Diablo 4 has been getting a lot of attention online for its debut as an early launch on June 1, and fans worldwide started their journey through the land of Sanctuary to uncover Lilith's purpose. After entries in the series that tried something entirely new in the form of Diablo 3 and Diablo Immortal, Diablo 4 feels like a return to form to long-time Blizzard fans, and the game seems to wear its Diablo 2 inspirations on its sleeve. Even then, in a world that's gritty and gory, Diablo 4's looting experience doesn't rely exclusively on slaying enemies, as the Secret of the Spring side quest reveals.
Side quests are a vital part of the gameplay loop in Diablo 4 thanks to the more thorough exploration they require of Sanctuary and the fact that they can be quite rewarding both in terms of gear and lore. Players will be able to chain Diablo 4 side quests into one another thanks to them often leading into new ones in different zones, but other times players will have to get out of their way to find them. Such is the case of the Secret of the Spring side quest, which is found in Kylslik Plateau, just northwest of Kyovashad. It will provide players with a riddle to solve, but its solution is spoiled very early on.
Diablo 4's Riddle in the Secret of the Spring Quest is Too Easy
Diablo 4's prologue does a great job of explaining the sort of brutality players can expect from the world of Sanctuary, and it also provides plenty of important lore beats to fully understand the complex relationship between Inarius and Lilith, and also the people of the land. The purpose of the prologue is to have players immersed in the world and story of Diablo 4 as soon as they set foot in Kyovashad, all while getting a few levels and choosing their first abilities.
When in Kyovashad, players can grab a quest from the leader of the town guard, who is concerned about the troops' morale but is caught between a rock and a hard place because a captain is supposed to be tough with soldiers, hence why the Wanderer is the perfect person to cheer them up. Players will likely not miss this quest, called Raising Spirits, given it's on the way to the Cathedral of Light, and it explains how Diablo 4's emote wheel works and how to use it in-game to complete quests that involve performing actions other than combat.
Similarly, there are various shrines players can find in Diablo 4, and they always highlight a keyword tied to a certain emote they have to perform while standing in a circle telegraphed on the ground. Diablo 4's Secret of the Spring asks players to solve a riddle that reads "Beacon of warmth in winter's embrace, patience rewarded by nature's own grace", which is referring to a spring, as the quest's name implies. The bit about patience implies waiting, but players won't be rewarded for just standing near the spring - instead, they should use the "Wait" emote near it.
Since this is explained in the Raising Spirits quest and then players will likely find at least a shrine or two where they can use the emote wheel to get rewards before they run into the Secret of the Spring quest, the riddle is not really hard to solve. As such, the quest immediately becomes an afterthought, and players can grab their reward and move on. Diablo 4's combat is where the ARPG shines, and while it does a good job at making the gameplay experience a bit more diverse through things like the emote wheel, Secret of the Spring can be a waste of a great riddle.
Diablo 4 launches on June 6 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.