to do is select the Altar, equip the heart from your inventory, and insert it inside. This automatically unlocks the bookcase door and solves the puzzle in Balthazar’s room, where you can find several rewards inside to use with your Baldur’s Gate 3 party.

For a quick breakdown of every step you have to take to reach the end of the puzzle, here’s a summary of the steps you want to follow to open Balthazar’s bookcase.

• Find the book next to the bookcase called Attention Acolytes and read it.
• Pick up the heart next to the Moonlantern and click on the protruding books sticking out of the bookcase, activating the Altar
• Place the heart on the Altar, and the bookcase door will open up.

All Balthazar room bookcase puzzle rewards in Baldur’s Gate 3

You’ll find an Opulent Chest with an elixir and the Coldbrim Hat inside the hidden room. The Coldbrim Hat lets the wearer deal Encrusted Frost whenever they cause a status effect to a target, which means they have disadvantage on Dexterity saving throws for two turns. Besides these items, several pieces of notes contain key information. I’d suggest reading them all as they reveal more about the Nightsong and Ketheric Thorm’s plans with her.

Check the other side of the room to find several broken Moonlanterns, dead pixie corpses, and a bowl of Mind Flayer parasites. Balthazar has been experimenting with these parasites to understand the Illithids. Collect all the items, books, and notes from this hidden room before exiting the area.