Disable The Steel Watch Walkthrough & Foundry Location
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Once players arrive in Baldur’s Gate 3‘s third act, and learn of the Steel Watch Foundry’s existence, the way forward isn’t immediately obvious. The location is highlighted on the map of the Lower City of Baldur’s Gate, but because the Fog of War blocks the view of the map until it’s discovered first-hand, the city quickly becomes a maze of interconnected roads.
After finding the Steel Watch Foundry location BG3 players are able to completely shut down the Steel Watch, setting the stage for a direct attack on Gortash. But in the way lies a deep Foundry rife with prisoners to save and Banites to slay – as well as Hellfire Watchers and a Steel Watch Titan boss. This guide explains where to find the Steel Watch Foundry, and how to disable the Steel Watch once inside.
Where Is The Steel Watch Foundry Location?
Enter the Lower City through the Basilisk Gate that leads to the easternmost side of the zone. Continue west along the streets to reach the Wine Festival, and turn south. Turn west and continue towards the Lower City Central Wall waypoint, past the Sorcerous Sundries tower.
From the Waypoint, head south past the Stormshore Armory and go under the Central Wall to continue along the path west. You should reach the Blushing Mermaid after following this winding, clifftop road westward. Continue past the Blushing Mermaid and turn northwest.
There are two ways to reach the Steel Watch Foundry location from the west side of the Blushing Mermaid. Players can sneak around the docks and persuade the resident members of The Guild to let them pass, but this can lead to conflict.
The safer, but longer, route goes north-west towards the Baldur’s Gate waypoint, then winds back on itself to go south-west. Continue to travel south on this pass to go around the harbor and reach the Grey Harbor Docks waypoint (south of Lady Jannath’s Estate).
The Steel Watch Foundry is located right behind this waypoint, allowing for easy access if the party doesn’t seem quite up to the challenge yet.
How To Disable The Steel Watch
Get The Runepowder Bomb from the Ironhand Gnomes
The first step to disable the Steel Watch is to find the Ironhand Gnomes’ hideout. After players reach the crossing to the Lower City, the South Span Checkpoint, they will be apprehended by one of the Steel Watchers. During the cutscene, an Ironhand Gnome suddenly throws a device at the Watcher, disabling it momentarily, allowing players to get through the Checkpoint.
The Hideout is actually found just before the cellar, though. Head back to the Sword Coast Courier, just before the South Span Checkpoint, and navigate to the cliff below the Courier building to find the entrance to a cave.
Here, the Ironhand Gnomes have established themselves, and players can speak with Wulbren to learn of their plot to disable the Steel Watch forever. Wulbren will give the player the Runepowder Bomb, and ask that they use it to destroy the Steel Watch Foundry from the inside.
Break Into The Steel Watch Foundry, Then Defeat Cultists & Watchers
The Steel Watch Foundry is on the far western side of the Lower City, in the Grey Harbor Docks. Once players have found the location of the Steel Watch Foundry, carefully watch the Steel Watchers’ movements inside, and only open the gate when they are out of sight.
The most convenient entrance is located on the Foundry’s south side. Move around to this entrance, avoiding the Watchers, and either Jump up or use the lift to get inside.
Enable Turn-Based Mode for this portion of breaking into the Steel Watch Foundry. It’s very easy to get caught by the Watchers if they patrol in real-time, and players can use the Dash action (and similar movement-boosting actions) to more quickly reach this entrance.
Once inside, the party will stumble into an argument between the Gondian workers and their Guards – Bane Worshippers. Fight alongside the Gondians, and defeat this initial wave of cultists. Deeper in the Foundry, players will run into another set of Banite Cultists, as well as hostile Hellfire Watchers.
When these Cultists die, they leave behind a Motivator, which activates within one turn. This explodes if it isn’t de-activated in one turn, so make it it a high priority to reach these and defuse them before it’s too late.
The Hellfire Watchers have around 200 HP and wield exceptionally strong attacks, making them quite the imposing enemy. However, players don’t actually need to deplete their HP to 0 – at around 20% to 40% HP, a Hellfire Watcher will begin self-detonation.
This deals an immense amount of damage in a wide range, so be sure to get everyone out of range quickly if a Hellfire Watcher is about to self-destruct. With a high enough Strength, it’s a good idea to Throw enemies into this explosive radius, and it’s also worth Throwing allies out of the area if they won’t make it out in time on their own.
Use Invisibility To Sneak Past The Steel Watch Titan
Once players reach the end of the Steel Watch Foundry, after taking an elevator to its depths, the party will see a room containing two Hellfire Watchers and the Steel Watch Titan. This boss is hard enough on its own, let alone with the aid of two Hellfire Watcher defenders.
Though it does drop a very powerful Bow that can apply Guiding Bolt on hit and grants an improved version of Haste, it’s much easier to just sneak past the entire encounter – you don’t lose much XP, and this late in the game, the Bow likely isn’t too impactful.
However, players who wish to take on the Steel Watch Titan should focus on two things: getting rid of the Hellfire Watchers when they are close to the boss, and dealing Lightning damage to it directly. The Steel Watch is vulnerable to Lightning damage, so be sure to use Lightning Arrows, Chain Lightning, and other Electricity-type spells on the Hellfire Watchers and boss alike. When the Hellfire Watchers get close to death, they will self-detonate, dealing huge amounts of damage to the Steel Watch Titan if it’s within range.
The easier solution is to cast Invisibility on oneself, or take an Invisibility Potion, initiate Turn-Based Mode, then use actions like Dash, Misty Step, and other movement-boosting abilities to traverse the boss arena without any danger of initiating combat on accident. Keep the rest of the party outside of the room, and be sure that the character who will detonate the Runepowder Bomb has it in their inventory.
Plant The Bomb & Watch The Fireworks
Whether you use Invisibility or take on the boss and its Hellfire Watcher minions, the Neurocitor can be found at the other end of the room. Interact with the Heart of the Steel Watch Foundry with the Runepowder bomb in the character’s inventory, and place it inside. A cutscene will then play where the player and their party run out of the Steel Watch Foundry before it is wiped from the face of Faerun.
As the ashes and rubble of the Foundry have settled, the player is approached by none other than Wulbren Bongle, who congratulates them on a job well done, but shows hostility towards the Gondians (or Gondian) who survived.
It’s up to the player to choose which side to choose – either the Ironhands or the Gondians will join the final fight against the Absolute, as part of the “Gather Your Allies” quest, but not both.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is available for PC and PlayStation 5. A version for Xbox Series X/S is currently in development.
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