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The Solstice Shrines inSea of Starsare optional puzzles that each grant bonus rewards that you won’t find anywhere else in the game. Additionally, completing them all unlocks something special as well. Solving the shrines is not required for completion of the main story, but it can still be fun!
However, the puzzles inside the shrines can be a little tricky to figure out. If you’re having trouble with one or all of them, don’t worry! Pull up our guide as you work through the puzzles, and we’ll give you step-by-step instructions on how to solve each one of them.
Solstice Shrine #1 - Evermist Island
The first shrine is located onEvermist Island, to the right of the Mountain Trail. You’ve likely already come across it early in the game,but soon realized you don’t have the key.
Don’t worry, you haven’t missed anything.Keep progressing through the main story. You’llreceive the key from Headmaster Moraineafter you and your friends build the Town of Mirth.
Once you have the key,head back to Evermist Island and use it to unlock the door.
Here you’ll find a puzzle on thefloor with a purple block and two gray blocks. The goal is to get thepurple blockfrom where it is,to the other side,following a specific path.
If you look on the back wall,the solution is there to help you. To achieve this solution, you must maneuver the two gray columns to guide the blue column.
To solve this puzzle, these are the steps you need to take:
If you need to reset the puzzle,just leave the shrineand then come back in.
Once the puzzle is solved, theback wall slides awayto reveal a chest. In the chest is aCombo Skillfor Valere and Zale calledSoonrang.
Finishing this shrine will alsounlock a dock on the eastern sideof Evermist Island. Now you can sail directly to it on your ship whenever you need to.
Solstice Shrine #2 - Wraith Island
Your journey through the main story eventually brings you toWraith Islandto take down the Dweller of Woe during the Eclipse.
The Solstice Shrine can be foundalong the road leading to the Dweller’s Mansion. Exit the Town of Lucent to the right, follow the path north, thenturn right before reaching the Cursed Woods.
Toaccess this shrineyou will need theGraplou, which you’ll receive during theNecromancer’s Stonequest.For this shrine, you’llspend a lot of time running back and forthfrom one side of the room to the other and back again.
First,go to the right sideand climb up onto the short platform, the one next to the lever. Theplatform will go down, whichtriggers the opposite platformacross the room (the one that has a ledge)to rise up.
Climb up onto that platform, then jump across to collectSolstice Shrine Key A.
Goback to the right of the roomand insert the key you just collected into thecircular slot.Two small platforms on your left willslide out of the wall.
Climb up to the chest to obtain aShimmering Staff. If you keep climbing up from there, you’ll seeanother slot for a key, but you’re able to’t use it yet.
You also can’t jump across to the other key because once you step on that last platform,it’ll bring you all the way down to the bottom.
Back on the bottom floor,activate the levernext to the tree toreset the first two platforms. Thenremove Key Afrom the slot on the right side of the room andinsert it into the slot on the left side.
Two platforms will slide out of the wall on your left.Raise the first platform again, then use the new steps to climb up to findSolstice Shrine Key B.
You can’t go any further just yet,so climb back down, reset the bottom platforms, thenretrieve Key Aand put it back into thekeyhole on the right of the room.
Next, climb up past the chest andput Key B into the keyhole at the top.
Two more platforms will appearhigh on the left wallthat lead directly to the large chest at the top.
To reach it,switch Key Afrom theright to the left one last time, then climb up the platforms and steps to receive your prize:Solstice Sash.
The remaining three shrineswill require the Fly ability to access, which you will receive closerto the end of the game.
Solstice Shrine #3 - Western Island
Using the Fly ability, fly to the western side of the maptill you find the shrineon a small island betweenEvermist Island and Wraith Island.
To enter the shrine,step on the button to raise the crystal pillar, then change the time of day to light up thelunarandsolarrunes on the ground. Once lit up, the wall in front will open up,allowing you to enter.
This shrine is pretty dark, but there arecrystals that you may interact withto add a little bit of light in the various corners of the shrine.
Once inside, there’sanother button. Step on it and alarge square moving platformwill appear in front of you. The platform hasdirectional arrows on each square, allowing you to move the platform simply by stepping on it.
But that is where the simplicity ends.Each arrow glows until you step on it. Once an arrow goes dark, you can’t use it again.This forces you to be strategicwith which squares you step on.
There aretwo switchesyou’ll need to activate in this shrine,one on the left, andone on the right. To get to the left switch, you’ll need to follow this pattern on the platform.
Activate the switch, then jump down into the darkness torespawn back at the entrance. Next, step on the button again to reset the platform.
To get to the switch on the right side of the room,follow this path on the platform:
Activate the second switch, then make your way to the chest. This time, youdon’t need to reset the platform. Just walkstraight across the second column on the right sideof the platform and it will take you to your destination.
Open the chest to receive anEclipse Armor.
Solstice Shrine #4 - Eastern Island
The next Solstice Shrine is on theEastern side of the map, between the portal toSerai’s world and Mesa Island.
Just like the entrance to the western shrine, you’ll need to open this one byraising the crystal pillar, then changing the time of day to light up the runes on the ground.
Inside the shrine,you’ll find another rune puzzle on the ground, as well as a series ofledges ascending upwards. You’ll need to activatethree switches to release the treasure: one on the left, one on the right, and the third at the top right.
The runes on the ground help you navigate the puzzle to get to the switches, but in order to scale the wall you’ll need toactivate the runes one at a time. The lights on the leftcreate vines that grow up the walls, while the lights on the right causepurple blocks to come out of the wall.
To start,activate the runes on the left, climb up the vine to the ledge, then jump down onto the platform andactivate the first switch. From here,change time, and then jump across to themiddle platform.
Change time again, climb up the middle vine, thenjump down to your left onto the wooden platform. Climb up to the next wooden platform andactivate the lever.
A block will appearbetween the middle and right platforms. Jump back down to the center platform, then jump across toactivate the switch on the right.
Climb the vine next to the switch up to a ledge, walk left, then jump down onto the white platform.Activate the lever to reveal a wooden platform above.
Jump back down to the center platform, climb the vine to the top of the purple blocks, then jump downonto the wooden platform again.Walk across the rope till you canchange time to light up the runes on the right.
Thepurple blocks will now stick out more, allowing you to climb them to get to the wooden platform at the top. Then jump across toactivate the final switch.
Descend back to the bottom, andopen the chest to receive Heliacal Earrings.
Solstice Shrine #5 - Serai’s World
The final Solstice Shrine is inSerai’s world.Take the Sea of Stars portal to her world, then fly to thebottom left corner of the map. On a little blue island is the Solstice Shrine.
Take what you learned in the previous shrine, andapply it to the door mechanismhere. Lighting up either side of the runes will cause certain platforms and blocks to raise or lower on the wall.
First,step onto the left platform, then change time to light up the runes on the left to raise the platform. Then, light up the runes on the right and when the three blocks appear,jump across them quickly to the right platform.
If you wait too long,the left platform will go back down, andyou’ll have to start over.
Change time back to the left lights, and the platform you’re on will go up, allowing you to climb onto the block in front of it. Thenjump over to your leftand switch the lever. Now you’re able to go inside the shrine.
This shrine has probably themost intricate puzzleof all the shrines and as such, is themost difficult to solve. Here there aresix switchesthat need to be activated:one in front,three on the left, andtwo on the right.
Before you do anything,we recommend lighting up all the crystalsby interacting with them, as it’s very dark in this shrine, and it’s easier to solve if you can see everything.
Just inside the entrance are someblue and gray blocks surrounded by a barrier. Walk up the stairs and activate the first switch toremove the barrier around the blocks.
Use thesmall blocks that appeared behindyou to walk over to the switch on the left. When you activate it, one of theblue blocks disappears, and a climbable wall appears below you.
Jump down and head over to the block puzzle. The blue blocksyou can walk through, but the gray blocks can’t go through them.
Slide the left gray block up, then slide theright block all the way to the left.
Go up the stairs again, and use thenew little blocks that appearto reach the next switch on the left.
Activate the switch, and aclimbable wall will trigger on the far right sideof the room. Another one appears next to you.
Return to the block puzzle andslide the bottom block all the way to the right. Then, slide thetop block right and down.
Go back up the stairs,walk across the new blocks going to the right, then activate the switch.
Anotherblue block will be removedfrom the block puzzle, and anew climbable wallis triggered below you.
Jump back down and over to the block puzzle. This time,slide the left block up, left, up. Then slide thebottom block left, then up.
Use thetwo climbable walls on the left, then jump down onto the little platform.Walk across the new little blocksto the next ledge, and climb up to the switch.
When you activate this switch, anew gray block appearsin the block puzzle.
Jump back down to the bottom, thenclimb up the wall on the rightto where the second switch was. Walk out onto the ledge and face the rock wall. Shoot your Graplou, then climb up andactivate the final switch.
Another blue block disappears, allowing you toslide the new gray block to the left. Next, climb up thetwo walls on the left, jump down onto that little ledge, and walk across the blocks to the chest.
Open this chest to receive theCelestial Ray.
What Happens When All Solstice Shrines Are Solved?
Once all shrines are completed, amysterious portal opens up. You’ll find this portal onEvermist Island, at the summit of the Mountain Trail. It’ll be in a cavebelow where you met with the Elder Mist.
This portal allows you tofight the Elder Mist again, using all that you’ve learned thus far. But you can only fight him withZale and Valere.
Defeating him will grant you theabsolute best weaponsfor both of your heroes: theSun BladeandMoon Bo.
