TL;DR
- The Screaming Vault Ruins is an Ancient Ruins puzzle in Demeniss, west of Rustleleaf Farm in the Golden Plains / Azerian Estate area
- Look for a hole in the ground among the ruins — drop down and follow the underground passage
- Navigate two traps: arrow volleys + spike grates, then crouch through a low tunnel
- The puzzle room has three jail cells with rotating disc dials — set each one to the correct position
- Left room dial: vertical bar of the swirl pointing straight up (11 o’clock), hook facing 9 o’clock
- Middle room dial: two circles sitting on top of the triangles
- Right room dial: constellation bow facing right at 3 o’clock
- Reward: Abyss Artifact + fast travel point (Abyss Cresset) + Memories of Turbulence item
The Screaming Vault Ruins is one of those puzzles in Crimson Desert that most players stumble into without any preparation. The entrance is hidden in the ground, the traps inside hit without warning, and the dial solution is deliberately obscured unless you go exploring for scarecrow clues first. This guide gives you the direct solution so you can drop in, clear the traps, set the dials, and claim the Abyss Artifact without any side trips.
What Is the Screaming Vault Ruins?
The Screaming Vault is one of Crimson Desert’s 37 Ancient Ruins Challenges. Completing it activates an Abyss Cresset — which gives you a new permanent fast travel point and an Abyss Artifact. The Abyss Artifact is the main reward you’re after: it goes toward unlocking skills, boosting stats like Health, Stamina, and Spirit, and leveling up your combat abilities. This puzzle also drops the Memories of Turbulence item, which reveals hidden location information across Demeniss.
The area underground is also full of lootable chests and items that can be sold for silver — worth clearing out while you’re in there.
For a full look at how Abyss Artifacts work and what to spend them on, see our best skills to level up first guide and how to get skill points guide.
Where Is the Screaming Vault Ruins?
Region: Demeniss — Golden Plains area, Azerian Estate Landmark: West of Rustleleaf Farm
On your map, the ruins appear as a Mysterious Energy marker. It sits in the Golden Plains of Demeniss, directly under the “D” in the Demeniss region label. You can also describe it as west of the city of Demeniss itself.
Getting there: Head east from Hernand into the Demeniss region and continue toward the Golden Plains. The ruins are above ground — you’ll see the remains of an old stone structure. The entrance, however, is not obvious from above.
Fog of war tip: If the area is still fogged on your map, ring the Demeniss Bell Tower to reveal the regional map. Our guide on all bell tower locations has all the tower positions. You can also use Blinding Flash — nearby Mysterious Energy markers will glow visibly when activated, pointing you directly to the hidden hole.
Finding the entrance: Look for a hole or opening in the ground among the ruins. It’s not immediately visible when you arrive — the ruins look like an empty structure from above. The opening leads underground into the vault. Drop down and follow the passage.
Navigating the Traps
Once underground, you’ll hit two consecutive hazards before reaching the puzzle room. Neither is difficult if you know what’s coming, but both hit hard if you rush in blind.
Trap 1 – Arrow Volleys and Spike Grates
The first trap room has two elements firing simultaneously: arrow cannons that shoot volleys across the room at intervals, and metal grates on the floor that push up spikes when you stand on them.
Watch the arrow cannons for one full volley cycle — they fire roughly every two seconds. Time your movement to go immediately after a volley fires. Do not stand on the metal grates — move across them quickly without stopping. A dodge roll forward clears both hazards in one clean movement if timed right. Count the rhythm, then roll through.
Trap 2 – Low Crawl Tunnel
After the arrow and spike room, there’s a low-ceilinged section ahead. Crouch to move through it. This is straightforward — just hold your crouch button and walk forward. Once through, you’re in the clear and can see the main puzzle room ahead.
The Puzzle Room
The main chamber has a disabled Abyss Cresset sitting in the center, surrounded by three jail cells, each containing a rotating disc dial mounted on the wall. Your goal is to rotate all three dials to the correct orientation simultaneously to activate the Cresset.
How to rotate the dials: Stand in front of a dial and use your Stab ability (R1 + Triangle on PlayStation / RB + Y on Xbox / Shift + Right Click on keyboard). Each press rotates the disc. Keep pressing until it reaches the correct position described below.
The order doesn’t matter — you can set the dials in any sequence. What matters is that all three are correctly aligned when you’re done.
The Three Disc Solutions (Skip the Scarecrows)
The game’s intended method is to find a mural inside one of the jail cells, read the map on the wall, travel to three scarecrow locations in the nearby Demeniss farmlands, observe each scarecrow’s painted symbol, and use those as clues for the dial positions. This is optional. Here are the direct solutions:
Left Room Dial — Swirl / Lollipop Symbol
The symbol in this room looks like a swirl or lollipop shape — a circle with a vertical bar extending from it, and a hook curving off to one side.
Correct position: Rotate until the vertical bar of the swirl points straight up, sitting just past the 11 o’clock position. The hook-like curved part should face to the left at the 9 o’clock position.
Middle Room Dial — Circles and Triangles Symbol
This dial has circles and triangles as its design. It’s the simplest of the three to set.
Correct position: Rotate until the two circles sit on top of the triangles, with the points of the triangles facing upward.
Right Room Dial — Constellation / Archer Symbol
This dial’s symbol resembles a star constellation shaped like an archer holding a bow.
Correct position: Rotate until the bow of the constellation faces to the right — the 3 o’clock position.
Activating the Abyss Cresset
Once all three dials are set correctly, the Abyss Cresset in the center of the room activates automatically — you’ll see and hear a visual confirmation. Walk up to it and interact to claim your Abyss Artifact and unlock the Cresset as a permanent fast travel point.
If the Cresset doesn’t activate: The dials are slightly off. The alignment needs to be precise — not close, but exact. Return to each cell and adjust. The left room dial in particular sometimes needs a few extra nudges to hit the exact position. Take your time on each one rather than rushing past approximate positions.
After collecting: Check the surrounding underground area for chests and loot before leaving. The vault has extra items worth picking up. Once you’re ready to leave, fast travel out from the newly activated Cresset rather than backtracking through the trap corridor.
Optional: Finding the Scarecrow Clues
If you want to experience the puzzle the way it was designed, here’s how the clue system works.
Inside one of the left or right jail cells, there is a mural painted on the wall showing a map of the Demeniss farmlands with three X marks indicating locations. These X marks point to farms near the letters D and E on the region map — the farmland area of Demeniss.
Travel to each marked spot and look for a scarecrow near the farm. Each scarecrow has a symbol painted on it showing the correct orientation for one of the three dials. Take note of each one (or screenshot the mural first to remember the locations) and return to the vault to set the dials accordingly.
The scarecrow method is the intended discovery path and gives good context for why each symbol is positioned a specific way. But both methods produce the same result.
Tips
Save before descending. If the traps catch you by surprise or a dial position isn’t reading as correct, having a save at the entrance saves you from re-approaching the ruins from far away.
The area has extra loot. The underground vault has chests and items scattered around. Don’t rush straight to the puzzle room — clear the area while you’re there. Selling the extra loot is a clean silver boost. For more on farming silver, check our how to make money fast guide and how to farm golden apples guide.
Collect the Memories of Turbulence. This item unlocks hidden location knowledge entries about Abyss areas in Demeniss. It’s in the room — pick it up before you leave.
This is one of many Demeniss puzzles. While you’re in the area, there are several other strongboxes and ruins worth completing. See our all strongbox puzzle solutions guide for the full Demeniss collection, and our mysterious energy Demeniss City guide for other hidden spots in the region.
Abyss Artifacts are valuable early. The reward from this puzzle directly fuels your skill tree. If you’re still building out your early kit, see our best early build and advanced combat guide for guidance on where to invest your Artifacts. For another nearby hidden weapon worth grabbing in the same exploration run, check out our Golden-Knotted Ancestral Bow guide — a strong bow found further north in Pailune.
For all other puzzles and guides in the game, visit the Crimson Desert hub page.
Crimson Desert is available on PlayStation, Xbox, Steam, and Epic Games Store. Check the official Crimson Desert site for the latest news and updates.
