Overview:

-Estimated achievement difficulty: 6/10
-Estimated time for 250: 20+ hours
-Minimum playthroughs: 1
-Missable achievements: None
-Glitched achievements: None
-Offline: 15 (250)
-Online: 0 (0)
-Cheats disable achievements: No Cheats
-Unobtainable achievements: None
-Extra Equipment Needed: No

Gyromancer is a Puzzle Quest "clone" created by PopCap and Square Enix, though there are fewer RPG elements aside from the basic dungeon system and gaining experience/levels. All in all it is not particularly difficult to clear out most of the game, the first 160 is easy to obtain. The last 40 can be tough however, including: obtaining a Gyrochain, completing all Stones, and getting the last 10 or so awards needed for 120. The additional 50 from the DLC is easy.

Step 1: Campaign
Most of the achievements will be received simply by going through the game's 11 story dungeons, along with the Challenger's Door dungeon, and the extra 3 stages available from DLC. Along the way you will need to complete 10 tasks per dungeon, each giving an award. (Please note that the 3 DLC stages do not have awards.)

Until about midway through the game you receive little penalty for making idle moves (turns that don't create a set), so you are able to blow through the first few dungeons with ease. Once the penalty is added, the game's potential difficulty increases greatly, though you will really only notice it when battling the occasional higher level monster (few of which you will encounter if you attempt to max out awards stage by stage).

After you clear the first few stages you will open up the Challenger's Door. This stage pits you in a survival mode with only one monster against a series of opponents. This dungeon has awards that are different than the others, more akin to the goals of Stones.

Step 2: DLC
The DLC achievements are very straight forward, simply complete each DLC level. These stages contain high level monsters, so are best approached later in the game or after finishing the campaign.

Step 3: Clean-up
After completing the dungeons, you will still need to finish obtaining awards, as Stage 11's cannot be completed till after you have beaten the game. If you need to, you can of course go back and complete any Stones and perform a Gyrochain - see the achievement guide for more details on these.

[x360a would like to thank dmfaust for this roadmap]

Gyromancer Achievement Guide

Printable Guide
Show completed achievements
Show secret achievements

There are 15 achievements with a total of 250 points

  • Execute a Gyro Chain.

    In order to execute a Gyro Chain, you must reach chain level 5 and then fill up the meter once more (as if you were going to a chain level 6). This can be quite difficult to do, and is certainly not something you will see regularly. A large part of it is shear luck in obtaining the correct gem drops neccessary to continue making chains.

    There are several things that will help greatly in obtaining this though.
    - First and foremost, hold on to all your Magick Mirrors. They are integral in creating a Gyro Chain, as they will allow you make matches at times that you would otherwise be out of moves. There really is no need to use them for anything but attempting a Gyro Chain, so save every last one you pick up for this. I'd also recommend not using them to attempt the chain until you have a decent amount, at least 5 to 10.

    - As you move your circle around the field you can tell potential moves by if it shows you gaining points towards your abilities in the bottom left corner. It is often good practice that when you find yourself short on moves to methodically go row by row and see if you are overlooking any.

    - Pick a monster that will not overwhelm your opponent. All too often you will simply kill the enemy before you have the chance to reach the Gyro Chain, when forced to match ability gems or break your chain. The Cait Sith and Wolf types aren't bad for this. (Though it is worth noting that you can certainly achieve Gyro Chains with a more average beast if you manage your damage output properly, as I did myself.)

    - Absolutely do not use or fight against a lock oriented monster. Rocks as well can mess you up, though not as bad it is still recommended you avoid them.

    - Manage your ability gems as well as your opponents very carefully. You should try to keep one of your better gems (a lightning type or a change gems type) ready to be matched as a backup move, if you run out of other options. This will either clear the board or change gems allowing you new potential moves.

    Your opponent's abilities can also come in handy, as you can let them trigger destroying an overabundance of your own abilities (so you won't kill the enemy too early) or to aid in clearing the field. Just make sure you know the abilities of the monster you are fighting, and check which gem is which as need.

    The most important aspect here is to monitor incoming and outgoing damage. The less you let stray hits strike you or your enemy the more slack you will have in using abilities to clear the field.

  • Hunt down Temperance.

    Story related, cannot miss.

  • Arrive at one truth in Tracks of Night.

    Story related, cannot miss.

  • Pass the tests of the Stones.

    In order to unlock this achievement you must complete every Stone's challenge throughout the game. Most are extremely simple, with only Stage 7 and 10 providing real issue. The Stones will require you to remove all locks (ridiculously simple), cause a certain number of cascades, match a certain number in a set, or make a combo of a certain value (multiple sets at once, not including cascades). There is no penalty for idle twisting, so you can take your time to setup.

    Lock Stones - Lock stones could not be simpler. Just twist away.

    Combo Stones -  Twist the middle of the cross and you can see it will line up all 4. Just setup however many sides you need. (ie: for a x5, you can do the blues, greens, and one yellow or any combination you want).


    Cascade Stones - The Cascade Stone on Stage 7 is one of the most difficult, requiring a Cascade x7. This video shows a Cascade x16 on Bejeweled Twist, the game on which Gyromancer's puzzle system is based. Below it you can find a diagram showing specifically a Cascade x7.

    In order to utilize this method for only a 7 Cascade, start building it in the bottom left corner of the field. While you can of course use any color types you desire, it can help to match them to the screen (sans the extra type in Bejeweled Twist of course) to keep better track. You want to avoid mixing up colors too much, so that you don't have an unexpected combination that voids the rest of the cascade.

    Here is an additional diagram showing another method to get just a x7 Cascade for those who prefer.



    Match Stones - Match Stones require you make a certain number of matches in a row or column. On Stage 10 you will find the second difficult stone, requiring a Match x7. Again we will go to Bejeweled Twist in order to reference how to make this work properly.




    CREDIT: For the videos credit goes entirely to x360a.org member Demi(Demiface on GameFAQs) and the creator of the Bejeweled Twist videos KutarSGiga and wskidm. For diagrams credit goes to x360a.org member Eziarch.

  • Acquire 3 awards.

    See "Bearer of 120 Awards"

  • Acquire 7 awards.

    See "Bearer of 120 Awards"

  • Acquire 15 awards.

    See "Bearer of 120 Awards"

  • Acquire 30 awards.

    See "Bearer of 120 Awards"

  • Acquire 50 awards.

    See "Bearer of 120 Awards"

  • Acquire 75 awards.

    See "Bearer of 120 Awards"

  • Acquire 100 awards.

    See "Bearer of 120 Awards"

  • Acquire 120 awards.

    Each of the 12 stages have 10 awards, so in order to receive this achievement you must get every one. Stages 1 through 10 share similar designs to their awards, which will require one of the following conditions:

    Beat the stage - Obtained simply by defeating the boss monster, and progressing the storyline.

    Remove a certain barrier - These are specific wooden barriers located around each stage map. They can be removed by stepping on the corresponding trigger tile (the isometric square panels). You will need to remove all of them in each level to get around regardless, so it shouldn't be an issue getting the appropriate award barrier. Some may not be accessible until you have completed the stage.

    Defeat a certain monster - These can be distinguished by an icon by the monster's name when encountering them on the dungeon map. They will typically stand out, by either being stationary in dead ends, trapped behind wooden walls, and so forth.

    Defeat a lair of monsters - When you walk onto a lair on the dungeon map, you will fight a boss monster, a stronger version of the beasts produced by the lair. Defeating the boss monster will destroy the lair, giving the appropriate award. Not all lairs are connected to an award, though you will most likely want to destroy them all regardless so shouldn't have any issues finding the award lairs.

    Open a certain treasure chest - This is the rarest of the standard award criteria. Some chests in the Grove of Prey stage will be destroyed by monsters if they reach them before you. You will have to go through the level once or twice to open up all the barriers before you will be able to have a path through to the chests. Then it is just a matter of racing to the appropriate chest.

    Score 1,000, 3,000, and 5,000 points - Simply score the appropriate value. This is extremely easy to farm from a lair, as they will constantly spawn new monsters. While each lair can only spawn a limited number, there is still far more than enough.

    In order to receive easy points each fight, use a monster such as the 2nd and 3rd tier Beetles (with Trident). Damage the opponent to low life, then let your ability gems build up. Make it a priority to remove the enemy ability gems so they don't destroy your own. Simply keep building up until it is impractical to continue, and then match a Trident. Trident will destroy an extremely large area, destroying enemy ability gems, rocks, as well as your other ability gems--setting off a chain reaction of more Tridents, covering most of the field. You should receive a very large overkill bonus (several hundred, I've seen as much as a thousand) as well as receive a large number of puzzle points simply from the build up period and any cascades or rocks/enemy gems destroyed at the end.


    Stages 11 and 12 have very different Awards than the other 10. Stage 11 will initially show "???" for the Awards until beaten for the first time (ie: complete the game). Afterward you will be tasked with defeating the leader of each affinity type, each being an award, as well as an extra "secret boss". You will need to take the teleporter to the sides of the level(only available after completing the stage and going back) to open the barriers. Then in the central area you fought Everett (the final boss) you will see paths branching out to a number of lairs. Each lair corresponds to a different affinity/beast and award. After clearing all of the affinity lairs and their bosses a new final enemy will spawn where you originally fought Everett, defeating him will give you the final award for the stage. (Note: You must clear all the lairs in one go to spawn the boss. If you die or leave the level you will have to start over, though the barriers stay down.)

    Stage 12 is the Challenger's Door, and the awards here are where the going gets really rough. It is often easiest to replay to first fight rather than risk attempting them in a real push through the stage. You don't want to be near the end and get hung up trying to get Awards.

    While some information is reproduced here, Raven2Go's forum post on the Challenger's Door is highly recommended reading. (Link here)

    Challenger's Door - Complete the stage Challenger's Door. This one is obvious enough. There are 15 battles total, fought survival style (without hit points restored between fights). Forum member Raven2Go recommends using Goliath (3rd tier Spider), as his ability to destroy locks for damage can get you through situations that otherwise have very difficult to avoid damage. See Raven2Go's post linked above for more details on the battles and some great tips on the boss.

    Overkill - Win a battle with a killing blow that deals more than 10% of your foe's max HP. Again, an obvious one. You should be able to get this right away, just make sure you use a high damage monster.

    Not a Scratch - Win a battle with your beast at max HP. This will have to be done right out the gate, simply don't get hit during the first battle.

    Close Shave - Win a battle while your beast has less than 1% of its max HP. While you can certainly get this via shear luck simply attempting to defeat the Challenger's Door, most likely you will consistently end up just above 1% life if not killed outright. For obvious reasons you will want to keep attempts at this award to the first few battles, restarting at the start and doing battle with the Cait Sith and other early monsters. Using a high HP monster is also very important obviously, so go with either the Gigas at 4200 or one of the ones that weigh in around 3000. 1% would of course be your beast's life with the last two zeroes removed. (I feel stupid for even feeling the need to say that.)

    Rise to the Challenge - Win a battle using a beast that has less than 20% of its max HP at the start of the battle. This will probably come naturally as you play through. If you need to try specifically for it, just take some damage while setup to finish your opponent off and wait until you get below 20%. Finish off your opponent, and then take care of the following one as well.

    Waste Not, Want Not - Win a battle without making a single idle twist (a twist that makes no sets). Again, an obvious one. You shouldn't have any trouble here, though it helps to use a high damage beast and destroy your opponent before you run out of matches.

    Blank Slate - Destroy all the gems on the board with a single twist. This can be irritating due to shear bad luck, though the method is simple enough. Use a Phalanx (3rd tier Beetle), and let Tridents build up on the board. Wait until they are positioned so that the width of their blast will take out every column. (Idle twist them into place if you have to, but be careful they arent destroyed or not lined up properly to set one another off.)

    Cascade x 7 - Make a seven cascade with a single twist.
    For the most part this is simple luck, though having an abundance of gem changing ability gems out (such as the Dark Hunter's (3rd tier Ant) Nightmare ability) will aid in triggering more cascades. (Raven2go recommends the Colossal Watcher.)

    7- Gem Match - Make a match of seven or more gems in the same row with a single twist.
    This is easily the most difficult of the game's Awards. Outside of shear dumb luck(which you most certainly shouldn't bank on in the slightest) you will have to repeatedly fight the first Caith Sith and try to setup one of the 7 match designs detailed under "The Knowing" achievement. This can take many attempts, so don't go in expecting to knock it out the first few times. You have to be very careful about enemy gems disrupting the setup. While removing them is of course your first priority, if you can't you should twist them away so as to keep the explosions out of reach of the gem setup. You should definitely not use a beast that is lock or rock oriented, and using something like the Sol Volk that replaces enemy gems can also help.

    The Perfect Twist - Make 4 or more sets with a single twist. The wording is just a strange way of saying make a Combo x4. Reference the diagram for Combo Stones under "The Knowing" achievement. This might seem daunting while battling for your life, but you will most likely get it during normal play by chance. Just keep an eye out for parts of the field that have multiple sets of two which would probably be a large focus anyway. If you need to you can sacrifice a game with idle twists to setup the combo if there is a spot that is close but not quite there.

DLC: Map Pack

There are 3 achievements with a total of 50 points

  • Defeat the Dragon Lord at Dragon's Haven.

    The Dragon Lord is at the far north end of Dragon's Haven, you can reach it fairly easily by moving up the right hand side, with only a minimum of encounters. I recommend using a Wyvern in breakthrough to start out the fight, as matching red gems will give you a bonus while giving him nothing. Above all else you want to keep his ability gems out of play when it comes time for his Time Twist (reduces countdown gems to 1).

  • Defeat the Wolflord at Rivel's Trial.

    Rivel's Trial is made up mostly of a series of Stones and triggers. You will also encounter "smaller" Wolflords that you combat differently than other beasts. You don't utilize a beast of your own, instead you wait out their negative vitality ticks while eliminating any of their ability gems to avoid death. The Wolflord boss has the same mechanic, but different abilities including twist reversal and changing the countdown of the instant death to 1.

  • Defeat the Scion at The Four.

    You need to have a team of (Red/Orange) - (Yellow/Purple) - (Blue/White) In order to beat this stage. The new monsters on the left right and bottom are blocking their gyro codes. The boss is a water element. (thanks to KageTenshi55)

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