All Sphinx riddle solutions in Dragon's Dogma 2
Here are all ten Sphinx riddle solutions in Dragon's Dogma 2
Looking for the solutions to all Sphinx riddles in Dragon's Dogma 2? The Sphinx is an enigmatic beast that, true to her presence in Greek Mythology, will offer the Arisen ten riddles that they must solve for prizes in Dragon's Dogma 2.
These riddles are challenging but offer great rewards. In particular, the Eternal Wakestone (that can revive several NPC in an area and offer a good solution to a Dragonsplague attack) and the Unmaking Arrow which will instantly kill all but the toughest of foes.
Join us as we go through each riddle solution, where to find the Sphinx, and all 'A Game of Wits' rewards.
In this guide:
- Things to take with you before starting the quest
- Where to find the Sphinx (first location)
- The Riddle of Eyes
- The Riddle of Madness
- The Riddle of Wisdom
- The Riddle of Conviction
- The Riddle of Rumination
- Where to find the Sphinx (second location)
- The Riddle of Differentiation
- The Riddle of Futility
- The Riddle of Recollection
- The Riddle of Contest
- How to defeat the Sphinx
Things to take with you before starting the quest
There are a total of ten Sphinx riddles in Dragon's Dogma 2, some of which will require specific items. We've listed these to save you some time and make fulfilling the riddles a little easier.
We recommend bringing the following items before starting 'A Game of Wits':
- Several Ferrystones, at least 5.
- At least one Portcrystal.
- A Pawn with 'SphinxMother', 'SphinxFather' or 'SphinxParent' as their Moniker. The easiest way to recruit such a Pawn is by visiting a Riftstone of Fellowship. There is one such Riftstone south of Scared Arbor and another north of Checkpoint Rest town. See our Riftstone locations guide for specific map markers. Make sure their Moniker, not just their name is set to this.
- Have the Archer or Magick Archer vocation equipped for riddles 7-10.
- Remember the location of the first Seeker Token you ever picked up. If you don't remember, there is a handy mod that will pinpoint the area on your map for you.
- A Camping Kit for the journey.
Where to find the Sphinx (first location)
To start the 'A Game of Wits' quest, you'll need to first locate the Sphinx. She is located at the Mountain Shrine in western Vermund, past the Misty Marshes.
To get there, go through the Misty Marshes. The area will obscure your map view but as a rule of thumb, travel inwards to the centre of the Marshes until you reach the 'Abandoned Home' marked on the map above.
Here, there will be an abandoned village filled with undead as well as a Riftstone, campsite, and a Ferrystone stashed in a chest within one of the homes. There are also several Seeker's Tokens and another Ferrystone within a chest along the surrounding cliffs if you feel like exploring.
Clear the area of enemies and rest if needed. Then travel directly north, past the campfire until you hit a cliff edge. Climb the cliff until the air clears and you see a large opening between two cliffs.
Now you'll be on the Guerco Mountain Road. Follow this road left and upwards towards the Mountain Shrine until you see a clearing with a campsite and pillars in the distance. There will be several harpies in the area so take care as you advance towards the next campsite we've marked on the map.
From this campsite, walk towards the pillars - this is the Mountain Shrine. Remember to leave a Portcrystal here so you can travel to and fro as needed. As you advance towards the Sphinx, agree to its game of wits. Don't attack it now, or you won't be able to unlock the chests.
The Riddle of Eyes
Although you can technically ask for the riddles in any order, we've listed them in the order they appeared for us. The first of the Sphinx's riddles in Dragon's Dogma 2 is the Riddle of Eyes.
During this riddle, you will be tasked to 'Venture through yonder door, and retrieve that which is of greatest value.'
In essence, you must go through the door to the left of the shrine steps and retrieve the Sealing Phial. Although you can explore the full ruins and gain loot from the various Goblins, Hobgoblins and Ogre patrolling the area, the chest you're looking for is actually right above the entrance.
Climb up to the platform using the stones to the left of the doorway and loot the chest for the phial.
The reward for this completed riddle is a Wakestone. Plus, you'll get to keep the Sealing Phial which is a one-use item that can capture NPCs. When released from the vial, it will break.
The Riddle of Madness
For this riddle, the Sphinx in Dragon's Dogma 2 requests that you 'bring forth your most beloved to me, that I might gauge the depth of your insanity.'
The solution is to bring an NPC or Pawn that you have a high affinity with and place them on the pedestal in front of the Sphinx.
Players have reported that the easiest way to complete this riddle is to bring your Main Pawn, whom you should have a fairly high affinity with if you've been adventuring for a while, (as long as they haven't died too many times). See our guide to raising your Main Pawn's affinity if you're not sure you have a good relationship or not.
You can also transport an NPC to the shrine if you use the Sealing Phial on them or if you pick them up and then use a Ferrystone to travel to the Portcrystal you placed there. You can tell if you have reached max affinity with a Pawn or NPC if they have blushing cheeks when speaking to you.
The reward for this riddle is a Portcrystal.
The Riddle of Wisdom
The parameters for the Riddle of Wisdom are 'I am a lost child; for kinship do I yearn. So bring to me my "Parent", that I might better learn.
The trick for this riddle is to present the Sphinx with a Pawn that has the 'SphinxParent' Moniker. Or, either the 'SphinxMother' or 'SphinxFather' Moniker. You can recruit such Pawns at a Grand Riftstone or a Riftstone of Fellowship (detailed within our Riftstone locations guide).
The reward for this riddle is 1,200 RC (Rift Crystals).
The Riddle of Conviction
The Riddle of Conviction in Dragon's Dogma 2 is: 'Grant to me what you most prize, and thence elude your ponderous demise.' In short, the Sphinx will ask you to sacrifice a prized possession to solve the riddle.
This is something of a trick, however, as you won't lose the item despite the game telling you that you will several times. This is to test your conviction. Feel free to give something valuable like a Portcrystal or Wakestone - you'll soon get it back plus you'll get an extra one as a reward.
We gave the Sphinx a Portcrystal and got two back for our efforts. After all, it's a rare but extremely useful method of fast travel in the game.
The Riddle of Rumination
The Riddle of Rumination is the 5th given by the Sphinx in Dragon's Dogma 2 and tasks you with revisiting the location where you picked up your first Seeker's Token. In its place will be a Finder's Token, which you must pick up and bring back to the Sphinx within 7 in-game days.
There are several Seeker Tokens on the path from the Borderwatch Outpost to Melve (listed below). One of them will usually be the player's first token, as it is the first major journey your Arisen will undertake from the opening cutscene. If you can't remember where your first was, we recommend checking one of these locations.
There is also a handy mod called the 'Riddle of Rumination Marker' which will mark on your map where the Finder's Token is.
Once you bring the Finder's Token back to the Sphinx, your reward will be 3 Ferrystones.
Remember to pick up your Portcrystal before handing in the Finder's Token as the Sphinx will change location after this.
Where to find the Sphinx (second location)
After solving the 5th riddle in Dragon's Dogma 2, the Sphinx will fly off to a second location. You'll have to travel here to get the next five riddles and the ultimate prize.
You can try to grab ahold of her back as she flies away to travel there with her. Or, if you missed this moment, see below for the second Sphinx map location.
The Sphinx will be located at the Frontier Shrine, accessible via Checkpoint Rest Town. Follow these steps to find the Sphinx at her second home (and also for a secret way into Battahl if you haven't gained access to the region yet):
- From Checkpoint Rest Town, climb underneath the main bridge into the town.
- Follow the river directly west until it leads to a cave.
- Go through the cave and watch out for Saurians.
- Within the cave, climb on top of the rocks on the right side to get to the upper ledge.
- Continue and walk across the fallen tree bridge.
- Climb upwards and go across a wooden bridge.
- Continue the path around and through a shallow cave opening.
- Now, head south towards a large pillar, blocking the route forward.
- You can shoot the barrels next to the pillar to clear the way forward - be careful of a patroling Chimera in the area.
- From the large pillar, continue south down the winding path.
- Go past more broken pillars and Sphinx statues until you enter a large open area where the Sphinx is waiting.
- Place a Portcrystal here for ease of access.
Finding the Sphinx again will solve the 'Riddle of Reunion' and reward you with 100,000 gold.
The Riddle of Differentiation
You may receive the next 5 riddles in any order but we've listed them in the order we completed them. Note that the 6th riddle, the 'Riddle of Reunion', will be completed upon finding the Sphinx's second location.
The Riddle of Differentiation requires you to find and bring a specific NPC to the Sphinx. You can do so by carrying them and travelling with a Ferrystone or by using the Sealing Phial from Riddle One.
The trick is that there are two NPCs of a very similar appearance. You must bring the right one to the Sphinx. She will show you a hologram of the one she wishes.
You'll either have to bring her Dante or Vergil. Dante is located on the Vermund side of Checkpoint Rest Town and Vergil is located on the Battahl side of the town.
The main difference between the two is hair texture, length and which way their fringes sit. Dante has slightly shorter, straight hair with a fringe across his left eye whereas Vergil has longer, wavy hair with a fringe across his right eye.
When you have collected the correct brother, place them before the Sphinx and collect the Whimsical Daydream - a weapon designed for the Trickster Vocation.
The Riddle of Futility
This next riddle in Dragon's Dogma 2 is a bit tricky. The Sphinx will task you with delivering a fragile amphora to Ser Maurits in Bakbattahl. The trick is, it will break fairly easily before you get there. As such, we suggest bringing Ser Maurits to the shrine instead.
You'll usually find him loitering next to the Mural Byway in northern Bakbattahl. Either pick him up and travel with a Ferrystone or use the Sealing Phial to teleport him to the Shrine. Then present him with the amphora.
As a reward, you'll receive the Eternal Bond ring which can increase the wearer's ability to raise affinity or can be given as a gift to get a big lump sum of affinity with a chosen NPC.
The Riddle of Recollection
This time, the Sphinx will ask you a relatively straightforward question - how many riddles have you answered thus far? Remember to include the Riddle of Reunion (solved upon reuniting with the Sphinx).
An easy way to remember is to count the chests that no longer have a pink seal behind the Sphinx and add 5 (from the previous set of riddles). Once you have the number, carry the same amount of statues and put them onto the plinth in front of the Sphinx. The statues are to the right of her.
Upon completing the Riddle of Recollection, you'll be granted the Unmaking Arrow. This is a powerful arrow capable of one-shot killing most enemies.
The Riddle of Contest
Now, the Sphinx wants to test your mettle in combat by conjuring up a foe for you to kill. You must, however, wear the Ring of Derision when doing so. This will weaken all of your attacks.
Of course, you can slowly whittle away at your enemy's health bar or, if you'd rather save yourself some time, you can try to daze your opponent and then pick them up and throw them off a high ledge. Another option is to lead them from the arena and allow your Pawns to whale on him.
Once you've killed your opponent, you may want to use a Ferrystone to rest somewhere before gearing up to fight the Sphinx herself. Also, remember to take off the Ring of Derision!
Speak to the Sphinx for your tenth reward, which should be a Ring of Ambition (this boosts the experience gained from defeating foes). She will then bid you farewell. You'll need to engage her in combat fairly quickly to get the key for the last and largest chest.
How to defeat the Sphinx
If you're after the last and greatest riddle reward in Dragon's Dogma 2, you'll need to defeat the Sphinx in battle.
As you finish up your last riddle, the Sphinx will start to fly away. Make sure you attack her first to initiate combat.
The Sphinx has powerful magick attacks that can release elemental AOEs and teleport her across the arena. Make sure you have a mage on hand to heal the party or plenty of Roborant.
Many players have simply used the Unmaking Arrow to finish her off. The optimal time to do so is when she is at half health as this will instantly kill her.
You cannot use the arrow until you have whittled her down by at least one of her health bars. When ready, go into your inventory and select the option to equip it. Of course, you can only wield the weapon if you have one of the Archer vocations active.
Use the arrow wisely as it is a one-use item and the game will immediately save upon use, meaning you only have one shot to do it and cannot reload a past save.
Once defeated, she will drop several bags of gold and the Key of Sagacity. Use this to open the largest chest and you'll receive an Eternal Wakestone for your efforts.
Despite the name, this particular Wakestone is also a one-use item but can revive many NPCs at once, in a radius. This means you can save it for the unlucky occasion of a Dragonsplague attack wiping out a village.
Before leaving, remember to retrieve your Portcrystal.
That rounds off our guide to competing all Sphinx riddles in Dragon's Dogma 2. For more Dragon's Dogma 2 tips and tricks, see our guides for making the perfect Sorcerer build, Mystic Spearhand build, Fighter build and more.