Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a game full of secrets. Hidden all over Mount Qaf are hidden rooms, locked doors, special enemies to hunt down, areas you need to revisit with new abilities and Time Powers and, of course, plenty of chests containing ample loot and rewards. Some of the most valuable pieces of loot can only be acquired by solving special puzzles which are dotted around the map. As opposed to combat challenges, these test your cognitive and puzzle-solving skills and one of the hardest is the Guard Statue puzzle.
The Guard Statue puzzle is on the trickier end when it comes to the puzzles in PoP: The Lost Crown. Not only do you have to solve a riddle to uncover the answer but you also need to utilise one of your Time Powers in a slightly strange and unexpected manner. Solve the puzzle and you’ll receive an important item used to make Sargon much stronger.
Here’s how to complete the guard statue puzzle in the Soma Tree in Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown.
Where to Find the Guard Statue Puzzle in The Lost Crown
First things first, in order to complete the puzzle, you’ll need to find it. The guard statue puzzle is located in the Soma Tree, an offshoot location attached to the Hyrcanian Forest. The main way into the Soma Tree is via the Sunken Harbor, which you can enter from the bottom of the Hyrcanian Forest.
However, before we go any further, to complete the Guard Statue puzzle (and even enter the Soma Tree), you’ll need to progress the Main Quest until you reach The Path to the Sand Prison. The main reason for this is that you need to defeat the Soma Tree’s main boss – Kiana the Forest Queen – as she’s guarding your next Time Power, the Dimension Claw. The Claw is a required part of the Guard Statue puzzle so ensure that you have beaten Kiana before attempting it.
Route to the Puzzle
The fastest and most efficient way of reaching the Guard Statue Puzzle is by starting at the Soma Tree teleport point. From there, head west into the next chamber. You’ll be ambushed by a group of blue Hyrcanians which you can either fight or ignore. Keep heading up, wary to avoid any of the exploding purple pustules as you go.
Once you reach the top, don’t go to the right (which will take you to a new area) but, instead, climb the wall to your left and you should spy a gap in the floor which you can slide through. This will take you to a new room filled with those same purple explorers and a cracked yellow door on the opposite side of the room.
Trap one of the exploding purple pustules using your Dimension Claw and then hurl it at the cracked yellow wall. This will cause it to explode and open a brand new path deeper into the Soma Tree, one which you should immediately follow. After falling down some more long drops, you’ll eventually reach where you need to go, signified by a strange purple archway that you can walk through.
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- Slide Here to Continue
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- Use Dimension Claw to Break the Wall
Guard Statue Puzzle Solution
The Guard Statue Puzzle in Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is interesting. The first time you enter the room, you’ll find the Stele which contains the riddle you must decipher and solve as well as two strange statues – one completely black and the other yellow and green. Interacting with these statues will let you rotate them so that they are facing either left or right, with a third pillar to the right of the yellow statue which is currently absent.
The Stele reads as follows:
“These statues keep watch, a certain direction they face.
There’s an object hidden within a secret place.
The largest looks to the east and watches all the rest.
The medium guards the smaller in the diretion that is best.
Finally, observing the other two, the smallest awaits a guest.”
Puzzle Stele, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
At first, you may be scratching your head wondering what you should do: after all, there are only two statues here and only three podiums, despite four figures being mentioned in the riddle. Well, there are multiple stages to this puzzle, beginning with locating the other two statues.
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- The Guard Statue Puzzle
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- The Statue’s Riddle
Find All the Statues
Alongside the two small statues next to the Stele, there is one large and one medium statue, as well. Both are located nearby.
To find the large statue, simply continue going left past the Stele until you hit the wall. Proceed to wall jump to the top of this area and then, after going to the right, you should find the large red statue which looks like some kind of king. To move it, simply use your Dimension Claw on the statue, which will cause it to disappear into your pocket dimension: from there, it’s as simple as placing it next to the other statues.
Large Statue Location
The medium statue is a bit trickier to find and transport back. Starting at the Stele again, go to the right side of the screen past the statues and towards the purple doorway. The ground below the door is hollow, allowing you to slip through it to an area beneath. After passing through one more plank of wood, you’ll find the medium statue – which is yellow and has a big beard – under the ground. Just like before, Dimension Claw it to place it in your inventory.
However, this is where things get tricky. If you try and walk through any of the purple doors with the statue in your possession, it will be instantly spat out back on the ground. Additionally, you cannot go back the way you came because the jump is too high for you to reach.
To solve this, head back to where you fell and jump. While you’re at the full height of the jump, hold the Dimension Claw button to aim it upwards: if you do it correctly, you should be able to place the statue on the floor above you. Once you’ve done that, head out the purple door, climb back up and retrieve the medium statue.
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- Medium Statue Location
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- Bypass the Purple Door
Correct Statue Alignment
With all four statues ready and collected, you can begin solving the puzzle. The two most confusing parts of the puzzle have to do with which way the medium statue needs to face as well as what to do with the fourth statue that cannot be placed on a pillar.
To solve the guard statue puzzle in Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown correctly, you’ll need to place the statues in the following order:
- Large Statue: left-most pillar closest to the Stele, facing to the right (east).
- Medium Statue: middle pillar, facing to the right (east).
- Small Yellow Statue: right-most pillar, facing to the left (west).
- Small Black Statue: in front of the medium statue, facing forward.
As for why this is the solution, both the large and small statues need to be able to see each other and the medium statue, forcing you to place them on either the left or right. Additionally, the only way that the large statue can keep everyone in sight and remain facing towards the east is to place it on the left-most pillar, freeing up the right one for the small statue. With regards to the medium statue, it is supposed to protect the small one from the large one so have it facing towards its charge.
Finally, there’s the black statue which represents the absence of a figure, namely the guest that the small figure is awaiting. Because they aren’t present, they don’t need a base or a pillar, allowing you to eject them out into the world without it: you may be able to place it anywhere but, to be safe, eject it out near the medium statue.
Puzzle Solution
If you did everything correctly and put the statues in the right spots, the chest should soon spawn in. Opening it will give you one Azure Damascus Ingot, an incredibly useful material which you’ll need a lot of to upgrade your weapons at Kaheva the Blacksmith.
That was how to complete the guard statue puzzle in Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown.
