How to leave the Underdark and finish Act 1 in Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3)

You probably know how to get to the Underdark in Baldur’s Gate 3, but leaving the Underdark to progress toward the Moonrise Towers is harder than it seems. I was stuck running around the Underdark for hours until I finally found the way out. If you want to finish Baldur’s Gate 3 Act 1 and exit the Underdark, follow this step-by-step guide.

Note: Before you follow the steps in this guide to leave the Underdark and finish Act 1, you need to be sure to finish up any unfinished quests so far because you won’t be able to come back. I recommend you read up on our Find the Nightsong quest guide and choose between the Myconids or the Duergar.

Baldur’s Gate 3(BG3): How to exit the Underdark and finish Act 1

At first, I had a really hard time finding the exit of the Underdark in Baldur’s Gate 3. I’ll detail each step, but first, let me draw out the steps you need to take to escape the Underdark and finish Act 1:

1. Reach Underdark – Beach
2. Use the Underdark Duegar Boat
3. Get the Moonlantern from Nere (and some other goodies)
4. Take the elevator up to leave the Underdark and finish Act 1

Reach Underdark – Beach

Screenshot: PC Invasion

Once you’re in the Underdark in Baldur’s Gate 3, you need to make your way to the Underdark – Beach region. This is in the western part of the Underdark. To get to it, head north through the Myconid Colony, then west toward the Sussur Tree, then south to reach the Beach.

If you want to get sidetracked, you can take some time to search for the three Icy items to make one of the best early weapons in the game.

Use the Underdark Duegar Boat

Here, you can ambush a couple of Duegar Dwarves or choose to side with them to get the Find the Missing Boots sidequest. I chose to side with them to get more information and then kill them. I recommend eliminating the main Duegar Dwarf first so he doesn’t spawn more enemies for you to fight.

After you’ve dealt with the Duegar Dwarves one way or another, you need to hop on the Underdark Duegar Boat to reach the Grymdark.

Get the Moonlanter from Nere (and some other goodies)

Screenshot: PC Invasion

Now that you are in the Grymdark, you’ll see even more Duegar Dwarves. They are mining for precious metals, but your goal is to find Nere. Apparently, Nere is somewhere in the camp south of the Underdark – Grymdark fast travel point, but I didn’t find him at first. If you do find him here, your goal is to get the Moonlantern from him.

What I did was I continued south through Underdark – Ancient Forge and found the Adamantine Forge. Here, you can craft some of the best weapons and armor in the game by using the forge with Mithral and Moulds. However, you need to defeat Grym, the Adamantine Forge boss first. You should definitely check out our guide to learn how to do that (it’s a really tough fight).

By the time I finished with the Adamantine Forge and fast traveled back to Underdark – Grymforge, all the Dyegar Dwarves were dead, including Nere. I found Nere’s body in the middle of the Duegar Dwarf camp, which means there is limited time before all the Duagar Dwarves die from something.

Screenshot: PC Invasion

Whatever killed them wasn’t around when I rolled up and looted Nere’s Moonlantern. He has very rare boots called Disintegrating Night Walkers that I highly recommend you get. They grant you the Misty Step spell and also, you can’t get caught on Enwebbed, Entangled, or Ensnared and you can’t slip on grease or ice.

The only issue with finding Nere dead is his Moonlantern is broken and you can’t use a broken Moonlantern in the next region. But that’s okay because there are many ways to negate the Shadow Curse in Act 2.

Take the elevator up to leave the Underdark and finish Act 1

Screenshot: PC Invasion

After I’d done all of the above, I still could not find the way out of the Underdark. It was under my nose the entire time.

To get out of the Underdark and end Act 1, you need to take the elevator directly across from the Underdark – Grymdark fast travel point. Climb down the stairs, walk across the hall with the boats on your left, climb up the stairs, and open the gate to get to the elevator.

Screenshot: PC Invasion

An NPC will stop you and advise that you only proceed if you have a Moonlantern. You don’t need a Moonlantern just yet (but you will need a torch), and there are two other Moonlanterns that you can get. With everything squared away, use the elevator to leave the Underdark and end Baldur’s Gate 3 Act 1. Good luck with the sections ahead!