If you’ve spent any time wandering the sun-scorched dunes of Sumeru’s desert region, you’ve probably stumbled on half-buried ruins and vague quest markers that lead nowhere fast. I missed the start of A Land Entombed Genshin Impact twice before I finally figured out where to pick up the quest, and wasted almost an hour stuck on one of its early light mirror puzzles when I first tried it. This guide breaks down every step of the quest, from unlock requirements to hidden chests you might miss, so you don’t have to fumble through like I did.
How to Unlock A Land Entombed and Prepare for the Quest
You can’t trigger this quest early, no matter how much you explore the desert, so make sure you meet all the prerequisites first. The three non-negotiable requirements are Adventure Rank 40 or higher, Full completion of the Golden Slumber world quest chain, and A party with at least one Pyro, one Dendro, and one Electro character. You can swap characters after you unlock the quest, but you’ll need all three elemental types to get past the first set of puzzles inside the tomb.
Once you meet those requirements, A Land Entombed will pop up as a blue world quest marker on your map just east of Aaru Village, so you don’t have to hunt for an unmarked NPC to trigger it. I’d also recommend bringing a character with movement boosts, like Sayu or Wanderer, if you have them. There’s a lot of running through long, winding underground caves, and extra speed cuts down your total quest time by a solid 10 minutes. You can also bring a healer if you’re not confident fighting Primal Constructs, but they’re not required if you dodge their big attacks properly.
Step-by-Step Walkthrough for the First Half of the Quest
Start by interacting with the NPC Tadhla, an archaeologist standing next to a broken research camp near the quest marker. She’ll tell you about a lost expedition that went into a sealed tomb looking for ancient texts, and ask you to go find the missing team members. Follow the trail of broken research tools and discarded water skins up the small dune to the sealed tomb entrance, where you’ll find four elemental monuments arranged in a semicircle.
This is the first puzzle most players get wrong, because there’s no clear hint for the order. Activate the monuments in Dendro > Electro > Pyro order to open the tomb door. If you activate them in the wrong order, the monuments will reset after a few seconds, so you don’t have to leave and come back to try again. Once the door opens, walk inside and follow the narrow path until you reach the first large chamber, where three Primal Constructs will ambush you.
These constructs are weak to Cryo, so if you brought a Cryo character along, you can take them down in under a minute. If not, just dodge their spinning laser attack, which is the only move that deals significant damage. After you defeat them, interact with the research note on the ground near the back of the chamber to get the next objective: find the missing expedition members deeper in the tomb.
Solving the Most Tricky Puzzles in A Land Entombed
Most players struggle with at least one puzzle when they run A Land Entombed for the first time, so don’t feel bad if you get stuck. The three most common pain points are easy to beat once you know what to do:
- The light mirror puzzle: You need to adjust 3 mirrors to direct the beam of light to the sealed door at the back of the chamber. Rotate the first mirror 90 degrees to the right, the second 180 degrees, and leave the third in its default position to hit the target.
- The hidden pressure plate puzzle: There are 4 pressure plates hidden under sand piles in the small side chamber. Use an Anemo character's elemental skill to blow away the sand, then step on all 4 at the same time (you can use Amber's Baron Bunny to hold one if you're playing solo) to unlock the secret chest.
- The Primal Ember escort section: Don't run too far ahead of the ember, or it will reset to its starting position. Clear all enemies in the path before you move the ember, and avoid stepping on the glowing blue floor tiles that slow you down.
I spent 20 minutes stuck on the light mirror puzzle because I kept rotating the third mirror by mistake, so you don't need to adjust the third mirror at all for the light beam puzzle. The secret chest from the pressure plate puzzle gives a 4-star artifact, so it’s worth taking the extra two minutes to find, even if you’re in a rush to finish the quest. If you miss the chest during your first run, you can always come back later to get it, since the chamber stays open after you complete the quest.
All Rewards You Can Earn From Completing A Land Entombed
The standard quest rewards are already worth the time investment, but there are a few hidden bonuses most players miss. First, the base rewards for finishing the quest are 60 Primogems, 3 Hero’s Wits, 20,000 Mora, and 3 Mystic Enhancement Ore. Those Primogems from A Land Entombed can go straight to your next limited banner pull, which is always a nice bonus for casual players who don’t spend money on the game.
The hidden rewards are even better. The secret pressure plate chest gives a 4-star Gladiator’s Nostalgia artifact, which is perfect for main DPS characters like Diluc or Ayaka. You also get a unique desert ruin furniture blueprint for your Serenitea Pot, which you can’t get anywhere else in the game. Completing this quest also unlocks a hidden fast travel waypoint deep in the northern part of the desert, which cuts down travel time for all future world quests and exploration in that area.
On top of all that, finishing A Land Entombed unlocks the follow-up world quest “The Secret of Al-Ahmar”, which gives another 80 Primogems and a unique namecard for your profile. You don’t have to start the follow-up quest right away, but it’s just as short as this one, so I usually run them back to back to maximize my Primogem haul for the hour.
A Land Entombed Genshin Impact is one of the most satisfying desert world quests to run, even with its occasionally tricky puzzles, because the rewards are well worth the 45 minutes to an hour it takes to complete. You don’t need any super rare characters to beat it, as long as you follow the order for puzzles and come prepared with the right elemental types. If you hit a snag at any point, just double check the steps above, and you’ll be grabbing those Primogems before you know it.