Occasionally while exploring the overworld sections of Sea of Stars you'll come across a location known as a Solstice Shrine. Solstice Shrines are side content puzzles meant to challenge your brains, as well as reward you if your mind is up to the task. They're worth doing, given the treasures found within.
This guide will help you solve the puzzles of the Solstice Shrines in Sea of Stars. You can't do all of them right away, so be prepared to retrace your steps a few times.
Wraith Island
The first Solstice Shrine you can enter and solve is on Wraith Island. It's located a short walk north of the Town of Lucent, though you can't enter until you've acquired the Graplou from the Necromancer's Lair.
The puzzle in this Solstice Shrine consists of a series of raised platforms. When you step on a platform it will shift downward, raising another platform elsewhere in the shrine. You need to climb onto the platforms in the correct order to reach the top. Perform the puzzle in this order:
- Climb onto the right-most platform
- Climb onto the left-most platform, then hop over one platform and collect Solstice Shrine Key A sitting on it
- Plug Solstice Shrine Key A into the hole on the far right side of the room
- Climb the steps that jut out above your head to reach a chest containing a Shimmering Staff
- Jump back to the ground and remove Solstice Shrine Key A from the hole on the right side of the room
- Place Solstice Shrine Key A in the hole on the left side of the room (it's hidden behind the left-most platform, which you can lower by pulling the lever on the right side of the room)
- Step on the right-most platform
- Climb the steps that are now jutting out of the wall on the left side of the room to reach Solstice Shrine Key B
- Pull the lever to reveal Solstice Shrine Key A, then grab it
- Put one of the Solstice Shrine Keys in the hole in the right corner
- Climb up the steps and platforms on the right side of the room and place the other Solstice Shrine Key in the hole at the top
- Step onto and lower the two higher platforms on the right side of the room, raising the corresponding platforms on the left side of the room as much as you can
- Grab the Solstice Shrine Key from the hole on the right side of the room and place it in the hole on the left side of the room
- Step on the right-most platform, raising the left-most platform into place
- Climb the steps and platforms on the left side of the room to the top-most level
There are two chests waiting for you at the top of the shrine. The large chest contains a Solstice Sash, while the smaller chest to your left contains a Shimmering Sword.
The second Solstice Shrine you can enter is the first one you ever encountered, east of the bottom entrance to Mountain Trail on Evermist Island. You need to speak to Moraine in Mirth, just after he first arrives, to receive the Evermist Shrine Key. You can use this to open the Solstice Shrine. (You'll also have to travel all the way back to Evermist via the X'tol and Y'eet golem network, which takes a while.
This Solstice Shrine contains a sliding block puzzle. There are two normal blocks and one purple block on the central floor, and there's a mural in the back. You need to create a passage for the purple block to slide forward that perfectly mirrors the mural in the back. If the purple block does not follow the trail on the muralit will disappear, and you'll have to start over. Follow these steps to complete the puzzle:
- Slide the lower block to the right
- Slide the upper block to the right and then down, so it is touching the lower block
- Slide the lower block to the left
- Slide the purple block up, then to the left
- Slide the left block up
- Slide the right block up, then to the left
- Slide the purple block up
- Slide the left block down, then to the right
- Slide the top block right
- Slide the bottom block up
- Slide the purple block to the right, then up
This should put the purple block on the pink rune in the north, completing the puzzle. This will reveal a chest behind the mural, which contains a scroll for the Soonrang Combo.
Solstice Shrine Island, Northeast
The third Solstice Shrine is on an island just south of Settlers Island. Your party needs to be able to fly to get at the island, which requires defeating the Dweller of Dread. Once you can lift off you'll have easy access to the shrine.
This shrine's entrance is locked by a light crystal puzzle. Step on the rune to trigger the puzzle, which consists of one light crystal and three diamond tracks. All you have to do is charge up each of the diamond tracks before any of them run out. Start with the larger, middle track, then charge the other two. Simple.
Things get more complicated inside the shrine, which contains two light tracks and multiple levels to climb. The diamond track on the right raises several small boxes around the area, while the track on the left triggers plant growth throughout the area. You need to activate three diamond-topped devices to advance. Follow these steps to complete the puzzle:
- Shine the light on the left track to grow the plants, then climb the plant on your left and hop down to get at the first diamond device
- Shift the light beam so it is on the right track, extending the platforms - hop to the east from the platform with the first diamond device
- Shift the light to the left track to grow more plants, then climb up the center wall so you can fall down next to a tightrope
- Climb the ledge on your left to get at the lever - pull it to reveal a stepping stone from the wall, which you can use to hop east to the second diamond device
- Climb the vines next to the second device, then hop down to the lever below and pull it - this creates a path to the third diamond device, above your head
- Shift time to make the plants grow, then hop down to the plant down and to the left of the lever - climb up and drop down to the left
- Shift time to remove the plants and reveal the stepping blocks, which you can use to get up to the last diamond-topped device
As you get higher up the wall it will become difficult to see where the light beam is shining. Observe the shadow of the tightrope as the light beam moves and use it to gauge the light's position. Once you've completed the puzzle you can check the newly-opened doorway at the bottom, which contains a chest. Inside the chest are Heliacal Earrings that improve Zale's Sunball attack a great deal.
Solstice Shrine Island, West
The fourth Solstice Shrine is on an island between Sleeper Island and Evermist Island, on the west side of Home World. As with the third shrine, you'll need to be able to fly to reach this island.
The first puzzle of this shrine consists of a light crystal and four light tracks. You need to fill all four tracks with light energy to proceed. The two moon tracks on the outside are slower to run out, so charge up one of those tracks first, catch one of the sun tracks as you swing the light the other direction, get the other moon track, and then fill up the last sun track. You may need to fiddle a bit, but the puzzle isn't that bad.
Inside the shrine you'll find a floating platform covered in tiles, each bearing an arrow-shaped rune. Whenever you step onto one of these runes it will fade, and the platform will move in the direction indicated on the rune. You need to steer the platform to both sides of the chamber, deactivate two different diamond-topped devices, and then navigate to the north end of the pit. Once all the runes have faded the platform won't move anywhere else, and you'll need to jump into the chasm to reset the puzzle.
The route below will guide you through this puzzle. Note that the directional arrows indicated below won't always make sense when looking at your character, as the directions are relative to the platform you're standing on, not how you normally move.
- Jump onto the tile closest to the bottom of the platform
- Move Left
- Move up
- Move right
- Move up
- Step off the platform and deactivate the first diamond-topped device
- Jump into the chasm and reset the platform
- Step onto the left tile from the start
- Move up twice
- Move left
- Move down twice
- Move up
- Move left
- Step off the platform and deactivate the second diamond-topped device
- Get back on the platform and step on three 'up' tiles (they're facing northeast) to guide the platform to the north end of the room
There are other ways to complete this puzzle, if you want to be more efficient, though this route will get you across with a minimum of fuss. On the other side is a chest containing Eclipse Armor that either Valere or Zale can wear.
Solstice Shrine Island, Seraï's World
The last of the Solstice Shrines is located in the west of Seraï's World, a little ways south of Sacrosanct Spires. Unsurprisingly, you need to be able to fly to reach the island.
The first part of this puzzle challenge consists of light-crystal-wrangling and platform-climbing. There are two diamond tracks by the light crystal that control the platforms nearby. The one on the left raises the larger blocks, while the one on the right moves smaller blocks into position. Use this process to open the shrine:
- Step onto the platform on the left side of the wall
- Shift the light to the left diamond track, raising the blocks
- Shift the light to the right diamond track, then quickly hop east to the third block
- Wait for the larger blocks to fall again, then jump to the eastern-most block
- Shift the light to the left diamond track and hop over to the lever at the top of the wall
- Pull the lever to open the shrine
Inside the shrine you'll find a wide chasm between you and the treasure chest in the north. You need cross it by activating a series of diamond-topped devices spread along the edges of the shrine. These will create a path through, as well as deactivate blue fields in a 9 x 9 grid by the door.
The grid in the south is more important than it looks. It contains two stones that you can blow around, and the presence of the stone on a tile has an effect on the rest of the shrine: In roughly that spot in the central chasm you'll find rising tiles that will allow you to cross. You'll need to mess with the positioning of the stones down south to create paths through the shrine.
Follow this path to complete the puzzle:
- Climb the stairs to the north and trigger the device at the top, which allows you access to the 9 x 9 grid with the blue barriers and moveable stones
- Use the western stairs and some rising platforms to go west, where you'll find another device that will raise a climbing wall in the west
- Push the sliding blocks so they are in the bottom and bottom-right squares of the grid
- Climb the stairs and head east, activating the device over here
- Move the sliding blocks so they're in the bottom-left and left squares of the grid
- Head north along the western stairs and up to the next device in the west, which raises more climbing walls
- Move the sliding blocks so they're in the upper-left and left squares of the grid
- Climb up the walls on the west side of the area, then use the rising platforms to get at the device in the northwest of the chamber - this adds a third sliding block to the puzzle
- Move one of the sliding blocks to the bottom-right square of the grid
- Climb up the east side of the chamber, get onto the rising tiles, then grapple northeast to the climbing wall that you activated earlier - this will get you to the device in the northwest
- Move the sliding blocks so they're in the upper-left, upper, and left squares of the grid
- Go up the west side of the room, using the handholds and the rising platforms, to get at the chest
The chest contains the Celestial Ray, an accessory for Valere and Zale. It raises their Magic Attack, and restores 1 MP every time they use a regular melee attack. Pretty good.
The Sixth Shrine
Each time you complete the puzzle in a Solstice Shrine and claim its prize you'll see a wall emblem, somewhere else in the world. There are five lights on the emblem, each corresponding to a shrine. Complete all five shrines and the emblem will generate a portal for you to enter. Now you just need to find the thing.
Head to the Mountain Trail on Evermist Island and enter via the northern entrance, near Evermist Island's Landing. Climb down the mountain from the Elder Mist's shrine and you'll see a cave with orange and blue torches on your left. The portal is in here, and if you go through you'll be facing a familiar boss.
Elder Mist
HP: 800 (Elder Mist's Sword)
Weakness: Moon, Sun (Elder Mist's Sword)
He's baaaaack. Elder Mist is more or less the same as the last time you fought him, and he's much tougher overall. You're also restricted to Valere and Zale in this battle, making it overall more annoying. Elder Mist uses the following attacks:
- A fist slam on one target (Elder Mist)
- Thunder, a three-Lock, AOE spell (Elder Mist)
- Healing Mist, a three-Lock restorative spell on one target (Elder Mist)
- Torblado, a five-Lock, single-target spell (Elder Mist)
- Counter Slash, a retaliatory AOE slice if you attack Elder Mist while the sword is still active (Elder Mist's Sword)
Elder Mist's strategy is the same as last time, more or less - he just hits harder, and takes a lot longer to defeat. Elder Mist will cycle through his various moves at random, relying on his sword's Counter Slash to punsih Valere and Zale if you hit Elder Mist at the wrong time. All of his attacks hurt, though Torblado is by far the worst of the lot, and can KO a character if it isn't weakened, blocked, or outright nullified. The sword will return to life a few turns after it is defeated, just like before.
You need to be cautious, so this fight will probably take a while. Your first priority should always be to wipe out the sword's HP. The only time you should even consider going after Elder Mist first is if he's charging up to Torblado, which hurts quite a bit. If you don't want to take that risk, use Valere's Lunar Shield to restore a bit of HP and greatly downplay the hitting power of Torblado. Generally speaking it is best to save your CP for Mending Light, especially if you're low on health, though Soonrang is usually a great option for breaking the Locks on Torblado. Your Ultimate moves, similarly, should be held back until the sword is active, as you can often wipe it out again in one hit.
One final note. It is admittedly quite annoying that any attack aimed at Elder Mist will trigger a counterattack from his sword, even if you aim at the sword from the start. The one exception to this is to use magical AOE attacks. Sunball is a prime example, and so long as you aim at the sword you'll also hit Elder Mist without retaliation.
You'll receive the Elder Dissed Achievement for defeating Elder Mist a second time. By way of congratulations he will give you two powerful weapons: The Moon Bo, for Valere, and the Sun Blade, for Zale. They're both a sizable jump up from their previous end game weapons.