When you’re not sneaking past armed guards or engaged in life-or-death gunfights, there are still plenty of puzzles to stop your progression in Uncharted 4. If you’re having trouble solving one of these devious puzzles, or if you just need a nudge in the right direction, we’ve got you covered with solutions. Check out the full guide below for all the details.
Get the Gameranx verdict with our Uncharted 4 review, then see what the rest of the internet thought on the review roundup. Nathan Drake’s fourth (and final) adventure on the PS4 is getting high marks, particularly for it’s tale of an older treasure hunter. Set years after Uncharted 3, Drake has seemingly given up his life of thieving and grave-robbing, settling down with his love Elena and keeping a 9-to-5 job. Things change when an older brother, thought dead, returns under with an offer Drake just can’t refuse.
Explore every hidden nook and cranny of this intricately detailed world with our huge Uncharted 4 collectibles guide, filled with tips to find every treasure, optional conversation, note and journal entry. If you’re more interested in references, check out our list of Uncharted 4 Easter eggs, including a call-back to an E3 glitch, Crash Bandicoot mini-games, and other Naughty Dog in-jokes.
Puzzle Solutions Guide
There are six (6) major puzzles in Uncharted 4. Below we’ll reveal the solutions, and steps to solve each puzzle. Check Nathan Drake’s journal often for clues — often the journal contains important sketches, notes, or information you’ll need to solve a puzzle.
Chapter 2 – Prison Cell Puzzle
At the top of the prison tower, Nate will drop into a cell covered with strange symbols, markings, and numbers. To get the clues you need, follow these steps:
- Examine the Sun/Moon symbol to the right of the metal door.
- Open your notebook to examine the letter. Flip it over, then fold it.
- Look for the symbols marked on the walls; Saggitarius = X / Scorpio = II
Solution: Find the stone marked with the roman numerals “XII” — interact to remove the stone and complete the puzzle.
Chapter 8 – Penitent Thief Puzzle
This puzzle is located under the false grave of Captain Avery. The grave is found near the ridge on the far end of the cemetery. Interact with the tall white grave with a forward-facing skull embedded in a circular section. Turning the skull opens the path into the grave.
Underground, you’ll find three crucified statues. This is the Penitent Thief puzzle — follow these steps:
- Look behind the crucified statues. There is another chamber behind the figures — go through the open pathway to the right.
- Examine the lamp on the backside of the wall with the three crucified figures. Sam will light the brazier, shining lights through the pinholes.
- There are six points of light and six spots you need to light up. Use the devices at the base of the three statues to rotate the lights.
- Left: Ignoring the highest and lowest points, rotate the light to match the two spots on the upper right and lower left — of the four central spots.
- Center: Rotate the points of light to match the top and bottom spots. These are the highest and lowest points.
- Right: Ignoring the highest and lowest points, rotate the light to match the two spots on the upper left and lower right — of the four central spot.
- Each point of light should be on a unique spot to complete the puzzle.
Solution: When all six spots are illuminated by the points of light from the three crucified statues, an unlocking mechanism will reveal itself. Interact to complete this part.
Chapter 9 – Test of Faith Puzzle
In the underground, you’ll find a complex machine with three colored crosses, an empty bucket, and four wheels attached to spinning dials. The exit door has a spring-loaded spike trap, so don’t try to use the contraption until you’ve completed the sequence. To solve this puzzle, follow these steps:
- Take the empty bucket from the dial and fill it with water. You’ll find water in the lower area to the left of the entrance. Hand the bucket to Sam and he’ll place it back in the dial.
- There are four wheels, and each wheel rotates a quarter of the device. Note which wheel is connected to each quarter by the ropes.
- Turn the wheels (from left to right) in this order to get the crosses, and bucket, into the correct positions:
- Wheel #1: Turn once left.
- Wheel #3: Turn twice right.
- Wheel #4: Turn once right.
- Wheel #2: Turn once left.
- Wheel #1: Turn once left.
- The black cross should be on the right, the white cross on the left, and the gold cross in the center.
Solution: Adjust the dials so that the bucket is at the top position. The three crosses should be placed over the circles of light — Dismas (white cross) left, Gestas (black cross) right, and Jesus (gold cross) center. When everything is in place, use the contraption at the exit door.
Chapter 11 – Clock Tower Puzzle
Drake and Sully find a complex puzzle inside the clock tower in King’s Bay, activated with the Scotland tomb coin. Four Zodiac statues appear in the tower, and your goal is to reach each corresponding bell and ring it.
- Check Nate’s journal to show the order the statues appeared in; Scorpio, Aquarius, Leo, Taurus
- Grapple up the busted circular staircase, ride the counter-weights up, and use the spinning gears to reach the Leo bell. Don’t ring it yet — instead, use the gears to jump to the Scorpio bell. Ring this bell first.
- From the Scorpio bell, continue left to the Aquarius position. Moving on, continue across and through the spinning gear, then jump to the counter-weight and ride it to the Leo bell. That’s the third bell you’ll need to ring.
- From the Leo bell, climb to the swinging pendulum device and use it to hop onto the Taurus bell. That’s all four bells rung, but there’s more to this puzzle.
Continue up to the top of the clock tower. A new set of stairs will appear once the bells are rung in the correct order. Leap across the gap using the rope grapple point, and then hang from the break switch to stop the gears in the tower. The next step of the puzzle requires Nate to position the hands of the clock to make it possible to cross the exterior.
- Climb onto the gear on the interior side of the clock tower’s face. Use this gear to position the clock’s minute hand so that it creates a horizontal handhold. Now Nate can climb out onto the exterior of the clock face and cross to the other side.
All Drake has to do now is reach the very top of the tower and ring the last bell.
Chapter 11 – Founder’s Sigils Puzzle
After solving the clock tower bell puzzle, a secret passage leads into an underground chamber with yet another puzzle for Nate and Sully to solve. This puzzle involves matching pirate sigil orientation and using portraits to decipher the proper code in every sequence.
Sequence #1:
Interact with the strange Founder’s device and two sigils will appear. Look on the two sigils — there are three scratch marks on one side of each sigil. Orient the sigils so these marks face each other.
This completes the first sequence. A door will open to the left and a second row of sigils appear. There’s no way to solve this yet — enter the room on the left.
Sequence #2:
Examine the three portraits in the newly opened room. Each features a prominent red square. Spot each of the red squares, and Nate will note them in his journal.
- Bonnie: Right of her hip.
- Baldrige: Next to the hand holding a sword.
- Condent: On the red of his coat, around the shoulder.
Once all three are found, look in your notebook and Nate will cut the three sketched square sigils. Now orient the three squares so that the number of marks face each other — the three marks on Baldridge’s sigil face the three marks on Bonny’s sigil, and the two marks on Bonny’s sigil face the two marks on Condent’s sigil.
Copy the orientation seen in the journal with the physical sigils in the central Founder’s mechanism. That solves the second puzzle and leads to the third sequence.
Sequence #3:
At the third sequence, take a picture of the sigils and text Sam. Then enter the portrait room. One of the paintings has fallen over. Interact and Sully will help hang the painting back up. Once again, examine all three paintings and target the faded red squares on each.
- Want: Just left of the smoke billowing from his pipe.
- Farrel: Lower-right corner, next to the hand holding the hilt of a sword.
- Mayes: Lower-left corner, at the base of the statue.
Match the marks on each sigil in Nate’s journal, then copy the orientation pattern on the physical sigils on the Founder’s mechanism. Doing so opens the final portrait room and reveals the last row of sigils.
Sequence #4:
Take another picture of the sequence and text Sam, then you’ll get a chance to examine the burnt paintings in the third painting gallery. Locate the red squares on each painting with these locations:
- England: On the bag hanging at his hip.
- Malik: In the top-right corner of the portrait.
- al-Basra: Lower-left, on the sash around his waist
- ???: To the right of the figure, in the burned area of the painting.
The “?” captain is associated with the monkey sigil. Now match all the marks in Nate’s journal and copy the pattern on the center mechanism to complete this puzzle.
Solution: At each step, Nate will need to orient the sigils based on clues found in each room’s portraits. Every step of the sequence must be completed, including the calls to Sam. The trickiest part of this puzzle is finding the red square symbol on each portrait — the portraits correspond to each pirate’s sigil. Nate will note the marks that need to match in his journal. Open the journal after finding all the red squares in the portraits and match the marks on the sigil — then copy the orientation on the center device.
Chapter 12 – Star Chart Puzzle
Nate and Sam uncover the final trial in Chapter 12. The massive chamber features a star chart on the ceiling with a captain’s wheel in the center. The contraption features an inner wheel and an outer wheel that controls the position and orientation of spheres above. Like the previous puzzle, there are multiple steps to complete:
Sequence #1:
Note: Watch for the mechanical spots on each ring — when a sphere is locked into place, it can be oriented with the inner wheel. Any spheres not locked in a mechanical spot will not move when using the inner wheel.
- Turn the outer wheel one time to the right. Lock the sphere a 50/50 color split into place.
- Turn the inner wheel three times so that the black half is on the left.
- Turn the outer wheel two times to the left. Lock the sphere with the “W” into place.
- Turn the inner wheel six times, or until the “W” symbol is facing the player.
- Turn the outer wheel so both spheres match the symbols in the spotlights.
Sequence #2:
- Turn the outer wheel fours times to the right so that the right sphere is locked into a mechanical spot.
- Turn the inner wheel two times so that the line is diagonal across the sphere.
- Turn the outer wheel one time to the left so that the left sphere is locked into place.
- Turn the inner wheel four times.
- Turn the outer wheel so both spheres match the symbols in the spotlights.
Sequence #3:
The last sequence is the trickiest. When you turn the outer wheel, the spheres will change orientation.
- Turn the inner wheel four times.
- Turn the outer wheel two spaces to the right so that right dial can be oriented.
- Turn the inner wheel six times.
- Turn the outer wheel so both spheres match the symbols in the spotlights.
Once the spheres are properly oriented, Sam will comment that the puzzle looks right. If you’re having trouble, continue to orient the spheres until Sam comments — you’ll know the sequence is solved before having to move the spheres into place.
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