To finish From Above, complete Smoke and Ashes, travel southwest from Laslea to the Briar Sloughs Watchtower, and clear the enemies at its base. Enter at the rear scaffolding with Planeshift, climb through the broken tower, loot the Cycle of Ruin Manual from the high wooden platform, and then reach the upper rock ledge. Point the camera at each of the three distant white dots and investigate all three; the quest-end notice and new map points are the completion check.

Confirm that the quest is available

  1. Finish Smoke and Ashes first. The walkthroughs list it as the prerequisite, and the watchtower becomes the route objective after leaving Laslea.
  2. Open the map and look southwest of Laslea for the Briar Sloughs Watchtower. Source checks show this location check only; use it to identify the tower, not as proof of the full climbing route.
  3. A Shrine is beside the tower. Use it to save or prepare before approaching the base. The sources do not establish a fixed enemy count, level, weapon, or combat duration, so none of those are requirements here.

Clear the base before attempting the climb

  1. Deal with the guards around the tower base first. On arrival, the objective changes from reaching the tower to climbing it; do not keep attempting traversal while the encounter is active.
  2. If the game says the ability cannot be used during combat, an enemy is still keeping the area in combat. Move away from the wall, find the remaining threat, end the encounter, and return to the rear entrance.
  3. Use the combat approach that fits your build. This guide avoids unverified combo counts, damage numbers, weapon demands, and fight times; the practical condition is that combat has ended.

Enter through the rear scaffolding

  1. Circle to the back of the tower and find the scaffolding against the outer wall. The written route identifies it as the intended way in. If you are repeatedly trying an intact wall near the front, return to the rear and locate the scaffolding.
  2. Aim at the wall and use Planeshift to travel up the scaffolding and the damaged inner walls. The floors are broken into gaps, so alternate short movement across gaps with wall travel as you work upward toward the wooden platform.
  3. Traversal bindings depend on your Controls settings. This guide does not guess a default key: follow the on-screen ability prompt and treat the in-game Controls page as authoritative.

Loot the high-platform manual

  1. Near the upper interior, look for the wooden platform and search its chest. It contains the Cycle of Ruin Manual, the important collectible on this climb.
  2. Open your inventory and read the manual. Holding the book does not itself mean the ability is learned; reading it makes the related ability available for purchase when its displayed conditions are met.
  3. If you reached the upper level without the manual, go back to the wooden platform and inspect its chest. Do not substitute a ground-level or lower-floor container for this check.

Reach the upper ledge and scout all three points

  1. From the top floor, look upward. The destination is the rock ledge above the ruined walls, not the ordinary top-floor surface. Use Planeshift on the damaged wall again, then follow the game prompt for claw ride on the final rock pillar.
  2. At the ledge, the objective changes to scouting the area. Turn the camera toward each distant white dot and keep it roughly in view until an investigate prompt appears, then complete that interaction.
  3. Investigate every dot. Completing only one or two leaves the objective active, which explains why the quest can appear stuck after a successful climb.

Verify the quest is over

After the third investigation, wait for the quest-end notice and then open the map. Newly revealed points of interest confirm both that the climb registered and that all three scouting interactions counted.

If you are stuck outside, confirm the nearby encounter is fully over and return to the rear scaffolding. If you are stuck at the top floor, look up for the ledge rather than circling the floor. If a scout point does not count, sweep the camera back toward the remaining white dot until the interaction prompt appears.