Defiled Temple interlocking circles puzzle

Full moons to match the stars: solving the interlocking circles puzzle in the Defiled Temple using the Selunite journal.

Exploring deeper into the goblin camp, players will soon discover the Defiled Temple in Baldur’s Gate 3. This underground temple has its own puzzle of interlocking circles. While the Selunite journal offers a hint, working out where to put the “full moons to match the stars” and where to cast the darkness can be tough, especially if you’re more focused on fighting.

The Defiled Temple puzzle in Baldur’s Gate 3 involves four interlocking circles featuring black and white dots. The goal of this puzzle is to have all the black circles on the southern circle. This is done by rotating the interlocking plates, which will shift the dots.

Solving this puzzle might be slightly different for each player in the event the starting position of the black and white dots is random. However, the basic goal should be to move the black circles onto the east and west locks and then onto the south.

Remember that the overlapping part of the locks is where one lock will “pull” the dot onto its own perimeter. If you accidentally move a dot, just keep interacting with the lock until it moves back into position.

As for Selunite journal, it offers the following hint:

Thus the interlocking circles will bring the full moons to match the stars, while casting darkness where it belongs at the bottom. That chasm to the Underdark will stay sealed.

There is another way to complete the Defiled Temple puzzle and that’s by pulling a hidden lever. As you enter the temple and cross over the lock puzzle toward the north, your characters may roll a perception check. This will highlight a lever on the northeast side of the chamber, above a stone chair behind the pillar, close to the northern door that’s block.

Pull this lever to open the door, skipping the interlocking puzzle. However, this comes at a disadvantage, as you will miss out on the bonus XP you get for completing the puzzle. If you can manage it, definitely do the puzzle as every bit of XP will help.

With the Defiled Temple puzzle solved (or the lever pulled), you’ll be on your way to the next adventure in Baldur’s Gate 3. For more puzzle and mechanic guides, take a look at our Baldur’s Gate 3 strategy guide.

Hailing from the land down under, Sam Chandler brings a bit of the southern hemisphere flair to his work. After bouncing round a few universities, securing a bachelor degree, and entering the video game industry, he's found his new family here at Shacknews as a Guides Editor. There's nothing he loves more than crafting a guide that will help someone. If you need help with a guide, or notice something not quite right, you can Tweet him: @SamuelChandler

Sam Chandler posted a new article, Defiled Temple interlocking circles puzzle - Baldur's Gate 3