Baldur’s Gate 3: How to open the Sluice Gate vault in BG3

Navigating the sewers beneath the Lower City in Baldur’s Gate 3 is challenging but rewarding. Among the obstacles you’ll encounter is the Sluice Gate, located in the far western area of the sewers. Here’s how to open the Sluice Gate vault in BG3.

Opening the Sluice Gate in Baldur’s Gate 3

To open the Sluice Gate, go to the platform above it. You’ll find a note explaining that both the water and temperature valves must reach their optimal levels simultaneously. The water valve is on the left, and the temperature valve is on the right.

Next to the valves is a gauge with two colors: blue/red and green. The optimal level is when the pointer is in the middle of the green space.

Below, I’ll explain the easiest way to get both sluice valves in BG3 to their optimal levels:

• Start with one character and click the water valve a single time. You will see the gauge start to rise and the valve will now have a timer with a number on it
• Wait a few seconds and then slide your character over to the temperature valve. Click it once and watch the gauge rise.
• Because the temperature gauge rises faster than the water gauge, the timing should work out to where both reach their optimal levels at the same time.
• This might take a few tries to get the timing correct. You also want to watch out for both valves, as if they reach the end of their gauges, they will begin to shoot out water/fire that will damage your characters.
• You can reset the gauges by interacting with the reset valve on the far right of the platform.

After some time, you should be able to luck out and get the water and temperature gauges to get into the green level at the same time. Once this happens, the Sluice Gate will open and you can walk through. Be careful, though, as there are enemies waiting on the other side. Also, this leads to the area where you can recruit Minsc. You can read my previous guide on recruiting Minsc to find out more information about that process.