How to gain access to the Arcane Tower - Baldur's Gate 3 (BG3)

Dealing with the Arcane Turrets

At the outskirts of the Arcane Tower, you’ll encounter two Arcane Turrets, with two more waiting inside. At first, they might seem difficult, but with the right weapon, spell, or strategy, you can either destroy or bypass them. 

Destroying Turrets

• Use force, lightning or bludgeoning damage of at least 10 to take them down.

Bypassing Turrets

• Cast spells like Fog Cloud​ orDarkness​ to obscure them.

• Use Invisibility​.

• Distract them with Minor Illusion​ and simply run past in Turn-Based mode, making sure to stay behind cover.

It’s easier to bypass the turrets on the outskirts. Don’t worry, you can always return and destroy them later after starting the generator.

Starting the generator

After you dealt with turrets on the outside, there are two more on the inside. If you don’t have Feather Fall​, you should at least destroy the northern turret. Then, loot Mystra's Grace from the Chest of the Mundane. The chest will appear filled with ordinary items, but if you loot everything, they’ll reveal their true forms.

Next, head to the western balcony. Cast Feather Fall​ and have your party jump down into the garden. Collect the nearby Sussur Bloom, bring it back inside the tower, and place it in the generator.

Now you’ll be able to use the elevator to travel freely between the floors. As a bonus, all Arcane Turrets are disabled and can be destroyed to receive experience points.

Accessing the secret room

To gain access to the Arcane Tower Basement you have to retrieve the Guiding Light from Bernard (Lv. 4).

1. Read the Threadbare Book from the first floor of the Arcane Tower (greenhouse).
2. Read The Roads to Darkness on the third floor (bedroom).
3. Go to the top floor and speak with Bernard (Lv. 4).
4. Select "Or art thou friend, a rescue from my lonely wake?".
5. Select "How can I trust? How will I ever know? / How can I show myself, my darkest me?".
6. Bernard will give you the Guiding Light.

After you have equipped the ring, a new button appears on the elevator, which takes you to the Arcane Tower Basement.