Forbidding Doors of Melancholy Quest Guide In Genshin Impact

Q: How do you unlock Forbidding Doors of Melancholy in Genshin Impact?

The quest unlocks automatically after completing Back on One's Feet , the fourth subquest in the In the Dwelling of Life world quest chain. There is no separate trigger. As soon as Back on One's Feet finishes, Forbidding Doors of Melancholy begins right where you are standing.

Q: How do you solve the colored seal wall dial puzzle?

Place a Grappling Gun on the platform near the Remarkable Chest to pull the wall disc to the left. While it is held there, place a Cube Prime Ice Construct into the gap under the disc to lock it in position. Then remove the Grappling Gun . With the disc locked by the Cube, the seals align correctly and the hidden elevator is revealed.

Q: What do you do when you get trapped by the Leshies?

When the pedestal triggers the trap and bars lock you in, shoot all the Leshies from inside the cage to keep the area clear and protect Nastya as she moves toward the item she needs. After all Leshies are defeated, she tosses the item into the cage. Pick it up and install it on the pedestal to disarm the trap and reveal the hidden stairs.

TL;DR

Forbidding Doors of Melancholy is the fifth quest in the In the Dwelling of Life world quest chain in Genshin Impact 7.0.
It starts automatically after completing Back on One’s Feet — no separate trigger needed.
Ride the lift up, defeat the boss Furiosa, then enter the assembly hall with Nastya.
Use a Grappling Gun to pull down two chandeliers and ride them to reach both curtain switches.
Activate both switches at the same moment on Paimon’s countdown to open the curtain door.
Solve the colored seal wall dial puzzle — move the disc left, place a Cube under it, remove the Grappling Gun — to reveal an elevator.
In the strange room beyond, interact with glowing marks, get trapped, defeat all Leshies, pick up Nastya’s item, and install it on the pedestal to disable the trap.
Rewards include 50 Primogems and upgrade materials.

The Forbidding Doors of Melancholy quest in Genshin Impact is the fifth part of the In the Dwelling of Life quest chain. Players who get to this point have already been through the keycard sewer puzzle and multiple fights — but this quest has its own tricky moments, especially the chandelier mechanics and the colored seal puzzle. This guide covers every step clearly so you can get through it without unnecessary backtracking.

This quest is part of the broader effort to collect the Eye of Graeae fragments in Snezhnaya. If you want an overview of the full chain and how it connects, see our guide on how to collect all Eye of Graeae fragments. You can also look at our A Great Heart Fettered by Slender Chains guide if you are doing both Snezhnaya world quests at the same time.

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Table of Contents

How to Unlock Forbidding Doors of Melancholy

This quest is part of the In the Dwelling of Life world quest chain in the Flamefeather Valley. The chain has seven subquests total:

A Sprout Without a Gardener
Transplanted From Yesterday to Tomorrow
Down in the Dumps
Back on One’s Feet
Forbidding Doors of Melancholy (this quest)
To Rest in a Forgotten Field
Chorus of Solace

Forbidding Doors of Melancholy starts automatically the moment you finish Back on One’s Feet. There is no NPC to talk to, no new item to pick up. The quest just begins right where you are, at the lift leading up to the assembly hall. The entire chain takes place in the Shadow Realm, where Elemental Skills and Bursts are locked. You fight with the TPS-mode gun and solve puzzles using Grappling Gun and Prime Ice Constructs.

It is recommended to finish at least the second objective of Great Deeds on the Tundra in the Everwinter Without Mercy Archon Quest before starting the chain, to avoid interruptions.

Step 1 — Ride the Lift and Follow Nastya

After Back on One’s Feet ends, the lift to the assembly hall becomes active. Rotate the mechanism to call the lift, then ride it up. Once you reach the top, follow Nastya down the path. Wrap around the left side of the iced-over buildings to find the route forward. Keep following her along the path toward the assembly hall bridge.

Step 2 — Defeat Furiosa

As you cross the bridge to the assembly hall, Furiosa appears and blocks your way. You cannot proceed without defeating her. This is a TPS-mode fight, so use your gun and keep moving.

Slide and dodge constantly to avoid her attacks. She hits hard if you stand still.
Healing drops and ammo pickups are scattered around the arena — use them. There are enough resources to get through the fight without running out.
Stay aggressive and keep firing whenever you have a clean shot.

After Furiosa goes down, push open the gate and enter the assembly hall with Nastya. If you want more detail on the Furiosa fight specifically, our Furiosa Local Legend guide has a full breakdown of her attack patterns.

Step 3 — Enter the Assembly Hall and Find a Way Inside

Once through the gate, enter the building and collect the Precious Chest inside — don’t skip it. You will notice that both the main entrance and the side door leading further into the building are locked. Nastya spots a narrow opening she can squeeze through.

Inspect the available entrances one by one to trigger the next part of the quest. Nastya will crawl through the crack at the bottom of the main door. Wait while she works her way to the other side. After a short while, she opens the metal door on the right for you. Meet her in the room on the other side to continue. Inside the Prayer Hall, collect the Common Chest, speak with Nastya, then head upstairs. This is where the chandelier puzzle begins.

Step 4 — Chandelier Puzzle: Reach the First Curtain Switch

Nastya tells you there is a switch that will operate the curtain mechanism, but it is on an upper level you cannot reach by climbing. The solution is to use the chandeliers as lifts. Here is how it works:

Open your Prime Ice Construct build menu and construct a Grappling Gun. Building one costs 30 Eternal Ice and uses 5% of Kresnik Energy. Place the Grappling Gun on the platform next to Nastya and use it to pull the first chandelier down to the floor. Step onto the chandelier, then dismantle (remove) the Grappling Gun. Without the Grappling Gun holding it down, the chandelier rises back up — carrying you with it to the upper level.

Step off at the top and pull the first curtain switch to activate it. This counts as the first switch activated. Do not pull it again yet.

Step 5 — Reach the Second Curtain Switch

The second switch is on the opposite side of the hall and cannot be reached directly from where you are. Go back down to the lower platform and build another Grappling Gun. Use it to pull the second chandelier down, get on top of it, and dismantle the Grappling Gun again to ride it up.

While on this chandelier, you can also collect a Cryoculus — place a new Grappling Gun on the platform near it, collect the Cryoculus, then move right from there to reach the second curtain switch.

Step 6 — Activate Both Switches at the Same Time

Both switches must be triggered at exactly the same moment. The door only opens if both fire together on the same beat. Speak with Paimon and she will run a countdown for you. Activate your switch when Paimon’s countdown reaches one — she and Nastya handle the other switch simultaneously.

When timed correctly, the curtain drops and the door beyond opens. Nastya and Paimon head back down to the ground floor toward the area behind the curtain. Meet them there to continue.

Step 7 — Colored Seal Wall Dial Puzzle

Behind the curtain, you will find a wall with a rotating disc and three colored seals on a relief. Nastya provides a drawing showing the correct positions for all three seals:

Red seal: left side
Blue seal: upper center
White seal: right side

Here is how to solve it:

Place a Grappling Gun on the platform near the Remarkable Chest. This pulls the wall disc to the left, moving it into the correct position.
While the disc is held in place by the Grappling Gun, put a Cube Prime Ice Construct into the gap under the disc. The Cube locks the disc in position. Building a Cube costs 20 Eternal Ice and uses 5% Kresnik Energy.
Dismantle the Grappling Gun. The disc is now locked by the Cube and stays in the correct position.

Once all seals are correctly positioned, the wall moves aside and reveals a hidden elevator. Take the elevator up with Nastya to proceed to the next area.

Step 8 — The Strange Room: Explore and Get Trapped

The elevator brings you face to face with another locked door. Push it open and follow Nastya into the strange room beyond. Before interacting with anything, take a moment to explore:

Check the illegible notes beside the bookshelves on the left.
Examine the yellowed notebook on the table in the middle of the room.
Head upstairs and inspect the strange pedestal.

Interacting with the glowing marks on the ground and on the pedestal triggers a trap. Bars drop and lock you inside a cage, while the Leshies in the room come to life and begin attacking.

Step 9 — Defend Against the Leshies and Free Yourself

You are stuck inside the cage, but you can still shoot through the bars. Nastya is outside trying to reach an item that can free you.

Shoot every Leshy that appears. Your priority is keeping the room clear so Nastya can move safely toward the object.
Keep the area clear at all times — if too many Leshies are active at once, Nastya gets pushed back or distracted. Deal with each one quickly.
After all the Leshies are defeated, Nastya finds an item and tosses it into the cage to you.

Pick up the item she threw. Then walk to the pedestal and install the item on it. This disarms the trap, drops the bars, and the slab in the center of the room moves to reveal a set of hidden stairs. A cutscene plays, followed by a dialogue with Nastya that officially completes the quest.

Quest Rewards

Completing Forbidding Doors of Melancholy gives you:

50 Primogems
Hero’s Wit
Mora
Adventure EXP

After this quest, the next subquest — To Rest in a Forgotten Field — begins immediately, taking you along the path toward the Teemic Mire and eventually toward the final boss fight of the chain.

Tips for Forbidding Doors of Melancholy

Stock up on Eternal Ice before entering the assembly hall. The chandelier puzzle requires multiple Grappling Gun builds, each costing 30 Eternal Ice. Running out mid-puzzle is frustrating.
The chandelier timing is simple once you understand it. Build the Grappling Gun, step on the chandelier, then remove the Grappling Gun. You do not need to jump or time anything precisely — the chandelier just carries you up.
Both curtain switches must fire on the same countdown beat. Pulling early or late means you need to redo the timing. Wait calmly for Paimon’s countdown to reach one before activating.
During the Leshies fight, focus on the enemies, not on Nastya. She moves on her own — your job is to keep clearing enemies so she can get closer without interruption.

Related Guides

Working through Snezhnaya’s many quests? These guides will help:

Down in the Dumps quest guide — the keycard sewer puzzle that comes just before this quest.
Stone Beasts Like Ghouls Seated quest — the parallel Pale Crown Palace questline.
How to reach White Birch Snowgrave — access the northernmost zone of Snezhnaya.
Hesperides of Love and Hate quest guide — the first Eye of Graeae fragment questline.
Snezhnaya Shrine of Depths locations — collect all Luxurious Chest keys in the region.
Shadow Wingdrop guide — increase your Shadow Realm Combat Stamina for tough fights in this chain.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do you unlock Forbidding Doors of Melancholy in Genshin Impact?

The quest unlocks automatically after completing Back on One’s Feet, the fourth subquest in the In the Dwelling of Life world quest chain. There is no separate trigger. As soon as Back on One’s Feet finishes, Forbidding Doors of Melancholy begins right where you are standing.

How do you activate both curtain switches at the same time?

After reaching both switches using the chandelier mechanic, speak with Paimon and she will start a countdown. Activate your switch when the countdown reaches one — Paimon and Nastya handle the other switch at the same moment. The door only opens when both switches fire on the same beat, so timing your activation to Paimon’s countdown is key.

How do you solve the colored seal wall dial puzzle?

Place a Grappling Gun on the platform near the Remarkable Chest to pull the wall disc to the left. While it is held there, place a Cube Prime Ice Construct into the gap under the disc to lock it in position. Then remove the Grappling Gun. With the disc locked by the Cube, the seals align correctly and the hidden elevator is revealed.

What do you do when you get trapped by the Leshies?

When the pedestal triggers the trap and bars lock you in, shoot all the Leshies from inside the cage to keep the area clear and protect Nastya as she moves toward the item she needs. After all Leshies are defeated, she tosses the item into the cage. Pick it up and install it on the pedestal to disarm the trap and reveal the hidden stairs.