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The Ruins of Desarune are a location in Legend of Grimrock 2, found west of Sleet Island.

Walkthrough[]

On entering, take the only path currently available, northward. A new enemy, the Ice Guardian can be seen, but will not be fought yet—a gate blocks it in for the moment. Go down the ladder and cross the pit, where a brief tunnel brings you to the Skyway. Ignore it for the time being, however, and take the passage north. Continue onward until you reach the other side of the room that the Ice Guardian is sealed in. Throw the switch on your right, opening the south gate and releasing the Guardian. Prepare for what could be a tough fight—in addition to firing off powerful Ice Shards, it can strafe and float between elevations. The ledge in the previous room offers a shortcut back to the gate you just opened. Go into the Ice Guardian's former prison and take the Round Key.

Skyway[]

With the Round Key, you can now proceed past the Skyway. A trail of pressure plates lead through the room, and the two already weighed down by items have a square of Magic Bridge above them. The plates need to be weighed down by items to create a path over the chasm—if any of the plates are pressed, however, the gate leading to the platform at the start of the bridge will be closed. In order to cross, you need to start with all of the plates empty, and drop items to create the bridge tile by tile. Try to use items that you can do without, as collecting them before proceeding isn't possible yet. Reaching the other side doesn't require all of the plates to be pressed; if you don't have the items to spare, you can redo the puzzle after using the key.

Proceeding through the tunnel, the familiar glow of a Crystal of Life can be seen ahead when you reach a fork. You can rest there and gather a Scroll of Light, but an open pit blocks off the other exits of the room. Go back and open the door in the other path of the fork.

Follow the Light[]

This is a fairly involved puzzle, which takes place across this level and the Archives. First, go down one of the stairways and stand on the pressure plate to bring the Giant Spider to this level. It will be teleported into the long hallway full of pits. They are controlled by the pressure plate—you need to step on it when the Spider is standing on the central pit. If the Spider goes too far, the Windgate will teleport it back to the other end of the hallway. Once it's landed on the plate in the Archives and you know which plates are lit, you need to drop items into the appropriate holes—the first, second, and fourth, relative to you facing them. After a brief pause, the door leading onward will open.

One secret will prove extremely useful in exploring the Ruins. As you continue, search the east wall for a small button. This will open up a wall leading back to a room visible near the entrance, and taking the Leg Plate from the alcove will open the gate, giving you access without retreading everything up to this point. At the end of the tunnel, you will find yourself at the Meditation Spire; this serves to help you discover a secret in the Archives, but here, there is little of interest besides a couple items scattered around the lowest level. South of here is a large, looping hallway with two Giant Crabs that are stuck behind gates—and one that isn't. Finish off the loose Crab to make sure you aren't taken by surprise. The two behind the gates don't need to be fought, but their lair holds some Broadhead Arrows and Pellets, which could prove useful.

Keep moving west, and you'll find yourself on the other side of the room with the Crystal of Life. Throw the switch next to the pit to close it, giving you another shortcut. Continuing west, you will reach a large room with various gates around the walls, including one that blocks off a set of stairs. Two of them are controlled by pull chains; right now, they are the only ones you can do anything about.

Through the north gate, you will find a room with bridges spanning above you. Search for a secret button in the southwest corner of the room; this will let you reach a ladder, giving you access to the bridges. Continuing through the tunnel, you will find a rather ominous room filled with the sounds of Undead Guards marching. They can't do anything yet, but you'll have to throw the switch on the middle pillar. This opens the gate leading to an Iron Key, but it also creates two Windgates to the gated areas—one of them blocking the exit. If fighting eight Undead Guards is too much for you, you can wait until one comes through, then throw the switch again to shut off the Windgates; this way, you can fight them one or two at a time. Once they've been cleared out, collect the key and throw the switch again to exit.

Through the south gate, a hallway leads to a button between two doors. Pressing it will open both; fight the monsters within and continue on the east path. You will come to a room with a gate; to open it, climb the ladder in the southwest and throw the switch on the north wall. This will bring you to a room with two gates, one of them inaccessible. You will need to open it by pressing a button in front of the accessible gate, then quickly throw an item through it onto the pressure plate behind it. This will open the accessible gate, allowing you to go inside and get the Iron Key; doing so, however, will open many walls throughout the last several rooms, all containing Slimes or Ice Guardians. Fight your way back through to the gated room.

With both Iron Keys in hand, use them to unlock the two gates that hold switches. Pulling both of them reveals one more nasty surprise: they open the wall hiding a Power Gem, but they also open several walls with groups of Undead Guards behind them. Once you've defeated them, claim your prize; the gate in front of the stairs will have opened as well, giving you access to a very useful part of the Archives.

Monsters[]

Items[]

Weapons[]

Armor[]

Consumable & Ingredients[]

Miscellaneous[]

Secrets[]

  • North of the entrance, before dropping down in elevation, search the north side of the central pillar for a round button. Pressing this will cause a Magic Bridge to briefly appear to your right—cross it before it disappears to reach a platform with two alcoves, containing a Bronze Brace and a Potion of Resurrection.
  • As detailed above, there is a secret button in the hallway just after the Follow the Light puzzle. Pressing it opens a wall leading back to the Leg Plate visible near the start.
  • In the looping tunnel with the Giant Crabs, search the south side of the wall, so that you are facing the eastern gate. A secret button there will open a passage in the dead end west of you, but only for a short while. Hurry there to enter a small room containing a Serpent Bracer and a Tribal Spear. A button inside the room will allow you to exit.
  • In the room north of the Power Gem, after getting on top of the wall in the middle, you can climb another ladder to reach a platform giving you a view of an apparently unreachable chest. From here, throw an item to the east to hit a pressure plate; this creates a Magic Bridge which gives you access to the plate and to the locked chest. Inside is a Rage Potion and a Zarchton Harpoon.
  • In the southwest room with two bridges, look in the northwestern corner on the lower level for a secret button. This will create a Magic Bridge above you; cross it and go down the passage to find Lock Picks and a Tome of Earth.

Gold Locks[]

  • In the room with the Crystal of Life, there is a gate on the south wall next to a Gold Lock. Inside is an alcove holding an Ax.

Notes[]

  • The Ruins of Desarune once connected to the Hamlet of Stormbreach, but the tunnel has long since collapsed.


Isle of Nex locations

Shipwreck Beach • Dead Sailors' Cave
Twigroot Forest • Twigroot Tunnels • Twigroot Basement
Forgotten River • River Tunnels • Trickster's Lair
Sleet Island • Flooded Dungeon
Keelbreach Bog • Herder's Den
Cemetery • Wormbound Catacombs • Orul's Crypt
Ruins of Desarune • Archives • Lexiconary
Hamlet of Stormbreach • Sewers
Pyramid of Umas • Tomb Underground • Tomb of Rites • Ceremonial Chamber • Barren Desert
Crystal Mine Entrance • Core • Abyss
Castle Nex • Library • Twisted Passage • Test Chamber • Void • Castle Roof

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