After spending a decent amount of time in the Shadow Curse-ridden lands of Baldur’s Gate 3 and its second act, you’ll probably be eager for a way to cleanse the area permanently. The Moonlantern and Isobel’s Blessing will only get you so far.
Fortunately, there is a method to revitalize this region permanently. However, it will take a bit of work and a lot of fighting to clear away the Shadow Curse in Baldur’s Gate 3. Here’s a complete step-by-step guide to completing the Lift the Shadow Curse quest.
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BG3 Lift the Shadow Curse quest walkthrough
Initiating the Life the Shadow Curse quest requires saving the Tieflings during Baldur’s Gate 3’s first act and meeting Halsin in the Goblin Camp. You’ll also want to make sure you have Halsin in your camp. He’s not a fully fledged party member right now, but don’t worry; we’ll rectify that soon.
If you sided with the goblins and Minthara during Act One, you won’t be able to complete this quest. Similarly, if Halsin died in any way before reaching this point or dies from now until the end of the Lift the Shadow Curse quest, you won’t be able to finish it. No matter how good or evil your character may be, whether you complete this mission depends on his survival.
Talk to Halsin after you enter the Shadow-Cursed Lands, and you’ll learn about his pal Thaniel, who can possibly help cleanse this land if you can find them. This quest’s requirements can be split up into four parts:
- Waking up Art Cullagh
- Defending Halsin’s Portal
- Finding Thaniel’s other half
- Completing Baldur’s Gate 3’s second act
To start, you’ll need to complete the quest Wake up Art Cullagh. He’s an NPC you’ll find on the first floor of the Last Light Inn, laying in a bed unconscious. You can find a full walkthrough on how to wake Art Cullagh up here.
Once you’ve learned about Thaniel’s supposed whereabouts, Halsin will set off for the shore and ask you to meet him there. Make sure to Long Rest and prep your spellbooks first if needed. You’re about to walk into a pretty substantial fight.
How to defend Halsin’s Portal
Halsin will need to enter into a portal to the realm where Thaniel is being held. You’ll find this portal just outside Last Light Inn at (X:-72, Y:208). While he braves the dangers in there, you need to stay outside and ensure the portal remains open. A wave defense battle follows where tons of Shadow Cursed enemies will crash down on you, attempting to stop you from retrieving Thaniel.
Using the rock and its high-ground advantage will be important, as it gives you Advantage on rolls. Bring plenty of AoE magic spells, and don’t be afraid to use some scrolls, either. This is a tough fight but valuable if you’re looking for an injection of XP to hit the next level.
My strategy was running my Warlock character, Gale, Shadowheart, and Karlach. My Tav and Gale stood back by the portal, blasting enemies from afar; Magic Missile is useful for clearing tricky enemies to hit, like the Ravens, and Fireball is a big crowd-clearer. The same goes for Warlock spells like Hunger of Hadar and ol’ reliable Eldritch Blast.
Shadowheart can have Cleric wards at this point, too. Having Spirit Guardians active on Shadowheart makes this fight much easier, especially if you maintain concentration and use disengage to run through enemies and insta-kill them.
Massive AoEs will help thin out the small fries while Karlach (or Lae’zel) leaps over and tackles some hardier enemies, like the Wraith and tentacles. The Shadow-Cursed Harpers are a threat here, as they can use ranged attacks and swarm your portal quickly if you don’t deal with them quickly enough.
Cheesing the Halsin Portal fight
You can also use a few cheese strats to make this fight easier. The go-to cheese method for making the rangers less of a threat is casting Darkness on Halsin’s portal. If you want to make the fight even easier, toss a bunch of explosive barrels around before the fight starts and set them off after a turn or two to wipe out most of the shadow-cursed monsters.
Hold out for the turns (it will take more than it says on the clock), and eventually, Halsin will return and end the fight. Thaniel’s back, but not feeling well. To restore him, you’ll need to find the half of him left behind here, in this realm.
How to find Thaniel’s other half in Baldur’s Gate 3
At this point, Halsin will mention an area of the Shadow-Cursed Lands that still had flora blooming. This would indicate that Thaniel’s other half is here, and he’ll mark it for you to investigate. At this point, he’ll also be able to join as a full party member, which is pretty handy.
Bear or not, head to the ruined house at (X:76, Y:40), and you’ll find the shadowed, evil version of Thaniel named Oliver. He’s been “playing” with other folks and wants to play with you. Oliver will zip away through a portal. Gear up for another fight and follow him.
This one is, thankfully, a little easier than the portal defense. You’ll have to destroy waves of Shadows bolstered by two major shades, Daddy and Mommy. Focus on one big shade at a time while someone flexible and decently high damage—Wyll or a Warlock Tav, for instance—deals with the ads.
Once Mommy and Daddy are down, the rest should be straightforward. Remember to keep some light up so you can spot Shadows, and make use of Karlach’s Frenzy or Lae’zel’s Action Surge to rapidly whittle through groups.
Once you’ve destroyed enough, you can talk with the shadowed self and try to convince it to help you lift the Shadow Curse in Baldur’s Gate 3. I encouraged him that change is good and that combining the two will mean they’ll always have a friend. Just don’t get too aggressive, and this should be straightforward.
At this point, you’ve done all you can. Finishing this quest will not lift the Shadow Curse just yet, but it does make sure that you can recruit Halsin as a fully fledged Companion once you’ve finished the task.
Completing BG3 Act Two
With that out of the way, there is one lingering note: head back to camp and talk to the newly reformed Thaniel. As he says, he cannot fully heal the land until Ketheric Thorm is in the dirt.
Taking out Ketheric is part of the Act 2 finale, so the Shadow Curse of Baldur’s Gate 3 will have to persist until you’re ready to move on. After defeating the final boss, you should get a scene of the Shadow Curse lifting off the lands. In our own experience, some NPCs (like Art Cullagh) may still react like you haven’t lifted the curse yet. As long as you see the cutscene of the curse lifting at the end of the act, you’re set.
Recruiting Halsin after lifting the Shadow Curse
The druid Halsin can discuss this with you in camp or during the events of Lift the Shadow Curse, but he knew Thaniel growing up. Early in his life, the pair were friends, but as Halsin aged, Thaniel did not, as the latter is an embodiment of the spirit of the land.
Thus, Halsin is determined to become a protector of the lands and not just a friend to them. It makes sense, then, that saving Thaniel and restoring the land is a prerequisite for recruiting Halsin.
Lift the Shadow Curse quest rewards
Aside from lifting the curse and being a general do-gooder, helping Halsin and Thaniel also nets you a big benefit at the end of the game. As part of the Gather Your Allies quest, you can acquire the help of various people you’ve helped across the length of Baldur’s Gate 3 for its final battle.
The boon you get for lifting the Shadow Curse in Baldur’s Gate 3 is not as tangible as Florrick’s fighters or Yurgir’s help, but rather, an extremely beneficial passive boost. After reuniting the disparate parts of Thaniel, you’ll get the Spirit of the Land boost in the final fight, giving you a +1 to all Ability Scores and an additional 2m movement speed. It’s a very helpful bonus to have in the challenging final encounter.
Published: Jan 16, 2025 02:20 pm