Genshin Impact: All Sumeru City Riddle Answers and Locations

Sumeru is a massive new region in Genshin Impact and Sumeru City even has a few secrets for players to stumble upon. One of these secrets is a series of riddles strewn throughout the city by a member of the Akademiya named Drusus. 

There are a total of 4 of these riddles that you can find, culminating in an unlockable achievement and a few rewards should you solve them all. Some of these riddles are worthy of a head scratch or two, with obtuse wording or symbolism. 

Here’s how to start and complete all of the Sumeru City Riddles in Genshin Impact.

Want more Genshin Impact content? You can find more here at KeenGamer:

1. Genshin Impact: How to Unlock Every New Sumeru Crafted Weapon
2. Genshin Impact: How to Unlock Under the Umbrella’s Shade Domain in Sumeru
3. Genshin Impact Tignnari Best Build Guide
4. Genshin Impact Collei Best Build Guide

How to Unlock the Riddles

In order to gain access to these riddles, you must first be passed the second act of the Sumeru Archon Quest. This act takes place entirely within Sumeru City and is quite a wild ride, but is relatively short. You will gain access to this part of the questline after returning from Port Ormos in the first stage of the Archon Quest.

Once you have beaten this strange but enjoyable quest, you are able to begin the riddles by interacting with a certain notice board in Sumeru City. This is the board closest to the tavern where you interact with Dehya and Dunyarzad during the story and to the Sumeru Adventurer Post with Katherine. When you interact with the board, a small cutscene will play.

You will read the riddle from the board and Paimon will ponder its meaning before you are interrupted by a member of the Adventurer’s Guild. He will explain that this is a riddle set up by a member of the Akademiya by the name of Drusus. Nobody has been able to beat the riddles yet and he recommends that you give up.

You won’t, however, as nothing comes between you and that achievement or those sweet rewards. This is where you can begin the hunt for riddles: be warned, there isn’t a dedicated quest for this so remember the riddle well. If you need a refresher, return to the board to read the first riddle again.

First Note Board

Riddle 1

The first Sumeru riddle in Genshin Impact goes as follows:

“In the light of alternating day cycles, one can see the homeward figure of the lighthouse on the bridge.”

Another note is that all of the riddle solutions will be confined to the area of Sumeru City and not outside of it. This first one is actually really close by to where you find the riddle itself.

Behind the notice board, you will see a small port of wooden docks and boats. To the right of this dock is a lighthouse made from Sumeru architecture. To complete this part of the riddle, jump into the water and swim beneath the bridge housing the lighthouse to find a small wooden crate, like the ones that usually contain Mora on the ocean.

This crate actually contains the next riddle you will need to solve. Paimon will then explain that the ‘homeward figure’ part was referring to the lighthouse’s shadow from beneath the bridge. 

Riddle 2

The second riddle says:

“A mirror made not of glass reflects every drama.”

If you aren’t entirely familiar with Sumeru City and its various locations, you may be at a loss here. Fret not, however, as you have definitely visited the location you need to go.

From the wooden port near the first message board, walk up the slope past the Katherine and to the top. Once there, head to the left past a bunch of stalls and merchants into a small corridor. This will take you to the Grand Bazar where you first met with Nilou during the Archon story quest. 

After you enter, head over to the stage where Nilo performs her dance at the end of the Sabzeruz Festival. Below that stage is a small fountain and pool of water and to the right of that pool will be another crate. This is the next part of the puzzle that you will need.

In this circumstance, the ‘mirror made not of glass’ refers to a pool of water while the ‘drama’ refers to the Bazar and the theatre (due to their outsider nature compared to the Akademiya and knowledge-focused peoples of Sumeru). 

Riddle 3

The third riddle goes as follows:

“The sole path to knowledge.”

This one is quite straightforward when compared to the more twisty riddles. However, it involves a location that many will not have travelled to and can be especially hard to find if you don’t know your way around Sumeru.

Your first location is the Akademiya itself. You can get here from the Bazar by heading straight after grabbing the previous riddle. Once you exit you should be by the Sumeru Reputation vendor so make a hard right. There will be a railing next to a branch slope that ascends: jump over the railing and get onto the branch path. Follow this path up and keep following it up until you can’t anymore. You should find yourself outside of a fancy-looking building which is the Akademiya.

From here, make your way inside and continue going forward. The riddle isn’t actually inside the Akademiya, but the House of Daena. This is the great library which is connected to the Akademiya. You can get here by walking across the bridge directly behind the fountain where you enter the building. Then you can enter the House of Daena, which takes you through a loading zone.

House of Daena

After you have gotten here you’ll see another bridge in front of you. Hop off it and look underneath to find a normal exquisite chest that reveals the next piece of the puzzle when opened.

The “sole path to knowledge” referred not only to the Akademiya itself but also to the notion of study and practice which is found within the great library. 

Riddle 4

The fourth and final riddle goes: 

“The flowers in the pond are blooming, with watery pearls there lingering.”

This answer will ask you to traverse high into the branches of the Great Tree in Sumeru City. The easiest way to get here from the Akademiya is to return to the fountain at the building’s entrance. From here head left to a small doorway that leads out onto a slope. Follow the slope until you reach a pond with a few researchers around it – the pond will have a few flowers in it.

At the back end of the pond, near a set of stairs, will be another crate. This will be the final piece of the puzzle and once you have picked it up, you can put your sleuthing hat away for the day. 

The answer here is pretty simple, as flowers are blooming in the pond and they look like pearls on the water.

Riddle 5? 

The fifth piece of paper that you pick up will say:

“Please go to the front door of the Temple of Knowledge at noon.”

As opposed to an actual riddle, this is more of an invitation by the riddle maker, Drusus. The Temple of Knowledge is said to be where Lesser Lord Kusanali lives and can be found at one of the highest points in Sumeru City. To get there from the final riddle, head up the slope next to the crate. You’ll pass by another message board and then continue up. At this point, you’ll have to climb up a lot of winding paths and slopes – just keep going up as your main goal. 

Eventually, you will find a teleport waypoint and one final slope that will take you to the Temple of Knowledge. Now change your clock to Noon and you will find Drusus waiting at the edge of the platform, expectedly. 

Speak to Drusus and you finally get to make his dreams come true as someone completes his riddles for the first time. This is followed by a short conversation about why Drusus has gone through all of this effort to make these puzzles. He replies that it is because it amuses him and he likes pondering. 

In the end, he will disappear and give you some rewards on his way out. These include a few Hero’s Wit EXP Books, 10,000 Mora and some other bits and bobs which honestly aren’t that important. The most important part of this whole thing is the achievement that unlocks upon finding all the riddles, which nets you a nice 5 Primo. Every little helps, after all.

That’s how to complete every one of Drusus’ riddles within Sumeru City in Genshin Impact Version 3.0.