While exploring different locations, interacting with characters, and engaging enemies in combat is what you do most of the time in Baldur’s Gate 3, there are times when your characters will have to sheathe their swords and axes and start using your mind to conquer some of the game’s most challenging puzzles.
Among the game’s most annoying puzzles to complete is one in the Gauntlet of Shar, which you can explore during Act 2. Depending on the characters that you have with you, figuring out a solution for this puzzle can be a little frustrating.
How to Solve the Gauntlet of Shar Puzzle (The Answer Lies in Darkness) in Baldur’s Gate 3
After reaching the Thorm Mausoleum, you will have to complete a relatively straightforward puzzle in its innermost chamber to get access to the Gauntlet of Shar. This place is filled with all sorts of dangers, as Raphael warned you before entering the place, but before you can confront them, you will have to complete a somewhat annoying puzzle located in a big chamber with a statue at its center and a sealed door at its end.
As you make your way toward the statue and the pedestal in front of it, you will notice you will get blown away by something invisible. This is a barrier that you can make visible if you follow the advice written on the plaque located before the chamber’s entrance, which reads, “The answer lies in darkness.”
There are a few ways to plunge the chamber into darkness in true Baldur’s Gate 3 fashion. If you take a good look at the sides of the chamber, its entrance, and its exit, you will notice Mystic Thuribles hanging off the ceiling. These thuribles give off light, so you will have to extinguish them in some way to plunge the chamber into darkness. This can be done by heading towards the side chambers and activating the levers in the rooms to the north and south, four levels in total. These levers will drop the Thuribles down, and if you activate the trap by stepping on the panels right outside the rooms with the levers, you can extinguish them. Funnily enough, if you are quick enough, you can just activate the trap so that you are plunged into darkness yourself by getting blinded and seeing the invisible barrier protecting the statue.
If any of your characters are capable of dealing Frost damage, solving this Baldur’s Gate 3 puzzle is much, much easier. With the Ray of Frost spell, for example, you can extinguish all thuribles from afar without having to activate any lever or trap. Thrown items and arrows work just as nicely, saving you all the trouble and allowing you to go deeper into the Gauntlet with ease to face some rather powerful enemies.
