ESO Moonlit Isles Puzzle: Star Bridge and Pillar Solution

The ESO Moonlit Isles Puzzle is one of the hidden challenges inside the Lunar Path wing of the Nowhere Vault. To complete it, you need to reach the final floating island, activate three Bridge Switches and follow a hidden route across temporary bridges to collect the Resonating Core.

The switches are only part of the puzzle. Once you’ve activated the bridges, you need to return towards the entrance to reach the secret island. It’s easy to miss that final step, especially if you’ve already completed the normal platforming section and assumed the reward would appear beside the switches.

How to Solve the ESO Moonlit Isles Puzzle

Moonlit Isles contains a series of floating islands connected by temporary star bridges. You’ll need to cross these platforms and work through the room until you reach the final island.

There are three Bridge Switches on this last island. They control the bridges leading towards a smaller island containing the hidden reward.

To complete the ESO Moonlit Isles Puzzle:

1. Reach the final floating island. Follow the regular platforming route through Moonlit Isles until you find the three Bridge Switches.
2. Activate the switches. Interact with the pillars and watch the bridges appearing on the nearby island.
3. Connect all three bridges. Continue adjusting the switches until all three bridge sections are activated, creating a route towards the secret area.
4. Use the return portal. Once the bridges are connected, take the portal back towards the entrance rather than remaining on the final island.
5. Head towards the secret island. Retrace the earlier section of Moonlit Isles and look for the newly connected bridges leading to the smaller island.
6. Cross the temporary bridges. Follow the activated route, moving quickly enough to reach the destination before the temporary platforms disappear.
7. Destroy the Corrupted Shrine. On the secret island, find and destroy the shrine, then collect the Resonating Core.

Collecting the Resonating Core completes the hidden objective in Moonlit Isles. You can then carry it into Twilight Maze for the next part of the Lunar Path secret.

What Is the Correct Bridge Switch Combination?

The three switches must activate all three bridges leading towards the hidden island. However, there isn’t a reliably documented universal left, middle and right switch sequence that can be recommended for every attempt.

Rather than repeatedly copying a switch order, watch the bridge sections as you interact with the pillars. You need all three sections active before heading back towards the secret island.

If a bridge is still missing, return to the switches and adjust them again. The important part is the resulting bridge layout.

Once the full route appears, use the return portal to reach the earlier section of Moonlit Isles. The secret reward isn’t collected from the platform containing the switches.

How to Reach the Resonating Core in Moonlit Isles

The Resonating Core is found on the hidden island reached through the three activated bridges.

After returning towards the entrance, make your way back through the platforming area and look for the route you’ve just opened. Follow the temporary bridges until you reach the Corrupted Shrine.

Destroy the shrine and collect the Resonating Core before leaving the room. Simply reaching the secret island isn’t enough to obtain the item.

The ESO Moonlit Isles Puzzle doesn’t require another secret item from Twilight Maze or a different Vault wing. The Resonating Core is the first item in this part of the Lunar Path chain, so you can collect it as soon as you successfully complete the hidden bridge route.

What to Do if the Moonlit Isles Bridges Are Not Working

If you’re struggling with the ESO Moonlit Isles Puzzle, first check whether all three bridges have actually appeared. Activating one or two switches isn’t enough if part of the route is still missing.

If the bridges are connected but you can’t find the way across, return towards the entrance and look for the smaller island. The switches and the beginning of the secret route aren’t in the same location.

Falling during the crossing is another common problem. Moonlit Isles includes checkpoints, allowing players to recover from missed jumps and attempt its platforming sections again. Take a moment to identify the next landing point before crossing a temporary bridge.

Sorcerers can use Streak to help with some of the longer or more awkward jumps, although the ability isn’t required to solve the puzzle.

ZeniMax also made several adjustments to Moonlit Isles during Update 51 testing. These included improvements to checkpoints, bridge-switch behaviour when multiple players interact with them and portal functionality.

If the bridge visuals and interactions appear inconsistent, particularly while playing in a group, try having one player operate the switches while everyone else checks the resulting bridges.

Where to Use the Resonating Core After Moonlit Isles

The Resonating Core obtained from the ESO Moonlit Isles Puzzle is needed in Twilight Maze, another room within the Lunar Path wing of the Nowhere Vault.

In Twilight Maze, you need to find a hidden senche cub named Little Soft Boots. The secret requires careful movement through the maze, avoiding unnecessary combat and traps while searching for the cub.

Once Little Soft Boots appears, follow it to a concealed area containing a stone statue. Interact with the statue using the Resonating Core to obtain Cantor’s Starsong.

Cantor’s Starsong is then used in Eclipsed Hall, where a hidden bell puzzle rewards Astralight Lumen. That effect is required for a later secret in Custodian’s Repository.

These objectives are connected, but you don’t have to solve all of them while completing Moonlit Isles. The immediate goal is to collect the Resonating Core and continue the Lunar Path secrets when the appropriate rooms become available.

Do You Need a Wondrous Nowhere Key?

You’ll need access to the Nowhere Vault before attempting the ESO Moonlit Isles Puzzle. The Vault is located through Daggerfall’s Thieves Den in Glenumbra, and Wondrous Nowhere Keys are used to progress through its challenges.

Moonlit Isles is one of the rooms that can appear in the Lunar Path wing. Because the Vault uses a selection of rooms rather than presenting every challenge in a guaranteed order, you might not encounter Moonlit Isles immediately.

You don’t need to complete the other Lunar Path secrets before collecting the Resonating Core. In fact, the Core is required to progress through the subsequent hidden objectives.

ESO Moonlit Isles Puzzle Rewards and Next Steps

Completing the ESO Moonlit Isles Puzzle gives you the Resonating Core, an item required for the Lunar Path secret chain. It isn’t the final reward from the Nowhere Vault, but collecting it is necessary for the connected Twilight Maze objective.

The main steps are straightforward once you know where to go: activate the three bridges at the final island, return towards the entrance, cross to the hidden island and destroy the Corrupted Shrine.

Once you have the Resonating Core, your next objective is finding Little Soft Boots in Twilight Maze and using the Core to obtain Cantor’s Starsong.

Official source: ZeniMax Online Studios Update 51 launch issues report and the official ESO Update 51 patch documentation.