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Disable the Steel Watch is a sub-quest of the quest Get Gortash's Netherstone in Act Three of Baldur's Gate 3. It can be started by speaking to Enver Gortash in the audience chamber above Wyrm's Rock Fortress or by encountering Orin the Red in the City Sewers.
 | Spoiler warning: The following content contains unhidden spoilers. Read at your own risk. |
Objectives
- Gortash is protected by the Steel Watchers. We need to figure out how to disable the Steel Watch.
- Orin told us not to underestimate Gortash's Steel Watch. She mentioned they come from the Lower City. We should find where they are made.
- Wulbren, leader of the Ironhand Gnomes, wants to disrupt Gortash's tyrannical rule by taking down his Steel Watch. He's made a runepowder bomb that can blow up the Steel Watch Foundry.
- Barcus pleaded with us not to use the runepowder bomb, saying it will kill the Gondians in the Steel Watch Foundry. He wants us to find a peaceful solution.
- We have Wulbren's runepowder bomb, which can destroy the Steel Watch Foundry. The Foundry is in the Lower City, down by the docks.
- We learned that the Steel Watchers are being assembled in the Steel Watch Foundry down by the Lower City docks.
- We've reached the Steel Watch Foundry. Now we need to find a way to disable the Steel Watch.
- We've reached the Steel Watch Foundry. Now to find the perfect place to use the runepowder bomb.
- We found where the Steel Watchers are being assembled - the Steel Watch Foundry. If we destroy the Foundry, we'll severely weaken Gortash's hold on the city.
- We met Zanner Toobin, one of the Gondians being forced to build the Steel Watch. He said if they don't comply, the Banites will kill both them and their families - who are being held hostage at a secret location. He'll help us destroy the Foundry if we find and rescue their families.
- Zanner Toobin, one of the Gondians, agreed to help us destroy the Steel Watch Foundry. We have to guide him to the lower levels of the facility.
- We learned the sequence to force the Foundry to self-destruct. We need to get to the Neurocitor, which lies in the lower levels of the facility.
- Toobin died, and can no longer help us destroy the Foundry.
- We reached the heart of the Steel Watch Foundry - the Neurocitor. If we use Wulbren's runepowder bomb on it, it should be enough to destroy the Foundry.
- We no longer have Wulbren's runepowder bomb. We need to find another way to destroy the Foundry.
- The Steel Watch Foundry was destroyed. Every Steel Watcher in the city has now been disabled.
- We dealt with Gortash without disabling the Steel Watch.
Walkthrough
As part of Get Gortash's Netherstone, the party must figure out how to defeat Gortash, who is surrounded by Steel Watchers. One way to weaken him is by destroying them. The party can learn more about the Steel Watch by speaking to Wulbren and embarking on Avenge the Ironhands, or simply by exploring the Lower City.
The Foundry is in the southwestern corner of the Lower City, near the Grey Harbour waypoint. There are multiple ways into the Foundry - including lockpicking (DC 20) the iron gates (X:-234, Y:-181), entering a vent in Wild Shape form (X:-246, Y:-126), or flying onto the roof and jumping down from an open hatch (X:-295, Y:-135).
There are two Steel Watchers guarding the front entrance - one which patrols the front and western side of the building, and another which stays on the western side near the loading dock. The Steel Watcher patrolling the front can easily be avoided by lockpicking the front gate and door while the Watcher is on the western side.
The Gondian's Plight
Once the Foundry has been entered, a cutscene plays, revealing that the Gondians are being forced to work by Banite cultists, under threat of explosive collars and their families being murdered. If the party approachs, the Banites move to attack the party and bid the Gondians to aid them. It is possible to convince the Gondians to help fight back:
- [INTIMIDATION] Gondians! Fight back! Do not let these people torment you.
- [PERSUASION] I am here to help, Gondians. Together, we can free you all.
- Touch these people, and I'll kill you.
If the first two options are chosen, the Gondians help the party. Otherwise, they are too scared to fight against the Banites and remain hostile until Black Gauntlet Tamia Holzt is defeated. Upon her death, the Motivator she carries begins to activate and can be deactivated with an Intellect roll (DC 5). After the battle, the Gondians begin to panic and state that their families are being kept hostage.
In order to gain more information, the party must go into the Security Office. The key can be looted off of Tamia Holzt's body, or lockpicked (DC 15). Only one Gondian is inside - Zanner Toobin, who immediately recognizes the party as intruders. He explains more about the Gondian's families being held hostage and beg the party to rescue his daughter. If the party agrees, he will help shut the place down. Unfortunately, Zanner is not sure where the family members are being held and suggests going deeper into the Foundry to find more information.
Approaching the Foundry
After encountering Zanner, there are several avenues to approach disabling the Steel Watch.
- Complete Save the Gondians and rescue the Gondians and their families
- Complete Avenge the Ironhands and either complete Save the Gondians along the way, or leave the Gondians to die
- Ignore both quests, kill Zanner and use Speak with Dead to learn how to disable the Neurocitor in the heart of the control centre, and destroy the Foundry.
- You can also initiate combat between the Banites and the Gondians with a single character who then will go invisible. The Banites will kill the Gondians, and Zanner will die and you cannot speak to him. However he does hold a journal that gives part one of a clue. The second part is in the lab, outside the control center back by the "operating area". On a bookshelf there is a book that gives Gonds true name, that you can use on the control panel. If your quests are bugged, and you cannot trigger the Ironhands quests, judicious use of invisibility and the above are the only way to do this without engaging the Iron Watch.
Destroying the Foundry
Save the Gondians and Avenge the Ironhands do not need to be undertaken to finish Disable the Steel Watch. If the party fails to disable the Motivator and the Gondians die, the party can delve deeper into the Foundry and plant the runepowder bomb. If the runepowder bomb was not taken, Zanner's body can be spoken to with Speak with Dead and he provides the code to destroy the Foundry. Otherwise, the party can choose to forsake the Gondians and plant the bomb, killing them in the process.
Going deep within the Foundry, the party needs to sneak or fight their way to the Control Centre Antechamber on the western side of the facility. This leads to a hallway filled with Steel Watcher brains, and the control room beyond.
The Titan
In order to get to the console to disable the Steel Watch and destroy the Foundry, the party must defeat the Steel Watch Titan, a level 12 enemy, and three level 11 Hellfire Watchers. These must be dealt with to gain access to the Neurociter which controls the Foundry. After the fight, the party can use the code gained from Zanner or plant the Runepowder Bomb.
Ignoring the Watch
It is possible to kill Gortash before the Steel Watch has been destroyed. If this happens, the Elder Brain takes control of the Steel Watch and use them to destroy the Foundry. Additionally, a dead man's switch is activated on the Iron Throne, making it inaccessible and killing the hostages inside.
Quest Rewards
- Gontr Mael - a legendary weapon dropped by the Steel Watch Titan
- A new ally for Gather Your Allies - potentially both the Ironhand Gnomes and the Gondians, or one or the other.
Notes
- Zanner Toobin is initially present on the Foundry floor and only moves to the Security Office after the entrance cutscene plays. If the cutscene never plays he will remain on the Foundry floor.