How to Beat Balthazar
This is a walkthrough on how to beat Balthazar in the Gauntlet of Shar or at Shadowfell in Baldur's Gate 3 (BG3). Learn about the strategy for beating Balthazar, and if you should beat him early before going to Shadowfell.
List of Contents
Side Quest Details
| Journal Entry | |
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| Infiltrate the Moonrise Towers | |
| Recommended Level | Lv. 7 |
| Reward | Circle of Bones |
| Location | |
| Gauntlet of Shar (Thorm Mausoleum) X: 850, Y: 785 |
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How to Beat Balthazar
Find Balthazar in Gauntlet of Shar
| Find Balthazar in Gauntlet of Shar |
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Get Inside the Thorm Mausoleum
| Thorm Mausoleum Entrance |
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| Thorm Mausoleum (Shadow-Cursed Lands) X: 190, Y: 110 |
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Balthazar can be fought as early as the Gauntlet of Shar withn the Thorm Mausoleum at the Shadow-Cursed Lands. You only need to complete two puzzles before you can meet him.
The Gauntlet of Shar can be infiltrated relatively safely when you have sided with the Moonrise Tower (you will still have to fight some of the Shadow enemies). Tell Balthazar that you were sent by Ketheric Thorm, and you will not be forced to fight him.
But if ever you miss out on this fight, you can still fight Balthazar later at Shadowfell if you proceed with the Nightsong. You will have to complete other trials in the Gauntlet of Shar first.
How to Get to the Shadow-Cursed Lands
Pass the Thorm Mausoleum Painting Puzzle
To fight Balthazar in the Gauntlet of Shar early on, you only need to complete at least two puzzles.
The first is the puzzle in the Thorm Mausoleum involving the paintings which will grant you access to the gauntlet. The second puzzle involves the protected Umbral Gem at the Statue of Shar which grants access to the path to Balthazar.
To solve the Thorm Mausoleum Puzzle, light up the paintings through their buttons in this order:
- Moonrise Tower (Southwest Painting)
- Ketheric Thorm Kneeling (Southeast Painting)
- Ketheric Thorm Portrait (Northern Painting)
Pass the First Umbral Gem Puzzle in Gauntlet of Shar
Head down the hallway of the gauntlet until you reach an area with the Statue of Shar. The main door across is sealed by the Umbral Gem in the middle, which you have to interact with to get past the door.
To solve the first Umbral Gem Gauntlet of Shar Puzzle, look for four (4) levers, one at each corner of the room, for lowering the Mysthic Thuribles. Disarming the pressure plate traps right before them is valuable here, so have a Rogue or Astarion ready.
Once the four Thuribles have been lowered, turn of all within the area including your own light source to reveal an entry point to the protected Umbral Gem to unlock the main door. Proceed by continuing into the gauntlet.
Defeat Enemies with Balthazar's Skeletons
The area after the first umbral gem puzzle will reveal Balthazar's skeletons lurking around. A cutscene will trigger. After the talking to the skeletons, get ready to fight some Judiciars spawning from Umbral Tremors.
After clearing the area of enemies, head to the entrance far west of the room and head straight down the hallway. Skeletons that survived the encounter with the Judiciars will also head to that direction.
Balthazar's chamber is just located right after the Gauntlet of Shar waypoint which you can use as a fast travel point.
Defeat Balthazar in Gauntlet of Shar
| Balthazar Gauntlet of Shar Battle |
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Use Radiant Damage
| Recommended Attacks and Spells | |
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| Divine Smite | Spirit Guardians |
| Spiritual Weapon | Silence |
| Beacon of Hope | Protection from Poison |
| Thornwhip | - |
Clerics, such as Shadowheart, and Paladins such as Minthara come extremely handy in this fight thanks to their powerful radiant spells.
Having the Blood of Lathander is also useful here due to its Morninglord's Radiance granting nearby party members 1-4 additional radiant damage on their weapons.
Defeat Flesh After Balthazar
It is best to deal with Balthazar first since he has a moderate amount of HP, has powerful spells, and tends to run away.
But do keep in mind of Flesh, Balthazar's muscle and an undead the size of an Owlbear. He is able to deal a large amount of physical damage if left unchecked.
When dealing with him, Fighters like Lae'zel can help in thinning him down quickly due to their ability to attack several times in a single turn.
Avoid Balthazar's Cloudkill
On top of Balthazar being able to revive his allies, he has Cloudkill, a deadly area-of-effect poison spell that he regularly uses.
This can quickly bring down a party in tight spaces, so it is best to use a counter to it such as Silence to force Balthazar to use Dash. Protection from Posion also works in at least giving poison resistance for it.
It is also best to stall Balthazar's attacks through Trip Attacks, or any form of skill that causes Prone.
Defeat Balthazar in Shadowfell
| Balthazar Shadowfell Battle |
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Engage Balthazar Near the Nightsong
If you have not killed Balthazar in the Gauntlet of Shar, he will appear in Shadowfell.
When choosing fight to Balthazar, he maintains most of his strategies from the Gauntlet of Shar. Compared to his previous fight, however, he has many more allies around him including Apostate Destroyers.
Instant Kill Balthazar with the Void
You can push enemies out and into the bottomless void around the area of the Nightsong. Similarly, Balthazar can be instantly killed by sending him to his demise with an action like Shove or a spell like Thunderwave.
Having a high Dexterity character that can move far and cast Thunderwave can ensure that Balthazar gets killed on the first turn. You can take advantage of the Portent Die offered by characters like Gale to guarentee evasion from enemy Opportunity Attacks and the failure of their Saving Throws.
Exploit the Void and Area of Effect Attacks
The quickest way to deal with most enemies here is to take advantage of the bottomless void around the arena with actions like Thunderwave as mentioned in the previous section.
Alternatively, a Cleric also comes handy in here with its variety of ways to deal radiant damage, especially spells like Spirit Guardians.
Should You Kill Balthazar Early?
Killing Balthazar at Gauntlet of Shar
Persuade for the Summon Golem Bell
You can persuade Balthazar to give you a bell you can use to summon Flesh at the Gauntlet of Shar. You might want to hold off fighting Balthazar until you have solved the rest of the gauntlet's puzzles.
The Summon Golem Bell will allow you to summon Flesh during combat. Flesh in this case will serve as your heavy-hitting ally, and he can be helpful when fighting Yurgir the Orthon later in the gauntlet.
However, trying to use the bell during the fight with Balthazar will only teleport the already hostile Flesh to your position.
Balthazar is Harder in Shadowfell
You can meet Balthazar at Shadowfell if you did not kill him at the Gauntlet of Shar. He will have more allies with him when you fight him there.
However, take note that entering Shadowfell signals a point of no return, so make sure to wrap up all of your quests before entering. Also, you may be at a disadvantage by Shadowheart being unable to join you in Shadowfell if you refuse her request to obtain the Spear of the Night (you will be forced to fight her).
If you want to continue exploring after killing Balthazar, then make sure to defeat him early at the gauntlet.
Balthazar Rewards
Loot Balthazar for the Circle of Bones
Defeating Balthazar and looting his body will reveal the rare Circle of Bones headgear.
You can cast Animate Dead with the Circle Bones, and it passively give Undead Ward to undead allies nearby.
Baldur's Gate 3 Related Guides
Act 1 Bosses
| All Act 1 Bosses | ||
|---|---|---|
| Auntie Ethel | Bulette | Ch'r'ai W'Wargaz |
| Commander Zhalk | Dror Ragzlin | Flind |
| Grym | Kagha | Lump the Enlightened |
| Minthara | Nere | Owlbear |
| Phase Spider Matriarch | Priestess Gut | Spectator |
Act 2 Bosses
| All Act 2 Bosses | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ch'r'ai Tska'an | Balthazar | Fist Marcus |
| Gerringothe Thorm | Kar'niss | Ketheric Thorm |
| Malus Thorm | Thisobald Thorm | Yurgir |
Act 3 Bosses
| All Act 3 Bosses | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ansur | Auntie Ethel | Cazador Szarr |
| Dominated Red Dragon | Lord Enver Gortash | Lorroakan |
| Mystic Carrion | Orin the Red | Raphael |
| Sarevok | Steel Watcher Titan | Viconia DeVir |
| The Unbreakable Will of the Netherbrain | ||
