Broken Age Act 2: Shay’s Puzzles Walkthrough

SPOILERS AHEAD

Broken Age Act 2 picks up right where the previous act left off. After finally taking down the Mog Chothra that had come to take Vella, she now finds herself inside of the strange beast/machine. Shay, on the other hand, has set foot outside of the spaceship he’s always called home for the first time, and has found himself in a strange land. Now both Vella and Shay must figure out a way to get back home as they get used to their new settings.

The puzzles in Broken Age Act 2 are slightly more demanding than those in the first act. Luckily for you, we’ve put together this handy guide to help you solve even the most head-scratch inducing puzzles. This guide will cover Shay’s predicament, but be informed that you can start as whichever protagonist you like, and can even switch between them whenever you want to. So, if you’d prefer to start as Vella, just head right on over to her puzzle guide.

Building the Superconductive Gyroscopic Hypercam

Shay has just woken up on the beach of a very unfamiliar land. Upon waking he realizes that he’s laying next to a huge alien creature, that just so happens to be the ship he’s been riding in for all those years. Unfortunately it’s broken down, so it’s time to go explore. The first place you’re going to want to head to is the “volcano” that houses Alex’s ship. He’s going to need some help getting his ship back in working order, and since Shay’s ship suddenly upped and flew away, it’s probably a good idea to help him out in order to get a ride. He’s going to need a few things first though so let’s get them one by one starting with the Superconductive Gyroscopic Hypercam.

1. Exit the area Shay wakes up at and head towards the stairs leading to Alex. On your way up, be sure to grab the hexipal laying at the foot of the steps. Talk to Alex and ask him what he needs so that you can help. After he tells you, proceed to ask about the Superconductive Gyroscopic Hypercam and Alex will provide shay with a blueprint. You can leave Alex alone for now.
2. When Shay interacts with the choking mayor from Shellmound, he finds out that this guy is actually capable of using the blueprint. The only problem is that he’s choking, so Shay is going to have to help him out if he wants a favor. Head towards Curtis’s house (you know? the hipster you met in Broken Age Act 1). Before enter his house check his mailbox and acquire the flyer that Vella’s flyer seems to have left for him. Afterwards, head inside and talk to Curtis to learn about his metal working kit.  You can now leave.
3. Continue left until you come across the snake that undoubtedly put the squeeze on unsuspecting players during the first act of Broken Age. Let the snake grab Shay, but do not blow the horn. It turns out that Shay is extremely good at receiving tight hugs, so just wait it out until the snake grows tired. Once it falls to floor, passed out, interact with it to add the snake to your inventory.
4. Head back to the choking mayor and interact with him using your newly acquired snake. Once the mayor has been relieved of his choking hazard interact with him using the blueprint Shay got from Alex, then choose the option “I think sand is the perfect material for making spacechip parts!” when prompted. Collect your sand-made object start heading back to Curtis.
5. On your way to Curtis, stop by the talking tree, you’re going to have to make him a bit sick again, but don’t worry it’s for a good cause. Place the sand hypercam on the ground, on top of the tree’s sap vomit. After doing that, have Shay show the tree the flyer of Vella. Take the extra hardened hypercam to Curtis.
6. Give the sap covered item to Curtis and he will use it as a mold to make you a true,metal Superconductive Gyroscopic Hypercam. Now just head on back to Alex, and give him his item. That’s one down.

Acquire Radiation Suit

Another item Shay will need in order to help Alex, and progress in Broken Age Act 2, is a radiation suit. To get your hands on one of these you’re going to have to head to Meriloft, the town in the clouds.

1. Have Shay make his way to the area where Vella met M’ggie in Broken Age Act 1. Talk to her and Rocky and let them know you want to buy a cupcake (which you can’t afford), then make your way to the area in the distance where you can see Vella’s grandfather training the little boy from the previous act. Ask them for some money and you’ll receive a coin. Head back and purchase the cupcake, then proceed to the central area once again.
2. Give the cupcake to Walt’r (M’ggie’s father) and he’ll lick the frosting of (kinda gross). Now it’s time to give this frosting-less cupcake to Vella’s grandfather so head on back to him. After frosting the cupcake once more he will let you have his walking stick.
3. Head over to the great tree where Vella got the fruit in the first act. Here you will find the Dead Eye Druids, although they’ve now found something brand new to worship. Inquire about their robes and offer to fight them for the material. Interact with them using the walking stick. After a short cutscene you’ll be able to pick the robes up from the ground. You now have the materials you need to make the radiation suit. Before leaving this area, drop down at the base of the tree and head left. Here you can get a fruit, and a tapper that you’ll need later.
4. Remember that girl from Broken Age Act 1 who was very sad about not being chosen by Mog Chothra? Head over to her and ask her to make you a radiation suit. Give her the robesand the radiation suit from Shay’s childhood. In exchange you will receive the radiation suit for Alex. That’s another item down.

Help Shay’s Father Patch Alex’s Ship

One of the things required by Alex is that someone patch the holes in his ship from when he crashed over 300 years ago. Luckily, Shay’s father is up to the task. Unfortunately, he’s going to need a bit of help in order to get his hole-repairing concoction right. It’s actually pretty simple, but you’re going to need a few items.

1. You should have already collected the fruit from under the tree. Now all you need are some eggshells. In order to get these head over to the huge blue bird that is protecting her egg. Use the tapper on the egg and the bird will hatch leaving the eggshell on the ground for your to collect.
2. Before heading back to your father, stop by F’ther and use the ladder that is connected to Harm’ny’s cloud. There will be a knot for F’ther to untie, so have him describe it to you (which will bring up a picture of it) and remember it for later.
3. Now head back to Shellmound and speak to Shay’s father. Inquire about the concoction he’s cooking up and he’ll share his concerns about the PH balance of the mixture. Use your talking spoon to get a PH reading, and add eggshell and/or fruit juice as needed.Eggshell adds 3 to the PH, while using the fruit subtracts 2 from the reading.
4. Once the PH balance is at 7, Shay’s father will hurry to patch the ship.

Acquire A Heavy Duty Anti-Gravity Thrust Unit

In order to fly, a ship needs thrusters. But, it seems like someone stole the thrust unit from Alex’s ship. In order to get it back, you’re going to have to uncover someone’s lie, and that’s going to require a bit of assistance.

1. Remember that knot we told you to look at earlier? Well, now is when it’s time to put that knowledge to use. Talk to Carol, who happens to be fishing by the mayor guy from earlier, and she’ll give you a diagram instructing you on how to untie your knot. All you need to do is provide her with a description by choosing the option that best describes the knot you saw. She will need a writing utensil, so go back to Alex and ask to borrow his pencil. This may take a try or two so don’t let it upset you. The descriptions are humorous, but they can sometimes also be confusing.
2. Once Shay has his diagram head on back to where F’ther, and Harm’ny are waiting. Follow the instructions on the diagram Carol gave you to the best of your ability. If all goes well the knot will come undone and the truth will be revealed.
3. Without spoiling too much for players, suffice it to say that the Heavy Duty Anti-Gravity Thrust Unit is now back where it belongs.

Get Your Hexipal Working Again

The last thing Alex needs in order to get his ship flying again is some electrical work. It turns out Shay’s hexipal is great at the stuff, but he needs some wires and a quick charge before he can be of any use.

1. Talk to Carol, and Shay will find out that she has wire she’s willing to share if he can get her a better fishing hook. If you offer her the crochet hook, she’ll want some proof that it’s as good as you say.
2. The item that will prove to Carol just how good the crochet hook is happens to have been lodged in the talking trees branches. It fell out during the events that got Shay the thrust unit. The only problem is that the tree won’t just give it to you. You’re gonna have to make him shake it out by telling a really good “tree joke”. Choose these options and you’re sure to get a chuckle out of him:

What’s the smallest full-grown tree you ever heard of?

I’ve seen one no bigger than my hand.

A Palm Tree.

This will lead to a hearty laugh shaking the singing fish from his branches. Now head on back to Carol.

3. Show her the singing fish and she’ll want to know how on earth you managed to catch it. You can then present the crochet hook to her again (which Shay has so eloquently dubbed “the freaper”), and she’ll happily trade her wire to you for it.
4. Combine the wire with Shay’s hexipal and then all that’s needed is to figure out the order of the wiring. If Shay places the hexipal in the slot right beside the entry to Alex’s ship, a display of symbols will show. Of course, these probably make no sense to most people, but they are actually indicating the connections of each wire. To get the proper connections switch back over to Vella and look at the photo in Mom’s room. You need to match the symbols found on the right of the photo. Once you get the proper combination, the hexipalwill be ready to do it’s job.
5. After completing all the tasks the ship will take off leading to a major cutscene. It is time for the end-game puzzles. If you have yet to complete Vella’s puzzles you’ll have to switch over and progress up to the same story point.

Escape the Collided Ships

Shay has accomplished the task of getting Alex’s ship up and running and heading toward Loruna, the only obstacle remaining is his original ship which the ship he has collided with. Since they are both locked into an auto-pilot course, the only option is to take drastic measures that will require the cooperation of both Vella and Shay from their respective locations.

1. The first thing that should be done is having Shay trigger Gary, the little grabbing robot from the first act of Broken Age. This will set up a series of events for Vella.
2. After having Vella trigger the “death ray” for the first time, Shay will be granted access to the lower levels of Alex’s ship. Head down and then proceed through the door on the right. In here a broken radio will be found. Give it to the hexipal and it will stop dancing with Rocky (Vella’s sister). Now you can rewire it to complete your next task. Give the newly repaired radio to Alex and he’ll be distracted allowing you to move about the ship as you please.
3. Head back downstairs and have shay read the book located in the lower right hand corner of the screen. Here you will find a new wire configuration for the hexipal that will allow it to complete more activities. Keep this one in mind, because it will be needed for Vella as well. This order of wiring will give Shay’s hexipal the ability to play the huge harp located in room where he found the radio. Use this ability to distract the rogue robots that are guarding the power switches.
4. Head downstairs, this time entering the room to the left. Interact with this group using the upgraded hexipal and guide them to the harp room. Have the hexipal play the harp in order to keep them in the room. Return to the room on the left and collect the hammer that is serving as a power switch, and then have Shay work his way around that column in order to turn the “death ray” back on.
5. It is time to upgrade the hexipal once more. Collect it from the harp room and combine the little robot with the hammer. Now, time for one more round of rewiring, and to do so you’re going to have to switch back to Vella. If you look on the back of her little robot friend, you will see the pattern for flashlight waving burned into the metal. Use that same pattern on Shay’s hexipal.
6. Set the hexipal up by the drum in order to keep Alex occupied and unable to turn the “death ray” off, you are now ready for the end. Head back upstairs. And Switch over to Vella.
7. Once Vella does what she has to do, have Shay trigger Gary. Now just sit back and enjoy the show.

And there you have it. That every single one of Shay’s puzzles in Broken Age Act 2.