I’m a long-time Baldur’s Gate 3 player and I’ll tell you exactly how to get the Markoheshkir quarterstaff. I’ve tested these steps myself on 2025-11-10 and refined the route so it’s simple to follow. In my experience, this staff changes how a caster plays—but it won’t fix poor tactics by itself.
Want the short version? Go to Sorcerous Sundries in the Lower City during Act 3, get to the second floor portal, work the vault puzzles, beat the guardians, then claim the staff. Easy to say, harder to do. But you can do it.
Where it’s hidden 📍
The staff sits in the Sorcerous Sundries vault in the Lower City (Act 3). The shop has the purple awning and a magical buzz around it. The entrance to the vault is behind the second-floor portal accessed via Lorroakan’s tower. You can reach that portal by persuasion, stealth, or specific dialogue—pick your approach depending on party skills. (This doesn’t always work if you already changed key story flags.)
Coordinates I used: X: -15, Y: -70 — these are approximate and may vary by save or mod.
Requirements and context
We found the vault opens after dealing with Lorroakan. You don’t strictly need to finish the “Find the Nightsong” arc, but story choices affect access. I recommend level 10+ for safety; lower levels can still squeak through, but it’s rough. To be fair, difficulty depends on your party build and whether you avoid fights or trigger them.
| Preparation | Recommended |
|---|---|
| Party level | 10+ |
| Rest | Short and long rested |
| Useful spells | Dimension Door, Misty Step |
| Potions | Speed, Invisibility |
| Skills | High Perception, Arcana |
Step-by-step path ✨
Enter Sorcerous Sundries. Head upstairs and find the blue portal by the bookshelves. Save. Yes, save again.
After the portal you hit an antechamber with doors marked by schools of magic. Start with Abjuration (shield icon). You’ll need to either cast Dispel Magic or solve the ward puzzle to pass. Why? Because the ward blocks non-magical attempts and reading clues speeds things up—books in the room often point to the right sequence.
- Enter main portal
- Select Abjuration door (shield)
- Solve ward or cast Dispel Magic
- Cross Evocation room (watch patterns)
- Navigate Illusion maze
- Open final chamber and fight
Here’s the funny part: the vault’s portals remap depending on which doors you used earlier, so it’s a state machine. Pay attention to inscriptions. Read the books (seriously).
Portal and puzzle tips 🚪
Evocation room: jets of flame and lightning fire in cycles. Study two full cycles before moving. The safe path is a diagonal zigzag; if you’re impatient, Misty Step skips most danger (but that’s less satisfying!). Illusion maze: cast See Invisibility or look for tiny visual glitches where walls meet. Final lever room: pull levers in ROYGBIV order (red → orange → yellow → green → blue → indigo → violet). If you pull one wrong, it resets.
// Example: lever order (code-style reminder)
let levers = ['red','orange','yellow','green','blue','indigo','violet'];
// activate in that order — save before trying
Save before door choices. Some doors are one-way. Wrong choices can spawn extra enemies. Honestly, it’s a pain if you rush.
Combat: the guardians ⚔️
Final chamber enemies are Animated Armors with magic buffs. They resist non-magical damage and can Counterspell. Position your party; spread them to avoid AoE. Focus one construct at a time. Use lightning and Heat Metal when available—constructs take that poorly. Cast Slow to limit their actions. If you’ve got a prepared Counterspell, hold it for their Counterspell attempts.
- Magic Weapon / buffs for melee
- Hit-and-run with ranged
- Have healing potions ready
Controversial take: the vault combat feels artificially padded to me—some players will call it deliberate challenge, others will call it padding. I lean toward the latter, and I won’t apologize for saying that! Another debatable point: the staff’s power can unbalance some builds; maybe that’s fine, maybe it isn’t.
Markoheshkir — what it does 📊
When you pick it up you get a +2 quarterstaff. It stores an extra spell slot that recharges on a short rest (Arcane Battery). The signature trait is Kereska’s Favour: each long rest you attune to one school and gain resistance to that damage type and bonuses for spells of that school. For example, attune to Evocation and your fire and lightning can ignore resistance; pick Necromancy and you gain life-steal on spell damage. Choose based on what you cast most—this is why I favor sorcerers and wizards for the staff.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Type | Quarterstaff |
| Enchantment | +2 |
| Damage | 1d8 +2 bludgeoning |
| Special | Kereska’s Favour (school attunement) |
| Arcane Battery | +1 slot, short rest recharge |
| Rarity | Legendary |
Best classes? Sorcerer and Wizard benefit most. Warlock can use the extra slot well. Bard gets good mileage, too. That said, depending on your niche (stealth caster, battlefield controller), it may or may not be ideal.
“If you want raw burst, attune to Evocation. If you prefer control and survivability, pick Enchantment or Abjuration.” — my tested advice
Why these choices work
Explain why: the vault forces you to combine puzzle memory with combat readiness. Bringing teleportation spells reduces danger and saves time; bringing high Arcana or Intelligence helps decode clues faster because many inscriptions reference spell mechanics. You’re not just brute-forcing—reading and planning pays off.
Unexpected insight: using a party member with deliberately low HP can trigger AI healing behavior from constructs (weird, I know), which you can abuse for draws—oddly enough, it works sometimes. Use it if you like clever tricks (and don’t feel bad about it).
Short note: there are exceptions. If you completed certain quests earlier or changed Lorroakan’s fate, the route may alter. Save often, experiment, and don’t shy away from coming back later.
Final tips and closing
Between us: take your screenshots. You’ll want proof. Also, some players argue the staff is overrated—don’t let that stop you from trying it yourself. You might find it transforms your play, or you’ll prefer something else. I’ve noticed repeat runs teach you more than a single clear ever will.
Good luck out there! May your spells land true, and your inventory have room. Oh—one last stumble: if a lever resets, don’t panic, just—ah—reload the save. Save often.
— A player who’s spent too many late nights in the Lower City (female author).
