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How to solve the BG3 defiled temple moon stone puzzle

If you want a way into the Underdark, you’ll first have to solve the Baldur’s Gate moon stone puzzle in the Defiled Temple, or you could, you know, just not.

What is the Baldur’s Gate 3 moon stone puzzle solution? It’s a head-scratcher, that’s for sure. BG3 is no stranger to the odd environment puzzle, and often times it doesn’t give you many hints at all other than what you can see in the room. The Defiled Temple moon stone puzzle is one of these puzzles; a set of four rotating panels on the floor and an image above a locked door. That’s it, that’s your lot.

If you’re still on the fence about diving into the fantastic RPG, our Baldur’s Gate 3 review should give you enough of a push to choose the best class, don your best armor, polish your sharpest sword, and take that first step into Faerun. At one point in your adventure, you’re going to need access to a huge underground area called the Underdark, and if you want to get there through the Goblin Camp, you’re going to need to solve the perplexing moon stone puzzle. Here’s how to solve the Baldur’s Gate 3 moon stone puzzle the right way, and then our way (the best way).

 

Baldur's Gate 3 moon stone: a dark crypt with a puzzle consisting of round round slabs.

Moon stone puzzle solution

The idea behind the Defiled Temple puzzle is to match the pattern on the floor with the one above the door. Each of the four disks on the floor can rotate, and you’ll have to re-order them to unlock the door. This solution will tell you which of the disks to rotate, in order, assuming you’re looking at the puzzle from the way you entered the room (looking at the locked door).

The rotation order for the moon stone puzzle is:

  • Top x1
  • Left x3
  • Bottom x1
  • Left x2
  • Right x2
  • Bottom x1
  • Right x2

Baldur's Gate 3 moon stone: a secret lever hidden on the walls of a dark crypt.

 

Follow that sequence, the contraption will click into place, and you’ll have access to the Underdark. Alternatively, you can do what we originally did and just use your superior lockpicking skills on the lever to the right of the puzzle after passing the perception check and bypass the whole situation. Easy.

Now that you’ve solved the Baldur’s Gate 3 moon stone puzzle, you can explore the Underdark and finally try to get that damn tadpole out of your head. If you’re still experimenting with your character, we have a bunch of best builds guides, like the best barbarian build, the best warlock build, and the best rogue build, if you want to get really good at bypassing puzzles like this.