Crimson Desert Walkthrough: The Fountain Riddle in Arboria Forest

Fabian Lainé March 20, 2026 at 6:10 PM

In brief

In Crimson Desert, solve the fountain puzzle in Arboria Forest by inserting your sword into the slots of the three pillars and rotating them to direct the water toward the central basin. This article guides you step by step to master this puzzle mechanism and progress in your adventure.

In Crimson Desert, you're invited to travel through enchanting landscapes, and to decipher various riddles. One of them is found in Arboria Forest. You must solve the fountain riddle in order to make the water gush forth. This article will guide you through solving it.

Discovering Arboria Forest

Arboria Forest is located North of the town of Hernand, West of the Unknown Hills area. As you get there, you'll see a mysterious question mark on the map. This is where the fountain is located!

It is made up of three majestic pillars, each of which pours out water. The goal is to rotate these pillars so as to send the water into the basin in the middle. Right next to this fountain, you can see the hologram of an NPC interacting with a pillar by inserting their own sword into it.

Solving the fountain riddle

To begin, stand in front of a pillar, directly facing the square slot. This slot is your key to activating the rotation mechanism. To rotate a pillar, you must insert your sword into the pillar's slot by performing a Stab.

Here's how to do it depending on your platform:

Platform	Command
PC	Hold "Left Shift" and right-click with the mouse.
Xbox	Hold "RB" and press "Y".
PlayStation	Hold "R1" and press "Triangle".

Once the sword is inserted into the slot, all you have to do is push the joystick or movement key in the direction of your choice to rotate the pillar. Repeat this process for all 3 pillars, until the water converges into the central basin. And there you go, this riddle is solved!

Did you find Crimson Desert's puzzles easy or difficult?

Frequently asked questions

How do I insert my sword into the pillar's slot?

Stand facing the pillar in front of its square slot, then perform a Stab by holding Left Shift + Right Click (PC), RB + Y (Xbox), or R1 + Triangle (PlayStation). Your sword will automatically insert into the slot.

Where exactly is the fountain located in Arboria Forest?

You can locate it by looking for the mysterious question mark on the map once you're in the forest. It consists of three majestic pillars that each pour water into a central basin.

How many pillars do I need to rotate to solve this puzzle?

There are exactly three pillars to rotate. Once all three are correctly positioned, the water will converge toward the central basin and the puzzle will be solved.

What is the purpose of rotating the pillars?

The goal is to direct the water flowing from each of the three pillars toward the basin in the middle of the fountain to activate the mechanism and solve this in-game puzzle.

Key takeaways

The mysterious fountain is located in Arboria Forest, north of Hernand and west of the Unknown Hills.
The mechanism relies on inserting your sword into the square slots of the three pillars via a Stab.
Once the sword is inserted, use the joystick or directional keys to rotate each pillar.
The final goal is to converge the water from the three pillars toward the central basin to solve the puzzle.