Crimson Desert Guide: How to Solve All Shrine Riddles

What should I do at the shrines? Why are they inactive?

Before you can solve the puzzles in the Shrines, you need to find four Witches . Each Witch gives quests for three or four Shrines. Without these quests, you won’t be able to trigger the cutscene that concludes each Shrine. The first Witch can be encountered in Chapter 5, as part of the “Missing Seal” story quest. The others can be found simply in the open world .

You should also have Yellowbeak’s Cauldron in your inventory, which you’ll receive automatically in Chapter 4 as part of the quest “Using the Iron Cauldron.” Without it, it’s often impossible to complete shrines (you need to move locked items). If you’ve lost Yellowbeak’s Cauldron, check the chest of lost items (the “Recover Lost Items” option) in the Graymane camp on Wolf Hill by speaking with the camp resource manager. You can also send the Graymanes on the expedition “Crafting Yellowbeak’s Cauldron.”

The Sanctuary of Humility is the only one not related to witches; it can only be completed as part of the Chapter 9 main quest, “A Fragment of Darkness.” For this reason, you definitely won’t be able to earn the achievement for completing all the Sanctuaries until you’ve completed Chapter 9.

The shrines are puzzles . They all follow a similar pattern: first, you must defeat enemies to clear the area. Next, you’ll find a broken reactor with a destroyed pillar. You’ll need to find a piece of the pillar and reconnect it using the Power of the Axiom and a Palmara Strike (power palm). You’ll also need to find a power core, which you’ll need to insert into the open slot on the side of the reactor. Cores are often hidden in hard-to-reach places, and to retrieve them, you’ll need Yellowbeak’s Cauldron. Connect to the core with the Power of the Axiom and press R to seal it in the cauldron. Then, retrieve it near the reactor and place it in the correct location.

To pass the shrines you will need

• Axiom Power to grab objects (pillar fragments and energy cores): hold L3 / left stick / TAB.
• “Palmara Strike” (Power Palm) to connect broken parts (pillar fragments and reactor cube): press R3 / right stick / mouse wheel wheel . To connect the pieces on top of the pillars, use the Palmara Strike (Power Palm) while jumping. Once you move the broken piece to the desired location, green leaves will start flying around it. This means you just need to use the Palmara Strike (Power Palm) correctly.
• The Yellowbeak Cauldron is used to seal hard-to-reach items—specifically, energy cores. Grab it with Axiom Force, then press Triangle / Y / R. Then, open the Yellowbeak Cauldron in your inventory and “drop” the energy core, causing it to appear near you. You can then grab it with Axiom Force and insert it into the reactor with Palmara Strike (power palm).

Sanctuary of Humility

You’ll be required to restore this shrine during the main storyline of Chapter 9, during the quest “A Fragment of Darkness.” You’ll be asked to “Restore power to the Shrine of Humility.”

When completing a mission and tracking it, the marker displays a search area on the minimap, which can be confusing for many gamers. The items you need are located outside this designated area.

In the north of the Sanctuary, find the side entrance to the main building, on the lower floor. There, you’ll see a fragment of a broken column. Use the Axiom Power (hold L3 or TAB) to take it to the reactor (the Sanctuary’s main device). Place the column fragment on top of the broken support next to the reactor (three columns will be intact, one will be damaged). If done correctly, you’ll see green leaves flying around the fragment.

Connect the fragment to the column using the Palmara Strike (Power Palm). Climb to the top of the dome, jump, and then use the Palmara Strike (jump and R3 or mouse wheel).

The fragment must connect to the support to transfer the electrical charge. If you unlocked “Palmara Strike: Transfer” in the green tree, everything will be much simpler: without unlinking the Axiom Power, adjust the fragment to send green leaves flying, and click the mouse wheel to use “Palmara Strike” (power palm) from a distance.

In the north of the Sanctuary of Humility, just past the ruins where you found the column fragment, look for some vines covering the wall.

Use “2Light Reflection” to burn them (L1 + R1 > hold L1 / LB + RB > hold LB / CTRL + LMB > release and hold CTRL). A cube will appear behind the vines. This is the Sanctuary Core. You’ll need to find similar cores for most of the other Sanctuaries (as well as the column fragments). It’s hard to see, especially at night. Grab the core through the grate with the Axiom Power (L3 / TAB). Seal it in Yellowbeak’s Cauldron by pressing Triangle or the R key.

Return to where you repaired the column. Open your inventory, go to Yellowbeak’s Cauldron, and remove the reactor core. Use the Axiom Power to move the core toward the reactor. Find the empty square hole on the side, bring the core there, and insert it with Palmara Strike (power palm) when green leaves start flying around it. Simply approach it and click the mouse wheel, or use Palmara Strike: Transfer if you’ve unlocked the skill in the green skill tree. In this case, you don’t need to detach the Axiom Power: hold the part and click the wheel when green leaves appear.

Once both the core and the pillar piece are in place, the shrine will become operational. The witch Elowen will appear, and the quest will be complete. You’ll unlock several new recipes in Kilnden’s workshop for Grimnir. The main quest will also be completed.

Passing other shrines

Follow the links below to read guides for all the shrines in Crimson Desert :

• Sanctuary of Forgiveness (Elowen)
• Sanctuary of Restraint (Elowen)
• Sanctuary of Repentance (Elowen)
• Sanctuary of Grace (Elowen)
• Sanctuary of Exaltation (Pari)
• Sanctuary of Consolation (Pari)
• Sanctuary of Deliverance (Pari)
• Sanctuary of Atonement (Pari)
• Sanctuary of Devotion (Liselia)
• Sanctuary of Veneration (Liselia)
• Sanctuary of Sins (Liselia)
• Sanctuary of Faith (Liselia)
• Sanctuary of Atonement (Aresil)
• Sanctuary of Abnegation (Aresil)
• Sanctuary of Revelation (Aresil)

Once you’ve completed all 16 shrines, a new quest will appear. Open your journal, go to the “Faction Quests” section, and find the “Witches” category. Mark the quest and visit the White Crow’s hut. To enter, insert the stones you received for helping the other witches. As a reward, you’ll receive a camouflage cloak (cape) with black feathers.