Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a new adventure-platformer from Ubisoft that tells the tale of Sargon, the youngest of the Immortals. As a member of this vaunted group tasked with protecting the kingdom and its royal family, Sargon’s world is turned upside down when new threats emerge. Now, it’s up to you to help him fulfill his destiny.
At its core, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a Metroidvania. It offers a blend of challenging combat, tricky platforming puzzles, and the acquisition of abilities that enable you to reach new areas. Our Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown guide will help start you on your journey, with tips and pointers related to navigation, exploration, and battles.
Use Guided Mode, Memory Shards, and other accessibility features
Guided Mode is one of the most unique features in Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. The default option, Exploration Mode, lets you forge your own path at your leisure with only a few hints. Guided Mode, however, shows the location of the main quest’s objectives and even blocked paths, helping you understand the general direction of where you need to go.
Likewise, Memory Shards allow you to take a photo of your current location, which then appears on your map. This is useful whenever you encounter impassable areas or unreachable chests, so you can remember to return to that spot once you’ve obtained the necessary abilities.
Lastly, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown also has several accessibility features, including fine-grained difficulty options and ways to bypass tough platforming sections with a lot of traps.
Buy maps from Fariba
Fariba is a child you’ll encounter from time to time on your journey. She can also be found in far-flung locations, especially those that are off the beaten path. Should you meet up with her, you can purchase maps that reveal all the rooms and areas in the entire zone.
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Look for environmental hints that lead to Wak-Wak Trees and Homa Statues
While you’re exploring, you might notice golden leaves floating in certain rooms. These leaves denote the general direction of the nearest Wak-Wak Tree—landmarks that serve as waypoints, allowing you to replenish your health and potion flasks. Interacting with Wak-Wak Trees also lets you change out your amulets and Athra Surges (skills).
Likewise, if you see purple crystalline effects at the edge of your screen, it means that a Homa Statue is nearby. You’ll need to find a rift and destroy it with your weapon, which then constructs a fast travel point. You can then use the Homa Statue Network to teleport to others you’ve discovered—such as the one in the Haven, which acts as your main hub throughout Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown‘s campaign.
Time your blocks and dodges properly
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown pits you against numerous foes, from lowly guardsmen and sneaky assassins to gargantuan bosses. There are three types of attacks that you need to watch out for:
- Most regular attacks can be parried or deflected. Time the action right and you’ll see a blue flash, which can also temporarily stagger your opponent.
- Unblockable attacks are preceded by a red flash or warning. These cannot be parried at all, and you’ll need to dodge to avoid taking damage.
- Lastly, there are special attacks indicated by a yellow glow, which can still be blocked/parried. If you time it right, you’ll see a short cutscene where Sargon deals a devastating blow to his opponent. However, if you miss your window of opportunity, then you’ll end up taking the brunt of the damage instead.
Charge up your Surge of Athra skills
You’ll unlock several Surge of Athra skills as you progress further in Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. To use these skills, you’ll need to build up your charge meter by attacking opponents—though the meter also gets partially depleted if you take damage.
We recommend using the Wind of Sistan early on, since this Rank 1 Athra Surge (meaning it only requires a single charged meter) creates a swirling vortex that damages all nearby enemies.
Later, you can cast Bahman’s Breath, which is a Rank 2 Athra Surge (meaning it requires two fully charged meters). Bahman’s Breath is one of the most useful skills in the game since it heals your character while you’re standing within its radius.
Watch out for enemy grab attacks
There are times when it might be better to avoid combat rather than rushing head-on. These instances involve enemies with vicious grab attacks. For instance, Spectres in the Depths and Catacombs can latch onto your character, applying a curse that depletes a lot of health.
Similarly, there’s a jailer-type enemy in the Sacred Archives that will chase you down. If it manages to catch you, you’ll end up in the Prison area—a long way from where you need to go.
Use your weapons to help with traversal or reveal hidden secrets
Your weapons aren’t just used to take out hostiles. You’ll also need them to solve some of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown‘s puzzles and reveal hidden treasures. For instance, the dual swords, Qays & Layla, can break walls that lead to secret passageways. The charge attack can also be used to destroy vines that are blocking paths.
You’ve also got the Bow of Menolias, which is used to hit distant objects, such as bulbs that create petal platforms. And lastly, there’s the Chakram, which bounces off surfaces to activate contraptions.
Save Time Crystals to spend on necessary upgrades in the Haven
Unlike other Metroidvania titles with RPG mechanics, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown doesn’t involve a traditional leveling or XP system. Instead, most upgrades are obtained by spending Time Crystals. You’ll pick up this currency from defeated enemies, treasure chests, and ores that can be destroyed using your weapons.
You can acquire most upgrades from NPCs in the Haven, which you’ll get to visit a couple of hours into the campaign. These upgrades include extra health pips (or Soma Tree Petals), additional potion charges, increased healing potency from potions, additional amulet slots, and more. As such, it’s important to save up on Time Crystals and avoid overspending on items that aren’t that impactful.
Equip the Prosperity Bird or King Jamshid amulets when searching for treasure
For those eager to find more goodies when exploring Mount Qaf, we suggest purchasing the King Jamshid amulet from the Mage, a vendor in the Haven hub. The item itself becomes available a bit later in the campaign.
While the King Jamshid amulet is equipped, you’ll hear a special sound effect whenever a treasure chest is nearby. Alternatively, those who own the Deluxe Edition should have access to the Prosperity Bird. This summons a tiny familiar that flies alongside you, giving aid when seeking hidden chests.
Collect special currencies like Xerxes and Damascus Ingots
Apart from Time Crystals, you should also be on the lookout for special currencies, such as Xerxes and Damascus Ingots. Xerxes golden coins are needed by the Scrapper, a mysterious creature found in the Depths. The items that he sells confer unique boons, though there are also notable penalties. He also offers certain keys that grant access to other areas.
As for Damascus Ingots and related variants, these are needed by Kaheva, a blacksmith in the Haven. She can upgrade your weapons in exchange for Ingots—and a few Time Crystals, too.
Complete side quests
You’ll encounter many characters that need your help as you delve deeper into Mount Qaf. Some require you to tackle objectives within the same zone, while others lead you to distant areas. The important thing to remember is that these side quests have notable rewards.
For instance, helping the Brute/Deserter Soldier in the Hyrcanian Forest nets you a Soma Tree Petal (a health upgrade). Meanwhile, assisting the Prisoner in the Sacred Archives for the Moon Gatherer quest rewards you with the Dragon King Amulet, as well as a potion and crystals.
Obtain all Time Powers to help with traversal
Time Powers appear as magical blue feathers, and they’re obtained as you advance further into the campaign. Eventually, you’ll have amazing abilities that help with traversal, such as the Rush of the Simurgh (an air dash) and Gravity Wings (a double-jump). There’s even the Dimensional Claw, which lets you open a rift to capture entities like bomb flowers, allowing you to toss them into breakable walls.
The world of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is full of majesty and mystery. You’re bound to encounter tough challenges—whether vicious bosses, deadly traps, or tricky platforming puzzles. We hope our Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown guide helps you get started on your journey.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is available now on the Epic Games Store. There’s also the Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Deluxe Edition, which gives you access to the aforementioned Prosperity Bird amulet and the Immortals outfit/skin.
