All Totem of Defiance piece locations in Avowed

The Totem of Defiance is one of Avowed’s four god totems — collectibles that grant boons based on how many pieces you find. The Totem of Defiance is the god totem for the Emerald Stair region.

All seven fragments of the Totem of Defiance are hidden around Emerald Stair and its capital, Fior mes Ivérno. As soon as you find one piece of the totem (or purchase the “Fragments of the Offering” key item from Lluisa Melcer at the Coastal Farms), you’ll receive a quest to find and complete the Schemer’s Offering. The quest, however, is full of cryptic riddles.

Here’s where to find all Totem of Defiance pieces in Emerald Stair in Avowed, and what bonuses you’ll receive upon completing the totem.

All Totem of Defiance locations in Avowed

There are seven pieces of the Totem of Defiance scattered around Emerald Stair.

To start reconstructing the totem, you’ll need to find the totem’s core (the Skaen totem base), which we’ve labeled as number one in the map above. Once you’ve placed the totem’s core at the totem shrine in the party camp, you can add the totem’s fragments (numbers two through seven on the map) to gain powerful buffs. Each god totem grants up to six buffs — including bonuses to your attribute points — but you can only have one god totem active at a time.

Before searching for the totem pieces, we recommend turning on the “Compass – God Shrine Totem Pieces” setting at the bottom of the UI menu. Turning on this setting will make god totem pieces visible on your compass, and make it slightly easier to pinpoint their exact location in-game.

Above, you can find a map of all Totem of Defiance locations. Or you can consult the table of contents below to jump to a corresponding detailed description of how to get a specific piece.

Totem of Defiance core location

The Totem of Defiance Totem Core can be found at the top of the Shrine to Skaen on the western side of Emerald Stair.

To find the Totem Core, follow these steps:

1. Travel to the Delemgan Glade Beacon.
2. Follow the path to the east and stop before the large archway.
3. Follow the path to the north and climb the terrain to the base of the Shrine to Skaen.
4. Climb the broken pathway to the top of the shrine to find the Totem Core.

Sacrificial Dagger location

The Sacrificial Dagger can be found on a barricaded doorway at the Abandoned Farms on the northeastern side of Emerald Stair.

To find the Sacrificial Dagger, follow these steps:

1. Travel to the Abandoned Farms Beacon.
2. Head to the northern side of the northeastern building to find the Sacrificial Dagger.

Idol of Covert Plots location

The Idol of Covert Plots can be found inside a building with a collapsed roof in the Grim Wetlands, which can be found in the northwestern corner of Emerald Stair.

To find the Idol of Covert Plots, follow these steps:

1. Travel to the Plateau Junction Beacon.
2. Follow the path to the north until you reach burnable vines and a bridge leading to a building on your right.
3. Cross the bridge and drop down into the building to find the Idol of Covert Plots on top of the altar.

Idol of Secret Hatred location

The Idol of Secret Hatred can be found inside the Ancient Grotto dungeon, which is located in the southwestern area of Emerald Stair.

Be wary as Old Nuna, a bear with a bounty, lurks inside the Ancient Grotto.

To find the Idol of Secret Hatred, follow these steps:

1. Travel to the Ancient Grotto Beacon.
2. Enter the Ancient Grotto dungeon and proceed until you reach the first open room, which happens to be where Old Nuna rests.
3. Dive into the pool of water on the right side of the room and follow the path to its end.
4. Drop down onto the path below and turn to the right to find a fork in the road.
5. Take the rightmost path lit with torches to find the Idol of Secret Hatred beside a skeleton.

Idol of Violent Rebellion location

The Idol of Violent Rebellion can be found at the top of the Ranger Headquarters on the eastern side of the Emerald Stair.

To find the Idol of Violent Rebellion, follow these steps:

1. Travel to the Rolling Crags Beacon.
2. Head to the southern side of the Ranger Headquarters and climb up the stairs.
3. Stand on top of the pile of jars and jump to the canopy with the ladder above it.
4. Climb up the ladder and parkour your way to the top of the Ranger Headquarters to find the Idol of Violent Rebellion.

Obsidian Prayer Beads location

The Obsidian Prayer Beads can be found beside a skeleton on the western side of the Delemgan Glade, which is located on the western side of Emerald Stair.

You do visit the Delemgan Glade during “The Animancy Method” main story quest, so we recommend you wait until you reach this point in the story to grab this fragment.

To find the Obsidian Prayer Beads, follow these steps:

1. Travel to the Delemgan Glade Beacon.
2. Cross the bridge to the west and enter the Delemgan Glade.
3. Climb up the terrain in the southwestern corner and follow the path until you reach a stone ramp leading towards a large tree branch.
4. Head up the ramp and branch, and follow the path to the left.
5. Jump across the gap to find the Obsidian Prayer Beads.

Effigy Necklace location

The Effigy Necklace can be found on top of a stone table inside Naku Tedek.

The Effigy Necklace is only obtainable after you visit Naku Tedek with Giatta during the “Ancient Soil” main story quest, which is near the end of the Emerald Stair quest line.

To find the Effigy Necklace, follow these steps:

1. Travel to the Naku Tedek Party Camp.
2. Enter Naku Tedek and enter the doorway behind the Adra.
3. Proceed through the doorway at the bottom of the stairwell and turn to the left to find an essence generator.
4. Shock the essence generator with Giatta’s Spectral Jolt ability, an Electric Lily Seed, or a Shock spell to open the door.
5. Go inside the room and turn to the right to find a large tree root that reaches the upper floor.
6. Freeze the water ahead of you with a Frost spell or an Eye of Rymrgand and cross the frozen pathway onto the tree root.
7. Climb up to the second floor and turn to the right to find the Effigy Necklace.

All Totem of Defiance bonuses

Once you have all of the Totem of Defiance pieces, head to the Totem Shrine at your party camp and reassemble the Schemer’s Offering. Activate the totem to receive the following buffs:

• Furious Frenzy: Second Wind casts Flurry of Blows
• The Slave’s Patience: +2 Constitution, +2 Dexterity
• Hidden Hatred: Increases your damage against unaware enemies by 25%
• Kill the Master: Increases your damage against enemies displaying skull icons near their health bars
• Bitter Thoughts: Critical hits deal high poison accumulation
• A Vengeful Victim: After taking damage from an enemy, your next attack within 10 seconds deals +20% of the original damage you receive (stacks with Retribution)

For more Avowed guides, see our walkthroughs to Emerald Stair’s treasure maps — Practical Pockets, Earthly Aegis, and Painter’s Regret — or consult our full Avowed walkthrough.