Overview
The Meandering Hills Ruins is an Ancient Ruins puzzle where players must press three circular buttons simultaneously to activate the Abyss Cresset. The catch is that pressing one button lifts the one beside it, so the order matters. This puzzle is encountered during the Reunion quest in Chapter 2, where a black cat leads you to the ruins as part of the "Unravel the Secret of the Ancient Ruins" objective.
Location
Northwest of the City of Hernand in the Meandering Hills, marked as a Mysterious Energy on the map. The ruins are set into a hillside with a stone gate blocking the entrance. During the Reunion quest, follow the black cat from the quest start point; it leads directly to the ruins entrance.
Quest Context: Reunion
This puzzle is part of the Chapter 2: Golden Greed main quest called Reunion. During this quest, Kliff follows a black cat through the Meandering Hills. The cat leads to the ancient ruins entrance, where Kliff observes a Memory Fragment of a person from the past. Watching this vision teaches Kliff the Nature's Grasp skill, which is immediately needed to enter the ruins.
Required Skills
Skill | Usage |
|---|---|
Lift the stone gate blocking the entrance (learned during this quest) | |
Focus Palm | Strike the circular buttons inside the ruins to push them into the wall |
Step-by-Step Solution
Use Nature's Grasp on the stone gate at the entrance to lift it and enter the ruins.
Inside, you will find three circular discs (buttons) protruding from the wall, arranged in a row: left (Button 1), middle (Button 2), and right (Button 3).
Use Focus Palm on them in this specific order: Button 2 (middle) first, then Button 1 (left), then Button 3 (right).
When struck in the correct order, all three buttons slot into the wall simultaneously and energy begins flowing through the connecting channels.
The reason this order works is that pressing one button causes the adjacent button to pop back out. By starting with the middle button, you set up a chain where the subsequent presses keep everything aligned. Starting from the left or right causes the chain to fail because the first button pops back out when you press the second.
Tips
Each button press lifts the adjacent button. If you press them in the wrong order, the previous ones pop back out and you must restart. There is no penalty for failed attempts.
Use Focus (press both analog sticks) to regenerate Spirit between Focus Palm uses if you run low.
A common frustration is accidentally hitting two buttons at once due to targeting. Make sure you are squarely facing a single disc before using Focus Palm.
If you arrive at this location outside of the Reunion quest, you still need Nature's Grasp to enter. If you have not learned it yet, come back during Chapter 2.
Rewards
1 Abyss Artifact from the Abyss Cresset that rises from the ground near the cave entrance.
Completion of the "Abyss Cresset of Meandering Hills" challenge.
Progression in the Reunion quest chain.