Baldur’s Gate 3: When will you reach the town of Baldur’s Gate?

Did you know Baldur’s Gate 3 is named after an in-game city? Assuming you’ve played the first few hours of the game, of course, because every character in the first few quests eventually wants to meet you in Baldur’s Gate. But after you put 20, 30 or even 50 hours into it Baldur’s Gate 3you may wonder if you want to ever reach the big city.

In this Baldur’s Gate 3 guide, we’ll tell you exactly when you’ll reach the titular city of Baldur’s Gate, and give you a brief overview of what you’ll see before you get there in the first two acts.

Warning: This guide contains vague story spoilers for Baldur’s Gate 3 and the action-based structure.

When do you reach Baldur’s Gate in Baldur’s Gate 3?

You will not reach Baldur’s Gate until you reach the game third act. This cost me a bit more 60 hoursbut can go considerably faster if you focus on the story missions and ignore most of the side content.

This is a major turning point in both the story and the game. By the time you reach the city you’ll know the names of all the big bad guys and have a huge number of quests to follow – once you’re through the gates.

Important Note: By the time Act 3 rolls around, you will not be able to return to areas from Act 1 or Act 2. You start the act with zero fast travel points and must collect new ones in and around Baldur’s Gate.

Finally, we must point it out technically don’t start Act 3 in Baldur’s Gate. Instead, you start in the suburbs of a town called Rivington, which is just outside Baldur’s Gate – as in the drawbridge to Baldur’s Gate in Rivington. Although it is a technical problem, we consider this as reaching Baldur’s Gate, some characters who want to meet you in the big city – in particular Kith’Rak Voss – are actually in Rivington.

When does Act 3 start?

Image: Larian Studios via Polygon

This is coming in more and more spoiler territory, but you know you’re headed for Act 3 when you enter Moonrise Towers.

Now even that isn’t specific enough as you can easily enter Moonrise Towers without triggering the big story moments that send you into Act 3. Instead, the Moonrise Towers quest will eventually send you to collect an “artifact” for General Keetherian. To get it, you need the Mausoleum and go through a long dungeon.

Once you have the Glove from Sharyou reach a pool that gives you a “no turning back”. warning. Unlike the warning from Act 1 to Act 2, this one is serious. If you click yes, not only will you fail all active side quests in Moonrise Towers (such as freeing the prisoners), but you also lose access to all Act 1 areas.

Be absolutely sure you don’t want to do anything else on your to-do list before you walk into the pool.

Once you complete the event in the pool, you’ll have several large battle encounters and a small dungeon left in Act 2. Once you’re on the other side of the dungeon’s boss fight, you’ll be Baldur’s Gate (well, Rivington, at least ) be bound to!

Where does Act 1 end and Act 2 begin?

If you’ve read the first two parts here and it’s all been too crazy for you, chances are you’re still in Act 1. But characters start asking to meet you at Baldur’s Gate long before Act 2 begins, so it’s certainly understandable how you found your way to us and this guide.

If you’re curious about when you’ll reach Act 2 (so you can then reach Act 3 and Baldur’s Gate), there are a few possible triggers. The basic idea is that you change Acts when you change the Shadow-ridden landswhere you will find Last light inn and some of the game’s recurring characters. This can be done through The mountain pass or The Underdark.

As you walk into Act 2, the game will threaten you and say you’re reaching a point of no return, but it’s mostly lying. Still, time will pass, so any time-sensitive quests are best completed before moving on.