The Witness Trophy Guide & Road Map

The Witness
The Witness Trophy Guide

Estimated trophy difficulty: 9/10 - 2/10 with video guide and w/o v1.02(Platinum Difficulty Thread)
Offline trophies: 14 (2, 11, 1)
Online trophies: N/A
Approximate amount of time to platinum: 25+ hours, 5-10 hours with video guide and w/o patch v1.02 (Estimated Time to Platinum)
Minimum number of playthroughs: 1 Playthrough
Number of missable trophies: N/A
Glitched trophies: N/A
Does difficulty affect trophies?: There is no difficulty setting
Do trophies stack?: N/A
Do cheat codes disable trophies?: N/A

The Witness is a single-player, first-person puzzler where you play as a person who has awaken on an island full of puzzles. You cannot recall who you are or why you are there, so the only action you can take is to explore the island for clues about your background and, hopefully, a way back home.

The Witness has beautiful visuals, plenty of locations to discover and has over 500 puzzles. Not every puzzle is required to complete the game or obtained the platinum but I would highly suggest playing this game after completion because the extra puzzles are extremely clever and activating the black towers could possibly hold a good number of little secrets. In the end, The Witness will not disappoint and each puzzling victory feels better than the last so put that brain to work!

Knowing Your Way! - This game isn't extremely hard to navigate through but since there is no in-game map so figuring out what direction to take can be a headache. I have included a map (from The Witness website: the-witness.net) that identifies each area on the island so that you can refer to this when lost:

Have Paper and Pen Ready! - This game's difficulty differs from area to area. There will be times when you will find that working out the solution on paper can help you see the path more clearly than you would by trying to eyeball the correct path. Also, some puzzles will require you to do the opposite of a previous puzzle, trace paths backwards, upside-down, and memorize a number of sequences you've done and apply them to one tile. Dedicate a pad or notebook to assist your puzzle solving.

Be Aware of Your Surroundings! - Not all puzzle are straight-forward and they can cause problems for a lot of people. The Witness loves to use the surrounding scenery and incorporate them into the puzzles. Look at everything and see if it could help you to figure out the solution. It could be shadows, sound effects, the reflection of the sun off a panel, etc. Some puzzles will even require you to approach them from a distance and look at them from a different perspective. It's all in the details.

Never Be Afraid to Give Up or Move On! - A game like this can wear you down mentally. If you can't figure out what's going on after a set amount of time, move to a different area. Most areas in the game have some sort of "introduction" section to a new puzzle in a different area. If you encounter a puzzle you've never seen and it seems too hard, chances are you haven't done the "beginner" puzzles for that set yet. Everybody's thought process is different so some may figure the solutions out without the "introduction".

If you pass the "beginner" puzzles and are still stumped, tackle another area or take a break from the game. You'd be surprised at how much easier a puzzle may become when your brain is rejuvenated.

Follow the Wires! - If you happen to get lost within an area, look for the glowing wires coming from the panel you are (or were) working on. The wires lead you right to the next panel the majority of times and if they don't, they'll point you in the general direction.

A Bit of Assistance! - If you really feel like you can't solve a puzzle and don't want to use the video guide to pass it, use the thread HERE. Players who have experience in the game can give you non-spoiler hints to assist your approach to the problem.

This game can pose a challenge but it is not extremely difficult. As long you follow the tips above, you should not encounter much trouble. However, trouble is relative and your progress and problems are dependent on your own processing power or the video guide, if you choose to use it.

Controls:

- Move character/cursor/draw line
- Move camera/Switch between panels (when in line)
/ - Sprint
- Draw Line Faster
- Enter Cursor Mode/Select Option/Finish Puzzle
- Exit Puzzle Mode/Cancel Line

Step One: Firing The Lasers

There's no set way to tackle this game. It allows you the freedom to complete any area in order you please. There are 11 lasers (one at the end of each area) and only 7 of them are needed to access the end of the game. However, in order to unlock the final challenge, all 11 lasers must be activated. Since the final challenge is needed for the platinum, we'll be finishing every zone to avoid backtracking later on. There are some areas that have sections that act as "introductions" to puzzles in other areas but some of you may need them and some may not in order to proceed. The overall message is to play the game your way. During this step, you will unlock (in any order):

Shady Trees
Symmetry
Desert Ruin
Treehouses
Keep
Quarry
Marsh
Jungle
Monastery
Bunker
Town

Step Two: Down the Mountain

After getting all the lasers done, you will be heading up the mountain to finish the game. After you finish the game, please make sure to load your game after completion instead of starting a new game so you can backtrack for the final challenge in the next step. During this step, you will unlock:

Endgame

Step Three: Taking on the Challenge

Since you've finished the game, the only thing you'll have left to do is to finish the special challenge. This might take you some time to do, depending on whether you've done most of the puzzles on your own or used the video guides. This is due to the random generated puzzles you have to complete in order to finish. During this step, you will unlock:

Challenge
Platinum

PS4Trophies Wozamil for the The Witness Walkthrough Videos
Vyrastas for the guide template

[PST Would Like to Thank JayPBM for this Roadmap]

Platinum

Get every trophy.
(5)
There is no puzzle too difficult for you! This baby will unlock after you've met the criteria for every other trophy on the list.

Shady Trees

Activate the Shady Trees laser.
(1)
In order to unlock this trophy, you must complete the Shady Trees area, located to the top middle of the island (refer to map if needed - named "Logging"). The Shady Trees area begins near an orange steel wall on the east side of the Quarry and ends inside a gated area near the front end of the Keep. There are 22 puzzles to solve in this area in order to reach the laser.

If you are in need of assistance, you can refer to the video below:
Symmetry

Activate the Symmetry laser.
(1)
In order to unlock this trophy, you must complete the Symmetry area, located to the bottom left of the island (refer to map if needed - named "Symmetry"). The Symmetry area begins in a building over the water that contains pottery and ends at the top of a tall rock structure over water, decorated with trees. There are 44 puzzles to solve in this area in order to reach the laser.

If you are in need of assistance, you can refer to the video below:
Desert Ruin

Activate the Desert Ruin laser.
(1)
In order to unlock this trophy, you must complete the Desert Ruin area, located to the far top left of the island (refer to map if needed - named "Desert"). The Desert Ruin area begins in a construction zone with red panels and ends underground. There are 28 puzzles to solve in this area in order to reach the laser.

If you are in need of assistance, you can refer to the video below:
Treehouses

Activate the Treehouse laser.
In order to unlock this trophy, you must complete the Treehouse area, located to the far top right of the island (refer to map if needed - named "Treehouse"). The Treehouse area is only accessible via the fast travel boat. There are 56 puzzles to solve in this area in order to reach the laser.

If you are in need of assistance, you can refer to the video below:
Keep

Activate the Keep laser.
In order to unlock this trophy, you must complete the Keep area, located to the top middle of the island (refer to map if needed - named "Keep"). The Keep area begins in the center of a castle and ends in a tower overlooking the castle grounds. There are 5 puzzles to solve in this area in order to reach the laser.

If you are in need of assistance, you can refer to the video below:
Quarry

Activate the Quarry laser.
(3)
In order to unlock this trophy, you must complete the Quarry area, located to the top middle of the island (refer to map if needed - named "Quarry"). The Quarry area begins near a dam overlooking a warehouse with a minecart track, above the area by a lift or behind a gate in Shady Trees and ends on top of the main Quarry building. There are 47 puzzles to solve in this area in order to reach the laser.

If you are in need of assistance, you can refer to the video below:
Marsh

Activate the Marsh laser.
In order to unlock this trophy, you must complete the Marsh area, located to the mid-right of the island (refer to map if needed - named "Marsh"). The Marsh area begins on a metal walkway, floating above the marsh surface and ends near a giant stump above the marsh. There are 52 puzzles to solve in this area in order to reach the laser.

If you are in need of assistance, you can refer to the video below:
Jungle

Activate the Jungle laser.
(1)
In order to unlock this trophy, you must complete the Jungle area, located to the bottom right of the island (refer to map if needed - named "Tropical Forest"). The Jungle area has multiple different openings and ends in an enclosed area near the base of the mountain, near the waterfall. There are 14 puzzles to solve in this area in order to reach the laser.

If you are in need of assistance, you can refer to the video below:
Monastery

Activate the Monastery laser.
In order to unlock this trophy, you must complete the Monastery area, located to the bottom middle of the island (refer to map if needed - named "Monastery"). The Monastery area begins at the front gate of a walled in temple and ends just outside the temple. There are 11 puzzles to solve in this area in order to reach the laser.

If you are in need of assistance, you can refer to the video below:
Bunker

Activate the Bunker laser.
In order to unlock this trophy, you must complete the Bunker area, located on the south side of the "Mountain" area, which is to the far bottom right of the island (refer to map if needed - named "Mountain"). The Mountain area begins outside a bunker and ends in an elevator overlooking a bed of colorful flowers outside the bunker. There are 21 puzzles to solve in this area in order to reach the laser.

If you are in need of assistance, you can refer to the video below:
Town

Activate the Town laser.
In order to unlock this trophy, you must complete the Town area, located in the center of the island (refer to map if needed - named "Hub"). The Town area can be entered anywhere and ends at the top of the tower in the middle of the town. There are 21 puzzles to solve in this area in order to reach the laser.

If you are in need of assistance, you can refer to the video below:
Endgame

Reach the end.
(1)
Story-related, cannot be missed.

After getting 7 lasers, you are able to climb the top of the mountain and take on the final area of the island. The Mountain is located to the bottom right of the island (refer to map if needed - named "Mountain"). The Mountain area begins on top of the mountain and ends in the inner depths of the mountain. There are 59 puzzles to solve in this area in order to reach the ending.

If you are in need of assistance, you can refer to the video below:
Challenge

Complete a certain challenge.
(59)
UPDATE! - Patch v1.02 has removed the exploit using the rest mode function to solve the puzzles in the challenge. If you've downloaded the game before the patch was released and have not downloaded the patch yet, you can pause the download and play the challenge using the exploit. However, you might want to stay offline to avoid the patch resuming download.

In order to take on the certain challenge, you must have all 11 lasers activated. Once done, go to the top of the mountain, open the box the statue is holding and complete the floor puzzle. After completing the floor puzzle, go down the stairs until you can see the bottom of the box and you'll find the line puzzle on the box can be continued. Finish it, and head down the inside of the mountain until you reach the statue of a man crouching on the ground in front of the double door puzzles. If you've been down here before for the endgame, you'll notice the black screen he was looking at is on. Complete this puzzle and a secret door will open in bottom left corner of the room (facing the double doors).

Once inside the cave, go down the hall, unlock the door in your way and ignore every puzzle until you find the pillar puzzle. Complete the pillar puzzle and open the wooden door that has been unlocked. Behind this door is the final challenge room. You'll want to head to the back of the room, moving back until you enter a cave with a record player. Use the line puzzle to start the challenge. There are 15 puzzles to complete in order to finish the challenge. The catch, however, is that you have until the end of the music (about 6 ½ mins) to complete the set of puzzles, of which are all randomly generated every attempt.

If you've downloaded v1.02, your best option is to practice the challenge a lot. Find out where your weak points are and practice those puzzles. Every puzzle in the challenge is available out on the island so find them and try solving them or run the challenge multiple times.

If you are playing the unpatched version, you can refer to this video for assistance:

This section will help you to understand the less obvious puzzles. Most of the puzzles, like the black hexagon dots, symmetry, mazes, shadows, senses and perspective puzzles, will either not be covered or touched on lightly. This is because these particular puzzles vary from player-to-player. Everyone thinks differently, hears differently, sees differently, etc.

Black and White Squares/Multi-colored Squares

The key to solving these puzzles is to divide the squares so that each color is separated. Same color squares can be grouped together or split apart, as long as they aren't with another color.

Tetrominos/Angled Tetrominos

The key to the tetromino (tetris block) puzzles is that you must include each shape with your path and only form the shape(s) as well. It does not matter where you start the shape(s), as long as the shape(s) is/are in the same orientation shown. Shapes can also be combined. Angled tetromino puzzles are the same, except that you can orient the shape(s) any way you want.

Stars/Multi-colored Stars

There are multiple different ways to solve these puzzles and here are the methods:
1. One star and one same-colored block can be paired together.
2. Two of the same-colored stars can be paired together, along with another pair of different-colored stars. Two pairs of the same colors cannot go together.
3. Multiple pairs of different-colored stars can go together.
4. A pair of same-colored blocks and a pair of different-colored stars can go together.
5. A pair of same-colored stars cannot go together with one or a pair of similar-colored blocks and vice versa.
Jungle Puzzles

These puzzles are hearing-based. The animal sounds are what you want to listen for and they will change each puzzle you stand in front of. Each sound has a pitch (high, mid or low) and a number of parts (for lack of better words). Listen to what sounds matches the board you're looking at. This applies to the puzzles that snake around with a horizontal line through the middle. Use sound for the block puzzles with hexagon dots as well. The only difference is that the small dots are high pitch, the medium-sized dots are mid-pitch and the big dots are low pitch.

Shady Trees Puzzles

The trees will cast shadows over the boards. Some shadows may be incomplete on the board but continued on another part of the environment. Depending on how the shadows line up, you may have to avoid them or follow them to reach the end of the puzzle.

Puzzles with Color

If the colors don't seem to work out, no matter what solutions you come up with, try looking at the puzzle through colored glass (if some is around).

Discarded Panels/Triangles

These aren't main story puzzles but they are crucial to know when attempting Challenge. In order to solve these puzzles, the number of triangles in a box represent how many sides of that box the line must touch.