How to unlock the treasure chest in Underground Passage in Baldur's Gate 3?

As players explore the sandbox world in Baldur's Gate 3, they are bound to come across challenging encounters and secret areas. One such location is the Underground Passage. This is near the goblin ambush set up for the Tiefling camp players encounter not long after crashlanding in Faerun. This is the back entrance of the passage, so to speak.

It leads to an area with a bunch of goblins and statue traps. Just before the goblin scouting atop the cliffside, players will see a heavy chest hiding in the darkness. It cannot be opened by simple means or brute-forcing.

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Is there a way to open the locked heavy chest in Baldur's Gate 3's Underground Passage?

There is. The chest in question is located on the right in a dark corner next to many others. But it should first be noted that the chest is also booby-trapped. It has a health bar, so players may be enticed to whack it and deplete its health until zero so it breaks. However, this is not recommended due to the traps, which can potentially destroy the items inside.

The best-case scenario is to find the key to it. Thankfully it is not located much further. There are a few hurdles to overcome, however. First is a group of goblins stationed around the area up ahead. Start with the goblin atop the cliff first and use the high-ground advantage to deal with them in turn-based combat. Be wary of potential spells from enemies that can create acid puddles on the ground.

Use the Jump Action to cross gaps in Baldur's Gate 3 (Image via Larian Studios/YouTube: Pop Pop Games)

Once they have been dealt with, players should see a rock formation that can be jumped to on the side. Unfortunately, it has a pressure plate mechanism camouflaged as the rock surface, so when players step on it, one of the three Guardian Statues facing the area will unleash a continuous flurry of fire bolts. This can be devastating if it lands on multiple party members.

Thus, it is best recommended to use a single character that can pass the perception check to see the trap, which can then be disarmed with trap-disarming kits. Furthermore, be sure to only use one character. This can be done by unlinking the character portrait from the group and then manually controlling the character past the rock to the area below. Take note of the pressure plate traps at each step.

These dangerous statues are dotted around the passageway in Baldur's Gate 3 (Image via Larian Studios/YouTube: Pop Pop Games)

Down below, players will find a charred dead Human body. Loot the corpse to get Charred Key. Make your way back up to the group and climb back the cliff face (or take the side route) to get to the area with the chest. If players find themselves struggling with the Guardian Statues, then destroying them is an option too. Just be sure to stay out of their reach and launch a barrage of long-range attacks.

Players can choose ranged staff attacks or a bow to do damage. While it deals low damage, the latter is recommended since the "ammo" is infinite. The statues have a surprisingly large amount of health, and there are more than three, but each of them should go down easily, especially if players have co-op friends to help them out in Baldur's Gate 3.

The heavy chest waiting to be unlocked has a Dexterity Check of 10. Be sure to have a trap-disarming kit too. Pass the check to unlock it. Inside are a bunch of gold, a Nature's Snare staff, and a Silver Goblet. These should be useful since this is an early-level area in Baldur's Gate 3.

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Baldur's Gate 3 final launch is out today on PC.