Moonlanterns are a very important part of Baldur’s Gate 3, with many an Absolute mentioning about their powers to traverse the darkness, warding off the curse. Yet, here you are, refined to a blessing of Selune, or hoping for an escort if you sided with the Absolute. So, if you are wanting to explore the darkest reaches of the Shadowlands, and do the content that comes with, here’s how to get a Moonlantern in Baldur’s Gate 3. Doing so will allow you to complete the Seek Protection from the Shadow Curse quest too.

How to Get a Moonlantern in Baldur’s Gate 3 and Complete Seek Protection from the Shadow Curse Quest¶

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(1 of 2) The Moonlantern in the Moonrise Tower is found in Balthazaar’s room.

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The Moonlantern in the Moonrise Tower is found in Balthazaar’s room. (left), You can grab the Lantern that Kar’niss uses by fighting the creature with the Harpers, either while being escorted by him, or by siding with the Harpers. (right)

At the time of writing, there are two known methods of grabbing a Moonlantern in Baldur’s Gate 3:

1. Kill Kar’niss, the Drider
2. Loot Balthazaar’s Tower for the Moonlantern.

No matter which playthrough you did, whether you’re being evil, or good, you can use both of these methods to get your hands on it. Chances are though, if you sided with Minthara, then, you will get the Spider’s Lure, which you will use to summon Kar’niss, and get escorted to Moonrise Tower. Whereas, if you end up siding with the Harpers, as you enter the Shadowlands, you can go on a mission to ambush and kill Kar’niss and loot this Moonlantern very early on. You can also attack Kar’niss even if you summon him at the start of the escort or to side with the Harpers during the ambush scene.

Meanwhile, if you sided with the Absolute, then you will want to explore Moonrise Towers anyway. If you end up rescuing Minthara, she will tell you about Balthazaar being one of the reasons why the cultists can navigate through the Shadowlands with ease. You can go snooping around like that as well if you want to. Simply head up the stairs from the Throne room, into the first floor of Moonrise Towers. From there, path along the corridor, and you shall come across a locked door, guarded by an eye ball. Pick the lock, use Knock, or any other door breaching method that wont catch the guard’s attention, and get in. Once you’re inside Balthazaar’s room, the Moonlantern is in the middle of the room. You can also do this too, even if you sided with the Harpers and infiltrate the towers as well.

Once you get your Moonlantern, you can now navigate into the much darker reaches of the Shadowlands. These areas are the ones marked with the double thick walls of Shadow at certain access points of the map. Have one of your characters equip the Moonlantern, and you can walk around freely in the dark with you and your party. You don’t need to be worrying too much over grouping together, as the range of it is a lot bigger than a regular Light spell, or Torch.

How To Fix A Broken Moonlantern¶

We are aware that some players have it in their minds you can fix some of the broken Moonlanterns you find in the Grymforge and the areas around Act 2. So, for the sake of frequently asked questions, we’ll lump this in here too. Sadly the answer is you cannot fix Moonlanterns in Baldur’s Gate 3.

If you get into the secret room hidden behind Balthazaar, you will learn about the source of a Moonlanterns power. Head to our page on Balthazar’s Room for more information!

For spoiler reasons, we have hidden it behind a spoiler tag. You know where to go to learn about the source of their power yourself. Yet, if you want to reveal the answer, you can also do that.