In Baldur’s Gate 3, players often find themselves solving intricate puzzles and uncovering hidden secrets. One such mystery is the Ancient Altar in Ketheric’s room. This guide will help you understand what to place in BG3’s Ancient Altar to unlock a secret passage that reveals who is behind the Absolute.
How to Use the Secret Altar in Baldur’s Gate 3
Put a heart in the Ancient Altar to open a secret passage to a hidden room where Balthazar conducted his most secret studies. Here’s a step-by-step guide:
- Locate the Altar: The Ancient Altar is hidden behind the bookshelves in Balthazar’s room at Moonrise Towers.
- Reveal the Altar: Interact with the bookshelves to reveal the hidden Ancient Altar.
- Find the Heart: Search the piles of viscera and bodies nearby to find a heart.
- Place the Heart: Place the heart in the Ancient Altar to open the secret passage.
Although I saw some players online mention that other body parts could be placed on the altar, I tried all body parts in the room and found that only the heart reveals the secret passage.
As mentioned above, the Ancient Altar is hidden in Balthazar’s room in Moonrise Towers. You’ll have to play around with his bookshelves to actually reveal the altar, but once it’s out in the open, you just need to grab a heart from the piles of viscera and bodies nearby and put it into the altar.
Balthazar isn’t home, so don’t worry about that. Depending on how you’ve been approaching Act 2, you may have already found him. If not, you’ll be glad to know he’s in a nearby mausoleum, which you’ll be warned not to go into by Raphael. Balthazar is down there being all creepy and playing with the dead. It’s safe to say he’s not an especially good dude, and is covered head-to-toe in weird runes and bloody marks.
It also turns out that Balthazar isn’t even his actual name; he basically stole it from someone because he’s a big old necromancer with a penchant for putting together corpses from any body parts he finds lying around. If you decide to fight him then you’re in for a tough battle, but that’s an article for another time. Go ahead and open the Ancient Altar and enjoy what you find inside.
What’s Inside the Hidden Passage?
Once you enter the secret room, you’ll discover that the necromancer was interested in Netherese magic and was experimenting on the tadpoles. You’ll also find four Broken Moonlanters and two Dead Pixies. Inside a locked Opulent Chest, you’ll loot an Elixir of Necrotic Resistance and a Coldbrim Hat that grants you an ability called Coldbrim Chill.
Coldbrim Hat Overview & Stats
The Coldbrim Hat is an uncommon hat in Baldur’s Gate 3 that grants a unique ability called Coldbrim Chill. This effect causes any condition the wearer inflicts with spells and cantrips to also inflict two turns of Encrusted with Frost, but only once per turn.
| Coldbrim Hat Properties | Details |
|---|---|
| Type | Helmets |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Weight | 0.5 kg / 1 lb |
| Price | 90 gp |
| Coldbrim Chill | Once per turn, any spell condition inflicted on a target also applies 2 turns of Encrusted with Frost. |
| Location in Act Two | Found in Balthazar’s secret room after you’ve placed a hard in the Ancient Altar. |
| Location in Act Three | The Coldbrim Hat is on a table in Sorcerous Sundries near the Lava Elementals. |
If you’re looking for more on the game, check out where you can find Dammon after the Emerald Grove in Baldur’s Gate 3.
The above article was updated on July 18, 2024 to add additional information about the Ancient Altar and the Coldbrim Hat.
Published: Jul 18, 2024 09:54 pm