Baldur's Gate 3: How to Find and Beat Kar'niss

Game ZXC

Baldur's Gate 3

By Artur Novichenko

Published Dec 31, 2023

Kar’niss is a boss in the Shadow-Cursed Lands in Act II of Baldur’s Gate 3. Players have reported that both finding and beating him is tricky, so this guide will break down exactly where to find Kar’niss in Baldur's Gate 3, as well as how to defeat him.

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BG3: Where to Find Kar’niss

There are 2 ways to come across Kar’niss in Baldur’s Gate 3: progressing through the Shadow-Cursed Lands and following the Infiltrate the Moonrise Towers questline.

To find Kar’niss in the Shadow-Cursed Lands, go to the Ruined Battlefield near the Shadowed Battlefield Waypoint. You’ll get there by entering Act II through the Underdark or the Mountain Pass.

Alternatively, you can come across Kar’niss by progressing the Infiltrate the Moonrise Towers questline. You’ll inevitably fight him while progressing this questline as he carries a Moon Lantern, which’ll help you enter Moonrise Towers. Here’s how to team up with harpers and ambush Kar’niss:

Get to the Shadow-Cursed Lands through the Underdark path, not the Mountain Pass.
Help Harpers on the way to Last Light Inn.
Talk to the people inside Last Light Inn, especially Isobel.
Don’t let Isobel get abducted or killed by Marcus and his winged horrors.
Talk to the harpers near the entrance to the Inn and get into position.

Now that you know where to find Kar’niss and how to team up with harpers to ambush him, let’s have a look at how to actually fight him.

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BG3: How to Beat Kar’niss

Here are some tips for fighting Kar’niss and his group:

Before starting the fight, optimize the positioning of your party: place support characters, and those with good ranged attacks on the roof and front liners at the bottom, next to the harpers. This will ensure that you’ll have constant additional damage and support from the roof while the harpers and front liners do their job on the ground.
Wait until the first goblin dies before attacking and blowing your cover. You’ll get rid of one enemy for free.
Kill enemies, heal, and reposition if needed while Kar’niss is in Sanctuary. He’ll cast Sanctuary on his first turn and then every second turn. Every time he’s in Sanctuary, he’s invincible. So, use the time Kar’niss is in Sanctuary to make the boss fight easier by killing his minions, healing your party, or repositioning.
Use any debuffs you have. Kar’niss is rather difficult to defeat, and any debuffs will make the fight easier. Debuffs that make him skip a turn or restrict his movement will be very effective.

And that’ll be it. You should now be able to defeat Kar’niss and obtain the Moon Lantern in Baldur’s Gate 3.