It’s the only time you’ll find a dungeon and a dragon in one place.
This article is part of a directory: Baldur's Gate 3: Complete Guide And Walkthrough Table of contents
No secret lies beneath the earth in Baldur's Gate 3 quite like the one sleeping beneath the city itself: the wyrm beneath Wyrm's Rock, the dragon under the keep, the heart below the gate: Ansur. This is a quest many will miss but should endeavor to find, holding secrets unlike any other that could lie just under our noses.
Finding them will not be the faint of heart. For those who seek out every crevice and crack, there is a reward in the claws of Ansur that will make every effort worth its weight in story and gold. Allow us to show you the path to waking Baldur's Gate's one and only true dragon.
Updated April 14, 2024 by Alexis Campbell: Introduced changes to the Chamber of Strategy section. Previous section only had the answer for a single iteration despite each player's chessboard being unique to their game. Additionally added consequences for failing the Chamber of Strategy puzzle three times.
How To Begin The Ansur The Dragon Questline
To formally begin this quest, you must accept it from Duke Ravengard. This means that you'll need to have saved him by:
- Making a deal with Mizora.
- Breaking him out of the Iron Throne.
Once Duke Ravengard is in your camp, speak with him, reconcile the differences between him and Wyll, and accept his quest to find Ansur, the sleeping wyrm beneath Baldur's Gate.
Read the book he's given you to receive all the hints required to enter Ansur's secret chamber and unlock special dialogue with Wyll.
Before you leave camp to go on this adventure, we highly recommend these preparations:
- Bring Wyll for special dialogue and hints.
- Bring Gale. He solves one puzzle for you entirely for free.
- Prepare Globe of Invulnerability. Gale can do this or any other wizard or sorcerer.
- Prepare at least one lightning damage spell or attack for an impending puzzle. We highly recommend Shocking Grasp to preserve spell slots.
How To Find And Enter The Wyrmway
The book Duke Ravengard gives you tells you the hint you need: Wyrm's Rock Prison and two lamps that must be struck with lightning.
However, it does not tell you that there is another secret route you can take instead. This leaves you with two options:
- Follow the intended path through Wyrm's Rock Prison, potentially facing the guards.
- Sneak in with a wild-shaped druid (Cat) or a spellcaster with Gaseous Form through a pipe on the beach outside Wyrm's Rock (west side).
Going in through the pipe will avoid any potential conflict with the prison guards, and you can regather your group by continuing until you pass the iron gate door on the other side and then regrouping at camp. Spawn back in with your group intact.
You can reach the pipe the same way you can reach the back entrance of the Wyrm's Rock Prison. But instead of going right (east) to the back entrance, go to the west side of Wyrm's Rock and find the pipe sticking out of the cliff on the beach.
Following the book's route through the prison, you can find the secret wall into the Wyrmway at the farthest western edge of the map. It is on the left side of the dead end between two dragon torches.
To reach it, you may need to fight the guards. Invisibility will not work because you need to uncover yourself when casting your lightning spells. So, it's best to at least knock them all out beforehand.
While Greater Invisibility will allow you to cast spells while maintaining invisibility, it requires a 15+ stealth check each time, leaving you potentially vulnerable.
When the guards are dealt with, use Shocking Grasp or a similar attack that deals lightning damage to each of the dragon torches. If you are successful, the torch should turn blue.
The wall will open when both torches are struck with lightning and burning with a blue flame.
The pipe from below will exit into the same area as the wall (just ahead), so both paths will end up at this same location.
Continue down the main path through the iron gate to reach a room covered in murals. They're not important, but you can inspect them with a History check for added lore.
Either speak with the statue or interact with the door to force the statue's dialogue.
To enter the Dragon's Sanctum, state:
I am worthy. Open the way.
How To Complete Ansur's Trials
There are four trials in the Wyrmway that you must complete to open the grand door to the Dragon's Sanctum and Ansur himself:
- Justice (southwest)
- Courage (east)
- Strategy (northeast)
- Insight (northwest)
When all four trials are complete, the door will open and grant you access.
All paths to the trials are seemingly straightforward except the path to Insight. To the left of the Balduran statue and the grand, locked doors , there appears to be a drop-off.
This is actually an invisible path you can safely walk across. See Invisibility can reveal it, but you do not need to see it to walk on it, and the path is straight from the drop-off to the door.
What Happens If You Fail One Of Ansur's Trials?
If you fail any of Ansur's trials, several skeletal undead will appear as enemies.
Once you fail one trial, you will not be allowed to undertake any other trials. You have, in short, utterly failed the entire challenge.
Enemies will appear in all chamber rooms and in the central area. However, this does not mean that Ansur is now unreachable.
If you failed his challenge, the door to his lair will be opened as if you had completed every trial. The state of Balduran will not recognize you botched the trials.
However, you will have to fight the undead on your way to reach Ansur's lair and progress.
How To Complete The Chamber Of Justice: Picture Puzzle
The Chamber of Justice will show a story through each painting on the wall. Read them all to discern a tale about a man who stole to provide for the helpless and hungry.
If Wyll is in your party, he will tell you the hint for the puzzle's solution:
The answer lies somewhere in the middle of two extremes.
Send the shadows in the center of the room away by casting Remove Curse (recommended) or Greater Restorationon the Judge shade in the middle.
Then, hover your mouse over each of the names of the paintings. You'll find each is a depiction of the thief's fate.
Following Wyll's advice, Pick Up "The Cell" painting. Walk over to the empty, larger lectern across the circle.
Throw and place "The Cell" on this empty lectern. Doing so will clear this trial and light Balduran's flame.
How To Complete The Chamber Of Courage: Defeating The Myrmidons
The Chamber of Courage is a simple combat trial where one character holding a torch must survive for four rounds. You cannot unequip the torch, losing a valuable weapon slot.
While straightforward in theory, we have a few tips to help you survive all four rounds:
- Have a high-AC, tanky support character speak with the Balduran statue to take the torch. Choose someone who would not mind losing their weapon for one fight and who can survive heavy damage.
- Clerics and barbarians work best here.
- Keep your party spread out to avoid being pinned by the enemy Raging Vortex attacks.
- Use Ice or Lightning attacks on the water under the enemies to deal area damage.
- Use pushing spell attacks like Thunderwave or Eldritch Blast (with the Repelling Invocation) to knock enemies off the map.
How To Complete The Chamber Of Strategy: Chess Puzzle
As you enter the room, you'll immediately be deterred by a wall of crystals blocking your path. Just jump over or to the side of them to progress.
Speak with the statue to learn the goal and begin the puzzle.
You must put the black king in check in two moves. If you're not a chess fan, don't worry.
Bringing Gale with you, he'll tell you the immediate solution. As this is not a dungeon area, you can easily go to camp and add him to your party.
If, for some reason, Gale is no longer in your party, you'll have to do this the old-fashioned way: trial-and-error.
There is no one solution for this puzzle because every player's chessboard will be unique to their game. While the above picture shows you the winning strategy for that board, you likely have a very different chessboard.
If you're super bad at chess and really want to complete all the puzzles but don't have access to Gale, you can try recreating your board with this unsponsored chess-move-calculator .
When putting in the correct pieces, the top of the board (black side) is aligned with the trial-attempt buttons on your screen. The white-side is on the side opposite. When you are ready to calculate your moves, remember you are white. Press "White to Move" and follow its suggestion.
How To Complete The Chamber Of Insight: Flying Book Puzzle
The Chamber of Insight can be deceivingly difficult at first. You may be tempted to catch the flying books, but there's no need. You just need to be able to read their titles.
Hover your cursor over the books to read each of their titles:
- Stedd's Virtues of Unions
- Suelto's Ethic of Wars
- Amaps' Memoirs
The standout title here is Suelto's Ethic of Wars. With Suelto as the advisor you probably don't want on your peace council, attack him — the far left of the red figures at the end of the path.
How To The Dragon's Sanctum And Speak With Ansur
With all four trials complete, you may now return to the center chamber. The grand doors will open for you now.
Enter and descend into the main Dragon's Sanctum chamber.
Once again, speak with the statue of Balduran to proceed through the next doors.
We recommend, at this point, long resting to refill your spell slots — especially if you do not have the Level 6 spell slot required for Globe of Invulnerability .
In the next chamber, you will find Ansur lying dead on the ground in the center of the arena. Send one person to speak with him while the rest stay back.
After a dialogue with Ansur, no matter what you choose, he will attack you, and you must defeat the Heart of the Gate himself and his two myrmidon summons.
Ansur is no easy fight with his 18d10 Lightning damage attack, Stormheart Nova, which strikes the entire battlefield. The only way to escape it is to leave the field entirely or use Globe of Invulnerability.
You could also use spells like Protection from Energy (Lightning) or Fiendish Resistance (Lightning) to mitigate some of the damage.
Whatever you choose to do, as long as you ensure you have a method of dealing with his Stormheart Nova and chipping away at his 400HP, you'll see the light of day again.
Not only will you see that light, but you'll be in possession of two legendary pieces of equipment:
|
Balduran's Giantslayer |
Legendary Greatsword. Two-handed. +3 Enchantment Deals 2d6 + Strength + 5.
|
|---|---|
|
Helm of Balduran |
Legendary helmet. Medium armor. The wearer cannot be Stunned or hit by Critical Hits.
|
Once you pick up the Helm of Balduran on the altar table inside the building past Ansur's battlefield, the wall in front of you will open. Outside, you'll realize you're back at the beginning of the Wyrmway.
We recommend teleporting from here and back to Duke Ravengard in camp to tell him the truth of Ansur. Doing so will progress your quest to a finale with Wyll, deciding his fate, and you'll finally have all the information about the Guardian within the Astral Prism for good.
