Starsand Island Moonlit Forest Walkthrough - Surviving The Glowing Grind
If you are tired of staring at locked gates and getting stomped by giant magical creatures, this is exactly how you tear through the Moonlit Forest and steal the best loot.
Getting into this place is your first real headache. You cannot just stroll in. You have to talk to Zephyria over at the Exploration Club and start the Explorer Profession. He hands over a slingshot blueprint and some pity ammo. Craft the slingshot using some softwood and fiber, then haul yourself to the back of your house. There is a massive damaged door covered in glowing yellow weak spots. Shoot those spots with your new toy, watch the rocks crumble, and step through the portal. Prepare to spend the next several hours hunting down floating spirits just to open doors.
The Evernight Forest And Gate Of Life
This initial area serves as a brutal tutorial for the absolute chore of unlocking gates throughout the rest of the zone.
Chasing Gravestars
As soon as you arrive in the Evernight Forest, activate your camp. You will notice orange glowing rocks scattered around called Gravecrystals. Smash them with your pickaxe to release Gravestars. These little spirits are basically living keys. You need to repair a broken bridge with 15 stone to progress toward the Gate of Life camp. Once you activate that second camp using fluorite, you immediately hit another locked door. You have to track down three more Gravecrystals in the immediate vicinity. One is right next to the camp, another is down the left path, and the last one requires climbing a nearby ledge after you deal with a very annoying Runebird.
The Runebird Encounter
This overgrown chicken is your first real fight. Do not panic. Just keep moving in circles around it to dodge its attacks and pepper it with your slingshot between its strikes. It goes down fast. Grab the third Gravestar, head through the newly opened Astral Gate, and snag the treasure map hidden behind the waterfall near the bubble path. Follow the arrow to dig up some easy coins before you start platforming across the giant bubbles to the next zone.
Navigating Dreamfall Garden
Things get slightly more complicated here because the game decides to throw actual puzzles and a boss at you.
Repairing The Luminpath
After crossing the bubbles, you will hit a crumbling door. Shoot the weak spots to break it down and immediately prepare to fight a Luminfrog. Kill it quickly because its attacks are a massive pain to dodge in tight spaces. Once the frog is dead, you have to fix the Luminpath column in the middle of the area. You need to catch five Luminwing Butterflies with a bug net to repair it. Craft a net at the nearby camp if you forgot yours.
Defeating The Crystalith
Head up the newly repaired path and make sure you have at least 60 pieces of ammo in your inventory. You are going to face the Crystalith. This giant stone golem has a boulder throw and a ripple attack. Just keep strafing. The trick here is patience. Occasionally, the boss will try to drain power from the crystal in the center of the room. Its abdomen will glow brightly. That is your cue to unleash everything you have because you deal double damage while it is distracted. Loot the chest it drops and push forward to the Crystalith Hideout camp.
Azure Bay And The Mural Valley Detour
This section is where the map opens up and threatens to completely overwhelm your inventory with new crafting materials.
Finding The Ruin Keys
Azure Bay introduces some brutal gatekeeping. You will eventually hit a massive bronze door that requires two specific keys. Zephyria hands you the Right Key when you start his Intermediate Explorer quest. Finding the Left Key is on you. From the Azure Bay camp, head up the path, deal with another Luminfrog, and drop down into the river below the bubble path. Walk behind the waterfall down there to find an elevator. Near that spot, sticking to the right side of the canyon wall, you will find a locked chest sitting on a ledge. Open it to claim the Left Key.
Slaying The Glintortle
Before you open that massive door, take the side path from the Azure Bay camp down into Mural Valley. There is another three-part Gravestar puzzle here if you want some extra loot. Once you are done hoarding ore, use your two keys on the bronze door to face the Glintortle. Do not bother with your slingshot here. Bring a bow and bomb arrows. The turtle shoots water beams and massive waves that you have to jump over. Wait for it to get dizzy after a major attack or retreat into its shell. That is when its weak spot glows, allowing you to dish out maximum punishment.
The Harvest Yard And Grain Haven Grind
You survived the giant turtle, but now the environment itself becomes the primary enemy.
Water And Fire Arrows
You cannot progress into the Harvest Yard without fire and water arrows. Burn the roots blocking the door with a fire arrow, activate the camp, and then shoot the stump with a water arrow to make a vine bridge grow. Cross over and you will discover a broken waterwheel. Fixing this piece of ancient machinery requires five primorite, five magnetite, five gold, and a waterwheel bearing you get from Zephyria for starting the Senior Explorer trial. You also need to free two Gravestars trapped in bubbles floating nearby. Pop the bubbles, feed the materials to the switch, and ride the waterwheel up to Grain Haven.
Darkwater Shore
Before you get too deep into Grain Haven, hit the waterwheel button to reverse its direction and ride it down to Darkwater Shore. It is a tiny, gloomy area, but it is absolutely packed with Eldergrain and rare fish. You need these materials for Zephyria anyway, so spend some time stripping the shore bare before taking the portal back up.
The Final Stretch To Moonlight Meadow
You are finally closing in on the end of the forest, but the game makes you run a brutal gauntlet before you even see the final boss.
Homeward Trail And Serenity's Rest
From the Grain Haven camp, it is essentially a straight shot through ancient ruins filled with aggressive Runebirds and hidden chests. Keep pushing up the massive staircases and wooden scaffolding until you hit the Serenity's Rest camp. Just past this camp, you will find a puzzle involving unlit torches. Pull out your bow and shoot the six lights floating above the torches to raise a bridge. Cross it, grab the loot, and step into the Moonlight Meadow.
How To Beat The Ruin Guard
This is the final hurdle for your Expert Explorer certification, and the Ruin Guard will absolutely fold you if you show up unprepared. Do not even think about bringing a slingshot to this fight. You need a Bow and a massive stockpile of Bomb Arrows.
The Waiting Game
Unlike the other bosses where you can just chip away at their health whenever you want, the Ruin Guard requires extreme patience. You have to wait for the weak spot on top of its head to be exposed. If you just spam arrows at its body, you are wasting ammo. I highly recommend summoning Sentry Bots to help you deal a little bit of passive chip damage while you focus entirely on dodging. If you deal enough damage, the Ruin Guard will temporarily immobilize itself. Its head will drop in the middle of the arena. When this happens, stop running and dump your strongest charged Bomb Arrows directly into its skull to melt its health bar.
Unsafe Attacks (No Weak Spot)
You need to recognize when to attack and when to just run for your fucking life. If the Ruin Guard uses its Green Charge Slice, you need to back off. It pulls green energy into its hand and fires a slicing projectile straight at you. Keep strafing. Worse is the Spin Slice. There is barely any warning for this. The second you see its body start to twist, it is going to spin across the arena like a blender. Do not try to shoot it during this animation. Just put away your weapon, equip your skates if you have them, and get as far away as possible.
Punishable Attacks (Weak Spot Exposed)
These are the attacks you actually want to see, because they leave the boss wide open. When it uses Flying Ore, it hits the ground and floats a rock above its head. The weak spot will glow brightly for a few seconds before it launches the rock. Shoot the head and dodge. The absolute best opening is the Green Charge Vines. The boss pulls green energy into both hands and takes a long time to charge. The weak spot glows the entire time. Pump arrows into its head, but the second it finishes the animation, get moving because damaging vines will spawn directly under your feet. Finally, watch out for the Flame Beam. A red charge appears over its head, leaving it exposed. It will fire a sustained laser and slowly turn toward you. Stay far back, keep strafing, and fire your arrows while staying just outside the beam's reach.
Claiming The Luna Deer
Once the Ruin Guard finally crumbles into a pile of junk, a broken altar appears in the center of the room. You need to repair it using three moonstone, three spirit berries, and a specific prayer item from Zephyria. Slot those items into the altar, watch the final cutscene, and claim your brand new Luna Deer mount. You survived the forest, and now you never have to walk on foot again.
