How to solve Balthazar bookcase puzzle in Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3)

After reaching Moonrise Towers and being tasked by Disciple Z’rell to find Balthazar, you’ll be directed to Balthazar’s room which has a unique bookcase puzzle to solve. Solving the Balthazar bookshelf puzzle grants useful rewards you won’t want to miss in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Baldur’s Gate 3: How to solve the Balthazar bookshelf puzzle

If you read the book titled Attention Acolytes near the entrance of the room below the large tapestry, you’ll read that interacting with most of the bookshelf’s tomes fills the room with poison. If this happens to you, quickly run out of the room toward the balcony. Instead, you need to look for a “beating heart.”

Related: How to get all Dye Colors in Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3)

Here’s how you solve Balthazar’s bookshelf puzzle in BG3:

1. Interact with the bookshelf labeled “Musty Tomes.”
2. Pick up the Heart near the center of the room.
3. Place the Heart in the Ancient Altar to the right of the bookshelf.
4. The bookshelf opens and reveals a hidden room.

How to use the Ritual Circle in Baldur’s Gate 3

Once in the secret room, you can lockpick the Opulent Chest to get an Elixir of Necrotic Resistance and a Coldbrim Hat which makes targets vulnerable to Ice attacks after being hit with a condition. You can also turn your attention over to the Ritual Circle located on the table.

There are two things you can get with the Ritual Circle. One is the Mystra’s Benevolence buff on Gale which grants a permanent advantage to concentration checks for the rest of the game. The other is a Shadow Lantern that doesn’t protect you from the Shadow Curse but does allow you to summon a Shadow Wraith.

The only way to interact with the Ritual Circle is if Gale is in your party. Here is how to get Mystra’s Benevolence:

• “It’s time. Destroy the Ritual Circle, Gale.”
  • Gale gets Mystra’s Benevolence.
• Erase the shadow sigils.
  • Your character gets Mystra’s Benevolence if they are a Wizard.

Here’s how to get the Shadow Lantern:

1. Right-click and pick up a Broken Moonlantern.
2. Pick up a Dead Pixie on the table.
3. Interact with the Ritual Table
4. Select Craft the Shadow Lantern.
5. Put the Dead Pixie and Broken Moonlantern in the combination window.
6. Press Combine.

Hopefully, you enjoy your Shadow Lantern or Mystra’s Benevolence buff. If you still need help getting past the Shadow Curse, we’ve got a guide to help you.