The Cursed Chasm Walkthrough — Durandal Legendary Sword a...

The Cursed Chasm is one of the best legendary weapon pickups in the launch build. The reward is Durandal — a legendary sword with a three-hit Weapon Art on a 15-second cooldown that is far stronger than the green and blue weapons you find in the early hours. The quest costs no time segments if you do it during free exploration, and the chest at the bottom is a free legendary. PC Gamer lists it as one of the top 20 quick tips for new players.

The quest starts automatically when you reach the broken bridge west of Coward’s Path Shrine in the Briar Sloughs region.

Quest Quick Facts

Field	Value
Starting location	Coward’s Path Shrine, then west along the path out of Vale Sangora
Region	Briar Sloughs
Time cost	0 segments (pure exploration)
Recommended time of day	Night (wraiths are weaker)
Reward	Durandal (legendary greatsword), 100 XP, Kynaz Skender’s note (lore)
Difficulty	Beginner-friendly if you approach the wraiths carefully
Quest giver	None — auto-trigger

Source: IGN wiki entry “The Cursed Chasm Walkthrough” (2026-09-03).

How To Start The Cursed Chasm

The Cursed Chasm has two ways to begin, and both work:

Visit the broken bridge near Coward’s Path Shrine. That is where the treasure is located. You can loot a note from the ruined wagon telling you of the valuables down below, and the quest mark appears on the map.
Approach the chasm itself from any direction. The chasm is a broken ravine west of Coward’s Path Shrine along the path leading west out of Vale Sangora. The wolves and wraiths inside are not optional — they have to be cleared to reach the chest.

You do not need to talk to anyone. The quest triggers on sight.

Source: IGN walkthrough “Cowards Path Shrine.jpg” caption (2026-09-03).

Step 1: Approach The Broken Bridge At Night

PC Gamer and IGN both recommend doing The Cursed Chasm at night rather than during the day. The reason is simple: wraiths are weak to daylight in the lore, and the launch build reflects that with reduced resistances after dusk.

If you arrive at the bridge during the day, wait at the Coward’s Path shrine until night. The wait costs 1 segment, but it makes the wraith fight dramatically easier and saves you from re-trying with a near-death Coen.

Optional timing tip: If you have Shapeshift (Vampirism wolf form) or Mercurial Fervour (Witchcraft day sprint), either form makes the approach faster and lets you skip the wolves circling the rim.

Source: PC Gamer tip #7 (2026-09-02), IGN walkthrough (2026-09-03).

Step 2: Clawride Down Into The Ravine

The ravine is too deep to walk into. You need to use Clawride (Vampirism wall-traversal) or a similar descent move to reach the floor where the treasure chest sits.

If you have Shapeshift unlocked: Climb down as a wolf using the wall-traversal perks you already invested in. This is the fastest path.
If you do not have Clawride yet: Drop down on the east side of the broken bridge, fight the wolves circling the rim first, and then drop down to the floor. The drop deals fall damage — be above 60% health before committing.

Source: Game Rant “Do this at night for a much easier experience” + drop-down description (2026-09-04).

Step 3: Fight The Wraiths

The chasm floor has 2-3 wraiths guarding the chest. They are slow but hit hard, and their attacks ignore directional blocking partially. The community-tested strategy (PC Gamer, Game Rant):

Focus on taking the wraiths out one at a time. Do not get surrounded.
Wolves on the rim have an irregular attack pattern. The block icon pops up well before they actually pounce, so do not block early — wait for the lunge.
A well-timed perfect block on a wolf kicks Coen back and leaves the wolf vulnerable to follow-up strikes. This is one of the few cases in the game where Perfect Block also triggers a counter-attack without spending an active ability.
Wraiths cannot be perfect-blocked reliably. Use Dodging (Shift + direction) to slip past their swings and punish the recovery.

If you die and respawn, the chest is still there — the wraiths do not respawn instantly, but they do reset if you leave the area and return.

Source: IGN “Focus on taking those out first” + block-icon tip (2026-09-03).

Step 4: Loot Durandal From The Wagon

Once the wraiths are down, the destroyed wagon at the bottom of the chasm holds Durandal. Loot it before the next wave spawns. Durandal’s stat block:

Type: Greatsword
Rarity: Legendary
Weapon Art: 3-hit combo on a 15-second cooldown
Other notes: “It is leagues better than the green and blue ones you find early in the game.”

You can upgrade Durandal’s level by visiting any blacksmith. Per the GameSpot gear guide, weapons and armor scale every level-up, and Durandal stays competitive all the way to endgame when upgraded.

Source: Game Rant “Durandal” stat block (2026-09-04), GameSpot “15 Things You Need to Know” weapon upgrade section (2026-09-04).

Why Durandal Is Worth Doing This Early

PC Gamer puts it in the “best legendary sword early” tier for a reason:

It is a free legendary. The chest does not require a key, a quest to be completed first, or a vendor unlock.
The 3-hit Weapon Art clears trash mobs in one cycle. At 15-second cooldown, you can chain it into another combat rotation without waiting.
It upgrades smoothly. Blacksmith upgrades scale the weapon’s base damage with your level, so a level-10 Durandal is still useful at level 30.
It pairs well with Pieter’s Garb (from the Buried Past quest) — the legendary chest armor’s crit stats and Durandal’s high base damage produce an early-game Swordmastery combo that out-DPSs every other setup until you reach endgame.

Source: PC Gamer tip #7 (2026-09-02), Game Rant “Best Early Game Sword (Durandal)” (2026-09-04).

Common Mistakes

Skipping the night-time wait. If you arrive during the day, the wraiths are noticeably tougher, and the chest fight can snowball into a near-death situation. Wait at the shrine first.
Looting the wagon before clearing the wraiths. The interaction animation locks you in place, and a wraith will land a free hit. Always clear the area first.
Forgetting to upgrade Durandal at a blacksmith. A level-1 Durandal underperforms a max-level green sword. Visit a blacksmith after picking it up.
Selling Durandal by accident. Some players mistake Durandal for a common greatsword because of the rusty wagon context. It is legendary and binds on pickup — check the rarity before any vendor action.

Buried Past Quest Walkthrough - Where Durandal fits into the early-game Swordmastery loadout alongside Pieter’s Garb.
Three Skill Trees Builds - Weapon Art priority order and how Durandal’s 3-hit combo ranks.
First 30 Days Survival Guide - When in the 30-day calendar to slot The Cursed Chasm.