How to Save Iron Throne Prisoners & Escape in Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3)

Baldur’s Gate 3 is a fantastically massive RPG game that definitely loves its puzzles, both of the non-lethal and lethal variety, though the important ones tend to lean toward the latter. One of the most challenging ones in the entire game is actually more of a rescue mission, specifically rescuing several prisoners from the underwater prison known as the Iron Throne. It takes diligent strategy, and pulling it off is not only a feat in itself, but it’s also critical to fulfilling various late-game quests. If you’re not sure how to do it, here is our guide for how to save the Iron Throne prisoners and escape in Baldur’s Gate 3.

What is the Iron Throne & How to Get There in Baldur’s Gate (BG3)

The Iron Throne is a barbaric underwater prison wielded by Lord Enver Gortash to capture anyone he doesn’t like, or who can be used for his own nefarious gain. In this case, while forcing the Gondians to construct his fearsome Steel Watch army, he’s also imprisoned their families to ensure their obedience and efficiency in getting the job done. Not only are they being kept down there, but Duke Ravengard is, as well as a Mindflayer named Omeelum.

Either way, they all need saving (if you can), and to get there you’ll require a submarine. Head to the docks and search for the warehouse called Flymm’s Cargo. Be mindful of the Wargs standing guard as you break in, and then make your way to the northwest corner of the room, where some boxes are. Underneath them is a hatch that will take you to a basement.

From there, head straight until you’re able to turn left, and soon you’ll find yourself at the submarine dock. Speak to Redhammer the Deviser nearby and have him take you to the Iron Throne.

While it seems like it’s going to be an undercover job, it turns out that Gortash is the one to give you a warm welcome, and threatens to blow up the prison if you don’t turn and leave. Ignoring his threat begins an ominous self-destruct sequence, and the rescue mission.

How to Rescue the Prisoners in the Iron Throne in Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3)

The singularly most difficult aspect of this mission is the strict timer you’re given to rescue as many prisoners as possible. In fact, you may very well want to make a separate save file for this endeavor, as if you’re striving to save everyone, it’ll very likely take a few tries.

First off, the ticking clock you’re given comes in the form of a set number of turns to make the rescue before the place blows and everyone dies. How many turns you’re allowed depends on the difficulty you’re playing on.

• Explorer – Gives you 8 turns
• Normal – Gives you 6 turns
• Tactician – Gives you 5 turns

So the easiest difficulty gives you the most leeway to pull off the rescue, and remember that you can adjust the difficulty of the game at any time. This can make a huge difference in the outcome.

Our other primary tips for successfully freeing the prisoners and getting them to the submarine include:

• You Must Move Quickly – Anything you have in your arsenal to quicken your pace around the prison is an absolute priority. Potions, spells, make use of them all. Fly is always useful. If you have the Haste spell, its effects last for 10 turns, making it an excellent choice. Or if you just have a Potion of Speed, that will give you 3 turns of Haste. Note that this will exhaust your character afterward, so you’ll want to wait and use it after at least 3 turns. Misty Step also provides a handy teleport ability, and Dimension Door is useful as well. If you have Gale with you he can cast it twice. Anything to help the prisoners freed and to the submarine quicker.
• Split Up Your Party – In tandem with moving quickly, you’ll want to split the group up to head to different areas of the prison, to maximize the ground covered in the short time you have and rescue as many prisoners as possible. Staying together the whole time will do the opposite.
• Minions Help Distract Enemies – As you go around freeing prisoners, Sahaugin enemies will spawn occasionally to impede your progress. To deal with them, having a spell (e.g. Danse Macabre from the Necromancy of Thay) that can spawn minions of some kind and number will help grab their attention away from you and your party members, that way you don’t waste turns having to fight them.
• Save Duke Ravengard First – Rescuing Wyll’s father, Duke Ravengard, is part of another quest you may likely have at this point in the game. As such, to kill two birds with one stone, you’ll probably want to try for him first. Ravengard is found in the east cells of the prison, after going down the ladder.
• Save Omeelum Too, If You Can – The Mindflayer named Omeelum isn’t necessarily tied to their own separate quest, but they can prove very useful in helping transport other prisoners to the submarine quicker, thanks to their ability that allows them to teleport with one other person. Beware though, Omeelum has been reportedly buggy for some players in that he sometimes won’t appear in his cell in the south area of the prison at all, which can cost you valuable time. His rescue is more of a toss-up.
• Don’t Worry If a Companion Dies – While you may feel the pressure of keeping everyone alive, in truth you don’t need to worry if one or more of your companions dies during this mission. Ideally you want to send one to look for loot, as the prison has some valuable items like a Mindflayer Parasite to find. As long as your main character makes it out alive with your rescued prisoners, the mission will still succeed, and if you have Withers at your Camp, he can revive anyone who’s died.

If you manage to follow at least most of these tactics, you should be able to make it out of the Iron Throne with most of the prisoners, if not all. Don’t stress if you can’t grab every single one though. Rescuing just a few of them ensures that the other Gondians at the Steel Watch Foundry will rise up and work with you to destroy it once and for all, paving the way to Gortash himself.

That concludes our guide for how to save Iron Throne Prisoners and escape in Baldur’s Gate 3. We hope you found this helpful in completing one of the most challenging quests in the game, and let us know how it turned out for you.

Be sure to check out all of our other guides for Baldur’s Gate 3, as well as our official review of the game.