Overview
The ancient generator puzzle is part of the Kiln Repair at the Kilnden Workshop main quest in Chapter 4 of Crimson Desert. You need to align four yellow triangular symbols on a Kiln tower vertically from top to bottom. After activating the generator, three additional kiln repair objectives appear in the surrounding area. This guide covers the generator puzzle, all three kiln repairs, rewards, and useful tips and tricks for completing them efficiently.
The quest takes place in the Hernand region, inside the Kilnden Workshop area. You arrive here as part of the Mysterious Pot sub-chapter in Chapter 4: The Price of Knowledge. The dwarf craftsman Grimnir needs you to repair the ancient furnace system before he can forge a special item for Kliff.
Before You Begin
Before attempting the generator and kiln puzzles, make sure you have the following abilities unlocked. Both are required to complete the Dismantled Kiln and Fuel Kiln objectives.
Ability | How to Activate | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
Hold L3 (controller) or Tab (keyboard) to aim, then release to grab | Lifts and carries objects across distances. Used for fuel orbs and kiln pieces. | |
Press R3 (controller) while standing or mid-air | Slams or pushes objects. Required to hammer kiln pieces into place. | |
Press R3 while grasping a target with Axiom Force | Transmits Force Palm energy through a grasped object, striking targets from a distance. Useful shortcut for positioning puzzle elements without precise manual placement. |
Force Current requires Force Palm Lv 2 and Axiom Force Lv 2 to unlock, plus 1 Abyss Artifact. If you have not unlocked it yet, you can still complete the puzzles using standard Axiom Force and Force Palm. However, Force Current makes several steps significantly easier because it lets you push objects into their sockets from range rather than needing to carry them right up to the exact spot.
Ancient Generator Puzzle
How the Puzzle Works
The generator is a large tower with multiple concentric rings, each bearing a yellow glowing triangular symbol. At the front of the tower are two controls:
Yellow switch (ring selector): changes which ring is currently selected. Push the lever left, center, or right to highlight one of the three moveable rings. You can also use D-Pad Left/Right on a controller to cycle through them.
Wooden lever (ring rotator): rotates the currently selected ring. Push the lever left or right to spin the active ring until its symbol lines up with the others.
A pressure gauge on the tower shows your current progress. The top symbol (fixed) and the bottom symbol (already lit) are in their correct positions from the start. You only need to adjust the two middle rings to align their symbols with the top and bottom ones. When all four triangular symbols line up vertically in a straight column, the generator activates with a dramatic audio cue and a blue glow.
Solution (4 Moves)
If you have not touched the generator yet, the puzzle can be solved in exactly four moves:
Select the 2nd ring: push the yellow lever all the way to the right. This highlights the 2nd ring from the top.
Align the 2nd symbol: push the wooden lever to the right. The 2nd symbol should line up directly below the first yellow symbol at the top. Watch for the symbol to glow brighter when it snaps into alignment.
Select the 3rd ring: push the yellow lever to the middle position. This highlights the 3rd ring.
Align the 3rd symbol: push the wooden lever to the left. The 3rd symbol should slot into place directly above the bottom symbol. You will hear an audio confirmation and all four symbols will glow simultaneously.
All four symbols should now be aligned vertically from top to bottom. The generator activates and turns blue, and three new kiln repair objectives appear on your map in the surrounding area.
If You Already Moved the Rings
If you interacted with the generator before reading this guide and the rings are in random positions, do not worry. You can still solve it manually by selecting each ring one at a time and rotating it until its symbol lines up. The symbols are large and clearly visible, so keep rotating until the column looks straight. Alternatively, you can reset the puzzle to its default state by reloading your most recent autosave or manual save. Fast traveling away from the area and returning will also reset any incomplete puzzle back to its starting configuration.
Kiln 1: Reconnect the Disconnected Kiln
The first kiln objective is located southeast of the generator. It involves reconnecting a broken pipe that feeds power to the kiln. This is the simplest of the three repairs.
Head to the kiln marker on your map, southeast of the central generator tower.
Raise your torch to improve visibility. Follow the pipe along the floor from the kiln until you reach the far side where the connection is broken. The cable has a visible gap.
Approach the disconnected cable end and hold X (PlayStation) / A (Xbox) / E (keyboard) to reconnect it. Kliff will push the cable back into its socket automatically.
Return to the front of the kiln and push the adjacent crank completely to the left until it locks into place.
The kiln powers on and the objective completes. You will see energy flowing through the reconnected pipe.
This kiln does not require any special abilities. If the pipe does not glow after reconnecting, make sure you pushed it all the way in. The interaction prompt should disappear once it is fully seated.
Kiln 2: Rebuild the Dismantled Kiln
The dismantled kiln is located in the middle area. It requires you to reassemble scattered pieces using Axiom Force and Force Palm. This is the most mechanically demanding of the three repairs.
Look for a small broken kiln piece nearby with a hole through it. It is to the right of the kiln body on the ground.
Use Axiom Force (hold L3 on controller, Tab on keyboard) to grab the piece and carry it over to the main kiln body.
Position the piece on top of the kiln. As you bring it close, the game's auto-alignment system will guide the piece and rotate it into the correct orientation. You do not need pixel-perfect placement.
Climb on top of the kiln, jump into the air (Square on PlayStation, X on Xbox, Spacebar on keyboard), and press R3 mid-air to perform a downward Force Palm. This hammers the piece into place.
Find the second piece: a flat-topped chimney fragment located behind the kiln. It is the most visibly destroyed-looking part nearby.
Use Axiom Force to carry the chimney piece and stack it on top of the first piece you just secured.
Climb up again, jump, and use another mid-air Force Palm to slam the second piece into position.
After both pieces are secured, push the kiln's crank to the left to complete the assembly.
Force Current shortcut: If you have Force Current unlocked (requires Force Palm Lv 2 and Axiom Force Lv 2), you can use it as an alternative to the mid-air Force Palm technique. Grab the kiln piece with Axiom Force, position it close to the slot, and then press R3 while still holding it to transmit Force Palm energy through the object from a distance. This pushes it into place without needing to climb on top and jump. It is especially useful if you are having trouble with the jump timing.
Having the double-jump skill makes the standard approach significantly easier. If pieces seem to bounce off or not lock in, try adjusting your angle. You need to be above the piece and looking down when you press Force Palm.
Kiln 3: Fuel the Kiln
The fuel kiln is located north of the generator. It requires you to collect five blue glowing fuel spheres scattered around the area and insert them into receptacles around the kiln's edge.
Open your map and zoom in. Five circular fuel icons are marked in the immediate vicinity of the kiln.
The first two fuel spheres sit right next to the kiln on the ground, near some clay jars. Pick them up with Axiom Force and carry them to the round receptacle openings on the kiln's edge.
The third sphere is on the marsh floor in the flooded area, partially submerged in water. Look for a faint blue glow beneath the surface.
The fourth sphere is hidden inside a bird statue's eye socket, in the flooded area to the left of the kiln. Stand directly in front of the statue and use Force Palm (hold R3) to extract it. The sphere will pop out of the eye and land on the ground for you to pick up.
The fifth and final sphere is located near a cave mouth south of the kiln, resting on the ground along the pond shore. Check the minimap if you cannot find it.
Transport each sphere to the kiln using Axiom Force and insert them into the five receptacle openings around the kiln's edge.
Once all five are inserted, push the kiln's wooden lever crank to the left to ignite the fuel and complete the objective.
Force Current shortcut: Instead of carrying each fuel sphere all the way to the receptacle, you can aim at the sphere with Axiom Force, grab it, and then use Force Current (R3 while grasping) to push it directly into the receptacle from a distance. This is particularly handy for the partially submerged sphere in the marsh, where navigating through water while carrying an object can be awkward.
Rewards
After completing all three kiln repairs and activating the generator, the Kiln Repair at the Kilnden Workshop quest completes. A cutscene plays showing the furnace system coming back to life. You then need to speak with the dwarf craftsman Grimnir at the generator to advance the story.
Grimnir uses the restored kilns to forge the Kuku Iron Pot, a special container that is a key item for the rest of the game. The Kuku Iron Pot functions as an infinite-capacity storage device, but it can only hold certain Abyss-related objects such as Power Cores, Abyss Cells, and other mechanical artifacts you discover throughout the world. You receive the pot in the immediately following quest, The Mysterious Pot (mission 49), where you operate a lever at a stone platform to collect it.
The Kuku Iron Pot is described in-game as "a true masterpiece" with intricate patterns etched into its surface. It becomes essential for storing the various Abyss components you encounter during later chapters.
Puzzle Reset Methods
If any of the puzzles in this area get stuck, are bugged, or end up in a state you cannot solve, you have several options to reset them:
Method | Details |
|---|---|
Reload autosave | The game autosaves when you enter the Kilnden Workshop area. Loading this save resets all puzzles to their default starting state. This is the fastest method. |
Reload manual save | If your autosave is after you have already interacted with the generator, load an earlier manual save from before you entered the area. |
Fast travel away and return | Traveling to a different location and then returning to the Kilnden Workshop area resets any incomplete puzzles. Puzzles you have already fully completed will remain completed. |
Restart the game | Closing and reopening the game can fix bugs where objects fail to spawn or interactions do not trigger properly. This is useful for the known fuel sphere spawn issue. |
Only puzzles that have not been fully completed will reset. Once a kiln powers on or the generator activates, that particular puzzle is permanently solved and cannot revert.
Tips and Common Mistakes
Keep these pointers in mind when working through the Kilnden Workshop puzzles. For more general guidance, see the full tips and tricks page.
Tip | Details |
|---|---|
Activate the generator first | You must activate the central ancient generator before attempting any kiln repairs. The three kiln objectives only appear on your map after the generator turns blue. If you head to a kiln location early, nothing will be interactable. |
Use the torch liberally | The Kilnden Workshop area is dark. Raise your torch to spot fuel spheres, cable gaps, and kiln pieces more easily. The blue glow of fuel orbs is subtle in ambient light. |
Use Force Current from distance | If you have Force Current unlocked, you can skip the climbing and jumping steps in Kiln 2 by transmitting Force Palm energy through grasped objects. This also speeds up fuel sphere insertion in Kiln 3. |
Do not fight auto-alignment | When carrying kiln pieces with Axiom Force, the game automatically rotates objects toward their correct orientation as you get close. Let the auto-alignment guide you rather than trying to force a specific angle. |
Double jump helps with Kiln 2 | If you have the double-jump skill unlocked from your skill tree, the mid-air Force Palm on the dismantled kiln is much easier to land. You get extra air time to aim your slam properly. |
Check the minimap for fuel spheres | All five fuel sphere locations show as icons on the minimap when you are near Kiln 3. If you are missing one, zoom into the map. The cave entrance sphere and the bird statue sphere are the two that players miss most often. |
Known bug: missing fuel sphere | The fuel sphere near the cave entrance sometimes does not spawn. If it is missing, restart the game or reload an autosave from before you entered the quest area. This is a confirmed bug. |
Force Palm needs height for Kiln 2 | When slamming kiln pieces, you must be above the piece and looking down. Standing at ground level and pressing Force Palm will not work. Climb on top, jump, then slam. |
Lever direction matters | Every kiln crank must be pushed to the left to activate. If pushing right does nothing, try the opposite direction. |
What Comes Next
After completing all three kiln repairs and the generator activation, the Kiln Repair at the Kilnden Workshop quest completes and the Chapter 4 story advances. Speak to Grimnir to trigger a cutscene, then proceed to the next quest, The Mysterious Pot, where you receive the Kuku Iron Pot. For full quest details, see How to Fix and Fuel the Kilns.
Troubleshooting
Problem | Solution |
|---|---|
Rings moved into wrong positions before reading this guide | Reload the most recent autosave. The puzzle resets to its default state. Alternatively, fast travel away and return to reset any incomplete puzzle. |
Pushing the lever does not move any ring | Make sure you selected a ring first using the yellow switch (D-Pad Left/Right or push the yellow lever to a position). The wooden lever only moves the currently active ring. |
Kiln pieces do not snap into place | Verify you are using Axiom Force (L3) to carry them, not a regular grab. Position them close to the slot and the auto-alignment should kick in. If it does not, try releasing and re-grabbing from a different angle. |
Cannot find the fuel sphere in the bird statue | Stand directly in front of the statue and use Force Palm (hold R3). The sphere is inside the eye socket. You may need to aim slightly upward at the eye rather than at the body of the statue. |
Fuel sphere sinks into the marsh | It is still there. Look for the glow effect and use Axiom Force from a slight distance to pull it out. You can also try using Force Current to push it toward the kiln if it is hard to grab directly. |
Fuel sphere near cave does not appear | This is a known spawn bug. Restart the game completely (close and reopen) or reload an autosave from before you entered the Kilnden Workshop area. The sphere should appear on reload. |
Completed all repairs but quest does not advance | Make sure the central generator is also activated (glowing blue). All four objectives must be complete: the generator plus all three kilns. Then speak to Grimnir at the generator. |