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I had mixed feelings while playingChained Echoes: Ashes of Elrant, mainly because it didn’t answer several questions I had about the original game’s plot. However, gameplay-wise, the DLC kept theexploration top-notch.
To shake things up, theJRPGadded a few new features, such asa fishing minigameand a Talent mechanic for the party. On the exploration front, we can now find Pools of Power, locations that empower the party once we interact with them.
Chained Echoes: Ashes of Elrant Review
Despite a few additions and more lore details, Ashes of Elrant plays largely the same.
Upon finding a Pool of Power, we get a message sayingour damage dealt has increased, and the damage taken has decreased. I’d love to see these values spelled out with exact numbers, but I’ll take what’s been given.
Altogether,there are 17 Pools of Power scattered across Elrant’s outskirts. If you’re even thinking about challenging thegame’s superbosses, I recommend finding them all before diving in. This guide will show you every Pool of Power location inChained Echoes: Ashes of Elrant.
Mushroom Forest
Pool of Power #1
After leaving the improvised scientist camp in Mushroom Forest, you’ll reach a new area of the woods. Soon, you’ll find a crystal that activates a new warp point.
Continue to the east of the crystal, jump into the water, and go north to see three small waterfalls.you’re able to climb the one on the far right. Up there, you’ll find your first Pool of Power.
Pool of Power #2
In the third section of the Mushroom Forest, you’ll need to destroy a dam to move forward. After doing that, two small bridges will appear to the east.Cross the southernmost one.
You’ll see a scientist on a level above, so climb up to where she is and start jumping from platform to platform until you reach one with two separate paths. Jump on the west one.
Then, you’ll spot a cave at the bottom and more steps going up.Climb them, follow the path, pass a fishing spot until you reach yet another cave.Enter it and head west immediately to find the second pool.
Pool of Power #3
After the events in the Lost Gardens, you’ll be able to use your Sky Armor in some previously visited areas, like the Mushroom Forest. Head there using a warp point or your airship and hop into your Sky Armor.
With your lovely mechs, you’ll be able to access the fourth and final section of the forest, located in the southeastern part of the map. Just fly to the edge to reach there.
You’ll find a bunch of wooden bridges in the eastern part of this new area. However,you’ll only be able to land with your Sky Armor a bit to the north. Do so and walk across the bridge on foot, heading south.
Eventually, you’ll face a chicken monster. Take it down andhop back into your Sky Armor right away, because next you’ll be facing four platypuses, and going on foot is a death sentence. After beating them, the Pool of Power awaits.
Elrant Dungeon
Pool of Power #4
After witnessing each party member’s penance, it’s time to escape the Elrant Dungeon. To do that, you’ll need to defeat some key-shaped soldiers across the floors to gradually unlock your skills.
Once you reach the fifth floor, you’ll see two exits. The left one leads to a window on the exterior side, and the right one to a staircase.You want the right one.
Climb the stairs, enter the sixth floor, and you’ll find the Pool of Power there.
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Lost Gardens
Pool of Power #5
First things first, you need to get the Shack Key.With your Sky Armor, fly to the first quadrant of the Mushroom Forest map and head to an isolated patch of land to find a chest housing the Shack Key.
With the key in hand,fast travel to the first warp point in the Lost Gardens and go slightly west to open the doorusing your newfound key. Cross the shack to reach a new area.
Next, fight off a bunch of pawns and a horse and head north, following the path until you eventually reach the Pool of Power.
Tip: if you let the pawns get close to the edge, they’ll become queens. There’s a task on the Reward Board for defeating four queens in a single battle.
Pool of Power #6
The main story will ask you to head either to the Deadlands or the Wastelands. I went to Deadlands first, so this guide will follow that order.
As soon as you arrive in this lovely place,take the first path north you come across and then go west when the path splits. If you check the map, there’s a strip of land to the right side of where you’ll be.
There’s an invisible bridge there,probably revealed by a collectible on the ground. So take a leap of faith, cross the bridge, and you’ll find the Pool of Power on the other side.
Pool of Power #7
In the third area of the Deadlands, the game will ask you to make the Water of Life. With this new item, you’ll be able to unlock mandatory new paths and move forward inAshes of Elrant’s story.
After clearing some of the sewage and gaining the ability to swim, you’ll be able to reach the western corner of the area.Head up to the marked location on the map to find another spot to pour the Water of Life. Once you do, you’ll purify the whole river and open the way to the Pool of Power.
So go on, take a dip in the crystal-clear waters and swim all the way east and north to reach a patch of land with yet another empowered pool.
Pool of Power #8
When you’re crossing the invisible bridge from the first to the second area,you may take the west path to reach an area full of magma and lava. In that area, notice that some platforms come and go, but if you wait it out, the path will eventually open.
However, at a certain point, your path will be blocked by lava. This was a moment where I felt equally dumb and clever. If you look closely, there are always some blowfish enemies in themiddle of the lava called Water Balloon. Yeah, I know.
You need to hit but not kill at least one Water Balloon. If done correctly,on the first turn, they’ll use Puff All Day. Then, skip your turns until the enemies go again, andthey will use Water Explosion, dying in the process but freezing the lava and opening a new path.Great design, but I can’t even say how long it took me to notice this.
With this trick, you may wander through the lava in peace and reach the third and final Pool of Power in the Deadlands. Also,if you go to the west side, you’ll find the Smallish Ingredients, needed to create the Minimi Potion and access new secret areas - including ones with new Pools of Power.
Wastelands
Pool of Power #9
If you’ve already picked up Pool of Power #5 in theLost Gardens,it means you have the Shack Keyand have already accessed the extra part of the zone. Ok, I’m saying this because we can access the Wastelands through the garden’s secret area.
Enter the labyrinth in theLost Gardensand hold to your right until you exit at the easternmost section of the area.You’ll need to enter a cave, and after leaving it, you’ll arrive at an isolated portion of theWastelands,and all you’ll find is a Pool of Power.
Pool of Power #10
For this one, you need the Lost Key, also found in the Mushroom Forest.It’s close to Pool of Power #3, but instead of going all the way down south, you must take a turn and walk west. You’ll find a chest near three sleeping Platypus with the Lost Key.
Now, go back to the first warp point in theDeadlands. To its east, there’ll be a locked house, now openable with the not-so-Lost Key. Inside the house, you’ll find a purple orb, and interacting with it lets you change its color to change the house’s location.
What you want is the green orb. Change the color and leave the house to find a Pool of Power just outside.
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Pool of Power #11
There are several annoying small steps to reaching this Pool of Power.First, you need to acquire the Cute Lantern by interacting with the Gothic Girlin the Deadlands. Her house is near a warp point.
Then, still in the Deadlands, fast travel to the first map to search for a secret passage. I pointed out its location in the screenshot above. Inside this dark room, there’san Anglerfish who will trade the Cute Lantern for a High-Quality Bait.
Now, go to Elrant City andgive the bait to the only NPC fishing in the Fishing Guild. He’ll give you a Sieve. Teleport back to the Deadlands and look for a gold digger (also highlighted in the screenshot above), accessible only aboard the Sky Armors.Give him the Sieve to receive a Canvas.
Finally, with the Canvas in hand, go to the north of the Deadlands andfind a painter as marked on the map. Hand over the Canvas, and he’ll let you approach the Pool of Power.
Elrant City
Pool of Power #12
For this one,you need the Sewerage Key, found in the second zone of the Wastelands. As soon as you manage to fly with your Sky Armor, fly over the moving sands and go to the location indicated on the map to find a chest.
Then, go to Elrant City’s north side and open the southern locked house.You’ll be able to dive straight into the city’s sewer system and swim through it.Follow the only possible path.
The first ladder leads to a chest with a weapon for Leonar, and the second one gets you to the bar.Proceed until you reach the third ladder, which takes you to Elrant City’s Pool of Power.
Pool of Power #13
For the next two Pools of Power found in Elrant City,you must brew the Minimi Potion. The Smallish Ingredients for the potion can be found on the volcano side of the Deadlands.I described how to find it in Pool of Power #8.
Then, create the Minimi Potion in the Brewery Room in Elrant City. Remember that you need a Talent for this, but if you’ve already reached this stage in the game, you should have already unlocked it since it’s a main story requirement.
Next,with the Minimi Potion in hand, look for any bench in Elrant City and interact with it. Gulp the potion down, and you’ll be miniaturized, allowing new interactions with some animals.
From the waypoint in Elrant City’s south side, go to the bridge to the north andinteract with a fish. It’ll swallow you and take you to the ocean floor, where you’ll finally find this Pool of Power.
Pool of Power #14
For this Pool of Power, repeat the same process above until you’re miniaturized.Then, you’ll need to go through a few little trapdoors on the east side of the city until you reach the roof.
On the roof, you must interact with a bird to be taken to its home. On the trunks of giant trees, you’ll find three chests and another Pool of Power.
Pool of Power #15
As soon as you access either the Deadlands or Wastelands, a new talent called Call Airship will be unlocked.It costs 100 Party Points and allows you to summon the airship in Elrant. Once you do, you’re able to explore the overworld.
In the southeast of the overworld, you’ll find a Sky Isle. It’s an area with a few cat monsters (but randomly deadly), some chests, and a Pool of Power.
Follow the only possible path until you fight four black cats. Then climb the small slope and go east to find a ledge you can drop from.Keep following the path, hopping from hill to hill, and you’ll soon reach the Pool of Power.
Pool of Power #16
Fast travel to the last Deadlands waypoint, the one in the northwest part of the map. Then, go east and north where the land makes a corner.You will enter the Old Town.
Now, proceed as much as possible, entering into houses, descending whenever you’re able to. Eventually, you’ll reach the bottom floor where the Pool of Power is.
Pool of Power #17
This is the last Pool of Power I found and also the trickiest one. To start,you need to brew the Slow Digestion XL potion.You can do so by finding theDigested Ingredients, easily found in a chest in the Wastelands by flying with your Sky Armors. Use the map image below as a reference.
Brew the potion in Elrant City and now go back to the first area of the Wastelands. In the open field, you’ll find a worm NPC who gives a tip thatif you try to face the sandworms on foot, they will swallow you whole.Yeah, it took me a few minutes to process this.
What you need then is to face the nearby sandworms on foot and just wait for their turn.You’ll be swallowed, but survive thanks to the Slow Digestion XL potion.
After slashing the worm’s internal guts, you’ll find yourself in a secluded part of the Old Town, where you’ll find the last Pool of Power, plus a Collector’s Coin.
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