You're standing on the edge of the Living Lands, the wind is howling, and honestly, you're probably just trying to figure out why that specific side quest marker in Avowed is leadng you in circles. It happens. Obsidian Entertainment loves their verticality, and the Dawnshore region is the poster child for "it's right above you, but you have to walk two miles around a cliff to get there." If you’re hunting for the Avowed Dawnshore totem locations, you aren't just looking for loot. You're looking for those specific environmental interactions that boost your standing or unlock those juicy lore tidbits that make the world of Eora feel alive.
The Dawnshore isn't just a beach. It’s a jagged, salt-crusted nightmare of coral outcroppings and hidden grottoes.
Most players miss the first totem because they're sprinting toward the main settlement. Stop doing that. The game rewards the slow crawl. If you’re rushing, you’re missing the shimmer of the Essence that marks these spots. Let's get into where these things actually are, minus the fluff.
Why the Dawnshore Totems Are Such a Pain
The Dawnshore is deceptive. It looks wide open. It’s not. It’s a series of layers.
When you start looking for Avowed Dawnshore totem locations, you have to realize that the map is lying to you. A 2D icon on a mini-map doesn't tell you if a totem is tucked inside a sea cave that only opens up at low tide (or through a specific quest trigger) or if it's perched on a stone archway you need to leap to using a dash ability. I’ve seen people spend forty minutes jumping against a rock wall when the entrance was a tiny crack hidden behind some overgrown kelp-vines twenty paces back.
The First Totem: The Weeping Overlook
Right near the initial drop-down into the Dawnshore proper, most people head straight for the campfire smoke. Big mistake. Instead, hug the northern cliffside.
You’ll find a path that looks like a dead end. It’s not. There’s a narrow ledge. Squint a bit, and you’ll see the first of the Avowed Dawnshore totem locations. It’s the Totem of the Tide-Watcher. It’s usually guarded by a couple of Xaurips who think they’re tougher than they are. Knock them off the ledge. It’s faster. This totem requires a quick interaction with your soul-essence—if you’ve been building into the Ranger or Mage trees, you’ll find the prompt pops up immediately.
The lore here talks about the early Aedyran explorers who reached these shores. It’s grim. They didn't last long.
Navigating the Sunken Grotto Totems
The Grotto is where things get tricky.
I’m talking about the area south of the main shipwreck. You’ll see the water glowing slightly purple. That’s your sign. One of the trickiest Avowed Dawnshore totem locations is inside a chamber called the Whispering Maw. You can’t just walk in. You need to wait for the animation cycle of the water to recede, or use a traversal skill to bypass the deep pools.
Once inside, don't look at the floor. Look up.
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The totem is actually embedded in the ceiling’s stone ribs. You have to use a ranged soul-pull or a specific spell to activate it. If you’re a pure melee build, keep an eye out for the interactable environmental objects—usually a loose pillar—that you can topple to create a ramp. Obsidian loves these "Aha!" moments that make you feel like a genius for just looking around for five seconds.
The Pillar of the Forgotten
This one is basically in the middle of a war zone.
You’ll find it near the contested ruins where the local factions are bickering. It’s sitting right on top of a crumbling pillar. To get this specific entry in the Avowed Dawnshore totem locations log, you have to approach from the west. There’s a series of fallen masonry blocks that form a natural staircase. If you try to jump from the east, the invisible walls—or just the awkward collision physics—will push you off.
- Check the base of the pillar for a small etched rune first.
- If the rune isn't glowing, you haven't cleared the nearby encounter.
- Sometimes the game bugs out and the totem won't "reveal" until every single hostile mob in a 50-meter radius is dead.
It’s annoying, but that’s RPG life.
The Secret of the Coral High-Point
Deep in the eastern part of the Dawnshore, the landscape turns into a surreal forest of giant, petrified coral. It's beautiful. It's also a navigational disaster.
The totem here is the Totem of the Resilient Core. Out of all the Avowed Dawnshore totem locations, this one offers the best buff—usually a permanent +1 to your Might or Tenacity depending on your previous choices. But getting it? You have to climb.
Find the giant "ribbon" coral that looks like a ramp. Follow it. You’ll reach a point where you think you have to jump a massive gap. You don't. Look for the faint blue spirit-trail. Avowed uses these subtle visual cues to guide players without holding their hands. Follow the trail, and it leads you to a hidden alcove behind a waterfall of sand.
Why Bother With These?
You might be thinking, "Is it worth it?"
Yeah.
Beyond the XP, these totems are the primary way to unlock the "Dawnshore Historian" achievement and, more importantly, they provide the Essence shards needed to upgrade your mid-game gear. If you’re playing on a higher difficulty like Path of the Damned, these aren't optional. They are survival requirements. The stat boosts are incremental, sure, but they stack. By the time you find five or six of these Avowed Dawnshore totem locations, you’re noticeably tankier.
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Misconceptions About the North Shore Totem
There’s a rumor floating around some forums that there’s a totem hidden behind the "Inaccessible" gate in the northern cliffs.
Let’s clear that up: there isn't.
That gate is part of a late-game DLC hook or a cut-content remnant (the community is still debating which). Don't waste three hours trying to glitch through the rocks. The actual northernmost totem is located in the Salt-Crusted Basin. It’s sitting in plain sight, but it’s guarded by a named mini-boss, a corrupted Matriarch. She hits like a truck.
To activate this one:
- Initiate the fight from the high ground.
- Use frost damage to slow her down.
- Once she hits 50% HP, the totem will start pulsing.
- You have to interact with the totem during the fight to weaken her armor.
It’s a cool mechanic that blends exploration with combat. It’s one of the few Avowed Dawnshore totem locations that feels like a genuine set-piece rather than just a collectible on a checklist.
Dealing with Glitches and Map Markers
Sometimes, you’ll get to one of the Avowed Dawnshore totem locations and... nothing. The prompt doesn't appear. The stone is dull.
Before you rage-quit or reload a save from three hours ago, check your quest log. Some totems are "Soul-Bound" to specific NPCs you meet in the main hub. If you haven't spoken to the old hermit near the docks, some of the totems simply won't react to you. You’re "spiritually blind" in the game’s lore.
Go back to town. Talk to everyone.
Also, make sure your "Soul Sight" ability is actually toggled on. It sounds stupid, but the number of people who forget to hit the "reveal" button and then complain that the totem is missing is surprisingly high. The world of Avowed is layered; if you aren't looking with your soul-eyes, you're only seeing half the map.
The Final Push: The Island Totem
There’s a tiny island off the coast. You can see it from the shipwreck. You can swim to it, but the fatigue meter is brutal.
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The trick is to find the shallow sandbar that appears during the "In-Between" hours—dawn and dusk in-game time. Walking across the sandbar saves your stamina. The totem on this island is the "Echo of Eora." It’s the final of the major Avowed Dawnshore totem locations in this zone.
Activating this one gives you a vision of the past. It’s a huge lore dump about the Pargrunen dwarves and their failed colony. It’s arguably the most important one for anyone who actually cares about the story Obsidian is telling here.
How to Optimize Your Search
If you want to find all Avowed Dawnshore totem locations in a single run, start from the south and work your way north in a zig-zag pattern.
Don't follow the roads. The roads are for merchants and cowards.
The totems are placed in spots that force you to look at the architecture. They want you to see the effort the art team put into the rock formations and the way the light hits the water. Use a headset. The totems actually emit a low-frequency hum when you’re close. It’s a rhythmic thrumming that gets louder the more Essence you currently have stored.
- Listen for the hum.
- Look for the purple/blue glow.
- Check the vertical space.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Session
Stop wandering aimlessly.
First, go to the Dawnshore hub and buy the "Explorer’s Map" from the vendor near the stables. It won't mark the Avowed Dawnshore totem locations directly (that would be too easy), but it will highlight "Areas of Interest." Every single totem is located within one of those circles.
Second, respec at least one point into a traversal skill. Whether it’s a blink, a double jump, or a grapple, you’re going to need it. Half of these locations are locked behind "platforming-lite" sections that are a nightmare with base movement.
Finally, keep your Soul Sight active whenever you enter a cave. The game doesn't always tell you when you've entered a "Spirit Zone," and you might walk right past a totem hidden in the ethereal plane. Finding all the Avowed Dawnshore totem locations isn't just a completionist goal—it’s the best way to see the true face of the Living Lands. Log in, head to the coast, and start looking up. The rewards are worth the climb.