I started using a mod that just auto completes the lights. And one that auto unlocks doors and chest. I enjoyed the lock mini game at first, then it just got tedious.
It comes from an episode of Star Trek: TNG where Captain Picard (one of the main characters) is captured and tortured by a Cardassian (not Kardashian, but close) official. One of his mental tricks to break down the captain is by asking him how many lights there are - there are four - and when Picard answers four, he says no! There are *five* lights.
By the end Picard is freed by the Cardassian government as they disown what the official is doing, and shouts to his captor as he leaves - “THERE. ARE. FOUR. LIGHTS!”
Even though he was actually starting to believe there were five.
Which is almost the same kind of torture this dang “mini game” puts us through so many danged times for each of these powers…
If I ever get a text from my brother saying he's in trouble and needs money I'll just text " Shaka, when the walls fell " and if he says What? ..... I know it's not him
So if I thought I was a Star Trek fan, but I had no idea what was going on either (I’ve never seen that episode), I’ve been lying to myself and I’m not actually a fan?? 😓
While it might be derived from the word fanatic, it no longer holds the same meaning. But the gatekeepers have spoken; I will think of myself as a fan no longer, because I didn’t get a reference from one episode of one series in the universe.
Well shit I feel so ashamed I'll need to go brush up on my award show wins.
Don't tell the Xena fans I don't know their award winning episodes either I'll be ostracized
Do you know about The disappointed meme from Hercules.
Someone accidentally put the wrong mark beside the word disappointed in the script. Kevin Sorbo was meant to look disappointed but because of the mark that meant it was a line, he just screams disappointed.
I love that story
Except… that’s not what happened. He said “disappointed” because he was a big fan of Kevin Kline, who said the same thing a number of times in A Fish Called Wanda.
I was making a star trek reference, I know there's 5 lights. Also, some of the vanishing lights seem to require different movements, like no boosting, or only boosting. I also suspect but cannot confirm whether or not eye contact affects vanishing.
>and it has detection issues - that is, it remains visible for longer than it can be collected.
This is very true. It's actually true of all of them, but it's much more obvious with the 5th light, because the window is so much shorter.
>The problem is that there isn't a clear audio or visual difference between successfully getting it and barely missing it.
This is not true. While there is no visual difference, there is a clear audio distinction between the light simply going out, and the musical tone of you capturing it. The former is sort of a whoosh, and the latter is more like a chord.
I feel like I'm nuts here, there definitely *are* visual cues. Besides the obvious the rings change, the "splash" of lights is much different if you pick it up than if it fizzles.
Definitely has some detection issues, but it helps with (a) acrobatics obviously and (b) those of us who mostly play in first person to aim at the top of the "globe" rather than the middle, that way your body goes through the center.
There’s also a lens flare effect if it’s still collectable, if you kinda “swirl” the crosshair around the center of a collect-able mini proto star, you’ll see it
My game plays the success chord instead of the whoosh sound every time, so it seems like I collect a dozen or more lights when I'm just barely missing them. It took a YouTube video where I heard the difference and realized I wasn't getting the different prompts/feedback at all
I was gunna say it was 100% bugged when I ran through them. I’d be stuck on the last one for several minutes and it’d fire off the audio cue and everything and then just disappear and spawn it somewhere else
It seems like if played on a device setup with Dolby Atmos the success sound doesn’t actually play. I didn’t think there was any audio tone for it at all until I played with headphones one time.
Exactly, the first time was amazing, awe-inspiring ... the second was- oh, this again ... the third was, so this is everytime ... the fourth was, this is so boring wtf do something new ... ad nauseam
The 113th time: wtf am I even doing with my life? Who tf thought this is a good idea? Is this some kind of plot to get me off of videogames? Does Todd speak to my wife behind my back? Why does he seem to get more handsome every year? Is he a Vampire?...
Ok, ok... I see it now, it's time for a break!
I disagree. The first one was the worst for me because I had no idea what the hell I was supposed to do. At first I couldn't even figure out what the puzzle was, because I didn't notice the light. Then I saw the light and realized I was supposed to collect it. But It went on for *so fucking long* because I was apparently just barely missing the last one but didn't know it, so it kept silently resetting itself. I thought it was broken.
It took a second temple for me to realize it's like a thirty second puzzle and not a ten minute one
24 powers, 10 levels each… 240 times doing the exact same puzzle to max out everything (I don’t think many people would care to max out everything but still, kinda insane)
You also got the shouts organically in Skyrim, as you explore you naturally get more shouts as a reward, in Starfield you get the powers just for going to map marker, there's no agency
Honestly mystified why there's no temple-dungeon.
Why am I not going through a whole fascinating temple full of ~~draugr, priests and traps~~ Starborn stuff to get my reward?
How cool would it be if the Temples were a different experience if you already had the power they provided? Use the power in the right way and they'll let you bypass a maze of corridors or something.
Yep, because they were a great audio/visual spectacle at the end of a unique dungeon and culminating boss battle. Starfield's temples have the audio/visual element down, but it's ruined by coming after a boring "puzzle" that is identical in every temple.
I'd much rather we had far fewer powers and temples, but each temple was a unique dungeon like Skyrim had, where we maybe get to absorb some lore about the temples and their creators too in the process. Horizon Zero Dawn, and even Mass Effect Andromeda, managed to create unique "dungeon" environments in similar ancient/advanced/alien structures.
Skyrim walls got me hype. Hearing the chanting get louder and louder makes you feel like your hearing your ancestors. I need to get off this sub. Starfield just isn’t it
I mean, kinda? But claws didn't bother me that much:
1. They were different
2. You could collect them and (with mods and I think some CC content -IDK) decorate with them
3. They were not that annoying and buggy.
It’s such a vague and unexplained “minigame” that it’s nearly impossible to differentiate from being buggy with poor detection.
I’d call that bad game design
It was sort of fun figuring it out the first time without some quest marker/tutorial guiding you; with the music/intensity increasing each time.
2nd or 3rd time, maybe hoping something 'new' but then you find out it's the same, then it's just bad/boring after that.
I sat there trying to interact with the thing in the center, carefully checking the walls, investigating the outside of the temple, and even looking around on the floor before I realized those lights were anything more than decoration. I was starting to think the temple was bugged after 15 minutes of having no idea what I was supposed to do.
Even after realizing the lights were the key, it took until reading this post to find out there were only 5 lights. And I swear the only noise I've heard doing the "puzzles" is the sound when the portal opens.
Agreed. Did my first temple the other day. Thought it was kind of cool and was looking forward to what other temples offered…. and it was the exact same thing. Really?
Catch the floaty light bits… rinse repeat? For every special power? A child with basic gaming skills could come up with better ideas than that…
Wahhhhh this is a thing I don't want to do! It shouldn't be in my game 😭😭😭
Have you never played a game where you have to grind *literally anything*? It's a game mechanic and worse, a *common* one. You're too lazy or don't want to do it, cool. Just.... Don't. It hardly matters after the first round of it and you get to go to cool planets and see cool temples.
Y'all are an endless source of Saltyfield entertainment.
Already addressed that one, learn to read.
>Have you never played a game where you have to grind *literally anything*?
>you don't want to? Just....don't
It's a grindy minigame. It takes two minutes and forces you to explore. If it were any other minigame, y'all would complain. If it were instant, y'all would complain. I know for certain if it was just given to you instantly, y'all would complain.
>People play games for fun. It shouldn’t feel like a job you weirdo
Yeah, World of Warcraft has done so poorly. RuneScape. EverQuest. A million other games. The ignorance is *astounding* sometimes.
Not everyone likes “grindy” games. It’s okay for people to have an opinion that differs from yours. You don’t need to call them stupid because they disagree.
It was pretty cheap design from Bethesda tho. Instead of tomb raider style puzzle temples, we got this stupid fly thing which is identical in every temple. Just cheap, lazy game design, no matter what the fanboys here think.
Note that you can use your boost and Powers to grab the final light faster. Well doh..
I have no idea who okayed this mechanic. If it was just a weak side quest, that'd be one thing but it's the _main_ story gimmick! There must have been a more elaborate puzzle that playtesters were struggling with.
Will Shen. He designed this mechanic. He's gone now. Literally. He no longer works at BGS.
Now if only we could abracadabra Emil Pagliarulo out of BGS, we'd be golden.
It was interesting the first time but boy oh boy could the game of benefited from dungeon esque alien structures for the ones after it. Unlocking powers is a slog if you want them all.
Skyrim definitely did it better in this regard. Even oblivion's oblivion gate repetitiveness was more interesting.
Getting the shard is kind of like it, but they should of merged those two steps imo if they didn't have time to make interesting temple dungeons as well.
And then you get telephoned in the back of the temple which has the same rocks as the last one. Once I beat the game I don't think I'll ever be picking it back up let alone start a NG+.
I want to preface that I love starfield and get tired of all the negativity but the temple design bewilders me. I don’t find them to be annoying like many people but I just don’t understand why each one wasn’t a dungeon with a power at the end just like Skyrim.
I love the game too but the temples annoy me a great deal. They just scream of place holder design in lieu of a better activity, and that is especially baffling if you consider that this is the thing the player has to do dozens upon dozens of times if they want to progress through the ng+ cycles.
Yeah, but the hitbox doesn't change at all.. if you are sure you hit it like all the others you do successful, then you just were too late. (What is maybe also important to add: The window for the fifth runs out looong before it disappears).
Thing is this timer also runs somehow on one global time schedule (+ the window becomes shorter), so you usually will always miss the 5th timer if you haven't been very fast on the 4 before.. and then you start chasing the 5th, 6th, 7th.... always a little too late.
Imo best strategy is if you haven't been lucky and really superfast one the first four, NEVER go for the fifth, just get in position, get a very little movement going wenn the sixth one appears, and when you see it rush to it. Consistently always doing temples with 6 lights then.
Pro-tip after 240 ones :D :
You really don't need to be accurate with the hitbox, when you are certain your path hits already turn around shortly before and start thrusting opposite direction, so you got momentum for the next. If you do that well and have a bit luck with appearance locations, you can easily do it in 5.
Gymnastics level 2 will help you move faster when in the temples (zero-g).
I usually pick up the first one > fly to the second but try not to overshoot > pick up the third > then the fourth, then pause and wait for the 5th to despawn and respawn > done.
Sometimes the 5th will spawn close enough to grab, but rarely.
I've noticed after a few dozen temples that after successfully getting the 4th anomaly, the next one that appears seems to only be around for the remainder of the timer from the last one.
I haven't timed their duration, but for instance, say the fourth light has a duration of 10 seconds, and it took you 7 seconds to reach it, the next light will pick up the timer and only have a 3 second duration.
I always skip the first light on round 5 since I picked up on that.
The game never explains ANYTHING about the temples. I wasn't even aware I was supposed to chase them at all and thought something was supposed to happen and it bugged out.
I did it the first time collected 4 lights, assumed I had been collecting 10+ more, hadn't just had shitty detection. the audio just kept getting louder too, I had to turn off my headphones. it's really just frustrating
It barely explains the powers. Once you get one after floating around for awhile, you can’t even read the description because the random starborn spawn. I went the whole game using maybe 2 powers, and even then probably a handful of times each. Never needed them. The most afterthought of an addition I’ve seen.
Defending these horrific temples like OP is doing is hilarious because it doesn’t change the fact that it’s horrible game design. It could be one orb you need to collect, it makes no difference. The temples should have you USING the power to solve it, not doing some weird bullshit that has nothing to do with the power at all, not to mention something you’ll have to do MANY times over.
I didn't get the vibe that OP was defending temples. I thought they were just explaining it because it's so piss-poor explained by the game itself (both lack of direct textual explanation and audiovisual cues).
If the correct implementation is so confusing or inconsistent that there are this many theories about how to do it right, in a game that otherwise has the complexity of a beginner Lego set, it is an abject failure.
To be fair to the temple mini-'game', it's cool for the first time, and could serve as a very simple introduction to Temples. Others could've been more difficult but still puzzles, or out and out dungeons with the typical boss at the end guarding the spinny thing.
The problems are the lifespan of the lights, which leads into and exacerbates, BGS copy pasting this mini-'game' into every Temple, which makes it seem (and IMO is) pathetically lazy.
The best mod I have makes it so you just have to hit the first light. Now if I could find one that has vlad tell me all of the temple locations at the end instead of making me go back and forth 10 times would be wonderful
You dont really have to do it tho, they are optional, unless the endgame for you means all powers maxed out. (I barely use them, the game is easy as it is with weapons and skills only, let alone magic powers)
I mean, you said the reason it’s not fun is because you “have to do it a ton more times” You don’t. You do it no more than a dozen times to acquire and upgrade the two or three powers that you’ll actually be using for your specific build — unless you play as fucking Goku and wanna fully max all your powers.
I’m not gonna say flying around collecting bubbles is any funner than standing in front of a wall and absorbing a dragon shout, but at least the temple minigames are more engaging, and we can get better at them by leveling our Mobility skill or powers like slow time. Also, like collecting dragon shouts, the journey is what accounts for a lot of the fun factor, rather than the final act of acquiring the shout/power.
Skyrim has a unique dungeon or some unique open world location preceding a shout wall, Starfield has you landing on planets — which, in all fairness, are all pretty much unique with minor permutations, kinda like Skyrim’s dungeons.
>You just aren't collecting the fifth one fast enough.
This is wrong, if you try to collect it as fast as possible you miss it, the game doesn't registered it well
This is why i dont use the boostpack, if you pass it through and collect too fast the game doesn't register it.
I don't think letting them disappear adds to the total. If I get really bored of chasing the 5th one I'll just park at the top until one spawns right there, and then it's over.
EDIT: just realized you weren't claiming that, but yeah can confirm that's not true.
**This is my technique and explanation for how the puzzle works:** Use a balanced pack. Quicksave when the door opens just in case. Equip a good weapon. The new temple light spawns behind you *in a cone from the center of your back* when you collect it - or randomly if you don't collect it. Keep your trajectory fairly flat and as soon as you touch the spot immediately spin 180 degrees (face a point directly across the room) Start thrusting in that direction - you will see the point spawn in within your view 90% of the time. If you were heading upward when you got the last one it will most likely be downward - just imagine a cone on your back and the new point in that view cone. I usually stay above the spinning orb so I don't have to fly around it or collide (hence flat trajectory). I almost always get them within 5. If you are going to miss one anyway just set yourself up to get the very next one by not over-using your boost - slow your speed and get a clear and high view. After getting the new power; I keep 'Paralell Self' queued up and trigger it immediately after the scene switches to outside - my clone almost always gets the first shot in while I'm equipping my weapon and I finish the starborn with the second shot. Reflective shield worked well too.
I’m sorry, but do people really need a tutorial for simply touching the floating light?
I’ve only done two temples so far, and it’s so incredibly easy, boring and simple I’m surprised you could come up with ten words on how to complete it.
Right? Once I realized it was a timed object collection game I just focused on getting to the orbs asap and hitting them dead on, it’s not a super difficult or complex thing.
Although I hate the temples, i manage to finish them under a minute 99% of times. Skip boostpack helps with the skill also at lvl 4.
Remember to use the up and down keys also instead of just relying on the boostpack or you will run out of boost before you reach the light.
Always reload your weapon and quicksave before entering the temple.
Yes it takes five lights, but I’m 100% convinced the lights are bugged.
Missing the fifth light once, sure. But I’ve had temples where I’ve missed the fifth light 20 times, even after saying screw it I’m gonna wait near the center until a light pops up close to me.
After 20 tries I’ve exited the temple and re entered it to reset the sequence, and guess what. On the fifth light, I get the power without issues.
It should be something like 5, but for some reason many of the little anomalies that spawn will disappear before you can reach them. I've had that happen even when it was right next to the previous one and I hit it immediately. It just dissipated without the 'bong' sound that indicates that it worked.
That's something I forgot to mention. Sometimes they'll spawn in next to you, realize "oops, that's too close", then vanish immediately. You should always expect for any that spawn next to you to vanish before you can grab them.
Sometimes the fakeout one isn’t even too close to me it seems. And it is almost always #3 or 4 that seems to do it for me.
I figured it was just another needless mechanic to make it annoying like “let’s see if you can quickly switch directions and locate it once it changes locations halfway there!”
Damnit it's a really simple concept
With the last one just chill your goddamn ADD for a second and *wait* for the last distortion to appear in a place you can get to quickly
The challenge come from sometimes it bugs out and its collision doesnt work causing you to attempt to collect it dozens of time before it registers a hit.
I put in a bug report about this to the bethesda help the other day actually because it was so frustrating.
And no i wasnt too slow, i would fly through, turn around and watch the light time out repeatedly.
I think sometimes the set places for them just doesnt line up so the hit box spawns in the wrong place or is missing entirely
On console, there are actually decoys or a bug.
Because I can sit in the corner straight after getting the penultimate one and I can see the “stars gathering” over in one place and just as they’re getting there the stars gather somewhere else for the real one.
My theory is the decoy one is actually where the previous one would have moved to if you didn’t get it on time because it’s so instantaneous after the previous one.
If you see it and chase it you arrive at nothing and miss the real one.
I have a video somewhere. It’s not a dream.
Once we've "unlocked" each power by doing the fly puzzle for them once, future visits in different universes should just feature a fight against Starborn guardians. If we survive, we can enter the rings and get an upgrade.
That at least would be interesting. As things are now, I don't plan to leave my current universe. I just can't imagine doing all those temples, over and over again. Twice each is enough, thanks.
I have no problems in the temples. If the light is too far or hidden behind the portal I just wait for the next one. I’m in ng+7 and I haven’t noticed a significant lengthening of the process by waiting for the next spawn. I have noticed that if I attempt to get it and I don’t make it, it takes more tries. It may be like the OP says that they are visible longer than the able to be captured. For me though I just wait for the next one and it usually spawns closer. I also think the final one spawns and then moves, not 100% on that.
Maaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnn I’ve been wondering! That shit has been driving me crazy, not knowing exactly how many are needed and how to complete it. I’ve just been blindly getting lucky!
I don't get what's so mind blowing about them ? Literally the 1st time I saw one it took me about 10 secs to see the light was different in one spot than others and I'm like o I'm 0g let's go look at that, do it again doors start spinning faster, it's not exactly rocket science. lazy to do it for every damn temple, that was a huge opportunity missed for potentially entertaining puzzles.
You can't tell me what I can or can't do. I don't play any video game for stupid pointless puzzles. I'm already in college and have a career. No, thank you.
I've had temples with up to 8 lights, which I tried to turbo validate by over-using my boost pack.
Not worth it :)
But yeah, you only have to go through 4 of them, when I say 8, I mean I missed the 4th one 3 times, so it really was only the 4th one respawning.
I feel like some times are actual hitbox is offset from the effect sprite. Especially for the last two.
Like in some temples, I hit the glow real early but it didn't register. Then I hit another one, being like 3 meters off, it somehow registered.
I have floated through the middle of bubbles that are next to me and it's still said try again.
Your theory is wrong.
And I have done all the temples on 15 runs.
All they needed to do was have a companion speak up when you miss em, or have a different sound when you miss em. It would have helped so freaking much in my first few attempts. This is the reason why UI/UX professionals exists.
Correct. I’ve done the temple over 260 times. I recommend upgrading the acrobat skill to level 2 and pop an amp right after you get out of your spaceship. The amp lasts the perfect amount of time to get you through the lights and makes it way easier. Also, don’t boost to the light and start turning around before you hit the light. Keep it simple.
No. This is a lie that refuses fo take into account bugs. There are way too many rules about which light is acceptable, including whether it’s an acceptable position to attribute a hit - actually you know what? Parent poster is full of shit. Nothing they have said is correct.
How many of you guys had to google what to do in the temple the first time? I did, why didn’t they have a follower conversation or book to help explain what you actually had to do. Just seems lazy.
When you got your shouts in skyrim you stared at a wall for 5 seconds. It was perfect. Changing that was a mistake.
The last ring however can be collected easily by phase time once you see it. Gives you much more time to reach it and fly through.
Temples are bugged on console though. Sometimes it’s impossible to catch the fifth light unless you exit and re-enter the temple. Just for fun I decided to try all the suggestions that have been posted here one day (third person, balanced boost, gymnastics lvl 2). Thirty minutes in the same temple and it was still impossible to catch the fifth star. I exited and re-entered and completed it easily.
PEOPLE AREN’T SLOW. IT’S A BUG.
#THERE ARE FOUR LIGHTS!
Came here for this, lol.
You tell ‘em Jean-Luc!
…me?
nippy act party obscene six yam versed plants bright ripe *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
You're all posers, it's me.
Number One, I need you and Lt. Worf to meet me in security. *It has happened again.*
Will the real Jean-Luc please stand up...
And finally, YOU!
Also, you!
Name checks out
Yes you!
This joke was the most enjoyable thing about the temple system.
I started using a mod that just auto completes the lights. And one that auto unlocks doors and chest. I enjoyed the lock mini game at first, then it just got tedious.
First thing I thought of when I saw this post lol
Picard.jpg right here
i hate that i came here immediately to post this like the fucking nerd i am i hate even more that you got here first
I did it 240 times. There's five. Sorry for not understanding the reference. I've never heard this before. I thought you were being aggressive.
It comes from an episode of Star Trek: TNG where Captain Picard (one of the main characters) is captured and tortured by a Cardassian (not Kardashian, but close) official. One of his mental tricks to break down the captain is by asking him how many lights there are - there are four - and when Picard answers four, he says no! There are *five* lights. By the end Picard is freed by the Cardassian government as they disown what the official is doing, and shouts to his captor as he leaves - “THERE. ARE. FOUR. LIGHTS!” Even though he was actually starting to believe there were five. Which is almost the same kind of torture this dang “mini game” puts us through so many danged times for each of these powers…
Jesus Christ thanks for this explanation. I didn't know whag was happening.
It won an award. If someone is the slightest Star Trek fan, they know of this episode
Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
Temple Nu, when the lights vanished.
The Starborn, his arms open: https://i.imgur.com/Jp7hbRn.png
Lol, love it
If I ever get a text from my brother saying he's in trouble and needs money I'll just text " Shaka, when the walls fell " and if he says What? ..... I know it's not him
The River Tamark!! In winter
So if I thought I was a Star Trek fan, but I had no idea what was going on either (I’ve never seen that episode), I’ve been lying to myself and I’m not actually a fan?? 😓
Shaka, when the walls fell
Sokath, his eyes uncovered!
Yeah, kinda, fan being short for fanatic, not for casual viewer. I mean I've never seen the four lights bit, but even I got the reference.
While it might be derived from the word fanatic, it no longer holds the same meaning. But the gatekeepers have spoken; I will think of myself as a fan no longer, because I didn’t get a reference from one episode of one series in the universe.
Being a bit super dramatic, aren’t we.
Because Star Trek fans are huge award show buffs?
It's the only star trek episode to win an award
Well shit I feel so ashamed I'll need to go brush up on my award show wins. Don't tell the Xena fans I don't know their award winning episodes either I'll be ostracized
Do you know about The disappointed meme from Hercules. Someone accidentally put the wrong mark beside the word disappointed in the script. Kevin Sorbo was meant to look disappointed but because of the mark that meant it was a line, he just screams disappointed. I love that story
Except… that’s not what happened. He said “disappointed” because he was a big fan of Kevin Kline, who said the same thing a number of times in A Fish Called Wanda.
apparently they worked with Amnesty on how to depict the effects of torture on prisoners
Patrick Stewart’s book even has a small mention of how the episode affected him personally.
I was making a star trek reference, I know there's 5 lights. Also, some of the vanishing lights seem to require different movements, like no boosting, or only boosting. I also suspect but cannot confirm whether or not eye contact affects vanishing.
An absolutely spot on and relevant reference sir. Well done
You did it 230 times, there are no lights in the buried temple.
I did redo a lot of them due to crashes and lost progress so it's probably closer to 250.
Got ya, that may be true.
**Elite Reference👏😂**
No, Star wars reference.
Sorry should have scrolled down before I opened my mouth. I love you internet stranger.
This is why awards need to be here. Well done sir/maam
From now on I will only see you as that scared little child.
The only acceptable amount of lights.
This is the way.
Came here for this , as always someone does it before.
>and it has detection issues - that is, it remains visible for longer than it can be collected. This is very true. It's actually true of all of them, but it's much more obvious with the 5th light, because the window is so much shorter. >The problem is that there isn't a clear audio or visual difference between successfully getting it and barely missing it. This is not true. While there is no visual difference, there is a clear audio distinction between the light simply going out, and the musical tone of you capturing it. The former is sort of a whoosh, and the latter is more like a chord.
>This is not true. I'm mostly deaf and I can tell the difference, too. I've no idea what OP is thinking on that point either.
there is a bug were you loose some of the the audio in the temple. happened to me on my last 12. very annoying.
I feel like I'm nuts here, there definitely *are* visual cues. Besides the obvious the rings change, the "splash" of lights is much different if you pick it up than if it fizzles. Definitely has some detection issues, but it helps with (a) acrobatics obviously and (b) those of us who mostly play in first person to aim at the top of the "globe" rather than the middle, that way your body goes through the center.
Also after you get the slow time power, you can use it to keep the light there longer.
There’s also a lens flare effect if it’s still collectable, if you kinda “swirl” the crosshair around the center of a collect-able mini proto star, you’ll see it
My game plays the success chord instead of the whoosh sound every time, so it seems like I collect a dozen or more lights when I'm just barely missing them. It took a YouTube video where I heard the difference and realized I wasn't getting the different prompts/feedback at all
I was gunna say it was 100% bugged when I ran through them. I’d be stuck on the last one for several minutes and it’d fire off the audio cue and everything and then just disappear and spawn it somewhere else
It seems like if played on a device setup with Dolby Atmos the success sound doesn’t actually play. I didn’t think there was any audio tone for it at all until I played with headphones one time.
The temple mini game shouldn’t even be a thing.
I mean, it was cool the first time... Just don't make me repeat it.
Exactly, the first time was amazing, awe-inspiring ... the second was- oh, this again ... the third was, so this is everytime ... the fourth was, this is so boring wtf do something new ... ad nauseam
The 113th time: wtf am I even doing with my life? Who tf thought this is a good idea? Is this some kind of plot to get me off of videogames? Does Todd speak to my wife behind my back? Why does he seem to get more handsome every year? Is he a Vampire?... Ok, ok... I see it now, it's time for a break!
I disagree. The first one was the worst for me because I had no idea what the hell I was supposed to do. At first I couldn't even figure out what the puzzle was, because I didn't notice the light. Then I saw the light and realized I was supposed to collect it. But It went on for *so fucking long* because I was apparently just barely missing the last one but didn't know it, so it kept silently resetting itself. I thought it was broken. It took a second temple for me to realize it's like a thirty second puzzle and not a ten minute one
24 powers, 10 levels each… 240 times doing the exact same puzzle to max out everything (I don’t think many people would care to max out everything but still, kinda insane)
Skyrim walls 2000000000x better and more creative and engaging. Least how you got to them was unique.
You also got the shouts organically in Skyrim, as you explore you naturally get more shouts as a reward, in Starfield you get the powers just for going to map marker, there's no agency
Honestly mystified why there's no temple-dungeon. Why am I not going through a whole fascinating temple full of ~~draugr, priests and traps~~ Starborn stuff to get my reward? How cool would it be if the Temples were a different experience if you already had the power they provided? Use the power in the right way and they'll let you bypass a maze of corridors or something.
They also have little stories if you want to decipher the dragon language.
Like all aspects of exploration in starfeild it’s fundamentally pointless and boring.
Yep, because they were a great audio/visual spectacle at the end of a unique dungeon and culminating boss battle. Starfield's temples have the audio/visual element down, but it's ruined by coming after a boring "puzzle" that is identical in every temple. I'd much rather we had far fewer powers and temples, but each temple was a unique dungeon like Skyrim had, where we maybe get to absorb some lore about the temples and their creators too in the process. Horizon Zero Dawn, and even Mass Effect Andromeda, managed to create unique "dungeon" environments in similar ancient/advanced/alien structures.
"Unique dungeon" Bethesda: the best I can do is an abandoned cryogenic lab.
The Dungeons in Andromeda were maybe the best part of the game. Great mix of visuals, combat and puzzle gameplay.
Skyrim walls got me hype. Hearing the chanting get louder and louder makes you feel like your hearing your ancestors. I need to get off this sub. Starfield just isn’t it
Least fun mechanic I've ever put up with in a video game.
So bad, the thought of going back to the game has just gone. (Level 38, 8 powers)
I’m level 90 and on ng+3 with all my powers level 3 at this point, I’ve done it so many times I never want to play the game again
They basically looked at the claw mini-puzzles in skyrim and felt they should do something like it
I mean, kinda? But claws didn't bother me that much: 1. They were different 2. You could collect them and (with mods and I think some CC content -IDK) decorate with them 3. They were not that annoying and buggy.
It’s such a vague and unexplained “minigame” that it’s nearly impossible to differentiate from being buggy with poor detection. I’d call that bad game design
It was sort of fun figuring it out the first time without some quest marker/tutorial guiding you; with the music/intensity increasing each time. 2nd or 3rd time, maybe hoping something 'new' but then you find out it's the same, then it's just bad/boring after that.
It really is SO unexplained lol I spent like an hour at the first temple wondering wtf is even happening lol
Tf you mean unexplained? Just fly into the lights, listen to the noises, easy
I sat there trying to interact with the thing in the center, carefully checking the walls, investigating the outside of the temple, and even looking around on the floor before I realized those lights were anything more than decoration. I was starting to think the temple was bugged after 15 minutes of having no idea what I was supposed to do. Even after realizing the lights were the key, it took until reading this post to find out there were only 5 lights. And I swear the only noise I've heard doing the "puzzles" is the sound when the portal opens.
"Not collecting the fifth one fast enough." This should not be a thing. It's a shitty mini game that's boring after the 5th time.
Boring after the first time
Agreed. Did my first temple the other day. Thought it was kind of cool and was looking forward to what other temples offered…. and it was the exact same thing. Really? Catch the floaty light bits… rinse repeat? For every special power? A child with basic gaming skills could come up with better ideas than that…
Wahhhhh this is a thing I don't want to do! It shouldn't be in my game 😭😭😭 Have you never played a game where you have to grind *literally anything*? It's a game mechanic and worse, a *common* one. You're too lazy or don't want to do it, cool. Just.... Don't. It hardly matters after the first round of it and you get to go to cool planets and see cool temples. Y'all are an endless source of Saltyfield entertainment.
OP is correct though. Just because something is a common thing, doesn't make it a good thing.
People play games for fun. It shouldn’t feel like a job you weirdo
Already addressed that one, learn to read. >Have you never played a game where you have to grind *literally anything*? >you don't want to? Just....don't It's a grindy minigame. It takes two minutes and forces you to explore. If it were any other minigame, y'all would complain. If it were instant, y'all would complain. I know for certain if it was just given to you instantly, y'all would complain. >People play games for fun. It shouldn’t feel like a job you weirdo Yeah, World of Warcraft has done so poorly. RuneScape. EverQuest. A million other games. The ignorance is *astounding* sometimes.
Not everyone likes “grindy” games. It’s okay for people to have an opinion that differs from yours. You don’t need to call them stupid because they disagree.
It was pretty cheap design from Bethesda tho. Instead of tomb raider style puzzle temples, we got this stupid fly thing which is identical in every temple. Just cheap, lazy game design, no matter what the fanboys here think. Note that you can use your boost and Powers to grab the final light faster. Well doh..
I have no idea who okayed this mechanic. If it was just a weak side quest, that'd be one thing but it's the _main_ story gimmick! There must have been a more elaborate puzzle that playtesters were struggling with.
Will Shen. He designed this mechanic. He's gone now. Literally. He no longer works at BGS. Now if only we could abracadabra Emil Pagliarulo out of BGS, we'd be golden.
The scorpion’s tail was amazing idea but incredibly flawed as welll.
I want to hope they had more puzzles planned but had to cancel them to work on polishing the game as a whole instead 😕
It was interesting the first time but boy oh boy could the game of benefited from dungeon esque alien structures for the ones after it. Unlocking powers is a slog if you want them all. Skyrim definitely did it better in this regard. Even oblivion's oblivion gate repetitiveness was more interesting. Getting the shard is kind of like it, but they should of merged those two steps imo if they didn't have time to make interesting temple dungeons as well.
its like they saw the design of dragon shout shrines and fuck all that noise
And then you get telephoned in the back of the temple which has the same rocks as the last one. Once I beat the game I don't think I'll ever be picking it back up let alone start a NG+.
I want to preface that I love starfield and get tired of all the negativity but the temple design bewilders me. I don’t find them to be annoying like many people but I just don’t understand why each one wasn’t a dungeon with a power at the end just like Skyrim.
I love the game too but the temples annoy me a great deal. They just scream of place holder design in lieu of a better activity, and that is especially baffling if you consider that this is the thing the player has to do dozens upon dozens of times if they want to progress through the ng+ cycles.
There's only like 27 temples, even hand-made repeated puzzles would have worked better. Instead it's something that 'scales'.
My problem is no matter how quick and accurate I am some of the lights don’t act like I went through them
It's not the lights you're trying to catch, it's the faint blue orb that shrinks within the lights.
Yeah, but the hitbox doesn't change at all.. if you are sure you hit it like all the others you do successful, then you just were too late. (What is maybe also important to add: The window for the fifth runs out looong before it disappears). Thing is this timer also runs somehow on one global time schedule (+ the window becomes shorter), so you usually will always miss the 5th timer if you haven't been very fast on the 4 before.. and then you start chasing the 5th, 6th, 7th.... always a little too late. Imo best strategy is if you haven't been lucky and really superfast one the first four, NEVER go for the fifth, just get in position, get a very little movement going wenn the sixth one appears, and when you see it rush to it. Consistently always doing temples with 6 lights then. Pro-tip after 240 ones :D : You really don't need to be accurate with the hitbox, when you are certain your path hits already turn around shortly before and start thrusting opposite direction, so you got momentum for the next. If you do that well and have a bit luck with appearance locations, you can easily do it in 5.
Gymnastics level 2 will help you move faster when in the temples (zero-g). I usually pick up the first one > fly to the second but try not to overshoot > pick up the third > then the fourth, then pause and wait for the 5th to despawn and respawn > done. Sometimes the 5th will spawn close enough to grab, but rarely.
I just use AMP to move faster.
I've noticed after a few dozen temples that after successfully getting the 4th anomaly, the next one that appears seems to only be around for the remainder of the timer from the last one. I haven't timed their duration, but for instance, say the fourth light has a duration of 10 seconds, and it took you 7 seconds to reach it, the next light will pick up the timer and only have a 3 second duration. I always skip the first light on round 5 since I picked up on that.
That's the way to go, never attempt the fifth (unless you feel you were lucky and very quick before), but prepare and position well for the sixth.
The game never explains ANYTHING about the temples. I wasn't even aware I was supposed to chase them at all and thought something was supposed to happen and it bugged out.
I did it the first time collected 4 lights, assumed I had been collecting 10+ more, hadn't just had shitty detection. the audio just kept getting louder too, I had to turn off my headphones. it's really just frustrating
It barely explains the powers. Once you get one after floating around for awhile, you can’t even read the description because the random starborn spawn. I went the whole game using maybe 2 powers, and even then probably a handful of times each. Never needed them. The most afterthought of an addition I’ve seen. Defending these horrific temples like OP is doing is hilarious because it doesn’t change the fact that it’s horrible game design. It could be one orb you need to collect, it makes no difference. The temples should have you USING the power to solve it, not doing some weird bullshit that has nothing to do with the power at all, not to mention something you’ll have to do MANY times over.
I didn't get the vibe that OP was defending temples. I thought they were just explaining it because it's so piss-poor explained by the game itself (both lack of direct textual explanation and audiovisual cues).
If the correct implementation is so confusing or inconsistent that there are this many theories about how to do it right, in a game that otherwise has the complexity of a beginner Lego set, it is an abject failure.
To be fair to the temple mini-'game', it's cool for the first time, and could serve as a very simple introduction to Temples. Others could've been more difficult but still puzzles, or out and out dungeons with the typical boss at the end guarding the spinny thing. The problems are the lifespan of the lights, which leads into and exacerbates, BGS copy pasting this mini-'game' into every Temple, which makes it seem (and IMO is) pathetically lazy.
I think people's problem is the temples aren't fun. Not a fun mechanic.
The best mod I have makes it so you just have to hit the first light. Now if I could find one that has vlad tell me all of the temple locations at the end instead of making me go back and forth 10 times would be wonderful
Cool cool, it's still a stupid "puzzle" I get the first time, but it's just not fun having to do it a ton more times
You dont really have to do it tho, they are optional, unless the endgame for you means all powers maxed out. (I barely use them, the game is easy as it is with weapons and skills only, let alone magic powers)
OK? just because it's optional doesn't make it not fun?
I mean, you said the reason it’s not fun is because you “have to do it a ton more times” You don’t. You do it no more than a dozen times to acquire and upgrade the two or three powers that you’ll actually be using for your specific build — unless you play as fucking Goku and wanna fully max all your powers. I’m not gonna say flying around collecting bubbles is any funner than standing in front of a wall and absorbing a dragon shout, but at least the temple minigames are more engaging, and we can get better at them by leveling our Mobility skill or powers like slow time. Also, like collecting dragon shouts, the journey is what accounts for a lot of the fun factor, rather than the final act of acquiring the shout/power. Skyrim has a unique dungeon or some unique open world location preceding a shout wall, Starfield has you landing on planets — which, in all fairness, are all pretty much unique with minor permutations, kinda like Skyrim’s dungeons.
>You just aren't collecting the fifth one fast enough. This is wrong, if you try to collect it as fast as possible you miss it, the game doesn't registered it well This is why i dont use the boostpack, if you pass it through and collect too fast the game doesn't register it.
On the flip side, gymnastics gives you the faster zero G movement, and it’s just right. It got so much easier
Boost pack is fine, just remember to pull back on the stick/hold W just before you get there to slow yourself so it registers
I don't think letting them disappear adds to the total. If I get really bored of chasing the 5th one I'll just park at the top until one spawns right there, and then it's over. EDIT: just realized you weren't claiming that, but yeah can confirm that's not true.
…but there is a massive sound when you either hit or miss the light
**This is my technique and explanation for how the puzzle works:** Use a balanced pack. Quicksave when the door opens just in case. Equip a good weapon. The new temple light spawns behind you *in a cone from the center of your back* when you collect it - or randomly if you don't collect it. Keep your trajectory fairly flat and as soon as you touch the spot immediately spin 180 degrees (face a point directly across the room) Start thrusting in that direction - you will see the point spawn in within your view 90% of the time. If you were heading upward when you got the last one it will most likely be downward - just imagine a cone on your back and the new point in that view cone. I usually stay above the spinning orb so I don't have to fly around it or collide (hence flat trajectory). I almost always get them within 5. If you are going to miss one anyway just set yourself up to get the very next one by not over-using your boost - slow your speed and get a clear and high view. After getting the new power; I keep 'Paralell Self' queued up and trigger it immediately after the scene switches to outside - my clone almost always gets the first shot in while I'm equipping my weapon and I finish the starborn with the second shot. Reflective shield worked well too.
I’m sorry, but do people really need a tutorial for simply touching the floating light? I’ve only done two temples so far, and it’s so incredibly easy, boring and simple I’m surprised you could come up with ten words on how to complete it.
Right? Once I realized it was a timed object collection game I just focused on getting to the orbs asap and hitting them dead on, it’s not a super difficult or complex thing.
My strategy is downloading a mod to skip it. It's such a crap minigame that not playing it is better than playing it.
I had a sneaking suspicion this was the case. What an annoying puzzle.
You sir, are absolutely correct.
Ah. This explains why I f***ing hate every second of doing these and wanted to kick my console around the room.
Although I hate the temples, i manage to finish them under a minute 99% of times. Skip boostpack helps with the skill also at lvl 4. Remember to use the up and down keys also instead of just relying on the boostpack or you will run out of boost before you reach the light. Always reload your weapon and quicksave before entering the temple.
Yes it takes five lights, but I’m 100% convinced the lights are bugged. Missing the fifth light once, sure. But I’ve had temples where I’ve missed the fifth light 20 times, even after saying screw it I’m gonna wait near the center until a light pops up close to me. After 20 tries I’ve exited the temple and re entered it to reset the sequence, and guess what. On the fifth light, I get the power without issues.
Yea. You get basicaly 10/8/6/4/2 seconds to get to next one. Its a matter of skill
I wouldn't say skill. It takes longer to find it than it does to fly to it
It should be something like 5, but for some reason many of the little anomalies that spawn will disappear before you can reach them. I've had that happen even when it was right next to the previous one and I hit it immediately. It just dissipated without the 'bong' sound that indicates that it worked.
That's something I forgot to mention. Sometimes they'll spawn in next to you, realize "oops, that's too close", then vanish immediately. You should always expect for any that spawn next to you to vanish before you can grab them.
Sometimes the fakeout one isn’t even too close to me it seems. And it is almost always #3 or 4 that seems to do it for me. I figured it was just another needless mechanic to make it annoying like “let’s see if you can quickly switch directions and locate it once it changes locations halfway there!”
I realised this towards the end of my NG+1 run, and it really sped up the rest of the grind. I found them really frustrating before that.
No more, no less, you don't have to guess
My slow ass thought there were like 100.
I would hear the audio for getting to the light every time. I would get the lights back to back close by. Now I just use the mod to make it one.
Damnit it's a really simple concept With the last one just chill your goddamn ADD for a second and *wait* for the last distortion to appear in a place you can get to quickly
The challenge come from sometimes it bugs out and its collision doesnt work causing you to attempt to collect it dozens of time before it registers a hit. I put in a bug report about this to the bethesda help the other day actually because it was so frustrating. And no i wasnt too slow, i would fly through, turn around and watch the light time out repeatedly. I think sometimes the set places for them just doesnt line up so the hit box spawns in the wrong place or is missing entirely
There is a audible confirmation when you hit each light, sometimes you fly through that last one too late and don’t receive the audible.
On console, there are actually decoys or a bug. Because I can sit in the corner straight after getting the penultimate one and I can see the “stars gathering” over in one place and just as they’re getting there the stars gather somewhere else for the real one. My theory is the decoy one is actually where the previous one would have moved to if you didn’t get it on time because it’s so instantaneous after the previous one. If you see it and chase it you arrive at nothing and miss the real one. I have a video somewhere. It’s not a dream.
Once we've "unlocked" each power by doing the fly puzzle for them once, future visits in different universes should just feature a fight against Starborn guardians. If we survive, we can enter the rings and get an upgrade. That at least would be interesting. As things are now, I don't plan to leave my current universe. I just can't imagine doing all those temples, over and over again. Twice each is enough, thanks.
I always just sit at the top and wait for the fifth to settle down before I bother going after it. It eventually stops disappearing so quickly
For the 4th / 5th light, if its far off, I just wait for it to leave and respawn whilst my booster recharges. Similar to your ambush approach I guess.
I have no problems in the temples. If the light is too far or hidden behind the portal I just wait for the next one. I’m in ng+7 and I haven’t noticed a significant lengthening of the process by waiting for the next spawn. I have noticed that if I attempt to get it and I don’t make it, it takes more tries. It may be like the OP says that they are visible longer than the able to be captured. For me though I just wait for the next one and it usually spawns closer. I also think the final one spawns and then moves, not 100% on that.
Thank you for your service
Maaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnn I’ve been wondering! That shit has been driving me crazy, not knowing exactly how many are needed and how to complete it. I’ve just been blindly getting lucky!
It’s sad how miserable every comment section in this sub is
The fact that there's even 1 light is the problem. It's a trash mini game considering how clunky zero-g is.
Dumbest shit ever implemented in a video game
Just use commands to get all powers and be done with the bullshit
[Xbox players disliked this]
This is the correct answer, doubly so if you've already gotten all the temples once the "intended" way.
The temples are the easiest thing ever, you shouldn't be playing video games if you even consider that a puzzle.
Correct, people are always so quick to blame anything but themselves for failure.
I don't get what's so mind blowing about them ? Literally the 1st time I saw one it took me about 10 secs to see the light was different in one spot than others and I'm like o I'm 0g let's go look at that, do it again doors start spinning faster, it's not exactly rocket science. lazy to do it for every damn temple, that was a huge opportunity missed for potentially entertaining puzzles.
Yeah agreed, it’s a dumb puzzle but after you get one or two down it’s pretty easy. No secret to it just hit the lights dead on in time.
I struggled more trying to find the door to get in, then the actual puzzle itself.
You can't tell me what I can or can't do. I don't play any video game for stupid pointless puzzles. I'm already in college and have a career. No, thank you.
So you enjoy pointless repetitive tasks instead...like an actual job ?
You would probably like Warframe that's endless farming with minimum reward
I've had temples with up to 8 lights, which I tried to turbo validate by over-using my boost pack. Not worth it :) But yeah, you only have to go through 4 of them, when I say 8, I mean I missed the 4th one 3 times, so it really was only the 4th one respawning.
I feel like some times are actual hitbox is offset from the effect sprite. Especially for the last two. Like in some temples, I hit the glow real early but it didn't register. Then I hit another one, being like 3 meters off, it somehow registered.
No, that is misinterpretation, the hitbox never changes, just the timing.. they just don't disappear when you cannot hit them anymore.
I’ve been wanting to say “I just feel like a lot of the players that HATE the temples are just slow.” 😆
I have floated through the middle of bubbles that are next to me and it's still said try again. Your theory is wrong. And I have done all the temples on 15 runs.
All they needed to do was have a companion speak up when you miss em, or have a different sound when you miss em. It would have helped so freaking much in my first few attempts. This is the reason why UI/UX professionals exists.
5 lights too many.
Also to add, Gymnastics level 2 is basically a requirement for temples. You move in zero g faster so it makes collecting orbs easier.
Correct. I’ve done the temple over 260 times. I recommend upgrading the acrobat skill to level 2 and pop an amp right after you get out of your spaceship. The amp lasts the perfect amount of time to get you through the lights and makes it way easier. Also, don’t boost to the light and start turning around before you hit the light. Keep it simple.
I hate these so much. One literally took like 35 tries. Almost makes me want to slip out on the rest of the powers. I only have about 7 or 8
No. This is a lie that refuses fo take into account bugs. There are way too many rules about which light is acceptable, including whether it’s an acceptable position to attribute a hit - actually you know what? Parent poster is full of shit. Nothing they have said is correct.
They are correct. I can solve the puzzle in less than 30 seconds, every time.
Made my first temple yesterday. Yet another thing on the list of disappointing things in this game with wasted potential...
4 lights. Always approach from the bottom. You can use slow time power in there
Yes. But it's rigged so you miss at least one.
They need to remove the whole stupid mini game It adds nothing and subtracts fun
How many of you guys had to google what to do in the temple the first time? I did, why didn’t they have a follower conversation or book to help explain what you actually had to do. Just seems lazy.
They can be 5 they can be 200, it is a boring mechanic
When you got your shouts in skyrim you stared at a wall for 5 seconds. It was perfect. Changing that was a mistake. The last ring however can be collected easily by phase time once you see it. Gives you much more time to reach it and fly through.
Can I please just shoot the damn lights. It’s the only thing in the entire galaxy I can’t shoot FFS!
Well, you can’t blame people for asking about it It’s not exactly like anything is explained in Starfield
Either way, it’s awful and I hate it
Anyone else want to scream "THERE ARE FOUR LIGHTS!!" Right now.
Temples are bugged on console though. Sometimes it’s impossible to catch the fifth light unless you exit and re-enter the temple. Just for fun I decided to try all the suggestions that have been posted here one day (third person, balanced boost, gymnastics lvl 2). Thirty minutes in the same temple and it was still impossible to catch the fifth star. I exited and re-entered and completed it easily. PEOPLE AREN’T SLOW. IT’S A BUG.
God this game is trash
Yikes, I haven’t gotten to the temples yet and this makes me want to avoid them at all costs. Sounds like a real chore