The recent Genshin Impact 3.1 update brought an intriguing new desert area to explore in Sumeru – the Lost Valley. Buried far beneath the sands lie ancient ruins and mystical dungeons just waiting to be discovered. One of the major new quests introduced is Lost in the Sands, which tasks you with locating and activating magical cubes to unlock deeper parts of this mysterious location.
Fully clearing this multi-stage cube puzzle and uncovering all of the hidden ruins can take some time and the right party combination. In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll provide expert tips to help you keep investigating the Lost in the Sands region smoothly.
Follow these strategies and you‘ll have the whole desert unearthed in no time!
Overview of Lost in the Sands Quest
Lost in the Sands becomes available after finishing the Archon quest chapter Interlude: Act I – Desert Garden and Cyno‘s Story Quest Chapter: Act I – The Guardian Yaksha‘s Sigh.
To initiate the quest, talk to Jeht near the Teleport Waypoint southwest of Sumeru City. She will explain ancient ruins have been discovered buried far beneath the desert sands and asks for your help uncovering them.
Your goal is to locate and activate magical golden cubes sealed throughout the underground ruins. Activating a cube opens up the corresponding magical locks blocking access to different sections.
There are 9 cubes total that must be activated to fully explore the area. The cubes glow brightly and are marked clearly on your mini-map to help guide you.
Be prepared for challenging battles against elite enemies like Ruin Graders along the way. Enemies here range from level 90 to 100 so come prepared!
Once a cube is activated, rush through the open passageway before the door closes again! Deadly traps like spike traps and pressure plates are also abundant, so tread carefully.
Having the right team composition and strategy will be key to smoothly progressing through this multi-layered cube puzzle and uncovering all of the desert secrets.
Step-By-Step Walkthrough
Follow these steps to efficiently activate all the cubes and continue exploring the Lost in the Sands region:
Activate the First Cube
After the opening cutscene, you‘ll start in an initial room. Have a powerful DPS like Xiao ready and look for the first golden cube on the wall ahead.
Dash towards the cube to activate the mechanism, which will unlock the door so you can move into the next area.
Tip: Xiao‘s fast dash is great for swiftly reaching and activating the cubes before tough enemies can surround you.
Defeat Opponents and Proceed Forward
Go through the now open door and you‘ll come across some Treasure Hoarder enemies to defeat. Quickly take them out with your best damage-dealers.
Once defeated, walk to the end of this room which leads to a closed gate.
Locate and Activate the Second Cube
Turn around and you‘ll see the second golden cube up on a ledge.
Activate this cube to open the locked gate behind you. Rush back through the gate before it closes again.
Ride the Lift Down
In this next room, step on the floor plate to activate a lift that will bring you down to a lower level.
Ride it all the way down. Beware of the spike traps here that will trigger from the pressure plates – carefully walk around them.
Light the Torches and Collect the Chest
For this room, have pyro bow users like Yoimiya or Amber ready. There are four unlit torches that must be ignited to unlock access to an precious chest.
Aim and shoot a flaming arrow at each of the four torches to light them up. This will summon a challenging Ruin Grader enemy, so prepare for battle!
Once you defeat it, open the now accessible precious chest to collect the rewards.
Tip: Use skills and bursts to take down the Ruin Grader quickly before more enemies spawn.
Activate the Cube and Unlock Multiple Doors
Still in the same room, find the next golden cube on the wall and interact with it. This will suddenly open doors to several new paths.
Tip: If playing co-op, have each player rush through a different open door to save time.
Collect the Seal and Watch the Cutscene
Head down the stairs and pick up the item sitting on the ground called the Sacred Seal: Valley. This will trigger a short cutscene.
Collecting this seal is required to complete the "Continue exploring Lost in the Sands" objective.
Change the Quest Objective
After the cutscene, Jeht joins your party and the quest updates to "Continue investigating the ruins with Jeht".
This signals that the initial ruins area is unlocked but there is far more still left to uncover!
Keep Hunting Cubes to Fully Explore the Ruins
Now you can keep searching through the ancient passages, battling enemies and hunting down more of the magical golden cubes.
Activating each cube grants access to new domains, puzzles and challenges. Simply repeat the process of locating cubes and unlocking doors to explore the full underground ruins.
There are 4 more cubes remaining, for a total of 9 cubes to find. Keep searching all areas thoroughly until you finally acquire the last Sacred Seal item to complete the quest.
Here is a quick overview of how the multi-stage Lost in the Sands cube puzzle breaks down:
| Puzzle Stage | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 | Activate Cube #1 |
| 2 | Activate Cube #2 |
| 3 | Activate Cube #3 |
| 4 | Light 4 Torches, Defeat Ruin Grader |
| 5 | Activate Cube #4 |
| 6 | Collect Sacred Seal #1 |
| 7 | Activate Cubes #5 – #9 |
| 8 | Collect Sacred Seal #2 |
Expert Tips and Strategies
Here are some expert tips and strategies to smoothly overcome challenges and fully explore the sprawling Lost in the Sands region:
Recommended Team Composition
Main DPS – Xiao, Ayaka, Itto, etc. High damage and AoE attacks
Sub DPS – Fischl, Xiangling, Beidou, etc. Off-field damage
Pyro Bow – Yoimiya, Amber, Ganyu, etc. For lighting torches
Healer – Bennett, Jean, Qiqi, etc. Heals and energy generation
Flex Pick – Sucrose, Venti, Zhongli, etc. Crowd control, shields, mobility
Ideally have at least one pyro bow character, a primary DPS, sub DPS, healer, and flex pick based on your playstyle.
Level and Build Considerations
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Have characters at least level 80/90, talents level 8
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Level 90 weapons with good stats
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Prioritize CRIT, ER, and ATK% on artifacts
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Test team damage output on high HP enemies first
With the tough enemies here, you need well built, high investment characters to progress smoothly. Low level characters will really struggle.
Battle Strategies
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Use skills and bursts quickly to take out major threats like Ruin Graders
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Funnel energy to your main DPS to keep their burst always ready
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Use crowd control abilities to create distance and breathing room
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Freeze or petrify enemies if you are getting overwhelmed
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Take advantage of amplification reactions like vaporize and melt
Burst down major opponents first. Keep mobile and avoid getting surrounded. React swiftly if you need to retreat and regroup.
Puzzle Solving Tips
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Light torches in sequence, don‘t let the pyro status expire
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Dash or use anemo skills to quickly reach distant cubes
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Mark activated cubes on the map to keep track of progress
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Fully explore rooms before moving forward
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Co-op allows splitting up to tackle puzzles simultaneously
Work methodically, fully search areas, collaboratively tackle puzzles, and track your cube activation progress.
Navigation and Exploration
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Activate Statues of the Seven to unlock waypoints for quick teleporting
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Switch to geo or anemo characters to avoid getting trapped by sandstorms
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Mark key locations like challenging enemy spawns and cube positions
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If you get turned around, teleport out and recheck the map
Having waypoints set helps you swiftly move around, retreat and regroup. Always know your orientation using the map.
Additional Chest Hunting
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Check the edges of rooms and off side paths for hidden chests
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Solve cube puzzles quickly to gain access to bonus chests
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Use the treasure finding gadget and watch for investigation points
Take time to fully explore and unlock all the precious and luxurious chests for great loot!
By applying these tips and strategies, you‘ll be able to overcome all the challenging battles and puzzles to fully uncover the Lost in the Sands ruins.
Suggested Team Builds and Characters
Here are some of the top team compositions I recommend for smoothly navigating this quest:
Triple Pyro Team
- Xiangling – Main DPS
- Bennett – Healer + Pyro Resonance
- Yoimiya – Ranged Pyro DPS
- Sucrose – Crowd Control
This setup lets you trigger amplified pyro reactions and hit far away targets. Yoimiya handles the torches while Xiangling and Bennett melt big enemies. Sucrose groups up mobs.
Freeze Team
- Ayaka – Main Cryo DPS
- Mona – Hydro Applicator
- Diona – Heals + Shields
- Venti – Crowd Control
Perma-freeze enemies in place while Ayaka destroys them with her burst. Venti CC‘s mobs together. Mona and Diona provide defensive and reaction support.
Geo Supremacy
- Itto – Main Geo DPS
- Zhongli – Shields + Geo Resonance
- Albedo – Off-field Geo Damage
- Bennett – Healer
Geo characters shine in this dungeon by ignoring annoying elemental shields. Itto go brr supported by Albedo and Zhongli. Bennett heals and provides attack buff.
Anemo Speed Team
- Xiao – Main Anemo DPS
- Jean – Heals + CC
- Sucrose – CC + Movement
- Fischl – Off-field Electro DPS
Xiao‘s dash is great for activating cubes quickly. Jean and Sucrose swirl and crowd control. Fischl provides electro support for reactions.
There are many effective team comps – the key is covering healing, ranged pyro, crowd control, and amplifying reactions. Adjust based on your personal roster and preferred playstyle.
Some other great characters to consider include:
- Keqing – Fast electro cube activation
- Kazuha – Crowd control and elemental damage
- Collei – Ranged pyro option
- Beidou – Off-field electro DPS
- Kokomi – Sustained healing
- Ganyu – Ranged charged pyro shots
Lore and Backstory
The ancient ruins you explore beneath the desert sands were built long ago by the once great civilization of Deshret, under the rule of the Pharaoh Deshret.
He was one of the three kings gifted a shard of divine wisdom by Rukkhadevata, the previous god of flowers. Deshret used this gift to rapidly advance his kingdom‘s technology and culture.
The ruins contain many granite stone reliefs depicting the three kings along with motifs of scarabs and the sun disc, icons of Deshret. This valley was likely used as a ritual site to worship the gods and store wealth, given the intricate magical locks.
However, the Deshret civilization eventually collapsed, becoming nothing but relics buried under sand over time. The reasons for its downfall remain shrouded in mystery.
By assisting Jeht in exploring these ruins, you also learn more about her mysterious past and relationship with her father, another key historical Sumeru figure.
Completing the Lost in the Sands quest prepares you for even greater adventures and reveals still to come in future Sumeru updates! There are definitely more secrets still buried under the sands.
My Experiences and Learnings
Having played through this quest multiple times now both solo and in co-op, I want to share some of my key learnings and experiences:
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The sprawling underground ruins have an Indiana Jones vibe with deadly traps and hidden passages. The multi-stage cube puzzle provides a fun mix of combat, platforming and co-op elements.
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The first time I attempted solo with just pyro/electro characters, but got overwhelmed by the tough enemies. After that, I started using more defensive focused teams with shields, crowd control and heals which helped immensely.
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Playing co-op is highly advantageous, allowing you to split up and activate multiple cubes simultaneously. This speeds up unlocking the whole area significantly compared to playing solo.
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However, playing solo does give you more control and ability to take your time hunting for secrets. I was impressed by how many precious and luxurious chests are hidden throughout the dungeon.
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Optimizing your party setup and weapons for the high level enemies here is key to smooth progression. My favorite team so far has been Ayaka freeze comp for CC and big burst damage.
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Getting the cube order right is also important. I prioritize activating cubes that unlock multiple doors first. Lighting all the torches quickly is essential too for the bonus chests.
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Even after "finishing" the quest, I still love returning to keep exploring and battle the tough enemies for ascension materials. This new area added tons of fresh end-game content!
Figuring out the right strategies and team synergies for tackling this multi-layered cube puzzle provided a highly rewarding challenge. I can‘t wait to see what other secrets remain buried under the sands!
Conclusion
The Lost in the Sands quest in Genshin Impact offers an exciting Indiana Jones style ruins exploration experience beneath the desert. By methodically locating and activating the magical ancient cubes, you can fully uncover this sprawling underground region.
Follow the expert tips outlined in this guide to optimize your party composition, battle tactics, puzzle solving, and navigation. Careful preparation and the right characters will help you overcome the dangerous foes and deadly traps.
Take time to soak in the atmosphere and lore of wandering these ancient passages. Be thorough in your exploration to unlock all the secret chests and rewards.
With patience and persistence, you‘ll be able to successfully continue investigating the desert ruins all the way through to the exciting conclusion. Just don‘t get lost beneath the sands!
Let me know if this comprehensive guide helps you explore and complete the Lost in the Sands quest smoothy. Enjoy uncovering all the hidden secrets and let your adventure continue under the desert sun!
