Welcome to the opulent yet treacherous halls that house frustrating foes, a network of fast travel tubes, the only Bellway in sight, and a myriad of secrets waiting to be uncovered. This area is akin to the Forgotten Crossroads of the Citadel, featuring the entrance to a significant battle that lies ahead.
As one of the most extensive and intricate regions in the game, it encompasses a significant portion of the Citadel’s elaborate structure. Therefore, having a comprehensive guide to traverse this territory effectively is essential.
While basic navigation in this expansive landscape is relatively straightforward, unearthing all the hidden treasures and finding the optimal path can pose a challenge. In this guide, I will lead you step-by-step through your journey and highlight valuable items along the way.
Lower Left-side Halls
Upon emerging from the top of the Underworks, head immediately to the left to discover a much-appreciated free bench. Continuing further left, you’ll encounter a large circular room. Here, you can find a shortcut leading to the Grand Gate or opt to ascend and explore further.
Make sure to activate the lever as you go, then look for a somewhat concealed lever-activated hatch that contains a handful of shards. As you ascend, you’ll collect a few beads and catch a glimpse of the Ventrica Station, which is currently inaccessible from this point.
Now, proceed right and purchase the map of this area; it will be instrumental in navigating the environment. You can continue by opening a hatch in the floor, descending into a small room filled with easily vanquished spiders.
Once you emerge from the top, brace yourself for a lengthy trek past numerous deceased inhabitants of the citadel until you confront Lace. She’ll taunt your determination before awakening all those corpses, plunging you into battle.
Central Left-side Halls
While the enemies in this sector pose a moderate threat, keep an eye out for those in red attire as they deal substantial damage with their attacks or projectiles. If you find yourself low on health, remember, this area is not combat-centric, and retreating is always an option.
You may enter the bottom right room, but it will be barricaded by an elevator that requires a specific key to unlock. We will revisit this area later, but for now, let’s return to the spacious tall room you just left.
Climb up, eliminate the sword-wielding foe, and break through the window on the left side. Though it may appear inconsequential, jumping up the wall reveals a precious Rosary Bead tucked away behind a corpse in the back.
Back in the main tall room, ascend to the upper left exit where a swarm of enemies awaits, along with several Rosaries. The top of this room is currently blocked, but feel free to continue left to explore.
Far Left-side Halls
Combat your way through the enemies before proceeding through the door on the left. Navigate across the spikes, and you have the option to venture further left to discover The Slab or drop down instead. If you choose to go down, your primary direction will be to the right.
This path leads you to the Citadel Spa. Although it may initially seem underwhelming, with merely a couple of showerheads, you have the opportunity to break the floor in the first room, leading you to an underground steam pipe system. While this area lacks hidden treasures, it serves as an entry point to a secret section of the spa.
This secret entrance conveniently connects the leftmost area of the map to the central region, facilitating a specific quest later on. Now, let’s head leftward, tackle more silk-entangled enemies, hit a lever, and continue deeper.
Gather some Rosaries, and as you move deeper into a spacious area, be prepared for potentially numerous optional adversaries that may spawn. You can choose to engage with them or proceed directly down and to the right, where a chest filled with Rosaries awaits.
After leaving this expansive room, continue downward and to the right to finally activate the Ventrica Station, which will significantly simplify your journey.
Large Left-side Drop
Open a shortcut and return to the tall room, where you initially turned left to access the Ventrica Station. Now, ascend and take the upper left exit, revealing a few Silk dispensers, which, frankly, have limited utility.
Using the timed platforms above, navigate to the next left room where a series of bells will ring when you stand on the pressure plate. You must replicate the pattern they emit to proceed. If you prefer, you can refer to this cheat sheet for assistance.
The first pattern is: 1, 5, 4, 6. The second is: 3, 6, 5, 1, 7. Finally, the third pattern rings out as: 2, 4, 6, 3, 5, 1. Successfully completing this will reward you with one Cogheart Piece, which may prove vital later.
Continue your ascent using more timed platforms, maneuvering to the right where you’ll need to execute precise jumps while avoiding an enemy. I recommend luring the enemy back to the starting platform and defeating it first to make your jump easier.
As you keep climbing on timed platforms, take a left into a room where you will encounter a formidable winged swordsman defending Grindle. While the room has little else to offer, let’s be honest: everyone loves Grindle, right?
Central Left-side Drop
At last, in the top right room, real progress awaits. Drop down to battle some particularly challenging enemies, then leap leftward for some well-deserved Rosaries. Timing your jumps to the right will usher you into another expansive chamber.
Break through the wall directly to the right, descend to collect some silk, and take note of the intimidating saw blades that block your path. Carefully fall through this room while respecting the sharp, golden spikes, then break the cracked wall on the right side. This allows you to activate a lever, go back up, and navigate past the saws to rescue a flea.
Returning to the ground, you can now open a convenient shortcut back to the tall room where your journey commenced. Proceed right into a confined hallway, where you’ll encounter tattered curtains and a fly-infested area. Ascending slightly, you’ll catch a glimpse of that sweet, rare Pale Oil.
While you can’t break through this wall just yet, head to the top right to collect a Silkeater before making your way back down to the tall room and heading right. Now, proceed up to the top right entrance where you’ll find another welcome blessing in the form of a bench.
Lower Middle Halls
From the bench, proceed right, opening the hatch where you’ll be prepared to fend off a swarm of spiders and steam. Every path here converges in the bottom right, leading into a long and uncomplicated hall. While you’re at it, take the time to open a shortcut back to the left-side halls.
The area to the right is populated by moving gears and a flying mechanical bug, but these foes are quite easy to manage. However, the far end of the corridor brims with enemies eager to unleash potent attacks against you, allowing for quick hit-and-run tactics to dispatch them.
Lower Right-side Halls
Upon entering the right-side room, drop all the way down and unlock the Grand Bellway, then purchase the nearby bench and Ventrica Station. This is invaluable, as the return journey from the Citadel to the wider world of Pharloom is quite challenging.
The room up and to the left isn’t particularly interesting; simply avoid the spikes, eliminate the two thieves, and smash the cocoons to collect a Silkeater. You can also enter the door above the Bellway, but it currently holds little of significance beyond some lore tidbits.
Further up, you can shatter the glass barricade marked with three pins, but the interior holds just a teaser of more enticing Pale Oil and an escape route from enemies. Backtrack, pogo off the bells reminiscent of one’s favorite soundtracks, and advance into another dimly-lit hallway.
Here, a significant lever activates a large wheel complete with a hole, a hallmark of functional contemporary design. Toggle it to ascend, wall-jumping your way to the top. You can navigate left for additional silk dispensers, though they may not pique your interest.
Upper Right-side Halls
Pogo off some more bells and access the top right door, as it is presently your only option. This hallway is straightforward, merely requiring a few precise dashes to navigate successfully.
At the other end, you’ll find an imposing chapel adorned with grand architecture. Step inside to ring the bell, relish the free bench, and step outside to receive an earful from an old man. This ushers in the town of Songclave, which will gradually fill up with residents as you progress.
At the far right of Songclave, seek out the White Key, which unlocks the long-lost elevator discovered earlier that leads to a more isolated area. For now, retrace your steps to the left and ascend all the way to the top.
At the summit, activate another Ventrica Station, a crucial tool throughout most of Act 2. After that, return downwards and head left across the expansive hallway featuring a glass floor with several formidable guards.
Utilize a well-timed dive kick to soar over these foes, but keep in mind that they drop a bounty of currency, so you might consider engaging them. Continuing left will reveal an upper path that is currently inaccessible without wings, or you can head down instead to unlock a shortcut.
Exercise caution, stepping much further left will trigger a boss encounter with the Cogwork Dancers, providing ample opportunity to prepare prior to the onslaught. Defeating this boss is essential for progression, unlocking the Cogwork Core, and granting access to the upper left area, so prepare yourself!
Upper Left-side Halls
With the guards now defeated, you may enter the upper left area, providing multiple routes to explore. You can select the left route, as the upward path is blocked for now, or descend to investigate more of the Choral Chambers, which will be our initial choice.
The top two gates on the right serve merely as shortcuts to exit the Cogwork Core, so feel free to disregard them. To access the top left gate, drop in from above, while the lower left option is always open. Dive deeper to encounter two additional gates.
You can bypass the right gate by moving underneath it, but as for the left gate, there’s no current circumventing it. Regardless, drop down, traverse the massive dining hall, and you’ll meet the Royal Mergwin, who will set you on a formidable quest for Pale Oil.
Now, open those shortcuts and climb back to the room adjacent to the Cogwork Dancers, accessible via a breakable wall. Here, tackle a vertical platforming challenge on timed platforms to unlock a treasure chest, revealing Grindle yet again. Waiting until you acquire wings significantly simplifies this task.
Farther left, you will encounter rings necessary for grapple climbing to reach higher areas. This path leads into the main High Halls and allows access to a previously glimpsed shortcut. Be sure to claim the bench found here, as it opens up an array of new explorations connected to these chambers.
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