The Shroud: How to solve each puzzle in part 3.

[jjflanigan]

Graphical Glitch
If you click on a square outside the circle, it will start filling in other lights, up to a 4x4 square, even though the tests and functionality of the circle remain.

Ooops, all fixed.

[eyepuppy]

Nice work eyepuppy!

For the round puzzle, I try to get the smallest number of lit lights adjacent to each other, ending up with 0, 1, or 2. If it's 2, one up from either side of the two and you're done. If it's 1, hit one beside the lit one and solve as for two. If none, then hit all 8.

The nice thing about this pattern working from the top down is you don't have to worry about accidentally bumping parts you've already worked on, since you don't need to jump across them. It's also alot easier to talk someone through it when you're standing on the other side of a forcefield.

Bah, you beat me to the punch! That's how I've been solving it for a while, but I have been looting the heck out of this for some long, I forgot to come on here and let you guys know how to solve it.

I try to light up just one, then I hit the space beside the lit one, causing only 2 to be lit. Then it's cake from there.

Someone asked how to figure out how to solve without using the cheat sheet. Well, it's really complicated and I don't really care to explain right now :P Basically, there are 4 or 5 "dead" spaces on the puzzles that will appear. If you avoid lighting those spaces and work around then, you should be able to solve the puzzles in one pass.

[Grond]

Bah, you beat me to the punch! That's how I've been solving it for a while, but I have been looting the heck out of this for some long, I forgot to come on here and let you guys know how to solve it.

I try to light up just one, then I hit the space beside the lit one, causing only 2 to be lit. Then it's cake from there.

Someone asked how to figure out how to solve without using the cheat sheet. Well, it's really complicated and I don't really care to explain right now :P Basically, there are 4 or 5 "dead" spaces on the puzzles that will appear. If you avoid lighting those spaces and work around then, you should be able to solve the puzzles in one pass.

I spent a day or so grinding the math on the 5x5s, most done while auto attacking the portals in part 1. Then I came to post it and found you'd posted it 2-3 days before. If I had just read the forums a bit more closely, I wouldn't have had to dust off that rusty math major.

[itsmezed72]

Hey guys! I know a bunch of you were asking how I solve these puzzles so fast every time, so I will fill you in on a little secret. There's a pretty simple algorithm for solving the puzzles in part 3.

Let's start with the 4x4 puzzle because it is cake! In the 4x4 puzzle, you have four rows of lights in four columns. You start by turning all the lights on the first row. To do this, you press the button right below the lights that are off in the first row. Continue doing this to row 2 and 3. That's it. The puzzle will be solved EVERY time.

In the 3x3 puzzle, there is a chance there will be a few lights left off after you chase down the lights. Based off the lights that are off in the bottom row, you will hit a certain combination of lights on the top row. Once you have hit all the lights that need hit on the top row, you will chase the lights down again until all the lights are lit. If all the lights are lit, then you hit the right combination and you have solved the puzzle. If you have lights lift over, then you hit the wrong combination.

Call me dim, but 'press the buttons BELOW the lights in the first row'? And what does 'chase down the lights' mean?

[eyepuppy]

Call me dim, but 'press the buttons BELOW the lights in the first row'? And what does 'chase down the lights' mean?

Sorry for the late reply, but I don't check the forums very often.

You start by looking at the puzzle from any side. It doesn't matter what side you use, it only matters that you use that side as the point of reference. Now that you have a side you will work from, the side farthest away from you is row 1, followed by row 2 and so on. In row one, you will see a series of lights on or off. The object is to light all the lights in the top row. To do this, you just need to press on the button in the row below row 1 where the lights are off. For example, if the lights were "on, off, on, on, off," you would hit buttons 2 and 5 in row 2. This turns on all the lights in row 1. Now that you have row 1 all lit up, you work on row 2 (this is chasing the lights down). If the lights in row two were, "off, on, off, off, off," Then you would hit buttons 1, 3, 4, and 5. This will turn all the lights in part 2 on. You will do the same for rows 3 and 4 then. Once you get to the fifth row, you need to consult the chart to figure out what buttons to press in order to solve the puzzle. For instance, if lights 1, 2, and 3 are lit on the bottom row, all you need to hit in the top row is button 2 and solve the puzzle again.

It's kind of complicated, but it works a lot faster than the solver once you have everything memorized. Hope this helps.

[eyepuppy]

bump, just to keep this on the new boards

[eyepuppy]

I added this page to the compendium. Take a gander here: http://compendium.ddo.com/wiki/Shroud_Part_3

Hope to see you guys in game soon!

[Riggs]

Yay for making puzzles easier.

I hate puzzles, I dont play DDO to need to run puzzles - if I LIKED puzzles I would play other games with puzzles in them - like Tomb Raider or something.

So whether it is a solver, or a method - awesome. DDO can spend more time making monster AI better and more challenging and less time finding new puzzles to annoy puzzle challenged players with.

Life is enough of a puzzle, DDO is for bashing bad guys. (Well for me anyway)

Dont feed the trolls by responding to them.

*edit - to quote Wobert "Solvers are for the weak!"

*my reply "Your rogue should stay out of lava more often...."

[Toronus]

Please correct me if I'm wrong here but... D&D wasn't/isn't a pen and paper game? So by using our computers vs. our imaginations we are all doomed to going senile and eat pudding? And unless you plug your modem into yerrr BUTT and use your "Superior puzzle solving intellect" to respond to this without the use of a computer, you will have used a tool/cheat to do so! Dude get a life!

[Anderei]

I see the circular is yet missing in this otherwise great OP (and IMHO a bit boring discussion). Definietly going to printout or handcopy-paste the 3x3 and 5x5 bottom->top sheets. I don't like to switch application or use the ingame browser, but a nice human-do-able algorithmn maybe with a piece of sheet is perfect.

At the circle trying your best with basic intuitiveness, you always come easily to a point where only one is unlight, when you aren't lucky and is solves outright:

(Yellow is the point jumped upon)

First, jump on the unlight one:

  * * 
*     *
*     *
  * o

Now continue at either one of the unlight to light it, again pretty intuative, Ill take the bottom left clockwise, other way around works just as well:

  * * 
*     *
*     o
  o *

  * * 
o     *
o     o
  * *

  o *
*     *
*     o
  * *

  * o 
*     o
*     o
  * *

  * *
*     *
*     *
  * *

[ArichValtrahn]

For the ring puzzle:

Thanks for that.

Figures.. I read up and practiced the 3x3, 4x4 and 5x5.. and I load in the circular puzzle room. I stared at the stupid thing dumbfounded.

[Thrudh]

Good guide OP

In the 3x3 puzzle, there is a chance there will be a few lights left off after you chase down the lights. Based off the lights that are off in the bottom row, you will hit a certain combination of lights on the top row. Once you have hit all the lights that need hit on the top row, you will chase the lights down again until all the lights are lit.

FYI... The 3x3s are even easier than this... Solve down... if it doesn't solve then solve the other direction... if it doesn't solve, then solve the other direction again... and it will definitely solve by then.

So you light up the first row, then the second row... doesn't matter what the last row looks like... Without touching the last row, make it the top row in your mind and light it up by stepping on the second row tiles... then light up the second row by stepping on the third row tiles... It may just solve right there, but it doesn't just solve the opposite direction again. Again, without touching the third row, make it the first row in your mind, and light up by jumping on the second row tiles... solve down...

Now that I read that, it sounds more complicated than the OP, but if you can figure out what I meant, it's somewhat faster than looking at a chart... Just solve down, didn't work? Solve the other way. Still didn't work? Solve the first way again... 3x3s always solve after 3 passes at it...

I still use a chart like the OP posted for 5x5s though...

[Thrudh]

5x5 is where I need a little help. How do you figure out the pattern without the cheat sheet. I'd like to be able to do this from sight and not alt+tab

Print out the cheat-sheet... There! I solved your alt-tab problem!

[Anderei]

FYI... The 3x3s are even easier than this... Solve down... if it doesn't solve then solve the other direction... if it doesn't solve, then solve the other direction again... and it will definitely solve by then.

Way cool!

[iFreak]

Sorry, but I've never said you were incapable of solving the puzzle with your brain. I also never directed my opinions on cheating at any specific person, but at everyone who cheats in general. If the shoe fits...

Writing software to automate work is not the same as writing software to automate winning. You've eliminated the possibility of failure in a game where the possibility of failure is designed in. You've created an unfair advantage to allow yourself and anyone who uses that software to succeed where you might otherwise have a chance of failure. How is it different from aiming bots in FPS games? It's like saying, "I don't like aiming so I use an aiming bot" or "I'm not good at aiming so I use an aiming bot."

I, too, write software for a living. The software I've written keeps everyones credit card number encrypted so if they fall into the wrong hands they won't be usable. My software has automated the testing of electrical circuits in hearing aids so that people with hearing problems can hear better, and with a large amount of certainty that it will be nearly a perfect match to their hearing loss. The software I've written has automated grading of tests at colleges around the country. I guess I can't say that I've ever written software to automate winning at a game.

All solvers are more than likely a violation of rule 19 in the Dungeons and Dragons Online code of conduct.

19. You may not create, post or distribute any utilities, emulators or other third party software tools without the express written permission of Turbine.

Why do u make software to keep other ppls credit cards encrypted let them figure it out for themselves. By the same note you are cheating by using the mathematics that another person figured out, you should have figured it out on you're own.

I have a question? Did u figure out how to build the car u drive or did u buy it? Did u figure out how to drive on ur own or did some1 pass on there knowledge to you?

This solver is one person passing on their knowledge do others so they can benefit from it just as u have from the world inventors and great thinkers.

Look at yourself before u point a finger.

[sabastion01]

This guide has been added to the compendium: http://compendium.ddo.com/wiki/Shroud_Part_3

Hey guys! I know a bunch of you were asking how I solve these puzzles so fast every time, so I will fill you in on a little secret. There's a pretty simple algorithm for solving the puzzles in part 3.

Let's start with the 4x4 puzzle because it is cake! In the 4x4 puzzle, you have four rows of lights in four columns. You start by turning all the lights on the first row. To do this, you press the button right below the lights that are off in the first row. Continue doing this to row 2 and 3. That's it. The puzzle will be solved EVERY time.

In the 3x3 puzzle, there is a chance there will be a few lights left off after you chase down the lights. Based off the lights that are off in the bottom row, you will hit a certain combination of lights on the top row. Once you have hit all the lights that need hit on the top row, you will chase the lights down again until all the lights are lit. If all the lights are lit, then you hit the right combination and you have solved the puzzle. If you have lights lift over, then you hit the wrong combination.

The following chart has a list of all the possible combinations that you should see in a 3x3 puzzle after you chase down the lights. The black dots are considered off.



Now that you have the basics and an understanding of the puzzle algorithm, you can now master the 5x5 puzzle. You do the exact same thing you did in the 3x3 puzzle, except you have a new combination of lights. The following chart will tell you the combination of lights to hit in row one based on the lights that are lit in the bottom row. Once you’ve hit the appropriate lights, then you chase the lights down again for the solve! Piece of cake!



For Example:
In a 5x5 puzzle, say you chased down the lights and you were left with this combination in row 5 after all the other lights were on: Off, On, Off, Off, On. The chart says you need to hit light 5 on the top row. Once you hit that light, you chase the lights down and it will be solved. If not, then you messed up somewhere. If too many people are having problms with this, I will try to explain it a little better and maybe put up some better examples.

EDIT: I will try to get a solution made for the round puzzle, but I have only done it once. I have a pretty good idea how to solve it, but I just don't have enough practice at it to say for sure. I guess I'll try to sit down and iron it out after class today.

excellent job...has given me new found understanding and confidence in solving shroud puzzles when group completion depends so much on speed...I don't care what the idiot, role-playing, perma-death, over critical person says.

If you would include a 6x6 you would have scored a 10 out of a 1-10...for now ill have to give you a 9.0

[AaronB]

Hey, I've been testing out this method on the perfectweb puzzle solver, and the 4x4's don't seem to work. Does the actual puzzle in the Shroud only give combinations that can be solved by chasing the lights down in one pass, or something?

The 3x3 works great, the 5x5 works (just occasionally getting to a combination on the bottom row that you haven't listed, then I just hit more until it does), and I've got the circular down. The method I use is to get to where there's one unlit light, hit it, then pick a direction (clockwise or counter). Skip over one light, hit the next 5, then hit the middle of the 3 unlit lights. Works consistantly in 9-11 steps depending on initial setup.

Thanks for your work on this; I think I've got it figured out except the 4x4 and 6x6.

[guardianx2009]

Bumping this thread and also contributing a solution for 5x5 without use of a chart.

Here's how to solve 5x5 without chart.
1. Chase the lights like you would with 3x3 or 4x4 down to the last row.
2. Looking at the last row, from left to right, find the first light who's light next to it is unlit.
IF there's no light next to it, find the previous light. (see example 5)
3. This is the light you hit on the top row.
Repeat until solved.

Example:

Example1: 
Last Row: 1 * 3 * 5
Hit top: 1

Example2: 
Last Row: 1 2 * * *
Hit top: 2

Example3: 
Last Row: * * 3 * *
Hit top: 3

Example4: 
Last Row: * 2 * * 5 
Hit top: 2
      
Example5: 
Last Row: * * * 4 5 
Hit top: 4

Example6: 
Last Row: * 2 3 4 * 
Hit top: 4

[NaturalMystik]

Thanks for the tip!

Although I don't get example 6. It seems to me the answer should be 4? As 4 is the first lit one that has an unlit to the right of it. Maybe I'm not getting the pattern right?

[guardianx2009]

Thanks for the tip!

Although I don't get example 6. It seems to me the answer should be 4? As 4 is the first lit one that has an unlit to the right of it. Maybe I'm not getting the pattern right?

You're right, it's a typo on my part. I'll update the original post.

Thanks!