Queen's Domain Tower of Knowledge Walkthrough: Puzzles, Boss and Every Key Item

Our Queen's Domain Tower of Knowledge walkthrough covers the gargoyle puzzle, Storm Gem, Budaen's key, the Necronomicon boss fight and the acid-vial faces.

The Tower of Knowledge is one of the first places in Queen's Domain where the game stops holding your hand. Locked doors, hidden switches and fleshy growths that refuse to die can leave you wandering for an hour. This Queen's Domain Tower of Knowledge walkthrough takes you from the entrance to the final boss and shows you exactly what to do afterward, so you can skip the frustration.

Before You Enter: Unlocking the Tower

The Tower of Knowledge stays sealed until you light all three island Gargoyle beacons with the Azure Torch and the bell has rung three times. If the entrance still won't budge, go back and finish that route first. The island beacons are a separate puzzle from the one inside the tower, and mixing them up is a common mistake.

Once inside, you will face Book Bugs, animated Gargoyles and enemies that can inflict status effects. Prepare before you go:

Bring ranged weapons, since many threats sit above you or across narrow paths.
Stock up on healing items and throwing weapons from the shop.
Carry a mix of slashing and piercing options.
Ignore the screaming faces and fleshy growths on your first pass.

That last point matters. Those growths need an item you only get after the boss, so don't waste time hitting them early.

Enemy Weaknesses at a Glance

Matching your weapon to the enemy saves a lot of healing items. Based on the video walkthrough and player experience, these are the most useful matchups:

Enemy	Best damage type	Notes
Book Bugs	Slash	Sword or thrown blades work well
Crawlers	Slash	Slashing weapons dominate this area
Slimes	Magic or pierce	Resistant to blunt and slash
Gargoyles	Pierce	They are not weak to blunt, despite looking like stone
Manticore	Slash	Throwing daggers help from range
Skeletons	Blunt	One of the few places crushing is useful

A halberd-style weapon is a popular pick for this dungeon because it handles both slash and pierce enemies. One player noted they barely needed blunt damage outside of a few skeletons near the bottom.

Early Exploration: Eggs, Shortcuts and Loot

The opening stretch is a skeleton-heavy area where you can find your first egg item, a reward tied to the fish people. Watch for a loot lizard hiding behind the shelves, and note that a shortcut opens here later.

Several pickups are worth grabbing on your first run:

An amulet that protects against diseases, found in a chest after a tough fight.
Cold daggers, which community reports call excellent well into the late game. Buy more from the shop as soon as you can.
A lore book for players who like the story.
An occult spear, reached with an air dash behind a set of bookcases.
A throwing dagger chest after you jump out of a window near a safe point.

Look for the elevator early. Taking it down gives you a shortcut that connects the lower tower back to the second floor, and it saves a lot of backtracking. Nearby you will find a main teleportation hub and the NPC who rewards you for filling out your bestiary, so this is a good place to reset.

One more tip: a gargoyle near the start of the video's route is actually an enemy. Poke at statues carefully, since some of them jump out at you.

The Gargoyle Puzzle: Light Statues 3 and 7

The first real puzzle is on a balcony lined with numbered statues. Three stone plaques offer clues, and one is partly hidden among rubble, so it is easy to think you have read them all when you haven't.

The answer is to light Gargoyle 3 and Gargoyle 7 with the Azure Torch. Doing so opens a door that leads back inside the tower.

Action	Result
Light Gargoyle 3	Half of the solution
Light Gargoyle 7	Opens the interior passage
Light a wrong gargoyle	Triggers an attack and a swarm of Book Bugs

Using the Wrong Statue as an XP Farm

Lighting the wrong gargoyle is not a disaster. One player deliberately used the mistake as an experience farm because Book Bugs give decent XP and level up your weapon quickly. If you only want to progress, though, skip the experiment and go straight to 3 and 7.

After the door opens, continue through the rooms beyond it until you reach the next Crystal Monument. Then climb the stairwell toward an upper fast-travel point and the study of Knowledge Keeper Wourha. Explore the nearby rooms before heading farther up.

The Storm Gem and the Rotating Staircase

Near Wourha's study, a large staircase leads up to the Storm Gem, a missing component of the Holy Sword Endu. Picking it up unlocks Raging Tempest, an ultimate-style ability. The video notes that you can watch the charge meter in the top left corner of the screen and use the ability with R on keyboard.

Before the Storm Gem, you will have to deal with the Manticore. Slashing damage is best, and throwing weapons help you keep your distance.

Why Players Get Stuck Here

This is the dungeon's biggest dead end. After you grab the gem, the upper floor has several locked doors with no obvious way forward. One player spent roughly half an hour running around before figuring it out. The Storm Gem does not open those doors.

Instead, look beneath the platform where you found the gem. Use Wind Dash to cross to a lower opening or ledge and reach a switch. Activating it rotates the staircase.

Step	What to do
1	Reach the switch below the Storm Gem platform with Wind Dash
2	Activate it to rotate the staircase
3	Climb the repositioned stairs
4	Ride the elevator down to Budaen's room
5	Talk to Budaen for the Forbidden Archives Key

The switch changes the path rather than giving you a key, so don't skip the elevator ride. Budaen hands over the Forbidden Archives Key during conversation. He is also easy to miss, so don't leave the area without speaking to him.

The Forbidden Archives and the Necronomicon Boss

With the key in hand, return to the locked golden doors near the Storm Gem. They open into the Forbidden Archives, where the difficulty rises. You will find another Crystal Monument, then a gauntlet of enemies before the boss. There is also a food item above the final safe point, and a piece of meat before the boss door that grants an attack boost.

Save here, and restock if your healing items are low. Status effects drain supplies quickly.

Necronomicon Strategy

The Necronomicon rewards distance. It attacks from afar and keeps applying status effects, so rushing in is expensive. Use this plan:

Stay back and throw weapons while it launches ranged attacks.
Spam ranged tools such as the occult spear and the Azure Torch, or use your sword's ultimate if charged.
When the book drops into reach, step in for a short melee exchange.
Retreat before it resumes ranged attacks.
When the goat-like form appears, focus on dodging until the book form returns.

Create distance before using an Elixir. Healing while standing in front of the boss often gets punished. Players also report that each form has different weaknesses, which they only noticed after the fight, so experiment if you need to retry.

Boss Rewards

Reward	What it does
Acid Vial	Applies acid to your basic throwing daggers automatically
Golden Duck Figurine	Expands the inventory at Umbada's Trading Outpost
Hell Transcribed	Unlocked after the victory

The figurine also counts toward the A Fine Collection quest. One community report praises the occult sword that the shop unlocks, citing its strong life steal effect, so it is worth buying early.

Popping the Faces and Reaching the Next Area

Now you can finally deal with the screaming faces. Only your basic throwing daggers carry the acid, so other knives will not work. Hit each face and the connected mass of flesh dissolves.

Faces to check, based on the video walkthrough and the written guide:

The two faces near where the knight gave you the archives key. After they pop, you can loot a pendant that slightly raises attack and health.
A face at the very bottom of the tower, which you reach by dropping all the way down and looking up.
A face you may have hit earlier with a sword, which now clears a whole section.
A final hidden head. One player said it cost them an hour, so if you are missing one, check corners you passed quickly.

Clearing the right set opens the road toward Deimpo Mausoleum, which connects to the sealed entrance near the soldiers' camp at the start of the game. Budaen is now dead, and a fleshy obstruction near his area blocks the way, so use your acid daggers there.

For a bonus, climb to the top of the tower for a hidden weapon, the school rod. It is a ranged option that fires a homing shot with right click and stores up to three charges. Players describe it as balanced against the Azure Torch and occult spear rather than a clear upgrade.

If you want more background on the series and its release, the official Steam page is the best place to check for updates and patch notes.

Quick Tips to Save Time

Buy extra cold daggers and throwing weapons before the Archives.
Don't light random gargoyles unless you want to farm XP.
If you are stuck on the upper floor, look below the Storm Gem, not above it.
Talk to Budaen before leaving the elevator room.
Save your healing items for the Necronomicon.
Return with acid daggers only after the boss, not before.

FAQ

How do I open the Tower of Knowledge in Queen's Domain?

Light all three island Gargoyle beacons with the Azure Torch and make sure the bell has rung three times. After that, the tower entrance opens.

Which gargoyles do I light in the Tower of Knowledge?

Light Gargoyle 3 and Gargoyle 7 on the numbered-statue balcony. Lighting a wrong one triggers an attack and Book Bugs.

Where is the Forbidden Archives Key?

Budaen has it. Find the switch below the Storm Gem platform, rotate the staircase, take the elevator down, and speak to him.

What is the best weapon for this Queen's Domain Tower of Knowledge walkthrough?

Slashing weapons handle most enemies, with piercing options for gargoyles. For the boss, bring throwing weapons and ranged tools.