One of my favourite things about Dragon’s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen is that very soon after venturing into Norgan’s frozen wasteland you’re greeted by another of the incredibly creepy Sphinx creatures from the base game.
Upon hearing your predicament about a dragon that just won’t die, she kindly offers some help but not without gatekeeping it behind three riddles for you to solve, each linked to one of the elements that make up life: will, body and soul. If you’re struggling with any of these riddles then read on as I’ve got full solutions below, along with a way to get some great loot and equipment along the way.
How to solve the Sphinx riddle of will
This first one’s very simple, and she’s alluding to the castle you fought the regenerating dragon in prior to visiting her. Trek or teleport back there to find Wash and Chrona investigating the room, and where the dragon spawned is now a ladies brooch.
Pick this up to trigger a fight with a horde of ghouls and take them out while the others run off. Once they’re gone you can teleport back to the Sphinx and return the brooch to her, ticking off the first riddle.
Reward: Eternal wakestone
How to solve the Sphinx riddle of body
Speak to Dwayne (back in the village inn) and he’ll tell you about a giant he’d heard of from his dad. Sleep until night and then you’ll be woken by the roar of a giant, so leave via the north exit and a cutscene will show you a giant scarpering, so chase him north and you’ll soon find a trail of dead ogres and trolls. Follow these up onto a mountainside and through the blizzard you’ll see the giant there, waiting for you to take it down.
Make sure you pack some heatstones for this fight to avoid losing all your stamina, and be sure to climb onto the monsters back to find ancient swords jutting out. Pull these out and not only will you do huge damage but you’ll pocket the spoiled loot too. Once he’s dead you’ll get his tusk, so return to the Sphinx and turn it in.
Reward: Norgan Portcrystal
How to solve the Sphinx riddle of soul
This one’s a bit longer than the others, and also has a nice detour that nets you some nice loot. Start by going to the Boercan camp with the eternal storm that you passed through previously.
On the west side is a castle-looking building with a big door that you can’t enter as it requires the Twinned Keys, along with a notice on a post explaining that if you want the Boercan hoard then find the keys, or if you want to find the source of the eternal blizzard then turn around and seek the stairs.
As you’re standing on the stairs looking at this notice, move directly south on the map and you’ll find an area iced over with the top of a ladder poking through the top. Smash that open (it broke by me just walking on it), then drop down. Straight ahead will be a chest, and then go right and follow the path round to find a ladder to climb. Head up, and then up again, and you’ll find yourself back on the surface surrounded by frozen Boercans.
Walk through this frozen battleground and up the stairs to find a dragon. It’s a fairly easy fight, he wasn’t one of the tougher ones. I spent most of the time clinging to his head and stabbing him with my knives, the only move to really watch out for was when he spawns ice spikes that coat the floor. Once he’s dead the blizzard will die down and you’ll get the Frozen Wyrmslife Crystal (don’t forget to loot his corpse too!). Take this back to the Sphinx and you’ll complete the final riddle.
Reward: 3000 RC
Where are the Twinned Keys?
Wait! Before you go back to the Sphinx though, why not check out the locked door we saw before. You need the two Twinned Keys to access it, and now that the blizzards are gone you should be able to find them more easily than I did. Here’s how:
Key 1:
- Go to the ruins on the east of the camp, just to the right of where you enter (my player icon on the map).
- You’ll find a thick layer of ice to access the underground area here
- Take the main path through the camp up the stairs to find an explosive barrel
- Bring it back to the ice and lob it to destroy it
- Drop down and you’ll find the first key in a chester
Key 2:
- Go to the ruin just south of the one you’ve just pillaged and you’ll find a ladder down (my player icon on the map)
- Follow the corridor round and kill the enemy
- Take another ladder up and you’ll find the key in a chest, and a door you can exit via
Now with both keys you can enter the castle and take the Boercan hoard. There’s quite a lot of stuff in here so here’s everything I found for reference:
- Go left before the stars and down to the basement to find a chester with 3 x rare supplies
- Go back to the top and up the stairs to find a chest with a ton of supplies and equipment along with two books that give permanent improvements to the Arisen
- Go right at the top of the stairs and follow the path round to find another chest with some loot, but also a suspicious number of crates behind it. Smash those to find some Norgan Ducats too
There you have it, all the Sphinx riddles solved and some nice loot to appraise back in the village!
Don’t forget to read our full Dragon’s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen review.
