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After exploring the Goblin Camp in the first chapter of Baldur’s Gate 3, you’ll come across a puzzle in the Defiled Temple. This puzzle involves rotating tiles that show different phases of the moon. It’s crucial to get these tiles in the right position to unlock a key area for a future quest. While your companions won’t help solve this puzzle, you’ll earn some experience points once you figure out the solution.
You can find the Defiled Temple beyond the Goblin Priestess’s room in the Goblin Camp, which you visit in Act 1 after rescuing Druid Halsin. Depending on whether you sided with the Drow Minthara, this area might be guarded by goblins who will attack you before you reach the moon puzzle. Fortunately, these enemies have low health and pose a real threat only if you face a large group.
### How to Solve the Moon Puzzle in the Defiled Temple
The puzzle requires you to rearrange the floor tiles so that full moons are on top, half moons are on the sides, and no moons are on the bottom. Four circular tiles make up the puzzle; each tile has four holes that can be rotated to display different moon phases. Since each tile intersects with two others, figuring out how to move them can be a bit tricky.
One way to solve the puzzle is to follow this sequence:
– Move the top tiles twice
– Move the right tile once
– Move the top tiles three times
– Move the left tiles three times
– Move the bottom tiles three times
– Move the left tiles twice
By doing this, all the tiles should end up in the correct positions, unlocking the area behind the temple called the Selunite Outpost. You can also solve it in different ways as long as the moons are correctly aligned in the end.
Once you reach the Selunite Outpost, you’ll find a waypoint that allows quick travel to this spot later. From there, you can access the Underdark, which is an important part of Shadowheart’s story if she stays in your party.
### Additional Tips
Completing the “Finding the Nightsong” quest from solving this puzzle helps strengthen your bond with Shadowheart by earning extra approval and possible inspiration. A tip for gaining an inspiration point involves Gale, a wizard in your party. By investigating the Goblin Priestess’s journal earlier, you get clues for solving the puzzle and improve your chances of approval from Gale. His assistance also gives you a re-roll for certain ability checks.
### How to Skip the Moon Door Puzzle
If you prefer not to solve the puzzle, you can skip it entirely with a bit of luck. Head to the north end of the chamber, where you’ll see a lever (pictured above). The map shows its exact location—just above a bench on the right side of the area.
To find the lever, you need a high Passive Perception score. Characters with good Wisdom or Perception stats, like Shadowheart, are best suited for this. Once spotted, lockpick the lever to open the door—Astarion has the best chance to succeed. This method allows you to bypass the puzzle completely and move forward in the game.
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