Baldur's Gate 3: How To Get Protection From The Shadow Curse

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During Act 2, a Shadow Curse inflicts the land, preventing you from progressing through certain areas in Baldur's Gate 3. If you try to push your way through, you will suffer massive damage, but you can circumvent the Shadow Curse by using sources of light and the right spells to move through these lands.

Initially, a torch will protect you, but as the Shadow Curse gets thicker the deeper you go, it won't be enough, and it may hinder certain party members depending on their weapons and fighting style to carry one. Ambient light can also help against the Shadow Curse early on, including high-level spells like Daylight , but again, you'll need a better solution later.

How To Get Around The Shadow Curse In Baldur's Gate 3

Moonlanterns & The Pixie Blessing

If you meet Isobel at the Last Light Inn, the Cleric, she will cast Selûne's Blessing. This blessing allows the party to travel through the less dense areas of the Shadow Curse without the use of torches or ambient light but will still do nothing to protect the party from the thicker areas. For that, you have a couple of options, including the use of the Moonlantern or Pixie's Blessing.

Isobel casts a light spell in Baldur's Gate 3, superimposed over a night sky.

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As you travel through the land in Act 2 of Baldur's Gate 3, a group of Fist warriors who want to delve deeper into the Curse can be discovered, setting up an ambush against a Drider and some cultists. Regardless of choice, you will eventually meet Kar'niss, a Drider who carries a special item called the Moonlantern. If you explored a bit while at the Grymforge, then there's a chance you have happened upon a broken one already.

The companion character, Shadowheart, has a natural resistance to the Shadow Curse, allowing her to travel through the first layer of the blight without needing a torch or other source of light. However, this will not be effective for the thicker areas of the curse.

The Moonlantern is one of two ways to travel through the thicker part of the Shadow Curse, and arguably the most annoying option, since the one you found at the Grymforge is broken and there is no way to fix a broken Moonlantern. Luckily, the one held by Kar'niss is working and upon further investigation, you'll see this is because of a pixie named Dolly Dolly Dolly that is powering it.

Shadowheart in front of a blurred image of the Shadowfell in Baldur's Gate 3.

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If you opt to go against the ambush and are escorted to Moonrise Towers by Kar'niss, Dolly Dolly Dolly will be dead inside the lantern by the time you reach Moonrise Towers. Alternatively, if you participate in the ambush, you will eventually receive the lantern carried by Kar'niss either during the ambush or from Isobel after returning to the Last Light Inn.

While Lift The Shadow Curse is a quest that is available after entering the area, it will be revealed that the curse cannot be lifted until the end of Act 2, when the main antagonist of this arc is defeated. Therefore, don't assume that you can complete Halsin's quest and then just proceed through Act 2 unharmed, you need the Moonlantern or pixie blessing.

With the working lantern in hand, you have two options. You can either utilize the Moonlantern as is, or you may free Dolly Dolly Dolly from inside the lantern. The best option, in this case, is to free her since, as thanks, she will provide the party with Pixie Blessing, allowing the party to move through any part of the Shadow Curse at will in Baldur's Gate 3 without taking any damage.