Crimson Desert: Scholastone Institute Puzzle Solutions

Crimson Desert draws players in with its rich open world and a variety of activities, with puzzles playing a key role. At the Scholastone Institute, you’ll face a series of riddles that you need to solve as part of the main quest. In this guide, we’ll walk you through every puzzle in the Scholastone Institute, from activating the switch to reaching the top of the Star Spire.

In the fourth story chapter, The Price of Knowledge, you’ll have to visit the Scholastone Institute. This is where the Forbidden Knowledge episode comes to an end. Along the way, Cliff will encounter several puzzles, which we’ll explain in detail in the following sections.

The Scholastone Institute is in the southwest part of the world. The path leads to a cliff with lots of metal ore deposits. Here, you’ll need to use Cliff’s magical abilities. Follow these steps:

This will break open the passage to the institute. Next, put on the scholar’s outfit and talk to the troll to continue the quest.

In the Gate to the Otherworld quest, your character needs to help Octavian run an experiment with the Abyss Gate. Here, you’ll solve three puzzles before a tough boss fight with Tenebrum begins, we have a full guide for that battle.

At the start of the quest, listen to Octavian’s speech. Then go around the dome on the right and take the stairs down to the lower level. Find the square panel where you’ll need to press the buttons in the correct order.

The correct button sequence is:

The dome with the core will open. Return to Octavian and move on to the next puzzle.

Look for the four pillars with thick wires running along them. Across from each pillar are small cubes, these are the electric cubes, or batteries.

How to insert the batteries correctly:

Watch the next cutscene and start the final puzzle, after which the boss fight will begin.

This time, you need to pull out the core in the center of the area using the Axiom Force. Because of the game’s design, it might not work on your first try.

To remove the core, follow these steps:

You might not succeed on your first attempt. If that happens, move closer and take your time. It should take about 30 seconds to pull out the core. After this, you’ll need to defeat Tenebrum, and then you’ll receive the key to the Star Spire.

After the fight with Tenebrum, you’ll get one of the keys to the Star Spire. Next, the Spire of the Stars quest begins, where you need to climb to the top of the tower to reach the Abyss. Before you start climbing, make sure to equip warm clothes with frost resistance.

On the first floor of the tower, you’ll find an elevator and a wall with panels. To activate it, you need to find all the Star Spire keys and place the symbols correctly. We’ll break the puzzle down into two tasks: finding the cubes (keys) and arranging the panels.

In the left and right wings, directly across from each other, there are rotating walls with a stone diamond. To rotate the wall, hit the center of the panel with Force Palm. The wall will turn, and a “Stone with Engraving” will appear at its base, these are marked with a pink icon on your mini-map. You need to collect three keys (cubes) here, since you already have one.

Go up to the panels and insert the cubes. They will then move up to the top slot. Also, take note: on the walls where you found the keys, there’s a drawing showing the correct symbol positions. Your task is to climb onto the panels and lower them to the right level.

The correct panel arrangement is:

If you did everything right, the panels will change color from yellow to blue. Now, to activate the elevator, just stand in the center and wait for all patterns to light up, then it will start moving. After that, climb the stairs and go through the Abyss gate, this is where this story chapter ends.

Once you’re in the Sanctuary of Contempt, you’ll see large pillars. Use them to reach the main area of the level. To do this, you need to activate the mechanism at the base of each pillar in the following order using Axiom Force:

So you’ll need to move from tower to tower until you reach the main area. If Cliff has enough stamina and you have the Swift Flight and Aerial Roll abilities, you can skip the puzzle entirely. Just climb the central tower, fly to the main building, and climb up the ledges.

Next, find the giant circle on the ground, lit from above. To activate it, you need to hit the center with Force Palm while jumping. It might not work on your first try, so take your time to aim. Wait for it to light up blue, then the final cutscene will begin.