How to solve the Secret of the Spring riddle in Diablo 4

Not always a virtue

Activision Blizzard’s Diablo IV brings with it an intriguing new love of riddles, as various torn parchments, etchings, and papers can be found in and around Sanctuary that offer cryptic clues to hidden rewards. One of the earliest examples The Wanderer will chance upon is the Secret of the Spring riddle, which can be found in the Fractured Peaks.

You’ll find the riddle on a scrap of paper in the Kylslik Plateau of the Fractured Peaks. The note is resting by a ladder just south of the Forsaken Quarry dungeon.

“Beacon of warmth in winter’s embrace, patience rewarded by nature’s own grace.”

The riddle promises a reward to those who are willing to show patience at the spring itself, which is located among the snowy highlands of the same area. Now you, like myself, might think that the answer to the riddle is simply to wait at the spring for a while, (displaying the aforementioned patience), but after my Necromancer has been standing around for 15 minutes she felt, quite frankly, like a bit of a dipshit. And I realized I was overthinking the puzzle.

‘Wait’, don’t ‘Wait’.

What you actually need to do, when you arrive at the spring, is open up your emote wheel and activate the command “Wait”. This command is not on the wheel by default, so you’ll have to move over to a fresh tab on the wheel, customize a slot, and pick “Wait” from the list. Once The Wanderer exclaims the Wait command, then a treasure chest will appear, affording you some quest completion XP along with a selection of treasures, such as crafting materials and possibly gems if you’re at a higher level.

So, I guess we’ve learned that it’s important not to overthink these riddles, as there will no doubt be many, many more that await in the Lands of Sanctuary. Just don’t stand still for too long.

[Update: Here’s a video walkthrough of the whole quest from our friends at Prima]