Published , by Sam Chandler
Published , by Sam Chandler
Baldur’s Gate 3 poses a lot of alternative paths for players, and one of those is what to do first: Iron Throne or Gortash. Anyone who has taken a little ride in a submersible will no doubt have this question as the new duke threatens the life of everyone in the prison. Here is what to do first, how to effectively complete the Iron Throne, and what you get for saving people.
You should do the Iron Throne before dealing with Gortash. According to various sources online, specifically Reddit, killing Gortash first causes the Iron Throne to become inaccessible, killing all the prisoners on board.
The best order is to head to the Iron Throne, even though Gortash threatens you and then sets the self-destruct sequence. Depending on your preparation, skill, and luck, you may be able to get out of the Iron Throne having saved everyone. There are two people you definitely want to save, one is in the east and the other is in the southwest.
Before you click the submersible and begin your ride down to the Iron Throne, you must prepare. Ideally, you will have a few Misty Step options and Potions of Speed, but most importantly, you will have Dimension Door spells. These allow you to teleport yourself and one additional person a long way – it will be enough to get one prisoner from distant cells back to the center ladder.
You can buy Dimension Door spells from the Sorcerers Sundries in Baldur’s Gate. The Lorroakan trader has a bunch you can buy. If you’ve got great Stealth skills, you could even pick pocket the merchant and steal them all, saving you a couple of thousand gold. However, you likely only need a few.
If you’re going to use Misty Step, be sure you’re aware of the shoes, Boots of Very Fast Blinking. These may leave you without clothes, having made your armor disappear. Fear not, this isn’t a bug. Potion of Speed will also give you a bonus action and increase your movement. Use this with Dash to cover the distance from the ladder to the security wings in one go.
When you’re ready to enter the Iron Throne, interact with the submersible in Flymm Cargo and wait for Gortash to call. You can choose any option, the end result is Gortash telling you to leave. Choosing “Dock at the Iron Throne” will cause Gortash to detonate some explosives which will see the Iron Throne beginning to explode and take on water.
At this point, you will be dumped into the top of the Iron Throne and there will be a counter on the right showing six turns. A single turn is done when every single character has had a go and it loops back around to the character that went first. Begin by taking a Potion of Speed to increase your movement and give you another action.
Assuming you have four characters, send one hero to each of the security wings. The Duke Ravengard will be in the east, Omeluum will be in the southwest, and several Gondians will be in the south and west wings. Your priority should be the Duke Ravengard and Omeluum, whom you will be able to control. The other prisoners will be under AI control and will Dash to the center when you use the levers beside their doors to open their cells.
When it comes to saving Duke Ravengard, he will be beset by Mizora and forced to kneel. She will also summon exploding spiders around him, enough to kill him in one go. This is where Dimension Door can help as you can whisk him away to the center ladder. If you’re unable to do this, consider using a Globe of Invulnerability spell to prevent the spiders from dealing any damage.
An alternative is to save Omeluum first and get him to the Duke before you open the Duke’s cell. Omeluum has a spell called Teleport to Submersible that instantly teleports him and a nearby ally to the submarine. Just make sure you wait until after Mizora appears to teleport the Duke, because if you teleport him first, all the exploding spiders will appear inside the submersible and absolutely annihilate anyone you’ve managed to save.
The longer you take to clear the wings, the more Sahuagin will appear. You can ignore them for the most part, but they will do their best to kill any prisoners you free. Their nets are also especially troublesome as they will prevent you from moving, which essentially takes up two of the six turns you get before the whole place explodes.
While you should try to save as many as you can, it isn’t required and there’s no great reward other than the knowledge you did it. Each character will offer a bit of dialogue once you leave, thanking you dearly for saving them. However, Duke Ravengard and Omeluum both have quests that continue if you can save them – so get them out safely.
Overall, the Iron Throne is a tough encounter, but a rather unique one, and you should definitely do it first before dealing with Gortash. If you defeat Gortash first, the Iron Throne will be unavailable and you will not be able to continue any quests relating to the Duke Ravengard or Omeluum. Be sure to check out our Baldur’s Gate 3 guide for more help with all aspects of the game.