Sarentu Totems are one of the many world-building exploration events in Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, and they might also be one of the trickiest events to complete.
This guide will walk you through exactly how to find the correct observation spot for Sarentu Totems in Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, and will provide a spoiler-free explanation of why doing so is worth your time.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora: Sarentu Totems, explained
Sarentu Totems are located throughout Pandora—they can be found in Kinglor Forest as well as the Upper Plains later on. The totems will be marked on your map with a small blue dot in the same way that Bellsprigs, Tarsyu Saplings, and Memory Paintings are. This means that until you have actually discovered a Point of Interest, you cannot know whether it is a Sarentu Totem or something else.
Upon first discovering a Sarentu Totem, Priya will explain to you over the radio that Teylan found one recently, but he couldn’t figure out what to do with it. It is known that they are relics from the now vanquished Sarentu Clan, but the purpose of the totems is not known. After hearing this explanation, an onscreen tip will tell you that markers near the Totem will guide you to the solution—which is all good and nice, except that you aren’t told what the markers look like or how to read them.
In case you’ve been skipping cutscenes or simply need a refresher, the Sarentu Clan is where the Na’vi you play as hails from, only the Clan was destroyed when you were still a child. Very little is known about the culture of the Sarentu people, and Sarentu Totems are one of the many ways that you can learn more about where you come from (and also score some sweet loot, of course).
How to follow Sarentu Totem markers in Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
The first marker will be right next to the Sarentu Totem and appears as a small wooden circle with a triangular piece of fabric woven into it. This piece of fabric serves as an arrow to point the way to the next marker. By continuously following these arrows, the markers will take you on a connect-the-dots goose chase, until at last, you arrive at the correct observation location.
Even when you know how to interpret the Sarentu Totem markers, finding the next location can still be a bit difficult. Following the exact direction that a marker points will always lead you approximately to the next one, but there is no indication of how far away the next marker is, nor can you know whether it will be in plain sight or if you’ll need to look around a little bit. Don’t be afraid to retrace your steps if you’re having trouble finding the next marker.
How to observe Sarentu Totems in Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
Once you have completed the massive connect-the-dots game (there are usually about five or six different markers), you will arrive at a marker that has no triangular fabric on it. This is the end of the puzzle and the spot from which you can observe the Sarentu Totem to complete it. Stand inside of this final marker, and face the Sarentu Totem. A prompt to Observe the Totem will appear, and following that prompt leads to a shortcut scene and lore dump.
What do you get for completing Sarentu Totems? (Spoiler free)
Each time you complete a Sarentu Totem, you will receive a huge chunk of Clan Favor. However, if you go to the Exploration tab under Quests, you will see that there is also a quest that tracks milestones for the number of Sarentu Totems completed. Every time you hit one of these milestones, you will unlock a new Crafting Recipe and learn more about the Sarentu Clan.
The first milestone for unlocking a Crafting Recipe is three Sarentu Totems. After that, the number required increases, but so does the quality of the reward. From what I’ve seen so far, Sarentu Totems lead to unlocking some of the best gear in Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. Even the first reward for solving three Sarentu Totems gave me the Recipe for a piece of gear that is significantly better than anything else I’ve come across so far.
