Get Gortash's Netherstone
Now that you've defeated Ketheric Thorm and finished Act Two, it's time to keep pressing on through the Act Three Walkthrough and get your hands on Gortash's Netherstone to take down the army of the Absolute. This quest is challenging and it'll actually take you (finally) into Baldur's Gate itself.
This quest is tied very closely to the quest Get Orin's Netherstone. You'll pick up important pointers and items for Orin's Netherstone while working on this quest.
Get Gortash's Netherstone Walkthrough
This is quite a long Walkthrough- use the links below to jump between sections if there's a particular section of this BG3 quest that you're looking for help with.
Getting Ready to Face Gortash
Once you've taken the portal to the surface from the Ketheric battle arena, you will be greeted by a number of different characters.
If Gale is in your party, he'll want to speak to you immediately.
Gale will be incredibly excited, talking about the crown that the Elder Brain wears and referring to it as a Netherese artefact.
He will insist that a nearby occult library, Sorcerous Sundries, could hold the answer to all of your problems. This will add to the companion quest The Wizard of Waterdeep.
You may notice that Withers is also present when you reappear in Moonrise Towers. Withers will start by asking you about Ilithid souls. He's there because he has some information on the Dead Three deities, so he's worth speaking to.
Once you've spoken to Withers, speak to Dame Aylin.
Isobel will appear - it turns out, she's Aylin's partner and she will be delighted to see her lover. They'll both thank you and acknowledge your success in the battle.
Aylin and Isobel will ask if they can join you at your camp later to discuss what happens next. Say yes- this is important.
Finally, if you rescued Halsin in Act One and had him at your camp, he will also be present here. Speak to him before continuing.
Unless you made progress with his storyline, he will tell you that he cannot join you on the path to Baldur's Gate and that he feels he must stay in order to protect the land, as in his eyes, he's failed it.
After speaking to this group of characters, it's likely that you'll need to rest up and take care of your party. Head back to camp for a Long Rest and to speak to Isobel and Aylin.
Speaking to Isobel will tell you more about how she got to Last Light Inn and her relationship with Aylin. She will thank you again, saying that she hopes they won't intrude on your hospitality too long, and also tell you more about her father Ketheric if you ask, too.
Speaking to Aylin will give you more information about the Nightsong.
She will excitedly declare victory, then tell you more about how she was trapped by Ketheric and Balthazar in her Shadowfell prison under the influence of Shar. If you hadn't uncovered much about Aylin yet, you'll learn that she is the daughter of Selûne.
Dame Aylin will also discuss her relationship with Aylin.
Once you've finished speaking to everyone, take a Long Rest and end the day. It's time to press onwards to Baldur's Gate.
The Road To Baldur's Gate
Take the Moonrise Towers Waypoint to start.
Before you can use it, the Dream Visitor will speak to you through your psychic link.
The Dream Visitor will talk about the upcoming battles and encourage you to find as many allies as possible to ensure victory. This adds the quest Gather Your Allies to your quest log.
Once you've taken the Moonrise Towers Waypoint, it's time to find the road to Baldur's Gate. Follow the quest marker up the stairs and to the northwest.
Then, take the path round to the west. You'll pass under a bridge and end up coming across another Waypoint called Road to Baldur's Gate Waypoint.
Make sure you interact with it/walk close enough to it to unlock it, as it's a very useful one to have.
Continue along this path. You'll come across a small archway on the bridge that leads to Baldur's Gate- and you'll get warned to wrap up any loose ends before proceeding.
Save your game, then head in.
This will take you through the resolutions to several story points from the previous section. Firstly, you'll end up at your campsite with Raphael, getting the follow-up answers from Infiltrate Moonrise Towers that Astarion wanted for the companion quest The Pale Elf.
Raphael will tell you that devils who are killed end up returning to the Hells, and that Yurgir ended up back with him. Raphael now has Yurgir back under his control.
More importantly, Raphael tells Astarion that his scars are part of a contract between Cazador (Astarion's vampire master and sire) and Mephistopheles, and that they make up part of a dark ritual called the Profane Ascension. This ritual requires a lot of blood and sacrifice, with Astarion being the last required sacrifice so Cazador can become the Vampire Ascendant.
After this, Astarion will ask for your help defeating Cazador.
Dame Aylin will also have some important loose ends to tie up. She'll want to speak to you, prompting an interaction starring Shadowheart. Aylin knows about Shadowheart's mysterious past, giving her a flashback (that you can also see, via your parasite connection) explaining why she appears to have no family and why she hates wolves so much.
Turns out, Shadowheart was kidnapped by Sharran followers. Her parents are still alive- as are her abductors. Shadowheart needs to find and save her parents, and she asks for your help with this task. It's part of the Companion Quest called The Daughter of Darkness.
Once this cutscene finishes, Aylin will talk to Shadowheart a little more and encourage her to follow the path of the Moonmaiden. Then, you'll be back in your campsite and you'll be able to end the day.
Then, Shadowheart will want to speak to you before you leave camp.
She will tell you how she can't believe that she's been lied to her whole life, and let you know that she has one more thing that she feels compelled to attend to - but she can't tell you what it is.
Don't worry, this doesn't remove her from your party.
After this, you'll be able to leave camp. This will kickstart the final story section before you can keep progressing to Baldur's Gate.
Here, your party will note how they are leaving behind a ravaged land. If you didn't complete Halsin's objectives, you'll have to leave him behind here as well.
He will apologize that he cannot join you, then return to try and salvage the Shadow-Cursed Lands.
Finally, you'll be able to click on the archway and load into the next section. There's another cutscene to watch as this happens, though, showing Gortash having his portrait painted in a fancy building in the middle of Baldur's Gate.
A Flaming Fist sergeant will come in and interrupt, notifying Gortash that there has been a quake in the city and that people are panicked. Gortash will ask about his inauguration and the security of Wyrm's Rock, saying that nothing can be done about the quakes.
The sergeant will reveal her true identity in frustration. Unsurprisingly, it's Orin.
Orin and Gortash will discuss how they didn't expect the 'prism bearers' to defeat Ketheric and talk about how they're going to give your party a real Baldurian welcome.
If you're playing as a Dark Urge character, Orin will note how one of 'her blood' is in your party.
From here, another cutscene will play showing your party entering a camp called Wyrm's Rest which is incredibly close to the city of Baldur's Gate.
Now is a great time to double check that you've got all the best possible equipment in your inventory equipped, and that your characters are ready for battle. There are some berry bushes in this camp which you can harvest for a few extra camp supplies.
If you have Astarion in your party, he will want to speak to you.
Interestingly, he'll express a desire to take Cazador's place in the ritual and become the Vampire Ascendant himself. He will ask for your help and discuss how his vampire kin will be on their way to hunt your party down and take him for the sacrifice.
After this, you can head to bed. You won't be able to sleep, though. Your character will be mulling over the events so far and you will be asked what your plan is once you snatch the power of the Elder Brain away from the cult of the Absolute.
It's worth saving here.
Once you've chosen, your character will attempt to drift off to sleep but will be quickly awoken by a surprising psychic message.
The Absolute's voice will enter your camp, along with a portal to safety, and your party will be ambushed by Githyanki warriors. This is a special combat encounter, as the aim is to get your entire party through the portal to safety in 3 turns or less. This is where the previous save can come in handy.
Enemies will continue to spawn in each round, and they hit very hard. They specialize in physical attacks that can topple you, so try to use abilities like Thunderwave to get them far away and abilities like Misty Step to get closer to the portal.
This interaction adds the quest Confront the Elder Brain to your quest log. This quest has two subquests, signifying the different routes you can take when solving it. They are Control the Elder Brain and Destroy the Elder Brain. It's also the final quest of the game.
Something important to note about this portal interaction is that you only need to get one of your party members through the portal, so focus on whoever rolls highest if you have movement-boosting abilities like Fly at your disposal.
The portal will take you to the Astral Plane, where the Dream Visitor can be found.
There's quite a lot to unpack here as soon as you enter the Astral Plane. The Dream Visitor is speaking to you, begging for help and saying that they're under attack.
Additionally, the Githyanki warriors that ambushed you earlier are here, running through the Astral Plane and battling Intellect Devourers. Head west down the path to continue and rush to save the Dream Visitor- you can jump much further here as you have the Astral Gravity buff.
You'll end up entering combat with two Githyanki warriors as you head down the path.
This fight can be pretty tricky as the Githyanki can virtually one-shot some characters. It's worth approaching this fight quickly before the Githyanki can kill the Intellect Devourers and using ranged attacks from the first platform you land on to try and gain the upper hand.
It's worth avoiding standing in a group as one of the Githyanki has a powerful fireball attack.
Once you've beaten them, the Dream Visitor will urge you to get to the giant skull and help them. As you approach, you'll make a shocking discovery.
Your Dream Visitor is actually a Mind Flayer, called The Emperor. They're holding a Githyanki against their will and extracting their energy, which is how you've been protected against the influence of the parasite so far. There is an Honor Guard trying to rescue the prisoner, made up of 4 characters who can hit incredibly hard.
Here, you'll need to decide how to progress. You can side with the Mind Flayer and battle against the onslaught of Githyanki enemies to keep the captive (Orpheus, who can be important in the Gather Your Allies quest) subdued, or choose to fight against the Mind Flayer.
To make progress in the story, it makes much more sense to go with the first approach. Otherwise, you'll end up fighting against the Mind Flayer, the Intellect Devourers, and the Githyanki Honor Guard.
If you choose to fight on the side of the Mind Flayer/Dream Visitor, you'll face off against the Githyanki and have both the Mind Flayer and the Intellect Devourers on your side. The Intellect Devourers don't last very long, as they have low HP and the Honor Guard hits very hard.
One of the best ways to deal with the Honor Guard here is to use abilities like Thunderwave and items like Thunder Arrows to knock them off of the ledge. If you have someone with Thunderwave and a Misty Step amulet (Gale can get both of these abilities without the amulet), have them use Misty Step to get up to one of the floating ledges with an enemy then use Thunderwave to knock them off.
The Mind Flayer isn't hugely helpful in this fight, but they do have a seemingly endless supply of Healing Potions so you don't have to worry about keeping them alive.
There are several dead Githyanki in this particular battle arena, and they're worth looting either during the fight or after it. You can find useful scrolls, like a Darkvision Scroll, or other items like healing potions, gems, and alchemical ingredients.
Once you've beaten this fight, you'll get asked to make a difficult decision.
The Mind Flayer will introduce themselves properly, showing you that they were once an adventurer like you but that they took a parasite to the knee.
Essentially, they were kidnapped by Mind Flayers and turned against their will. The Emperor, as they're known, managed to regain some free will after serving the Elder Brain, though. They lived on a diet of criminal brains, working for Duke Stelmane as an advisor in Baldur's Gate for the Knights of the Shield- until Gortash came and took them back to the Elder Brain once again.
The Astral Prism where Orpheus is imprisoned helped them regain their willpower, though. Orpheus is the descendent of the first leader of the Githyanki. Turns out, Vlaakith is an imposter and was never actually the Queen of the Githyanki.
The Emperor needed allies on the Material Plane and used the Astral Prism to connect with you and the rest of your party.
Once you've found out this lore, you'll be presented with the option (in the form of a cosmic parasite) to turn into a half-Ilithid or to stay as you are. You can accept The Emperor's gift, or choose to stamp it out on the ground.
If you choose to turn, you will gain a lot more power in the form of Ilithid powers that you could not previously access but your entire party will disapprove. If you choose not to turn, The Emperor will be mad at you but (for now) there won't be any other consequences.
The decision you make here can affect how the game ends for you.
Whichever you choose, the next step is to take the portal out to the Material Plane.
Back On the Road to Baldur's Gate
When you're back on the Material Plane, you'll end up back in the Wyrm's Rest camp. Take a Long Rest and end the day to continue pressing onwards.
In the morning, Shadowheart (who will look rather different now) will want to speak to you before pressing onwards. She'll want to discuss how the Astral Prism held a Mind Flayer (The Emperor) all this time and how she can't believe it, and how her allegiance is no longer with Shar.
Once you've spoken to her, leave camp and head off to get Gortash's Netherstone.
When you leave camp, you'll end up in the wilderness with a town very nearby. Follow the path towards it - make sure to stop off at the nearby tent on the side of the road as there are a few bags with healing potions - and you'll end up in a town called Rivington.
As soon as you enter Rivington, a child will approach and ask you whether you've seen their mother.
The child, who is called Yenna, mentions that their mother went out to pick berries to cure spots that had appeared all over her hands and face. Based on the information (and your rolls if you're lucky) you'll figure out that it's incredibly unlikely that Yenna's mother is alive.
You can give them money or rations, tell them to head home, or inform them that their mother is probably dead. If you help Yenna, your whole party will approve.
Rivington is just on the outskirts of Baldur's Gate, so you'll need to gain access to the city in order to find Gortash. Before you continue with the main quest, it is worth exploring the entirety of Rivington and completing some side quests, selling old gear, and leveling up. The battles ahead are tricky, so it's worth preparing however you can.
Follow the path into Rivington to the north until you reach the South Spear Checkpoint.
There are several ways to get into Baldur's Gate, but we'll go with the easiest route- getting arrested and taken straight to jail.
You'll be spoken to by a guard if you approach the South Spear Checkpoint and will need to convince her that you're on your way into Baldur's Gate for a legitimate, non-Gortash-killing reason. Then, a Sentry (the large mechanical guard) will need to 'process' you in order for you to continue.
Unfortunately, the Sentry will know exactly who you are and what your party has done in the past. It appears to be linked to the Absolute. Consent to a quiet arrest, and you'll get taken to jail.
You'll end up in a cell in Wyrm's Rock Prison.
The easiest way to get out is to speak to a strange looking skull on the shelves on the back wall of the cell. It can speak for some reason (roll Arcana to find out more) and introduces itself as Marvin.
If you're struggling with the overly flowery language Marvin uses, you can roll for Persuasion to convince him to speak plain Common instead of in complex prose.
There are two riddles you'll need to solve in order to convince Marvin to teleport you to the equipment chest outside the cell. If you get them wrong, he'll teleport you right to the guards instead.
If you'd like the solutions to the riddles, click the spoiler tag below.
Marvin can only teleport one character at a time, but you won't need to answer the riddles each time. Have each character speak to him individually once you've successfully answered the riddles.
It's worth quick-saving as soon as you end up out of the cell. You'll have a Greater Invisibility and Haste buff, but you'll also have the On the Lam debuff, which means that guards will try to instantly kill you on sight.
Essentially, you need to wait 2 real-time minutes in a place where the guards can't see you in order to leave the prison successfully. There's a nearby broken section in the wall (you have to jump on a box to get there) where you can wait for the On the Lam debuff to drop off.
Once it's dropped off, there are two ways to leave the prison.
You'll either need to wait for the patrolling guard to move away from the prison door and pick the lock, or break the wall in the locked storeroom nearby. To break this wall, you'll need a spell or a spell scroll that can deal Force damage.
Make sure to loot this room too as there are plenty of camp supplies and quite a few rare items too, notably including rare toxins and poisons.
Once you're out of the prison, a nearby Sentry will inform you that Gortash is looking for you and that you've been officially invited to his inauguration in the audience chamber.
It's important to note that you can still head into Baldur's Gate to complete Side Quests and get new gear before doing this. In fact, it's worth doing so to prepare for the fight against Gortash- he is not an easy enemy to defeat.
It's worth taking a Long Rest before heading into the Gortash fight, too. The first interaction in the audience chamber isn't the main fight, but there's plenty of tricky combat coming up. While your character is sleeping, you'll have an interaction with The Emperor in your dreams.
When you're ready to head into battle, leave camp and head to the east to find the audience chamber.
When you head in, you'll be immediately prompted to find a way to disable the Steel Watchers (the big sentries) if you want to take down Gortash.
This starts the sub-quest Disable the Steel Watch.
Destroying the Steel Watch
To complete this, you'll need to leave the Fortress and head into the Lower City. The location you're looking for is the Steel Watch Foundry.
Before you can get into the Foundry, you'll end up coming across a group of Absolute cultists who are attempting to kill Volo for being a 'heretic'- and he begs for your help. To get a head start on the battle, it is possible to attack one of the cultists outside of battle as they're not immediately hostile.
Head back to camp after this to speak to Volo and rest up. Volo will tell you more about the battle ahead- and if you're a Dark Urge character, he will tell you more about Bhaalspawn and how to take down the Lord of Murder.
There's another interaction here which changes depending on if you're a Dark Urge character or not.
Yenna will be acting strangely, offering you food that turns out to be her pet cat on a skewer. Turns out, it's not Yenna at all- it's Orin in disguise.
She's kidnapped Yenna and is holding her hostage in her temple. Orin wants you to kill Gortash as Gortash is planning to betray her, and she promises that in return for this (along with a duel to the death) she will let Yenna go free.
Orin will also encourage you to find the Steel Watch. End the day and leave camp to continue taking down the Steel Watch.
There are several ways to get into the Steel Watch Foundry, but we'll go with the easiest route in for now. You'll need to find the Water Queen's House - where you'll be asked if you're here to attend a funeral - then jump down.
This can take quite a large chunk out of your party's health if you don't prepare, so make sure to use any movement-enhancing abilities that you have on offer like Misty Step, Shadow Step, the Fly spell, or scrolls of Feather Fall.
Head along the coastal area until you reach the wooden pier. Here, you'll enter combat with a Steel Watch sentry.
This Steel Watcher hits pretty hard, but it's a speedy battle overall if you have decent ranged attacks. Once it starts to get low enough in health, it'll begin a self destruct process- and this can wipe out any nearby party members, so steer clear of them.
Once you're done with this, head up to the doors of the Foundry. You can either lockpick the main doors or use the nearby cart lift to get inside.
When you step inside the Foundry, a cutscene will play showing a worker being held against her will and threatened. If she doesn't get a Watcher operational by dawn, her son will be killed.
Interestingly, the workers are wearing collars that appear to control their minds.
Save before continuing.
You can speak to the group of guards and choose to deceive them, or roll for Intimidation or Persuasion. The best bet here is to encourage the Gondian workers to fight back and claim their freedom.
It's not an overly complex battle - although the Overseer hits quite hard - so just make sure that you're spaced out well and that you heal up the Gondian workers if needed.
At a certain point during the battle, the Overseer will try to activate the collars that the workers are wearing and you'll need to deactivate it so that they don't all die. This takes up a combat action.
Make sure to loot the bodies once you're done with this battle, as there's a key to the Security Office that you'll need later on. The Gondian workers will be fearful once the Overseer and other guards are dead, but it is possible to save them by clearing out the Foundry.
Heal up, then press on by entering the nearby Security Office.
Here, you'll find a character named Gondian Zanner Toobin. Speak to him to learn more about the Foundry and to try and encourage him to rise up against the Overseers. If you tell him that you will help to free the Gondian families, he will agree to help you.
Before you continue down to the lower level of the lab, it's worth leaving the Foundry briefly and taking a Long Rest just outside. There's a tricky battle ahead and a boss battle, so it's worth making sure that you have all your spell slots.
When you attempt to sleep at camp, you will be awoken by two of Astarion's vampire siblings. They're here to return Astarion to his 'home' for the ritual, and you'll need to take them down.
The main issue that you'll come across in this fight is that the vampires heal for 10HP every turn. This can be frustrating, but you can overcome it by using things like DOT attacks or items like Flame/Acid Arrows to whittle down their health over time.
The vampires tend to bunch up, so abilities like Shadowheart's Spirit Guardians can be particularly effective for AOE damage.
Once you've won this battle, rest up then head off from camp back to the Foundry. The vampires don't drop any sort of loot, so you don't need to worry about that.
When you're back in the Foundry, go down the stairs in the Security Office.
Save as you go down the stairs- the fight ahead can be quite tricky.
The key to winning this battle is positioning. There are lots of handy ledges and tall pipes that you can jump to/use Misty Step or Fly to get to, but if you veer too close to the other room, you can end up pulling the entire next section of other mobs. Try your best to hug the wall to the right of the door and use the boxes as a height advantage tool.
You'll end up facing off against a Steel Watcher (likely two, though- there's one patrolling nearby who has a tendency to join the battle halfway through) and a group of Overseers and Gondian workers. Keep an eye out for the collars being detonated- this affects the prisoners, too.
Big AOE spells can be very handy here, as can tools like Alchemist's Fire and Acid Vials. Try not to burn through all of your spell slots at once, as there are more fights ahead.
Once you're done, heal up and loot the bodies, then get ready for the next fight in the adjacent section of this lab level.
If you took out both of the Steel Watchers in the previous fight, you won't need to fight any more in this one. There are only two of them on the lab level of the Foundry.
One thing that you'll need to be mindful of here is the collar detonation process. Save a movement ability like Misty Step just for this purpose- it's incredibly frustrating to get this far and then lose the prisoners. It can help to have one party member allocated to the task of sorting this.
Items like Bombs and Alchemist Fire can be very helpful in this fight, especially if you have someone in your party who can cast Grease. There is an extra pack of enemies towards the back of the room which are likely to join the fight at some point, so make sure to use crowd control spells like Tasha's Hideous Laughter to manage them if you find it overwhelming.
After you've won this fight, it's time to rescue the Gondian families. To do this, you'll need to find a specific document in the lab level of the Foundry. Check the screenshot below for the location.
Read this to get the location of the Prison where the families are being held, then press on. You'll need to free them in order to officially take down the Foundry.
Saving the Gondian Families
Exit the Steel Foundry to find the Prison. It's located in the Warehouse by the Docks, as hinted at by the document you found.
Take a look at the map below for the location of the prison.
There's quite a lot of fighting to do in order to free the Gondians, so it is worth your time to take a Long Rest at camp and get some spell slots back.
To get there, head north then loop round towards the quest marker.
You'll be able to find a set of locked steel doors that will give you access to the Prison.
Save your game, then head in. There's an essential Perception check coming up, so quick-saving is a must here.
You'll immediately end up in a fight against multiple worgs as you open the doors. They're not particularly tricky to take down, so focus on using AOE attacks and keeping your distance from them as you press on into the Prison.
While you're engaging the worgs, the journal will update Save the Gondians and note that the worgs must be guarding something.
There's a basement hidden in the corner of this warehouse.
Click on it to continue.
You'll end up in a room that looks like a standard Prison, with different cells and random stacks of crates. Towards the back of the Prison, there's a hole in the wall with 'a greasy, smelly climb down...' showing up whenever you hover over it.
Find the door to the machine storage room, and head through it. Keep going through to the subaquatic loading dock.
Through here, you'll see an NPC named Redhammer the Deviser.
Speak to him- you can choose to be honest, to deceive him, or to intimidate him.
With further questioning, Redhammer will tell you about a place called the Iron Throne. This is the prison where the Gondians are being held and you'll need to convince him to take you there.
Save, then board the submarine to continue.
Gortash will immediately notice that you're aboard the ship and will attempt to interfere with your plans using the ship's communication systems.
You'll need to call Gortash's bluff- he's threatening to kill everyone at the Iron Throne- then dock at the Prison. Your mission now is to save as many people as possible before time runs out and the Prison explodes.
The main person you're looking to save is Obelia, but saving other Gondians can help you out in the long run and it's the best thing to do here.
This is a unique combat encounter with a timer. You have 6 rounds to save your hostages and defeat the guards before you must get back to the submersible dock. This is a fight where mobility is a must-have, so prioritize your speedy characters and use movement enhancing abilities like Misty Step.
To rescue Gondians, look for levers on the wall. This will open their jail cells. Once you've let them out, you don't need to do anything else- they'll spend movement speed like a regular character and make their own way back to safety.
While rescuing all of the Gondians can be tempting, keep an eye on the countdown. If you've not done it by the third round, start heading back.
You will need to go up both ladders in order for the game to consider you safe from the explosion. It's important to note that the prisoners can (and will) be attacked by the guards, and they also have limited movement like a real character. Unless you assist and heal them, some of them won't make it.
Once the timer counts down and ends, a cutscene will play automatically.
When you're out of the submersible, speak to Obelia and say that her father sent you.
She'll be ecstatic and tell you that nothing will be holding the Gondians back now- you can take down the Steel Watch Foundry once and for all.
For now, leave the underground section and head back to camp for a Long Rest.
Back at camp, you'll find a letter from Orin waiting for you.
Even Orin is supportive of the idea of taking down the Steel Watch. Rest up for the night, then press on.
Blowing Up the Steel Watch Foundry
When you're back out of camp, head back to the Steel Watch Foundry Security Office to speak to Zanner Toobin, Obelia's father.
As you head back into the Foundry, you'll need to save Toobin from more Fist of Bane and Iron Consul guards. They will immediately attack as you enter the room and the Gondians will be there as your allies. Make sure to keep Zanner alive.
If you enter through the main door and stay close to it, you can take out one of the Iron Consul guards without triggering any of the others as seen above.
Remember- the guards can still initiate the collar detonation procedure. Get to the floating monitor as quickly as possible with an ability like Misty Step.
After you've defeated the guards, speak to Zanner. He will ask if Obelia is safe, then tell you that the next step is to locate the Neurocitor in the heart of the Steel Watch Foundry.
Your aim is to get him there and to keep him safe during a tricky boss fight. No pressure. Save your game, restore your spell slots if you need it, then head back down to the lab level with Zanner.
The Control Centre Antechamber should now be visible on your map. Save your game, heal up, and head through this door.
Before you do this, though, your party may have leveled up during this process. Take a minute to level up your characters and refresh yourself with new spells or abilities.
Head through the door once you're ready- the fight ahead is difficult. If you're willing to double back for a moment, it can be very helpful to leave the Foundry momentarily then take a Long Rest. This door will take you into a room with several brain jars and another door which leads to the Control Centre itself.
Quick-save, then keep going into the Control Centre.
Before you go in, Zanner will inform you that the Titan is ahead and he will say that he cannot come in to help during the fight.
Here, you'll see what appears to be the Control Hub for the entirety of the Steel Watch, along with three Steel Watchers standing motionless.
Walking up to the center of the room will initiate the boss fight with the Steel Watcher Titan (who appears from a hatch in the middle of the floor) and all three Steel Watchers.
The best way to describe this boss fight is a game of cat-and-mouse with extra steps. Any sort of mobility-based ability will make a huge impact here, as you'll be able to evade the boss and the Steel Watchers. They do have ranged abilities, but the melee attacks are particularly deadly.
Avoid grouping up in this fight where you can help it. The Steel Watchers have melee attacks that can hit multiple targets with a cleave and the Titan has a missile ability (marked with a red circle on the floor) that takes a turn to hit but will obliterate all targets in the zone.
The main abilities to watch out for from the Titan include its protective ability (which adds to its health, restores some health, and knocks back nearby characters), the aforementioned missile ability, and the Hellfire Exhaust ability.
Take down the Steel Watchers first. If you can get them to self-destruct near the Titan, the damage will also hit the Titan which is very handy. Once you've got this done, kite the Titan around the Arena and use ranged attacks to get it to self-destruct as well.
When you've defeated all the enemies, Zanner will automatically appear.
Speak to him to initiate the bombing.
A cutscene will play, showing your party running from the explosion.
This will complete the quest Disable the Steel Watch and take you one step closer to defeating Gortash for his Netherstone and - by extension - finishing Baldur's Gate 3.
Taking Down Gortash
Before you try to tackle Gortash, head back to camp and take a Long Rest.
It's also worth taking some time to visit a vendor before taking on Gortash. This boss battle can be pretty intense, so having plenty of Scrolls, Potions, and up-to-date gear can make a great impact.
When you're ready to take him on, head back to the Basilisk's Gate Waypoint then walk through the nearby gate back into Wyrm's Crossing. Travel to Wyrm's Rock Fortress- you'll immediately be stopped by some of Gortash's guards.
Try not to use many spell slots here if you can help it. Don't head much further in, either, as you'll trigger a much larger group of mobs.
The main contender to deal with in this fight is a Fire Elemental that can be summoned, so take down the mage (the one with the title Blaze) to automatically get rid of it. Heal up, then head into the Fortress for the next round of combat.
Careful that you don't trigger any other rooms while taking on the room of enemies outside the Audience Chamber. The entire Fortress is out to get you, so be mindful of space.
You can use an ability like Spike Growth to keep this pack of enemies in the room for the most part, making it much easier to beat on them with AOE attacks.
It's not necessary to take down the furthest room of enemies, but it's likely that you're quite close to leveling up again at this point so take a stab at it if you want the extra experience.
Make sure to loot the bodies, too. It's usually just gold and camp supplies, but it's worth checking for keys, spell scrolls, and strong weapons or armor.
Before heading into the Audience Hall, save your game and make sure you're ready for a big boss fight. It's not just Gortash you'll be facing off against- there's other enemies, too. You will need all your spell slots and items in order to win this fight.
The fight will begin as soon as you enter the Audience Hall. Watch out for the Concussion Grenades- you'll need to deal with those as soon as you see them. You can drag them out the way.
The Incinerators are a pain, as they have a cone AOE incineration attack. Watch out for red waves on the ground indicating where the attack will be.
Gortash has several summoning abilities and a decent split between ranged and melee attacks. Try to destroy the nearby Incinerators and Force Shield Generators (they're up near the ceiling) with Lightning damage to make the fight easier. Gale's Witch Bolt works well for this- Shocking Grasp does too, but Incinerators explode and hit for a lot of damage when they're destroyed.
AOE attacks can help to make this fight much easier, too. If you have any Wall attacks, like Wall of Fire or Wall of Ice, use these as much as possible.
Pay attention to the layout of the fight. There are lots of platforms to use in the Audience Room. If you're in the room above, abilities like Wall of Fire can make it impossible for enemies to get to you without traveling through a nasty section of difficult terrain.
Once you've taken down Gortash, loot him. He drops some brilliant loot, including a legendary bow, and his Netherstone in the form of an Amulet.
Now that you've picked up the Netherstone, a cutscene will play where you hear the Absolute scream and The Emperor speak to you. Next up, it's time to get Orin's Netherstone.
This takes you one step closer to finishing Baldur's Gate 3- you're in the home stretch now.