As you’re making your way through the vast open-world in AC Valhalla, you’ll come along many mysteries. One of the more challenging is the Animus Anomaly at Quartzite Ridge.
The most simple way of explaining an Animus Anomaly is that it’s basically a glitch in the matrix. The way Assassin’s Creed games operate is that a modern-day person, Layla in AC Valhalla, is exploring with the virtual reality Animus machine and going back to these ancient times and locations.
As you’re experiencing these large ancient locations in AC Valhalla, you’ll come across Mysteries in each region. There are many different kinds, and one is known as an Animus Anomaly.
They’re usually easy to spot on the map, as you’ll see major geographical features glitching and changing color as if something is terribly wrong. Once you approach, you’ll get to select Explore Anomaly to try and solve a difficult puzzle.
What do you get for completing an Animus Anomaly?
Unlike most things in the game, completing an Animus Anomaly doesn’t have a concrete reward like great resources or a huge chunk of experience. Instead, they unlock a secret glimpse into a mysterious cut-scene.
It’s likely these won’t make much sense at first, as you’ll only get a small bit from each Animus Anomaly, but the cut-scene will provide insight about the ending of Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla.
For that reason, you might want to wait to do them until after you’ve completed the main story and know the ending. Of course, you may also enjoy trying to figure it out as you’re going along, and these can give an interesting nugget of information.
Where is the Quartzite Ridge Animus Anomaly?
In order to reach the Animus Anomaly at Quartzite Ridge, you’ll need to have access to Sciropescire which has a Suggested Power of 130. So long as you’re at least close to that Power, you can go ahead and start exploring the region.
Quartzite Ridge is near the southern border of Sciropescire. The easiest way to get there is to fast travel to the Manstone Rock synchronization location if you’ve already unlocked it.
Once you get to Manstone Rock, head southeast to locate the Animus Anomaly at Quartzite Ridge. If you haven’t synchronized Manstone Rock, you can just take the river to a location near the southern border of Sciropescire and then head west from the shore.
What is the solution to the Quartzite Ridge Animus Anomaly?
Once you first enter the Animus Anomaly, you may notice a few large bridge pieces in dark blue. Don’t bother climbing these, there isn’t anything to get at the top of them.
The main goal of any Animus Anomaly is to traverse these blocks by climbing, which Layla is just as adept at as Eivar, and reach the final block to complete it.
When you approach this Animus Anomaly at Quartzite Ridge, there are going to be two primary struggles to face. The first is hazards, which are red blocks that move and will reset you to a recent checkpoint in the puzzle.
These don’t tend to set you back too far, so don’t be too worried about getting hit on your first few tries. The second is manipulating beams of light to access greyed out blocks which you’ll fall through without the light beam activating them.
After you climb up the first block to start the puzzle, you’ll notice these red hazards are all about timing. You’ll often need to wait until they’re positioned in just the right spot before making your trek from one location to the next.
Generally you’ll need to move either immediately after a hazard starts moving away from you or immediately after it arrives underneath you. There are a few hazards here that you’ll essentially wait for and then get ahead of.
As you get through the puzzle, there are a few larger pillars where you won’t be able to climb straight up one side. Instead, tilt your camera to the side and you’ll notice you can climb around the pillar to continue your ascent.
After ascending this tower, your next main part of the Animus Anomaly is a light beam puzzle. You’ll need to manipulate one light beam into a reflector, which points it a new direction and evades a hazard that blocks the beam.
From there, aim the reflector at the pyramid-shaped splitter, which will diverge the beam into two that will activate both greyed out blocks needed to proceed with the puzzle.
The next few sections involve timing and avoiding hazards. An import ant thing to note is there are several hazards that have safe locations you may not realize.
At times, hanging down from a block will keep you safe from a hazard that passes directly over it. Similarly, there is a tough hazard here where a slender block used as a stepping stone is you can safely land on and wait for the second-half of the hazard to clear the way.
Below is a view of Layla on that center block, where you can wait after making the first jump to get the timing right to the next spot.
Next you’ll arrive at another light beam puzzle, this one luckily isn’t too complicated. Head to the light beam emitter and aim it at the reflector, which will then be able to be pointed out the greyed out block.
The tougher part of this section is that there are hazards along the way, and you’ll need to watch the timing of both of them to know when to move. Again, waiting for it to be under you and then making a break for it then tends to work.
Next is the last and most difficult light beam puzzle within this Animus Anomaly. You’re again working with a reflector and a splitter, but you’ve got two beams to manipulate and often have to keep blocks lit up just to reach the spots you need to adjust.
Keep in mind that the beam you initially use to cross a block isn’t necessarily the one that has to get you back. This can help you get to difficult locations with disrupting the work you’ve already done.
Below is the final solution of where you’ll need beams pointed to set things up. Once you’ve got the reflector aimed properly, you’ll need to traverse to the beam in the far right of this photo to light up the tower block at the end.
Once you’ve reached that tower block, you’ll again need to tilt your camera and climb around it to continue your ascent reach the next stage. You’ll be happy to know there are no more beam puzzles from this point, but the timing for the remaining two sections is tricky.
These large hazards will be a nuisance, but again remember that you won’t get reset very far should you get hit by one. Don’t let fear of getting hit keep you from making attempts.
This section includes multiple spots where you’ll need to hang from a ledge for safety. If you need a breather and want to get a lay of the land, enter Photo Mode, which you can check our controls guide to see how to use for your platform.
This allows you to freeze things for a moment and look for where you’re headed next. Just move one section at a time, keep an eye on the way the hazards move to let them pass over or under you before you move a few platforms forward.
Finally you’ll reach this ominous pillar surrounded by hazards. They move at different speeds, which can be a bit disorienting at first.
The easiest way I found to make it through this spot is by using the forward facing side on the left shown above, and moving left until you get around to the other side and finishing your climb there. The hazard on the side you’re facing from your initial jump point is quick, and will move up and down with a swiftness. The one to the left of it is much slower.
Wait until the one to the left of your jump point is all the way at the top and about to start heading down, and the hazard directly in front of you is about to ascend. You’ll need to get this timing just right, so it may take a few attempts.
Once they’re in place, leap across and follow the pillar up to the second to last rung. Just as that top hazard is about to come back down on you, the left-hand hazard will be clearing room for you to shift to that side of the pillar.
Once you’ve reached the top of this pillar, all the hard work is over. Simply jump across safely to the final tower and ascend to snag the data packet and complete the puzzle.
With these steps, you’ll have successfully completed the Animus Anomaly at Quartzite Ridge. Enjoy your tiny glimpse at the secret cut-scene, and revel in knowing the skill it took to nail the timing on this one, even with a few tips along the way.
(5 votes, average: 4.20 out of 5)
Loading…
