After investigating the strange ice and unlocking the Frostbearing Tree during Genshin Impact's In the Mountains quest, players will be instructed to thaw all the shards out. In total, there are two shards that need to be thawed, and the quest description indicates that they are positioned around the Entombed City Outskirts and Starglow Cavern. For those Genshin Impact players that are looking for more specific details on the location of these shards, and exactly how to thaw them, this guide is here to help.
Updated July 5, 2021 by Mina Smith: Genshin Impact's massive map can be absolutely overwhelming, especially to new players. The addition of the Dragonspine location has made the map even larger, and players may be looking for some help finding and completing certain quests. In the Mountains has a quest section that requires players to Thaw Shards, then later thaw them again. This is the first part of the quest, and players will need to find two locations. This article has been updated to help locate those shards with more detailed maps and visual information to make it a little easier to find.
In order the thaw any shards, Genshin Impact players will need to know all about Scarlet Quartz and its buff. Players can break the glowing, red rocks scattered around Dragonspine's icy mountain ranges. Once they pick up a piece of the Scarlet Quartz, the player will gain a temporary buff, indicated by a red glow surrounding their character. While this buff has a very limited active period, it should be long enough to thaw the shard close by and complete this quest.
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With respect to the shard that is said to be around the Entombed City Outskirts, fans should actually look slightly northeast of that area. More specifically, the shard is found near the Teleport that is close to Wyrmrest Valley. Players will also know that they have arrived at the correct location if they see five pillars, and these objects do play a role in Genshin Impact's In the Mountains quest.
Indeed, fans will now need to solve a short puzzle that revolves around these five pillars, and the solution can be uncovered by interacting with the nearby cube that has the Seelie on top. Doing this will cause the Seelie to fly from pillar to pillar, and Genshin Impact players will now need to use a Cryo character. The Cryo characters currently in the game are:
- Eula
- Qiqi
- Ganyu
- Rosaria
- Kaeya
- Chongyun
- Diona
Activate the pillars in the precise order that the Seelie flies in to complete the puzzle using a Cryo power. When looking at the pillars from the position of the cube as shown in the photo above, that order is:
- Pillar 1
- Pillar 4
- Pillar 5
- Pillar 2
- Pillar 3
Completing the puzzle will initiate battles with two enemies. To dispatch these foes, players should use the small pillars that surround the puzzle pillars to combat Sheer Cold. These pillars will become active as the fight starts, and a large hole in the ground will appear when both of the enemies have been dispatched. Fans can now hop into the hole, break the red crystals to extract Scarlet Quartz, and then attack the frozen shard in the middle to thaw it.
To note, one of the red crystals in this chasm is found past a closed gate, and players will need to use two Seelies to access it. One of these Seelies is floating out in the open, and is thus very easy to spot, and the other is buried in a pile of snow that is near to a dilapidated robot. Fans should take these Seelies to unlit torches near the gate to open it and collect the final Scarlet Quartz that is required to thaw the shard.
To thaw out the Starglow Cavern shard in Dragonspine, players should first head to the Teleport in the area and drop into the hole that is just behind it. Fans should now make their way east through the tunnels and continue moving down until they reach the shard. Players will not have access to the shard as soon as they find it, though, as there is a forcefield surrounding it.
Bringing down this forcefield requires the completion of the nearby time trial, and players will need to turn to their best characters in Genshin Impact if they hope to come out on top. Even with the help of a powerful character, fans may need to exercise some patience here, as the trial can prove quite challenging. However, players that are persistent should ultimately be able to take down the forcefield, and they can then use the nearby Scarlet Quartz to thaw out the shard.
This quest should not be confused with a later part of the quest with a very similar title: Thaw Out All the Shards Again in Genshin Impact. This quest comes later and requires players thaw new shards in three new locations.
Genshin Impact is available now on the App Store, Google Play, PC, PS4, and PS5, and is currently in development for Switch.