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Karin Quarry
October 29, 2026 at 01:05 PM
Correct quarry debuffs, boss access, quest reward placement and mining tool effects
Karin Quarry is a large open-pit quarry in the northeastern part of the Hernand region. Long held by the Roberts family, the quarry served as both a mining operation and an archaeological excavation site after ancient relics were discovered beneath its stone. The Bleed Bandits seized the quarry and weaponized Marni's Excavatron, a massive drilling machine, to strip the site of its resources and enforce control over the workforce. Players must liberate the quarry as part of the House Roberts faction questline, and it is the first major occupied territory encounter in the game.
Karin Quarry sits north of the Goldleaf Trading Post, which is itself northeast of the City of Hernand. To reach the quarry, head north from the trading post and traverse the hill. The quarry occupies a wide open-pit area surrounded by rocky cliffs, with a large crane visible from a distance. An Abyss Nexus is positioned southwest of the Karin Quarry Rest Area, providing a fast travel point for return visits.
Karin Quarry is situated within the broader Rocca's Hill area, east of Hernand proper.
Karin Quarry is a large facility filled with dozens of Bleed Bandits, making it one of the first genuinely challenging encounters in the game. Before heading north, take time to prepare with the following:
Preparation | Details |
|---|---|
A good set of armor with at least some levels of refinement. Visit the blacksmith in Hernand to upgrade before heading out. | |
Food | Stock up on cooked meals for healing. The extended fight will drain your supplies quickly. |
A few levels invested into Stamina helps with sustained combat and dodging. | |
Force Palm | Level 3 Force Palm is strongly recommended. It allows three consecutive blasts that stagger the Excavatron boss. |
Evasive Roll | The Evasive Roll skill helps dodge the Excavatron's burrow attacks. |
Spear | A spear is highly recommended for clearing groups of bandits. Not required, but very helpful. |
Armed Combat | Level 2 or 3 Armed Combat. Level 2 unlocks Counter Stance for the spear; Level 3 unlocks the Charge ability for sword and shield. |
Karin Quarry is the first occupied territory that introduces the liberation system. When you enter, four objectives appear on the left of your screen, along with a green bar showing the territory's occupation level at 100%. Defeating Bleed Bandits depletes this bar. Reaching 0% is not a mandatory prerequisite for fighting the boss (Marni's Excavatron); a documented route climbs into its arena first. The older claim that liberation progress never resets after death remains unverified.
Three destructible sub-objectives weaken the enemy forces when destroyed. Use Blinding Flash to spot them; each one is marked by a spinning red square icon above it. Turning Slash on nearby walls or load-bearing structures is an effective way to destroy them.
Sub-Objective | Location | Effect When Destroyed |
|---|---|---|
Infirmary | Near the quarry entrance | Wounded enemies no longer return to the fight, permanently reducing the number of active bandits. |
Barracks | Short walk east of the Infirmary | Reduces enemy maximum Health by 10% across the territory. |
Storage area near the far cliffs, with a crane attached | Reduces enemy Attack by 5 across the territory. |
The barracks and timber warehouse affect different stats: barracks reduce maximum Health by 10%, while the timber warehouse reduces Attack by 5. The infirmary stops wounded enemies from returning. You can weaken the occupation first, or use the recorded route over the arena wall to fight the Excavatron before clearing the remaining quarry enemies; an empty occupation bar is not the only way to reach the boss.
Karin Quarry is littered with explosive barrels marked by a white X (not the typical red paint of most video games). These are dangerously easy to clip with a wide weapon swing, particularly when using a spear. A single barrel detonation can trigger chain reactions with nearby barrels, potentially killing you along with the enemies. Clear barrels from your immediate area before engaging with wide-sweeping weapons, or use arrows from a safe distance to detonate them on enemy clusters.
If you must fight inside the tighter areas of the quarry, stick to your shield and rely on Forward Slashes rather than wide sweeps. This reduces the chance of accidentally clipping a nearby barrel during combat.
Earlier bystander-safety claim, not a verified universal immunity rule for the current game: The enslaved quarry workers walking around the quarry are not affected by your attacks or explosions. You can fight freely without worrying about hitting them.
The quarry contains a large number of Bleed Bandits, including both melee fighters and archers. You will have an easier time fighting enemies towards the outer edges of the quarry where the terrain is more open. The bandits include both melee combatants and ranged archers, so switching weapons based on the situation is key.
The spear is the best weapon for dealing with groups of melee enemies, especially when you have Level 2 Armed Combat. This unlocks Counter Stance, which lets you activate a counter just before an enemy strikes. Counter Stance attacks enemies around you and then your target, often taking out multiple bandits in a single use. Even better, getting hit by an arrow also triggers Counter Stance, keeping you safe from archers while you deal with melee threats up close.
Once the melee enemies are down, switch to your sword and shield to deal with the remaining archers. If you have Level 3 Armed Combat, you can use the Charge ability to close the distance quickly, knocking archers down when you reach them.
Stolen Quarry is the primary faction quest at Karin Quarry. Given by Leon Roberts as part of the House Roberts questline, the objective is to deplete the occupation bar by defeating Bleed Bandits, defeat the boss and complete liberation; destroying the three sub-objectives makes the fight easier but does not establish a mandatory boss-last order. The prerequisite quest "Troubled Count" must be completed first.
Sealed in Stone is the follow-up quest at Karin Quarry. After liberation, players must operate the quarry's crane to extract a buried relic (a large gray stone cube) from the pit. The crane is tricky to control and wobbles when moved. Patch 2.00.02 separately fixed an issue where the controls for the small crane at Karin Quarry became unresponsive, so a crane that stops responding on an older build is a bug rather than a puzzle step. The two official release records disagree on whether 2.00.02 shipped on August 28 or September 1, 2026. It expands its claws when pressed down against an object and closes them as it lifts. The camera will zoom in once you have successfully locked onto the relic, then pull it up from there. After extraction, you can return to Count Roberts to complete A Count's Honor, the final quest in the Estate in Dismay chain.
Estate in Dismay contains five missions: First Trial of Trust, Troubled Count, Stolen Quarry, Sealed in Stone and The Count's Honor. Gold Vein Map and Mining Knuckledrill belong to Stolen Quarry. After liberation, speak to Erich for the Crane Control Room Key, use the elevator, open the control room and extract the relic. Returning to Count Roberts completes the final mission, rather than making every reward a direct boss drop.
After extracting the relic during Sealed in Stone, you can drop down into the hole where it was buried. Below lies the Hidden Ruins of the Quarry, a small dungeon area. Inside you will encounter a turret that automatically locks onto and shoots you. Past the turret is a small room containing 3 Palmar Pills. A Bismuth Barricade blocks a side passage; use a Focused Force Palm to break through it and access an additional room.
The Marni's Excavatron is a mechanical boss in an arena behind large gates at the quarry. The older far-northeast bearing and stone-barrier description remain unverified; use the quest marker and the climb-over-wall route if the gate is locked. This drilling machine, operated by the Bleed Bandits, attacks with its massive drills and can burrow underground for surprise attacks. Its attacks cannot be parried, but many can be blocked with a shield. The most effective strategy is using Level 3 Force Palm to chain three consecutive blasts, staggering the machine and creating large damage windows. See the full Marni's Excavatron article for a complete boss guide. The detailed pattern timings and Blinding Flash interruption alternative below remain earlier unverified reports; the documented Dig cue and Force Palm response are explained in the strategy section.
Drill Slams: The Excavatron plunges one or both drills into the ground in front of it. These attacks deal heavy damage and stagger you. Do your best to dodge or block rather than tanking the hits.
Charge Attack: The boss places both drills on the ground and charges directly at you. Despite looking dangerous, this attack can be blocked with a shield.
Burrow Attack: The Excavatron digs underground and tracks your position from below. When the area dims, the machine will pop up and dive back underground a total of three times. Sprint away from it rather than dodge-rolling for the first two passes, then dodge-roll just before the final emergence to avoid both the stab and resurface damage.
Blinding Flash Interrupt: You can prevent the burrow attack entirely by using Blinding Flash when the Excavatron begins its digging animation. The machine gets interrupted and stunned, giving you a free damage window.
With the parent Force Palm at Level 3, the Force Palm Expertise node allows three consecutive Force Palms. Use them between the Excavatron's attacks to fill its yellow stagger bar. The third blast fills a large portion of the bar, often causing a full stagger. While the boss is staggered, hit it with everything you have, then return to a defensive stance once it recovers.
When the Excavatron's drills light up for Dig, use Force Palm to interrupt the burrow and create an attack opening. Keep enough Spirit for the action and watch stamina when blocking Drill Line. Ordinary Force Palm is recorded at 5 Spirit; the separate Expertise entry lists 25 Spirit and up to three strikes after its parent reaches Level 3. These are separate listed skill costs, not a tested arithmetic model for every combo.
NPC | Role |
|---|---|
Quest giver for the Stolen Quarry faction quest | |
NPC found at the quarry; guides you to the crane controls during Sealed in Stone |
Item | Description |
|---|---|
Recorded non-unique mining weapon obtained from the Stolen Quarry quest or from drill-wielding Bleed Bandits. The displayed +10 record lists Attack 33, Mining Yield Up Level 2 and a 30% chance to mine additional minerals. The older 10% to 20% to 30% upgrade sequence, cliff-climbing use and knockback finisher remain unverified here; a 30% chance is not a guaranteed 30% increase in every haul. | |
Reveals 10 gold ore deposit locations. Access them via Journal > Knowledge > Adventure > Caves. | |
Palmar Pills (x3) | Found in the Hidden Ruins of the Quarry beneath the relic excavation site. |
For the enemy-drop route to Mining Knuckledrill, find a Bleed Bandit already wielding it, block normally rather than parrying, then counter with an attack. The recorded tool instructions equip it from the tool slot through Quick Slot, use Guard to aim at rock or ore, then Attack to mine; mined ore is collected automatically. Check the displayed mining effect and refinement level before comparing yields.
The quarry is crawling with Bleed Bandits who patrol both the perimeter and the interior of the mining pit. These enemies respawn while the Infirmary stands, making the quarry a potential farming location for Abyss Artifacts (though not the most efficient one). The bandits include both melee fighters and archers. Using a spear with Counter Stance handles the melee groups well, while sword and shield is better for chasing down archers.
Older repeated-farming tip; unlimited returns, current respawn conditions and efficiency rankings are unverified: If you want to farm Abyss Artifacts, you can intentionally leave the Infirmary standing so enemies keep respawning. Defeating them fills the yellow bar on your mini-map, which grants additional Abyss Artifacts. This is not the most efficient farming method, but it is an option if you have food to spare. Looking for Abyss Cressets around Hernand is generally a safer and more recommended approach.
Complete the Troubled Count quest before attempting Stolen Quarry, as it is a prerequisite.
Destroy the Infirmary first (it is closest to the entrance) to stop wounded bandits from returning to the fight.
Fight near the outer edges of the quarry to avoid accidentally detonating explosive barrels in the tighter interior areas.
Use Force Palm to stagger the Excavatron when its drills glow. This cancels the Dig attack and opens a large damage window.
Consider switching to Damiane for the boss fight if you struggle with Kliff. Her agility and AoE skills work well in the arena.
The Abyss Nexus southwest of the quarry rest area allows quick fast travel back if needed.
Shield blocking drains stamina quickly against the Excavatron. Keep an eye on your stamina bar and dodge when it runs low rather than trying to block every attack.
After liberating the quarry and completing Sealed in Stone, check the Hidden Ruins beneath the relic site for bonus loot before returning to Count Roberts.