Genshin Impact celebrated the holiday seasons this year by releasing its newest major update, Version 1.2. The new patch introduced a Cryo-rooted region named Dragonspine that boasts a diverse collection of new monsters, characters, quests, and weapons, all ready for players to encounter.
Updated June 26, 2021 by Mina Smith: A lot of new players are just now entering the world of Genshin Impact and making their way through the land of Teyvat. Many expecting an action-heavy grind will be surprised to find out that the game features a lot more in terms of gameplay mechanics than a simply hack-and-slash style. Genshin Impact is filled to the brim with puzzles, but this particular puzzle seems to give a lot of players some trouble. More information has been added to this article for clarity and a few more photos and a video to help clear up any confusion.
Genshin Impact's Dragonspine Region
Travelers are finding that the new Dragonspine region, though relatively small in size on the map, actually features quite the expansive network of caverns and valleys to explore. The new Genshin Impact landmark also has its very own sort of hybrid Reputation/Statue of Seven-like system, involving an odd Frostbearing Tree and magical Crimson Agate.
Basically, Crimson Agate is offered to Dragonspine's Frostbearing Tree in exchange for rewards. Once the Tree has garnered enough Agate, it will level up (much like a player's Reputation, or a Statue of Seven upon receiving Anemoculi). At certain level milestones, it will reward the Traveler with rare gifts like blueprints to the four-star catalyst, Frostbearer. Much like with Anemoculi and Geoculi in Mondstadt and Liyue, Dragonspine's Crimson Agate can be found hidden in Dragonspine.
How to Get Crimson Agate in Genshin Impact
*Although chests containing Crimson Agate don't appear on the map, players will be to hunt down this rare red jewel while exploring the area by sound. When players get close to any Crimson Agate chests, a small icon will pop on their mini maps and play a little sound. Since players will most likely be exploring the area anyway to discover all the Dragonspine's secrets, they will most likely come across most of the Agate that exists out in the wild naturally.
*There is one location where getting the Crimson Agate chest is incredibly difficult; there is Agate hiding behind the puzzle of the pressure plates in Genshin Impact.
The Dragonspine Pressure Plate Puzzle
Players who venture over to the western cape of Genshin Impact's Dragonspine, just east of the map's "Sal Terrae" text, will discover a series of old plates in the ground just beside a strange stone wall. Upon closer inspection, players will find that each of the plates bears one of two symbols, each of which is depicted four different times on the wall - this holds the key to the pressure plate puzzle solution.
The image above, courtesy of Redditor u/sleepychotz, bears one of many examples of possible solutions to the pressure plate puzzle. In short though, players must simply activate four consecutive pressure plates of the same symbol, and then step on the remaining four. The challenge isn't given to players as part of any of the quests or tasks relating to the Frostbearing Tree, so it may be hard to originally discover, but thankfully, it's a simple solve.
When the player steps on a pressure plate, its corresponding "mark" on the wall will illuminate - this can be used as a reference guide while performing the task. They should simply pick a pressure plate, and then be sure to only step on the three other pressure plates sharing the same symbol, before stepping on any of the remaining plates. It take a few seconds for the plate to become active, so wait until the plate glows to step off of it.
This video does a great job of walking players through every step:
Rewards for Completing the Pressure Plate Puzzle in Genshin Impact
Once the puzzle has been completed Travelers will be rewarded with not only a Crimson Agate, but also a Luxurious Chest containing some valuable materials, like Hero's Wit. Players should note that one of the pressure plates is encased in ice at first, so the puzzle isn't totally accessible until this is remedied. There's some conveniently placed Scarlet Quartz that will help thaw the special ice, and after that Travelers should be all set to earn this Crimson Agate.
Genshin Impact is available now on the App Store, Google Play, PC, PS4, PS5, and is currently in development for Switch.