The Ancient Fire Sanctuary is one of Windrose's denser ruin puzzles, built around four firebowl braziers that must be collected, returned, and lit to unlock a hidden chest. Two variants of the point of interest exist: a larger temple with eight chests spread across multiple floors, and a smaller open-air ruin with four chests clustered around the central braziers.
Before you enter
The upper floors of the larger temple are almost pitch black, so bring wood for standing torches (2 wood each) and drop them liberally. The stone floors include sections of loose dirt that collapse when you step on them, which can drop you to a lower level unexpectedly.
A pickaxe is mandatory. You will need it to break pillars into ramps, smash debris blocking tunnels, and destroy a damaged column to reach a rooftop bowl. Cutting the thorns around the ruins also yields a steady wood supply.
Larger Ancient Fire Sanctuary (8-chest temple)
This version is a multi-floor temple with a locked interior door, pressure-plate vases, and a drop-down route to the lower braziers. Orient yourself from the main staircase, looking down at the locked door.
Firebowl 1 — top floor, small side room: On the right-hand side as you descend the stairs toward the locked door, a small chamber is walled off by thorns. Cut them down to reveal the firebowl inside.
Firebowl 2 — pressure plate puzzle: Two pressure plates sit on either side of the locked door on the top floor. One vase is already placed; the second vase sits next to its plate. Pick up with E and place with E. The door opens once both are weighted.
Firebowl 3 — past the door, drop down: Through the now-open door, take the left path where vines hang from the ceiling. Walk past the old skeleton and drop through the hole. The bowl is waiting directly in front of you on the second floor.
Firebowl 4 — already on the brazier: The fourth bowl is sitting in its slot at the bottom of the temple. Interact with E to light it.
Reward: Once all four braziers are lit, a hidden chest becomes accessible beside the brazier ring at the bottom of the temple. It contains 5 Tumbaga Ingots.
Smaller Ancient Fire Sanctuary (4-chest ruin)
This POI is more compact. All directions below assume you are standing in the center of the four braziers, facing out. Get your bearings before you leave the circle, because some bowls are across debris-blocked tunnels.
Firebowl 1 — southeast hole: Face southeast and drop down the hole. Follow the tunnel, climb the stone wall, and grab the bowl. To exit, set the bowl on top of the wall, then jump up after it.
Firebowl 2 — west hole, behind debris: Face directly west and drop in. At the bottom, break the debris pile blocking the passage with a pickaxe. The firebowl sits behind it.
Firebowl 3 — northeast rooftop: Face northeast and look for a damaged column (not the tree beside it). Break the column with a pickaxe to create a ramp, then run up to the roof. The bowl is waiting at the top.
Firebowl 4 — already placed: The fourth bowl is already on its brazier. Just light it.
All four chests at the smaller ruin
| Chest | Location | How to reach it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Top of the ruins | Head north to the ramp used for Firebowl 3, then jump across the rooftop to the chest. |
| 2 | West tunnel, beside Firebowl 2 | After clearing the debris for Firebowl 2, loot the Old Skeleton tucked into the same area. |
| 3 | Southwest, outside | Behind the collapsed section of the ruin, out in the open. |
| 4 | Puzzle reward | Unlocks after all four braziers are lit — this is the hidden chest behind the locked door. |
Chest 1 is the one most players miss. If the rooftop jump feels risky, build a short staircase out of twig or stone pieces — the ruins are valid build terrain, and neither material requires a nearby campfire to place.
How to confirm the puzzle worked
When the final brazier ignites, the four flames stay lit, and the sealed chest near the braziers becomes interactable. If nothing happens, one brazier is still unlit — check each bowl is seated in its stand (not dropped on the ground nearby) and re-interact to ignite any you skipped. The pre-placed bowl at each POI is the most common oversight because it doesn't require fetching.
If you are hunting the final chest at the 8-chest temple and have cleared everything else, the small thorn-walled room on the top floor — the same room that hides Firebowl 1 — is the one most players overlook on a second pass.