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The Gauntlet of Shar, otherwise known as Shar’s Sanctum, inBaldur’s Gate 3, is a large and complicated dungeon within Shadow-Cursed Lands. To complete it, you’ll need a vast reserve of time, resources, and sheer determination.
Several quests will lead you into this gauntlet’s depths. No matter where you’re coming from, all roads seem to lead to Shar’s Gauntlet. But do all roads lead out? You’ll need to carve your path to the secrets held in the dark and trust in, at least, the hands of powers greater than yourself.
Updated Jul 23, 2025 by Alexis Campbell:Fixed text errors incorrectly labeling Yurgir as Yulgir. Added minor western section of Shar’s Sanctum to include mini-enemy in the area. Patch 5 Honour Mode changes to Balthazar have been added, as well as relevant links to guides on Balthazar and Yurgir boss fights. New warning section detailing all affected quests at the end of Shar’s Sanctum included.
Shar’s Sanctum Overview
After enteringThorm Mausoleum and completing its puzzle, you’ll be brought to Shar’s Sanctum. Inside, there are anumber of quests you can complete:
Completing all of Shar Sanctum will require youcomplete each of these queststo various degrees,gathering Umbral Gems and solving unique trial puzzles.
For the Sanctum, we highly recommend addingShadowheartto your party.
Gauntlet Of Shar: Completing The First Night Puzzle
As you enter Shar’s Sanctum via the floating platform (usable via the crystal on the ground), you’ll eventually come to enter achamber with your first Umbral Geminside and astatue of Shar surrounded by purple light.
If you near the statue, you will berepulsed back by an invisible force.
Ignore the statue for now andcontinue to the far right or left side.
There arefour chambersin this roomat each of its corners.Each chamber isguarded by a trap at the doorway,so disarm the trap before entering.
Inside the chambers, alever can be found against the wallclosest to the Shar statue.Pull itto lower the lanterns outside. There aretwo lanterns for each lever.
When a lantern is lowered,snuff out the lightby interacting with the lantern.
Upon alleight lanterns being snuffed out,asecret pathto the Shar statue will be revealed. Toggle off Group Mode andsend one personinto the path toretrieve the Umbral Gemand reveal the next doorway.
If the secret path to the statue does not reveal itself to you, ensure you are not carrying any lit objects like torches or spell-affected items. Stop casting any light magic you may be wielding.
Facing The Reconstituted Duelist And Justiciars Of Night
As you walk into the next main section behind the Shar statue, you’ll beapproached by the Reconstituted Duelists.Whatever you say to him does not matter much here.
After a few lines of dialogue, you’ll beinterrupted by spawned Dark Justiciars.Within this gauntlet, you will need tofight themeach time they appear. The Dark Justiciars are not your friends.
Ignore the Reconstituted Duelistsandfight both the Dark Justiciars and the vortexesthat will continuously summon them.
Dark Vortexes will reappear after being destroyed if the Reconstituted Duelists are still alive, continuing the fight almost endlessly unless all vortexes and justiciars are defeated in the same turn.
For this fight, it is recommended to useRadiantspells, which the Dark Justiciars are vulnerable to. Spells like Spirit Guardians will work tremendously well here.
Use the Reconstituted Duelists as cannon fodderuntil the fight eventually subsides and all parties are defeated.
After the fight is completed, you will havetwo directions to follow:
We recommend at least going far enough to the left tograb the Shar Sanctum Waypointfor ease of travel.
Yurgir And Raphael Quest
If you choose to go right, you’ll first bebaited into a trap by a Displacer Beast.You can either follow it into its room or take a back route via jumping at the top of the stairs to the right wing, allowing you tostart an encounter with Yurgiron the same level.
When speaking with Yurgir, you’ll havethree options:
Yurgir is adifficult fight(especially if you begin on the ground and even more in Patch 5 Honour Mode, thanks to his Legendary Actions), so we recommendtrying your hand at the other options before plunging head-first into battle.If you’re having trouble, refer to ourofficial guide on his fight.
Breaking Yurgir’s contractwill require you tospeak with the ratsin the marked area of your map andfind a Broken Effigy and a book calledOne Becomes Many(Coordinates: X:-709, Y:-723).Kill the spawned rat and then the Justiciarthat appears after to return to Yurgir and finish the quest.
Regardless of how you clear the quest,take the Umbral Gem beside the statue when you’re finishedclearing this area.
Balthazar And Thorm’s Missing Artifact
After passing the Shar’s Sanctum Waypoint, ignore the stairs andenter the far western wing. Once again, you’ll come across a large room with the Reconstituted Duelists.
Following a brief exchange, you’ll beswarmed again with Dark Justiciars. There will be far more in number this time, and aJusticiar Crusader(a boss version of the justiciars) will spawn in the second wave.
Large area attacks and Radiant damaging spells and weaponswill work wonders here. With the justiciars each having an extra attack, you’ll want toensure you keep their numbers downas much as possible.
After killing all the justiciars in this area, you’ll be allowed into asecret chamber on the far western side of the roomwhereBalthazar and his cronieshang out.Speak with them.
You can choose tofight themin the room (though this is not recommended for a first-time playthrough to enjoy the full story; you’ll get your chance later), or you canaccept his questtofind an item within the gauntlet.
Additionally, you canconvince Balthazar to give you a summoning bell. Ringing the bell will grant you an extra temporary ally inFlesh, Balthazar’s golem brother, to join any single fight in the Sanctum.
There is a persisting bug that makes it impossible to speak with Balthazar at the Dark Urge on some playthroughs. This is a random glitch and not always guaranteed, but a game that encounters this bug cannot reload a previous save to correct it. Instead, you must speak with Balthazar using a different character.
West Wing, North Side: The Vault
The door to the northis definitely worth the resources you’ll spend trying to reach it. Unlocking it allowsaccess to “The Vault.”
The DC to unlock it isset at a high 30,but a success will grant you access tothree chests of highly valuable objects, resources, and artifacts.
West Wing, South Side: How To Defeat The Cloaker
If you choose to go through the west wing and take thesouthern exit, you’ll find a new area inside, in which there isa kitchen and rest area as well as an altar to Shar.
Before venturing further,speak with the altar and pass a DC 14 Religion checkto be granted the “Nightsinger’s Favour.” This boon givesResistance to Necrotic damage until your next long rest.
Beyond the kitchen area andfurther south is a mushroom-ladden area.You may notice a large, open area up the stairs and a gilded chest on the far side. It’s pretty obvious that this is a trap, so get the better of it by insteadtaking the rocky side path directly left of the entrance.
Sneaking around, your party will need to pass a Perception check to notice theenemy Cloaker on the mushroom above the chest. Since you snuck up to it, you can get the drop on this enemy.
We recommend attacking with your highest initiative attacker(your most Dextrous attacker, usually) to start the fight and Surprise the Cloaker. From there, hammer on it as fast as you may.
You shoulddefeat the Cloaker on Turn One or Twobefore the Cloaker has the chance to use itsdangerous Phantasm ability, summoning two to three more Cloakers for the fight.
If you don’t notice the Cloaker with a Perception roll, you shouldattack the area with an area attack spelllike Fireball or Ice Storm. This will help reveal the Cloaker and Surprise it in the same turn.
Once the Cloaker is defeated, you canloot the chestfor an extremely valuableElixir of Necrotic Resistance and Arcane Cultivation.
From here, there isn’t much else to explore, soreturn to the kitchento restock on supplies before heading back into the rest of the dungeon.
Shar Sanctum Trials
Down the stairsfrom the Shar’s Sanctum Waypoint, you’ll finda long hallwaywith two doors on the left side and a set of stairs further down to another hallway with two doors. Between the upstairs doors and the first right door on the lower level,there are three trials.
Sneaking trial; finish trial sneaking without getting caught.
Self-Same Trial
Combat trial; fight four enemies that mirror the stats, abilities, and weapons of your current adventuring party.
Faith-Leap Trial
Invisible path trial; navigate a room with an invisible maze path in the dark to the end.
Each of these trials begins byentering the room and interacting with the Shar offering bowlat the start. Yourprize for each trial is one Umbral Gem,totaling three.
Silent Library
Beside the Faith-Leap Trialis the Silent Library and a shortcut elevator you can fix (via a broken lever on the floor that you take up the elevator to repair).
Inside the Silent Library, there are several books with tips for completing the other trials and the sanctum, as well as apuzzle to a one-of-a-kind item. These are allguarded by the Librarian and a set of Dark Justiciars.
Defeat all Justiciars andcomplete the puzzlepast the iron doors on the ground floor to access the item. Finishing this room is required to advance Shadowheart’s and Balthazar’s questlines.
What To Do With The Umbral Gems - Entering Shadowfell
Once you’ve found all Umbral Gems, you canreturn to the top of the grand sanctumin the room to the right of the Shar Sanctum Waypoint,facing the top of the giant Shar statue.
In this room,approach the devicewith the single Umbral Gem inside.Insert one of your gemsinto the empty slot.
The platform disc in Shar’s hand will float toward you.Jump on and interact with one of the crystalson the disc itself.
The disc in this room is known to have errors with registering your attempts to click the crystals on the disc. If you may’t interact with it, step off the disc and step back on to try highlighting the crystal again. Jump around if needed. A save-reset should not be needed - just a little finagling.
Following this disc down andfilling in the Umbral Gemsin the next device (three in total needed).
This will open the doors to the statue on the other side and theway to Shadowfell.
Facing The Nightsong And Balthazar
Approach and interact with the poolat the depths of the Gauntlet of Shar. After doing so, you’ll be transported to a new realm known as Shadowfell.
If you choose to enter the Shadowfell, you will receive a warning message that will warn you thatcertain quests will be affectedbut does not explain which. We havedetailed these quests here:
Spoilers Ahead
Halsin & The Shadowfell
Failing to complete all of Halsin’s questline, including finding Oliver and defeating his minibattle, will result in losing Halsin as a companion in Act 3 as well as forever dooming the area to be plagued by the Shadow Curse.
Rescue the Tieflings and Ironhand Gnomes
Failing to rescue them before this dungeon will result in them all being sacrificed to the Absolute. Their bodies will appear as lootable corpses in the Act 2 final dungeon. Wulbren Bongle and the Ironhand questline cannot be correctly progressed in Act 3.
Gale’s Romance
Gale’s Act 2 romance scene occurs only before the completion of the Shadowfell. Completing this questline before receiving this scene will result in the questline being locked. Act 3 Gale will “break up” with you, stating he wishes your relationship could have gone deeper.
Rosymorn Monastery - Blood of Lathander & Gith Creche
Failing to complete the Gith questline will result in the Gith leaving the creche at Rosymorn Monastary. As one of them carries the key required to reach the final treasure room of the Monastery, you cannot progress the Blood of Lathander questline unless the key to the astral blockade has been taken and used.
Flaming Fist Dowry
If you have not entered Waukeen’s Rest, the man in the fire (and possibly Counsellor Florrick) will perish. If you have but have not yet finished the dowry questline, the man at the fire will leave at this point, making it impossible to finish this questline as you can no longer give him the ring you found in the haystack.
Recruit Minthara
As all the prisoners perish at the end of this questline, Minthara’s unique encounter with Ketheric Thorm can no longer be viewed. Likewise, if it was viewed, she’ll disappear (and presumably die) in the dungeons.
While in Shadowfell, you will have theFeather Fall statusas a Passive Effect.Jump from island to islandon the way down to the glowing light at the heart of this area.
Once at the base, you’ll encounter Balthazar and the Aasimar known as the Nightsong. You will havetwo options here:
Allowing Balthazar to take the Nightsongwill result in failing Shar’s quest and strengthening Ketheric Thorm.
If you choose to fight him, know thattheBalthazar fightis not an easy onewithout the aid of a good cleric, so having Shadowheart or another cleric is highly recommended here. In Honour Mode, he also boasts several dangerous changes, including a Legendary Action.
While there are lots of enemies to deal with, Balthazar himself can be dealt with quite easily byShoving him off the platformand sending him to a gravity-related death.
If you stop Balthazar, you will again havetwo more options:
Regardless of which you choose, this willend the questand thereby complete the Gauntlet of Shar. When you’re done and ready to leave,interact with the portal in front of youto return to the Thorm Mausoleum entrance.
