Riddles, Puzzles, and Secrets of Dragonspine in Genshin Impact
The cross-platform adventure game Genshin Impact recently received an update that introduced a vast snowy location called Dragonspine. In this region, players can find not only great loot and complete several interesting quests but also encounter puzzles and secrets. This guide will cover all the secrets of the new location.
How to Unlock Dragonspine
If you're still recovering from the New Year's festivities and haven't logged into Genshin Impact, you might be wondering where the new Dragonspine location is. It's situated in the vicinity of Mondstadt city, south of the Dawn Winery. The best way to get to the island is to talk to a quest character named Iris, who is located in the camp at the Windwail Highland teleport point.
While exploring this location, be cautious as it falls within the so-called Sheer Cold zone. This effect is applied to your character and intensifies with each second until you find a torch or a special stand where you can warm up.
- Another way to avoid the effects of Sheer Cold is to unlock a special recipe, from which you can cook a special dish to reduce the effect for some time. More about this method is described in the section The Snowboar King.
Bottles with Notes
The first, not so obvious secret is hidden in the southern part of the island. From the Statue of the Seven Archons, you need to descend to a small cluster of islands on the outskirts of the location. Exploring this area, you can find three bottles with notes, for which you'll receive a small reward. The locations of the bottles can be seen in the screenshots below.
In two of the bottles you find, you will only find notes from an unknown person. The third bottle, however, will grant you 30 Primogems and 7896 Mora. It is located in the southernmost part of Dragonspine, near the statue with the challenge. When you find yourself in this area, be prepared to fight two guardians. They are not particularly difficult, but remember to return to a heat source in time to avoid dying.
Puzzle at the Statue of the Seven Archons
Once you unlock the Statue of the Seven Archons in this region, survey the area and find a frozen device. You can break the ice using Scarlet Quartz. After doing so, activate it and examine the central part of the circular platform. Along with the activation of the device, an air current will appear here, allowing you to reach three buttons on the pillars.
If you manage to press all three buttons on the pillars, you will gain access to three precious chests and a decent reward.
Torn Note
If you reach the location marked on the map, you will see a stone bridge over the water, and a device next to it. To get rid of the water and descend into the cave, find four pillars that need to be activated with cryo abilities (the starting character — Kaeya will do).
Having done this, descend below and kill all the enemies. Open the grate to exit the cave, break the crimson quartz and use it to free two devices from ice. This way, you will be able to read the torn note, which is located in a cage. It says that the traveler went north along the stream. Leave the cave and follow the stream as indicated in the note. Before the waterfall on the left side, you will see an improvised camp, where you'll find another adventurer's diary. Descend down the waterfall and fight the boss. If you defeat the boss, you will receive 5 Primogems and one Crimson Agate.
The Snowboar King
We first learned about snowboars, which, according to legend, went extinct many years ago, while completing the quest Cooking Showdown. Logically, such creatures should have had a leader. With the latest update, the developers of Genshin Impact realized the players' wishes and added a new boss to the game — The Snowboar King.
The boss itself is not a secret. Anyone can find him in the southeastern part of the island. Once you are in the right clearing, you will see frozen boars. Thaw and kill these beasts to summon their king.
- Snowboars are harmless creatures. They flee at the mere sight of a hero. The same cannot be said for their leader.
Why kill The Snowboar King? There are several answers to this question. Firstly, for killing such a boss, you will receive the achievement King Slayer. Secondly, from the dead boss, you can pick up a quest item Snowboar King's Meat and complete the quest Ah, Fresh Meat!.
This task can be taken in the camp near Dragonspine, where you met Yu Xia. Talk to the cook named Harris and bring him 10 pieces of frozen meat (dropped by both regular snowboars and The Snowboar King) and one piece of the King's meat. As a reward for completing the quest, you will receive a recipe — Tomato Stew. This dish reduces the rate of sheer cold accumulation for all party members for 900 seconds. With the new recipe, you can easily travel around Dragonspine without fearing the low temperatures of the region.
Mysterious Tablets. How to Solve the Puzzle with 8 Stone Tablets
You can find such tablets in the western part of the island, in the north of the Vicinity of the Entombed City location. If you have been to this area before, simply use fast travel to get there. Otherwise, use the map below to find this place.
Upon reaching the teleport, run north and don't forget to bring a Scarlet Quartz with you, as you will need it to destroy the ice blockage that prevents access to one of the slabs. Eliminate the two shamans and start unraveling the secret. To claim your reward, you need to step on the slabs in the correct order. We have prepared a screenshot indicating the correct sequence.
Trial Arena
The arena is a small clearing with three bonfires. It can be found close to where you solved the slab puzzle. From the teleport, head south, where the arena is located.
Before starting the trial, we recommend lighting all the torches and using the Delicious Tomato Stew to avoid getting distracted by the rising sheer cold meter. You will have to deal with three waves of enemies and one boss, the Frostarm Lawachurl, within the allotted time. To accomplish this, use the Pyro abilities of your characters. The following heroes are excellent for completing the trial:
- Xiangling;
- Klee;
- Xinyan;
- Diluc.
For completing the trial, you will receive three chests and a lot of valuable loot:
- Primogem x15;
- Crimson Agate x1;
- Mora x3808;
- Hero's Wit x3.
Frozen Pool
You will find this pool close to the Starfell Valley location. Simply looking at the global map will immediately reveal its location. Head to this area and glide down. You will see four locked fire statues and two fireflies, which can be used to activate the statues. First approach one, then quickly move to the other side and touch the second. If you manage to do this before the first completes its circuit, all four statues will be activated, and the ice in the pool will be broken.
Descend into the pool. Here you will see six similar statues and three fireflies. You will also need to launch the fireflies in the correct order. All fireflies after activation go through a single circuit, activating the statues. First, launch the rightmost firefly, then the second and third. The interval should be approximately two statues apart (the first firefly should pass two statues before you launch the second). If you did everything correctly, the robot to your left will wake up, and you will have to fight it.
As a reward for solving this mystery, you will receive several chests (among which are a precious and two rich chests) and the following loot:
- Primogem x40;
- Crimson Agate x1;
- Adventurer's Pocket Watch x1;
- Mora x 61650;
- Healer's Silver Lotus x1;
- Hero's Wit x5;
- Ancient Explorer's Journal, Part II;
- Mystic Enhancement Ore x8.
The Secret Room. Where to find the three chests (Princess, Priest, and Scribe)
You can stumble upon the secret room after you unlock access to the peak of Windagnir through the quest «In the Mountains». However, you should start collecting the special chests, which are needed to open this very door, well in advance. To collect the three chests, explore the locations indicated on the map below.
- On a small island, touch the sword and destroy all enemies within the allotted time. If you successfully complete the challenge, you will receive the Princess' Chest.
- Use the teleport to the region of the Buried Capital Palace, cross the destroyed bridge, and follow the road to the next bridge. On the right side, you will see a ruined tower, on top of which lies a luxurious chest and the Priest's Chest.
- Reach the location of the Buried Capital Outskirts, but do not descend into the cave. Descend on the opposite side — towards the road and find a stone slab. To receive the Scribe's Chest, place three Cecilia flowers in front of the tombstone. This flower can be found in the open world or bought from a flower vendor in Mondstadt.
Once you have all the chests, enter the Starfell Valley cave and climb to the very top. On the right, you will see a large open area with a guard, and on the left — a path to the door of the secret room. Follow it and open the door using the three chests.
As a reward for opening the secret room, you will receive the achievement «Priest, Princess, and Scribe» and several chests, containing the following rewards:
- Primogem x15;
- Mora x5356;
- Crimson Agate x1;
- Berserker's Timepiece x1;
- Mystic Enhancement Ore x3;
- Fine Enhancement Ore x2.
Gravestones and the Secret Room (Sword: Snow-Tombed Starsilver)
As you explore Dragonspine, you will surely come across special gravestones that you can interact with. If you touched the stone and it started glowing — it means everything is done correctly. Not many know that with these stones, you can open a secret door between the Statue of the Seven Archons and the Tree of Eternal Frost, and also receive the sword Snow-Tombed Starsilver as a reward.
To find all the gravestones, use our map and detailed explanation for it.
Map Explanation:
- Teleport to the Tree of Eternal Frost and run along the path towards the solitary island in the northeast of the region. No extra actions are needed to activate the gravestones, but if you light all the torches and defeat the flying enemy, you'll receive an additional reward.
- In front of the ruined tower, where you could find a chest for solving the secret door puzzle, there is a Ruin Grader. Defeat it and activate the gravestone.
- This stone can be found while exploring the ice cave in the west of the region. You'll get here during the «In the Mountains» quest, when you need to destroy one of the three ice shards. The gravestone is located at the exit of the cave.
- The fourth gravestone is hidden behind an ice boulder in the frozen pool (which we mentioned above). Once you deal with the Ruin Grader, use a Scarlet Quartz and rid the pool of ice.
- The next stone can be found at the very peak of Dragonspine. Use the teleport to the Starfell Valley cave and ascend to the elevation. Here, you'll see an inactive giant and a gravestone next to it. For defeating the Grader, you'll receive two precious and one luxurious chest.
- The sixth stone is located in the very secret room we mentioned earlier. If you've found all three chests and opened the room, you'll see the gravestone inside.
- The next stone becomes accessible once you complete the «In the Mountains» quest and unlock access to the Windagnir Peak cave.
- The last inscription is located in the cave with the door to the secret room.
Once all the gravestones are found, head to the location marked on the map and activate the last stone. After that, the door to the secret room will open before you. Enter and claim the contents of the single chest. Don't rush to leave the room: first, light all four torches located at the corners of the room. The Snow-Tombed Starsilver sword will appear in the center of the room.
Defeated Guards
As you complete quests and uncover secrets on Dragonspine island, you'll inevitably come across the destroyed guards of the island. You can interact with their remains and read the record of each model. You need to find nine such remains in total. Use our map to locate the guards and earn the «Futile Endeavor» achievement, which rewards you with 5 Primogems.
Map Explanation:
- These are the first remains you can find in the Dragonspine location. Use the teleport to the Tree of Eternal Frost and inspect the only cave to the left of the teleport. You will find a locked passage that can be destroyed with a Scarlet Quartz stone (which can be picked up near the teleport).
- You will find the second guard in the same cave.
- The third guard is hidden under the water, near the Statue of the Seven. Defeat the only flying enemy here and activate the platform to drain the water from the pool.
- The next remains can be found on the lowest level of the Starfell Valley Cave, behind the main column with the ice shard (you will need to use Scarlet Quartz to break the barrier and reach the guard).
- Use fast travel to the indicated teleport and run forward to the cliff. Here is a small pavilion and a boss, behind which you will find the remains.
- The sixth and seventh guards are located in the southern part of Dragonspine, on a small island. You might have explored this area while searching for three bottles with notes.
- In the same place as the sixth guard.
- Move to the nearest teleport near the arena, go through the arena to the south and look up. Here you will see a destroyed wall that you can climb. When you reach the top, you will find the penultimate guard.
- The ninth remains are in the cave indicated on the map. You can visit this place during the quest In the Mountains. For this, you need to fight three guards and open access to the cave where the ice shard is located.
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