The Metheus Puzzles are a set of Alternate Reality Game (ARG) puzzles, requiring an interconnected network of players (2 are needed for the Metheus Puzzles) to solve in the same fashion as the Cyclum or William Carter Puzzles.
Just as with the Cyclum Puzzles, signing in through the user's primary platform provider (Steam, PSN, Xbox, Epic Games, or Tencent WeGame) is a requirement. The Metheus Puzzles are a continuation of the Cyclum Puzzles. Completing the Cyclum Puzzles awarded the in-game item, The Tragic Torch, and both users must own the Tragic Torch to complete the Metheus Puzzles.
Puzzles[]
First Puzzle[]
In the bottom left of the screen is a tablet on a stand. Clicking the tablet enlarges it, allowing the user to access it. Along the top are a line of black symbols and a second line of gold symbols below it. On the bottom left and right side are buttons with the symbols randomly distributed across them.
To solve the puzzle, as well as every other puzzle afterwards, two players are required. The players need to copy opposing sets of the other's symbols (For example, player 1 copies player 2's gold symbols and Player 2 copies Player 1's black symbols, or vice versa). After each players' symbols have been copied, they can then click the blue symbol in the center. If both players are correct, the tiles around the center symbol will glow gold and purple, showing the two accounts have been successfully synced. The page will then refresh, revealing the right side of the obelisk and a second tablet, allowing both players access to the second part of the puzzle.
Second Puzzle[]
The second puzzle is activated by clicking on the second tablet in the newly lit right side of the screen. One player's tablet will show tile squares with different numbers and positions of notches on their sides and a string of black symbols at the top, while the other's will show the opposite. In total, there are 32 symbols and 13 tiles. One partner will get the symbols and the other will get the tiles.They will each have a 3×2 grid of empty slots below the set of tiles/symbols. Under this is a sequence of six dots, and a button. In comparison to the first puzzle, the second puzzle is undoubtedly harder.
Firstly, the "codes" at the top establish a correspondence between tiles and symbols for six such symbol-tile pairs. Each of these symbol-tile pairs belongs in one of the empty slots, meaning that the solution is for each player to place the six symbols/tiles shown on their partner's code in a particular configuration (such that each slot will have a tile on one end and the "equivalent" symbol on the other).
If both players have the six slots filled out and press the button, a number of the dots may light up, corresponding to the number of slots that have both the right symbol and the right tile. Though the button lights up as long as at least one slot has been filled, this verification process can only be done if every slot have a symbol/tile in it.
Completing the puzzle is just a matter of switching the symbols and tiles that are in unison and submitting the answer in a cohesive fashion. When the players get all the tile placements correct, indicated by all 6 dots glowing, the button will begin to glow gold.
Players have a limited number of times that they can submit guesses of tile and symbol placements.
NOTE: Whenever a partner edits their symbols or tiles, they must click the button for the website to register the change.
One possible strategy is the "binary" method. This involves one player slotting their symbols/tiles according to other player's instruction, whilst the second player only slots a limited amount. The goal of this method is to find out if a single symbol/tile position is correct, essentially eliminating them from the game one by one. Possible flaws are that it requires a lot of manual entry on the second player's part, which can easily lead to mistakes.
Another possible strategy would for both players to swap symbols/tiles in groups of 2 or more, and proceed based on the acquired information. Information can be obtained based on logic - the following derived rules can be used as a foundation:
- If both players swap two linked pieces, click the button and get two additional lights, that means both symbols/tiles are currently in a correct position, previously incorrect.
- If both players swap two linked pieces, click the button and get two less lights, that means both symbols/tiles were previously in a correct position, currently incorrect.
- If both players swap two linked pieces, click the button and get one additional light, that means one or the other of the symbols/tiles is currently in the correct position, previously both incorrect
- If both players swap two linked pieces, click the button and get one less light, that means one or the other of the symbols/tiles was previously in the correct position, currently both incorrect
- If both players swap two linked pieces, click the button and get no change in light, that means both symbols/tiles were previously in the incorrect position and currently both remain incorrect
Example of this strategy in use is available in the following Youtube video.
Furthermore, moves can be used to change every symbol's position to an entirely new one until they are exhausted (each symbol can be in 1 of 6 slots, so besides the starting position 5 moves are needed). This is a typical strategy to win the puzzle, but it could be useful if players get zero lights at the start or on consecutive turns. Example:
- Swap entire top and bottom row -> both players click the button
- Swap entire first and second column -> swap entire first and third column -> both players click the button
- Swap entire top and bottom row -> both players click the button
- Swap entire first and second column -> swap entire first and third column -> both players click the button
- Swap entire top and bottom row -> both players click the button
(The row swap essentially inserts the 3rd column to the 1st one, and shifts the 1st and 2nd columns to the right - an alternative to get the same result would be to swap 1 & 3 columns -> swap 2 & 3 columns)
Third Puzzle[]
The final part of the puzzle is in the game. Next to the Ancient Pseudoscience Station is the Ancient Chest. Opening it will bring up a 6-slot inventory similar to the spaces for placing tiles and symbols from the second part of the puzzle.
Each of the second puzzle's symbols represent an item required and each tile represents a stack amount. Players need to place the correct number of items in the correct order in the chest. The symbols and corresponding items along with the amounts represented by the tiles can be found here. The two partners solving the previous parts must be close to the chest. Once items are placed in the correct order, the chest will shake and an announcement will show at the top of the screen saying "Your presence has been noticed", and the players will be granted two special skins as a reward.
What Lies Beyond?
The clip shown after solving the puzzle.
Returning to the original Metheus web page will bring up a new background to the puzzle area. Clicking on the new background will activate a short clip.
The third part of the puzzle can be trivialized and expedited by the use of server commands or mods. Example steps are listed below:
(All commands are Remote and executed by the Host)
- Once both players join the game the host can use godmode to render them invulnerable (or resurrect a downed player)
c_supergodmode(AllPlayers[1])
c_supergodmode(AllPlayers[2])
- The host can give themself all the required items to do the puzzle:
Magiluminescence for light and pickaxe to break the cave entrance:
c_select(AllPlayers[1]) c_give("yellowamulet",4)
c_select(AllPlayers[1]) c_give("pickaxe",1)
Puzzle items:
c_select(AllPlayers[1]) c_give("cane",1)
c_select(AllPlayers[1]) c_give("thulecite",20)
c_select(AllPlayers[1]) c_give("purplegem",40)
c_select(AllPlayers[1]) c_give("crow",1)
c_select(AllPlayers[1]) c_give("nightmarefuel",40)
c_select(AllPlayers[1]) c_give("petals",40)
c_select(AllPlayers[1]) c_give("berries",40)
c_select(AllPlayers[1]) c_give("yellowgem",40)
c_select(AllPlayers[1]) c_give("bee",20)
c_select(AllPlayers[1]) c_give("carrot",40)
c_select(AllPlayers[1]) c_give("orangegem",40)
c_select(AllPlayers[1]) c_give("butterfly",20)
c_select(AllPlayers[1]) c_give("rabbit",1)
- Both players can instantly teleport to the cave and break the entrance with the pickaxe:
c_select(AllPlayers[1]) c_gonext("cave_entrance")
c_select(AllPlayers[2]) c_gonext("cave_entrance")
- Alternatively, If the server host has already opened it by the time the client joins:
c_select(AllPlayers[2]) c_gonext("cave_entrance_open")
- Once both players enter the cave godmode needs to be reapplied:
c_supergodmode(AllPlayers[1])
c_supergodmode(AllPlayers[2])
- Then they can proceed to teleport to the sacred chest:
c_select(AllPlayers[1]) c_gonext("sacred_chest")
c_select(AllPlayers[2]) c_gonext("sacred_chest")
- At this point all that remains is to fill the chest with the required items with the corresponding amount and order.
Trivia[]
- This is the second puzzle related to A New Reign, representing the disclosure of the expansion (as opposed to Cyclum, which introduced it).
- The assets for the puzzle were supposedly leaked due to their page being left unrestricted, spoiling part of the puzzle.
- If this was either intentional or not, however, is ambiguous.
- The Ancient Fuelweaver mentions or addresses a Metheus after killing the player, when deactivating the Ancient Gateway.
- When receiving the new item skins, the message "Metheus has taken heed." will be displayed at the top of the player's screen, suggesting that the character of Metheus may be extended on in future updates.
- According to a Rhymes with Play stream, Metheus is female.
- Even after completing the puzzle for the first time, one can still help more people solve the puzzle and give them the desired skins as well.
- Some speech lines from Wilson can be found in the puzzle's code, and players could sometimes hear his speech while starting up the puzzle page. They seem to be designed to give hints to players who haven't completed the Cyclum Puzzles.
- In speechTorch:
- "There's something missing here."
- "Seems like a torch would fit there."
- "I should search for a torch."
- In speechCave:
- "It's so dark!"
- "It's too dark to see!"
- In speechTorch:
- The name Metheus along with the Tragic Torch requirement may be a reference to the Greek myth of Prometheus.
Gallery[]
