The Witness has many puzzles scattered throughout its beautiful island. In all sections they’ll follow a particular theme, but none are more challenging then those areas that house one of the many lasers located in the game.
One of the most challenging is the Quarry area. There are several sets of rules all in play here, and keeping tabs of each one is completely necessary. Even the simple act of just entering the area will prove to be a challenge. You’ll have to learn how to separate marks, and how to work around Tetrominos (Tetris shapes).
The solutions to the two doors barring your entry into the quarry are pictured below (click to enlarge):
Now that you’re in, you’ll see that there are two structures. If you look ahead you’ll notice a boathouse in the distance, at the end of the quarry. Directly to your left you’ll find a huge, locked, stone building. Each area has its own particular rules in play so they require a different skill set. The areas also contain “switch” puzzles. These are puzzles that change the world depending on the solution you choose, so keep these in mind.
Since it’s much closer, we’ll get started with the stone building.
Stone Building (Conveyor Belts)
The stone building is both a puzzle challenge and a platforming challenge. When you first enter, you will be unable to reach the puzzles on the upper levels (the ones that partially power the laser). Of course, before worrying about getting up there, you’ll need to open the door first.
Do not let the simplicity of the door’s puzzles fool you though. The Witness can be quite deceptive at times. The puzzles within have an entirely different rule-set, so lets get into those. When you enter you’ll need to use the conveyor belt to get to the upper level. The solutions is:
You should note that the belt moves, so be ready to jump onto it. If you miss your chance just lower it back down by using the lower path on this puzzle. You’ll next need to power up another switch to raise one more platform. These puzzles include asterisks. The rules for the asterisk is that they must erase one error. So you’ll have to purposely leave a mistake within its cut off section. The solutions to the panel are:
This will power the next platform (take the high road on the switch), and lead you to the stone building’s challenging puzzles. Keep in mind the rule of the asterisk. Colors should be in pairs, so you’ll need to keep a lone green with the asterisk, within the puzzles. Here are the solutions:
This will power up the next puzzle, which in turn powers up one more.
With that, you’ve provided half of the necessary power to the laser. Before leaving head back to the first long panel of puzzles on this upper level (the difficult ones) and activate the stairs near them. This will make it easier to get up here again if you need to. Also open all the gates and doors to the building on the ground level (they use simple slide locks).
Now it’s time to head to the boathouse.
The Boathouse
The Witness actually has a boat that can help you get around the island. It’s not particularly fast, but as long as you open up each dock, it’s useful. You can obtain the boat here by heading to the back and unlocking the panel (it’s only one line you need to follow). After you’ve done that return to the entrance so you can solve the puzzles.
You’ll need to power the ramp that will get you up to the puzzles. Head to your right, and down the stairs and you’ll find a puzzle panel in the dark. One requires equal pairings of marks, and the other is another taste of the Tetris blocks. For the tetominos, they must be confined to an area where each of the blocks could actually fit if you were playing Tetris. While the principle is easy, it can sometimes be difficult to work out. Here are the solutions:
After that, power up the ramp:
The puzzles on the panel above involve both tetrominos and asterisks. So you’ll have to make some fit while making sure one of them is wrong (can only be one mistake):
You’ll now have access to a panel that actually shifts the ramp. Activate it by creating an error all the way to the right. This will start sliding the ramp, jump on as it moves so you can ride it to the next area.
After making it to the other side you’ll come across several panels that mix up the mechanics from the entire quarry area. That means tetrominos, asterisks, and color pairings are all in play. The same rules still apply, so don’t panic and follow each making sure to leave one mistake:
The boathouse is now complete, time to head to the laser and light up the sky.
The Witness Quarry Laser
Getting to the laser is a bit tricky, as it’s not directly accessible from within the quarry at this time. You’ll need to go back out from where you came, heading all the way up the stairs and back to the path.
Now keep to your right and work your way around the rocks. You’ll be able to climb over and end up directly in front of the panel. The puzzle’s solution is simple:
Watch as the laser rises and shoots towards the mountain just as many have done before. This will trigger your Quarry trophy/achievement.
For more laser solutions for The Witness check out our constantly growing puzzle solutions wiki. Enjoying The Witness? Need any additional help with The Witness puzzles? Let us know in the comments.
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