It is only fitting that you face a lot of thorn beasts in the Penitent Cairns dungeon because the aspect you unlock here is great for Thorn builds in Diablo 4.
Penitent Cairns can be found in the Scosglen region of D4. It is an early-mid-game dungeon that you just need to clear for its legendary aspect. There’s nothing more to be found here..
Penitent Cairns location in Diablo 4
Located in the northern section of the Scosglen Region, the Penitent Cairns dungeon is fairly easy to find in Diablo 4.
It is located in the middle of the Wailing Hills subsection. Just make your way to the Valley of Passing POI then take the northwesternmost passage to reach the entrance to this dungeon.
Penitent Cairns completion rewards
In addition to +30 Renown, you unlock the Death Wise aspect by completing Penitent Cairns in Diablo 4.
It is an offensive aspect that can only be used by the Barbarian class. This aspect buffs your Thorns Gain by granting you a random number of Thorns while in the Berserking State. This Legendary Aspect is ideal for a Thorns Barbarian build.
Penitent Cairns dungeon walkthrough in Diablo 4
Free 7 Prisoners
Your first objective is to free all the prisoners marked by seven white diamonds on your map. Expect some of these locations to be guarded by enemies. Some of the prisoners might have already died when you reach them. Such prisoners must be laid to rest in order to proceed forward.
Travel to the Caves of Atonement
The next area is known as the Caves of Atonement. Make sure to fill up on your HP as you will be attacked relentlessly after entering this section. The corridors will keep getting narrower as you proceed forward.
Survive enemy attacks for 30 seconds.
Now you must survive waves of Ghosts and Zombies for a total of 30 seconds. After the time is over, a stone Carving will be dropped.
Return the Stone Carving to the Pedestal
Take this stone Carving that you just received to the Stone Pedestal. Expect the pedestal to be guarded by elite enemies. There are quite a few of them so proceed with caution.
Defeat the Resurrected Malice boss
The Resurrected Malice can be found at the end of this dungeon. You will encounter this same boss in multiple dungeons. Hence, learning the right strategy for dealing with it is essential. Many players find this boss annoying as it spams projectiles while summoning Spirit enemies.
However, if you can successfully take out its summons, the boss is left wide open. Focus on defeating all its minions first then unleash your high DPS moves on the boss for maximum damage.
This boss has a fixed number of variations to its attack sequence. Recognizing the attack pattern can help you tremendously in counterplay.
