Genshin Impact ‘clearance level’ increase guide

As you explore Sumeru’s large desert in Genshin Impact, some mechanisms will glow red, noting that you don’t have enough “clearance” to use that switch. While some of these will clear away just from completing the “Golden Slumber” world quest line, there are more beyond that.

Our Genshin Impact clearance guide explains how to increase your Sumeru desert clearance to max with the Scarlet Sand Slate.

Where to start Golden Slumber and gain initial clearance

Graphic: Julia Lee/Polygon | Source images: Hoyoverse

Bonifaz, a merchant in Aaru Village, will give you the quest that leads you underground, gives you the Scarlet Sand Slate, and rewards you with several tiers of clearance to explore the ruins in the desert. The quest is fairly guided in-game: You’ll just need to follow the instructions given and explore the temples in order to complete it.

Once you do, if you interact with the Scarlet Sand Slate item in your quest item inventory, it should look something like this:

Image: Hoyoverse via Polygon

How to max out your clearance

Once you finish all of the “Golden Slumber” quest line, wait until the next day (in real time) and then teleport to the Statue of the Seven next to Aaru Village. A cutscene will immediately trigger, and you’ll be given a new world quest line: “Old Notes and New Friends.”

After talking to some NPCs, your Scarlet Sand Slate item will gain more clearance and you’ll need to follow the hints on it to get more. Select “The Mausoleums' Depths” on the slate’s menu and hit “go” to navigate you to The Dune of Magma, which you can explore freely now.

You’ll run into several underground Teleport Waypoints as you follow the navigation, and once you arrive at the location, a cutscene with Paimon and the Traveler will play. Once this cutscene plays, open the Scarlet Sand Slate item again, and navigate to the “Place of Rebirth,” “Place of Breath,” and “Place of Swallowing.”

Place of Rebirth walkthrough

Once you arrive, the water levels will drop, assuming you activated the Primal Ember in the room before to turn the pillar on. Once the water level drops, head to the western room first.

Image: Hoyoverse via Polygon

In here, there’s a Pyro torch puzzle, but all you need to do is pick up the nearby Obscuring Cell on the edge of the room and take it to the blue square base. A Verity Cell will appear, and you can use that to make four more torches appear. (Each new torch is next to a visible torch.) Light these up with Pyro, take down the baddies, and escort the Primal Ember back to the main chamber.

After the Primal Ember lights up the pillar, head to the northern hall and take a right, going down the steps. Activate the Primal Beams, sliding them over so that the lasers point across the hall, like so:

Image: Hoyoverse via Polygon

Activate the Primal Ember in the center of the room and follow it to the main room to gain another level of clearance.

Place of Breath walkthrough

As you follow the marker, you’ll end up in a room with Primal Beams and the like. Rotate the beam and break the pile of rocks it’s aimed at to open the door.

Keep following the marker further into the ruins, running past the blue-tinted room. Activate the Primal Ember that’s not in the blue room and follow it down, stepping on the blue glowing platforms to make them disappear beneath your feet.

Eventually it will lead you to the main chamber for the “Place of Breath,” merging with its respective pillar. Make sure to activate the Primal Ember that was in the room before the chamber as well.

From the room the enemies were in, open the northern door and head up the elevator. Jump off as it passes the room with the Primal Ember, activate it, and lead it back to the main chamber to complete “Place of Breath.”

Place of Swallowing walkthrough

This part is pretty simple, but it requires a lot of running back and forth. The chamber for the “Place of Swallowing” is right around the corner from its suggested Teleport Waypoint, but all three Primal Embers are in this room (Duat Hall). You can see them in the image below:

Image: Hoyoverse via Polygon

Guide them through the room, carefully timing their movement so they don’t get blown away by the gusts of wind.

Once you get the three Primal Embers into the chamber, you’ll be done with this step.

Great Hall of Truths walkthrough

Again, follow the guidance from the Scarlet Sand Slate to the last room. Follow the quest guidance and then activate the four pillars at the corner of the huge structure.

Keep following the quest instructions, defeat the boss, and head back to Aaru Village to complete this quest. Doing so will open up several more subquests in the “Old Notes and New Friends” questline, but most importantly, you’re now free to adventure around the desert and solve puzzles with your maxed out clearance.