A Plague Tale: Requiem is filled with puzzles to solve as Amicia and Hugo unravel the mystery of the Macula. Most are smaller, more guided affairs, but Chapter 9 presents the game’s biggest mystery, which also presents its best reward.
As you explore the island, you’ll be let loose into a massive open area, and by following the Phoenix statues here, you’ll notice a massive hill with four windmills. This is actually the puzzle itself, so here’s the solution.
How to Solve the Windmill Puzzle
If you explored the area around the windmills, you may have discovered a slope that leads down with some stone arches. At the bottom of the slope, you can find a hole that leads to a cave, where a mysterious stone mural shows a windmill. That’s a hint for the puzzle, but you don’t actually need to find it in order to solve the puzzle itself; you’ll still need to know the location, as that’s where you’ll be going next.
From the right when facing them head-on, we’ll number the windmills one through four. Essentially, you need to reverse the current status of windmills one, two, and four, either turning them on or off, respectively. You can’t currently enter the third windmill, as the cart you need to move is stuck.
Windmill 1
Head to the first windmill and, open the door. Go up the stairs inside to the mechanism. Interact with the device and push it in to make the windmill stop.
Windmill 2
Now head to the second windmill and go around to the back. Here you’ll see a rope tied to a post a short distance away; interact with it to pull the rope, which makes the box topple off the platform. Now climb up the platform, crouch down, and move into the windmill. Once again, interact with the device you find, and push it in, then leave through the front door.
Windmill 4
Now head over to the fourth windmill, and look for a cart on the left side. You can crawl under this cart, then climb the ladder ahead.
After climbing up the ladder, take out your sling and look through the window. Aim at the chain holding the front door shut. Take out the chain, climb down, then head inside and to the mechanism. This time pull it out in order to make the windmill start.
At this point, Amicia and Sophia will remark on the shaking and sound that echoes out, noting that it sounds far away. If you remember how to get back to the hole leading underground, head there now, otherwise we’ll guide you there.
How to Get the Bracer in A Plague Tale: Requiem
Head directly behind the third windmill, and you should see the set of stone arches heading down the hill. Follow it to the bottom, then immediately turn to the right and you should see the hole.
After you climb down, all you need to do is simply follow the linear path to the very end (it’s quite long). At the end, you’ll see a couple of treasure chests. Open these, but what you really want is the little box sitting on the barrel. Opening it gives Amicia an ancient bracer that’s automatically equipped, drastically increasing the rate at which you recover after getting knocked down by an enemy.
Now that you’ve solved Chapter 9’s windmill puzzle and gotten the bracer, you should have an even easier time, especially in the later chapters of A Plague Tale: Innocence, which throw a lot of combat encounters your way. Make sure to check out our review of the game, and our guide on how to defeat armored enemies.
