The second act of Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous concludes with the siege of Drezen to reclaim the Sword of Valor banner. This holy symbol is hidden deep in the city, guarded by cultists and deadly traps. One major obstacle is the Drezen Citadel puzzle, which controls a trap that fires off a barrage of elemental spells, including Cone of Cold and Fireball.

The main objective is to enter Drezen Citadel using a plan from either Irabeth, Regill, or Nurah. Irabeth will want to dangerously charge the front gate, Regill advises using the lead brigade as a distraction, and Nurah will help the party sneak through the town’s prison. No matter whose plan you follow, you will soon be met with a challenging puzzle you need to solve first.

Those wanting to get to the Sword of Valor puzzle quickly should go with Nurah's plan, even though it will kick off with an ambush. If you choose to do this, it would be best to bring one of Pathfinder's healing team .

Who Should You Bring For The Drezen Citadel Puzzle?

Bring Anyone Who Understands The World's Lore

Drezen Citadel is under a heavy curse that deals continual Charisma damage every 10 minutes. If any character’s charisma is reduced to zero, they will instantly die, and you'll encounter a full game over if it is the main hero who falls. When choosing a team for the assault, it will take experts in Religion, Arcana, and World skills to fully lift the curse and remove the looming time constraint while solving the Sword of Valor puzzle.

Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous characters like Nenio and Daeran are good candidates for the Drezen puzzle. Additionally, a solid tank, like Seelah or Camellia, will make the follow-up encounters much easier.

How to Disable the Drezen Citadel Puzzle Trap

Get Rid Of Constant Damage

As parties approach Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous' Sword of Valor banner, they will discover it is immediately blocked by a trap that spews constant acid, cold, and fire damage. You have two options: either solve the circle's puzzle or simply bear the elemental damage to disarm the trap. Those who choose the former should interact with the puzzle via their tank, while other stand guard near the stairs or sides.

It is highly advised to save before interacting with the Drezen puzzle at all, as there is no easy way to reset it to the initial state once you begin. If it has already been altered, then finding a current solution will take additional effort.

Try to rotate your camera so that the north direction is facing upward. From here, there will be four buttons on the puzzle’s circle: east, southwest, northwest, and center. If the puzzle has not been touched before then it can be completed with the following button combination:

Your Pathfinder: WOTR party will immediately be attacked by the demon Eustoyriax once you interact with each button this way. If someone like Seelah, Cameilla, or Regill was the puzzle-solver, then they'd start in a good position to engage the monster. Like against other demons, Eustoyriax is immune to electricity and you'll want to use cold iron or good-aligned weapons to by the creature's damage reduction.

Having trouble defeating Eustouriax after solving the Drezen puzzle in Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous? Check out some battle strategies in the YouTube video from Werglia below!

How to Survive the Drezen Citadel Puzzle Trap

Tank Damage For The Banner

The Circles Puzzle in Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous deals a high amount of acid, cold, and fire damage. Parties with access to Protection from Energy and Resist Energy can combine multiple casting of those together to withstand each element. Since Pathfinder: WOTR parties will likely be low-level when encountering it, you can only take up to a certain amount of damage before falling.

Your party could roughly be around level 8 when you interact with the Circles Puzzle, so every member will be able to absorb up to 96 damage of each energy type it deals. Thankfully, the trap instantly ceases once anyone picks up the Sword of Valor banner.

While it may seem tempting, using brute force like this might put the party in even more danger than attempting to disarm the Drezen puzzle. Once the banner is acquired, additional cultists and demons will burst through the western door and attack. If Eustoyriax wasn’t already defeated, it might now spawn in a perfect position to flank players. Still, if your WOTR party has strong specs, they may be able to defeat both encounters.

Rewards For Solving The Drezen Citadel Circle's Puzzle

Explore The Dungeon For Top-Tier Loot

Whether you decide to tank the trap's damage or solve the puzzle, you will eventually be rewarded with the Sword of Valor banner for surviving your way through elemental damage or spawning enemies. This can help you complete the quest tied to the banner and the story Chapter tied to it. However, there are tons of other rewards in smaller rooms throughout the dungeon where the puzzle is located.

Several chests scattered near the puzzle become easier to interact with once you've defeated the enemies near it and disabled its trap. For example, the Evil Outsider Bane Spear +2 can be found in the same room as the Circle's Puzzle. There may be some more enemies your party will have to overcome, but as you can see from the above video by YouTube creator RPGames, it isn't anything you can't handle.

The Drezen Citadel holds many secrets beyond the banner you originally were looking for, so try to search every nook and cranny. Once you're satisfied with your loot from solving the Sword of Valor Circle's puzzle in Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, you can exit the Citadel to embrace new progression in this game's ever-evolving story.

Source: Werglia/YouTube, RPGames/YouTube