There are a few instant-death instances in Baldur's Gate 3. If players make a certain decision with the Dying Mind Flayer, it's immediate death. Also, shooting certain objects while aboard the Nautiloid results in an explosion that can easily kill the team in a single blast.
But perhaps no trap in Baldur's Gate 3 has more one-hit kills to its name that the Guardian Statues in the Underground Passage. Players try to sneak around or find a panel to disable them only to get blown up in a single blast. If the first hit doesn't kill the entire team, the statues will keep on firing until it's all over.
Updated on August 6th, 2023 by Hodey Johns: The previous version of this article was written in the Early Access period of Baldur's Gate 3. Since that time, these specific traps have been completely overhauled. It appears that the old method of destroying them from range no longer works. The correct way to shut the Guardian Statues off did not work at that time so this guide was a workaround. Now that the bugs have been ironed out, this entire guide needed a rewrite to reflect the current and correct way of shutting the statues down. The statues can be destroyed at a certain damage threshold but that threshold is now too high to be considered a solution for this particular challenge.
This article divulges consequences within the game and reveals information the player's character may not know. Gamers committed to role-playing may wish to stop reading and find these things out for themselves.
How To Disable The Guardian Statues
- Turn the three glowing panels off.
- If turning the panel off would put the character in danger, turn on Turn-Based mode and use the Mage Hand cantrip and have the Mage Hand turn off the panel.
Those looking for the treasure in the Underground Passage will want to disable all of these Guardian Statues. Regardless of which side players enter from, there will be one panel to turn off before engaging in combat with the Goblins.
Take a moment to save Findal after the fight if doing a good or neutral-aligned campaign. Then turn to the second panel which will be by the opposite entrance. Do take precise pathing to get there as both Guardian Statues are very close to overlooking the panel that activates them.
For the middle panel, it's best to use the Mage Hand cantrip while in Turn-Based mode. These statues will fire repeatedly when out of this mode and will instantly destroy the Mage Hand once it appears. Once all three statues have been deactivated, the final remaining trap here is on the chest itself. Disable that and then the Underground Passage is safe.
Baldur's Gate 3 is available now for PC. The PlayStation 5 version will be available on September 6th, 2023. A version for Xbox Series X/S is still in development.