The ESO Sinking Courtyard Rain Totems are part of a hidden puzzle in the Nowhere Vault’s Cursed Castle wing. Three totems are scattered around the courtyard, but you can’t activate them until you’ve obtained Artist’s Touch from another room. Without that prerequisite, the secret remains inaccessible.
Solving the puzzle rewards you with the Carafe of Salt Water, an item needed to continue the A Cage That Shimmers Rumor. There’s also a reported bug that can prevent one of the totems from activating, even when you’ve completed the earlier steps. Here’s how to finish the puzzle and what to try if an interaction stops working.
ESO Sinking Courtyard Rain Totems Puzzle Solution
Image credit: ZeniMax Online Studios
You’ll need Artist’s Touch before attempting the three Rain Totems. This hidden effect is obtained in Gallery of Curios, another room within the Cursed Castle wing.
Once Artist’s Touch is available, complete the following steps:
- Enter Sinking Courtyard in the Nowhere Vault.
- Find the three Rain Totems positioned around the courtyard.
- Approach each totem and use its interaction prompt.
- Check that each activated totem displays its completed visual effect.
- Once all three are activated, locate the Brackish Fountain.
- Interact with the fountain to obtain the Carafe of Salt Water.
The fountain is essential. Activating the third totem doesn’t automatically award the Carafe, so make sure you complete that final interaction before leaving.
You can activate the ESO Sinking Courtyard Rain Totems in any order. The requirement is to activate all three before using the fountain, rather than following a particular sequence.
How to Get Artist’s Touch in Gallery of Curios
Artist’s Touch is the prerequisite for the ESO Sinking Courtyard Rain Totems secret. It comes from a separate puzzle in Gallery of Curios, which is also found in Cursed Castle.
To obtain Artist’s Touch:
- Enter Gallery of Curios and explore the smaller side rooms.
- Look for a purple-lit area containing the Destroyed Painting tablet.
- Read the tablet and search the nearby rubble for the Artist’s Lens.
- Take the Artist’s Lens into the large southeastern gallery.
- Find the telescope near the top of the stairs leading down towards the crypt.
- Use the Artist’s Lens at the telescope to receive Artist’s Touch.
The telescope interaction completes the hidden objective. Collecting the Lens alone isn’t enough to unlock the Rain Totems.
Once you have Artist’s Touch, you can continue to Sinking Courtyard when that room becomes available. Nowhere Vault room selection is randomised, so you may need another visit to encounter the correct room.
For the complete prerequisite walkthrough, see our ESO Gallery of Curios Puzzle Guide.
How to Tell if All Three Rain Totems Are Activated
Each Rain Totem changes appearance when its interaction succeeds. Player reports describe an inactive totem with a green outline, while successfully activated totems display a blue aura.
Use these visual changes to check your progress as you move around the courtyard. If two totems display the blue effect but the third remains green, the puzzle hasn’t been completed.
The ESO Sinking Courtyard Rain Totems puzzle doesn’t require a fourth hidden totem or an additional switch. Once all three are active, the Brackish Fountain becomes the final objective.
ESO Sinking Courtyard Rain Totems Not Working?
Some players have encountered a bug where one Rain Totem refuses to activate after the other two have been completed.
A September 29 report on the official ESO forums describes a player who successfully activated two totems but couldn’t interact with the third. The problem continued during a solo attempt, even though Artist’s Touch had already been obtained.
Other players reported the same behaviour, but also identified a possible workaround.
How to Fix a Rain Totem That Won’t Activate
If one of the ESO Sinking Courtyard Rain Totems remains inactive, try the following:
- Check that you already obtained Artist’s Touch in Gallery of Curios.
- Confirm which totems have the blue completed effect.
- Leave Sinking Courtyard through the portal leading back to the main Vault area.
- Re-enter Sinking Courtyard without leaving the Vault itself.
- Return to the unresponsive totem and attempt the interaction again.
One affected player confirmed that leaving through the room portal and immediately returning restored the missing interaction. Another successfully activated the third totem on a later visit.
This workaround isn’t guaranteed, but it’s worth trying before abandoning the Rumor or resetting your wider progression.
What About the Sinking Quicksand?
Sinking Courtyard also contains quicksand hazards that can interfere with movement.
During Update 51 testing, ZeniMax identified an issue where the sinking debuff could affect players outside the intended quicksand areas. The developers made adjustments for the September 28 launch, including changes to affected surfaces.
This is separate from the Rain Totem interaction bug. If you’re being affected by sinking while standing on what appears to be solid ground, move away from the affected section before returning to the puzzle.
Where to Use the Carafe of Salt Water
Completing the ESO Sinking Courtyard Rain Totems secret provides the Carafe of Salt Water, which is required in Haunted Undercroft.
Haunted Undercroft is another challenge room in the Cursed Castle wing. Inside, you’ll find a cauldron in the middle of the room.
With the Carafe obtained:
- Enter Haunted Undercroft.
- Approach the central cauldron.
- Use the Carafe of Salt Water to activate the secret interaction.
- This summons the Stewmaster, a hidden boss.
- Defeat the Stewmaster to obtain Connoisseur’s Vision.
Connoisseur’s Vision is used in The Lakehouse, located in the Lunar Path wing. There, it allows you to activate the Creative Transcendence secret and obtain a Timeward Seal.
This is the next major step in the A Cage That Shimmers Rumor.
A Cage That Shimmers Rewards
The ESO Sinking Courtyard Rain Totems puzzle is one stage in the A Cage That Shimmers Rumor, rather than a separate mount-unlock objective.
The complete chain follows this route:
| Room | Objective |
|---|---|
| Gallery of Curios | Obtain Artist’s Touch |
| Sinking Courtyard | Activate three Rain Totems and collect the Carafe of Salt Water |
| Haunted Undercroft | Defeat Stewmaster for Connoisseur’s Vision |
| The Lakehouse | Use Connoisseur’s Vision to obtain the Timeward Seal |
| Sage’s Trove | Break the corresponding seal |
Breaking the seal in Sage’s Trove completes A Cage That Shimmers and rewards five Wondrous Nowhere Keys.
Breaking all three seals across the Nowhere Vault’s connected Rumor chains also unlocks the Ancient Direnni Quasigriff mount.
- ESO Nowhere Vault Cursed Castle Puzzle
- ESO Nowhere Vault Lunar Path Puzzle
- ESO Nowhere Vault Gryphon Seal
- ESO Nowhere Vault Arcanum Wing Puzzle: All Rooms and Secret Route
- ESO Moonlit Isles Puzzle: Star Bridge and Pillar Solution
- ESO Twilight Maze Little Soft Boots Location: How to Find the Secret Cub
- ESO Eclipsed Hall Bell Puzzle: Cantor’s Starsong and Astralight Lumen
- ESO Hunt of the Watchers Puzzle: Secret Objective Solution
The Cursed Castle secret in Prison of the Unrepentant follows a different chain, requiring Subjugating Mindspore from Arcanum. You don’t need that item to activate the Rain Totems or collect the Carafe.
The ESO Sinking Courtyard Rain Totems puzzle is complete when all three totems have been activated and you’ve collected the Carafe of Salt Water from the Brackish Fountain. From there, Haunted Undercroft is your next destination, where the Stewmaster encounter continues the route towards the Timeward Seals and the Ancient Direnni Quasigriff.
Official source: ESO Forums: Sinking Courtyard Rain Totems Bug Report and Player Workaround.
