The journey through A Plague Tale: Requiem is fairly linear for the most part. Players will find themselves playing through pretty lengthy chapters, sneaking past guards, hordes of rats, and all sorts of dangers. But developers did manage to sneak a few secrets and hidden collectibles throughout the adventure. One particular secret is a valuable piece of armor that can help Amicia survive the onslaught of enemies that the sequel throws her way. Unfortunately, it's a bit off the beaten path and pretty easy to miss.
The Bracer can help Amicia by protecting her from additional damage when she's caught by enemy guards. This means she has multiple escape attempts in a short period of time should she be inundated with enemies. Since there are some parts of A Plague Tale: Requiem that can be pretty action-packed, the Bracer can really come in handy. Here's how players can find the useful piece of equipment.
Starting The Windmill Puzzle To Find The Bracer
Unfortunately, the Bracer isn't found until at least Chapter 9 (Tales and Revelations) so players will need to get through the other eight chapters before attempting to unlock the hidden armor. Once they begin Chapter 9, they'll find themselves controlling Amicia and walking around the outside of the Palace with Hugo. From there, they need to progress down the stairways and follow the linear path until they reach a soldier standing in front of a door. Speaking to this soldier will allow Amicia and Hugo to head outside, where they will meet up with Sophia in a small cutscene.
After the cutscene is over, and players regain control of the duo, they can look off to the right and see some Windmills spinning slowly in the distance. This is the first place players should head, taking the path forward down the stairs and to the right of the phoenix statue, following the road until they eventually make it to the windmills. If players head through the very center of the four buildings, they will find a small hill that leads down through some short archways. To the right of the last archway, players will find small square hole in the ground and a ladder leading down.
Climbing down the ladder and heading all the way to the back of the cave, players will find a wall with a strange windmill marking on it. This will spark a small conversation between the characters and eventually, Amicia will comment that they should "head back." From there, players need to return to the surface and head back to the windmills.
The Windmill Puzzle Solution
Upon closer inspection, players will notice that each Windmill is marked with a number above its door. The buildings are actually set in descending order from left to right if players are standing in front of them, with the leftmost windmill being 4 and the rightmost windmill being number 1. If players are looking at all four windmills from the front side (with the turning parts), the order is 4-3-2-1 from left to right.
By entering the windmills, players are able to start or stop them by using the brake. Windmill 4 is not spinning by default, while the other three are already turning. To solve the puzzle, players need to make sure that windmills 4 (IV) and 3 (III) are turning, while windmills 2 (II) and 1 (I) are off. Since Windmill III is already turning, players don't actually have to enter it and mess with its brake to solve the puzzle.
Here's how to get inside each Windmill and what to do there:
- Windmill 4 (IV) - Around the side there is a cart that players can crawl under, then climb up a ladder and look through a small window towards the door where they can shoot the lock with Amicia's sling. The brake inside windmill 4 should be pulled all the way out.
- Windmill 3 (III) - Players do not need to enter this windmill at all or mess with the brake if they want to solve the puzzle since it's already in the right position but there are some pieces in here to collect. There is a cart near the back of the windmill that players can push forward, uncovering a hole in the wall that they can send Hugo through to unlock the door from the inside. The brake in windmill 3 should be pulled all the way out.
- Windmill 2 (II) - Players can find a small post in the ground around the backside of the windmill. It has a long rope attached to it. Interacting with it will let Amicia pull some debris over, exposing a passage way that players can climb up to and crouch under to get inside. The brake inside windmill 2 should be pushed all the way in.
- Windmill 1 (I) - Players don't have to do anything special to enter this windmill and can simply walk up to the door and open it. The brake inside windmill 1 should be pushed all the way in.
. As soon as players receive this prompt, they can head back to the small hole where they saw the windmill picture etched on the wall, which should now be raised up, allowing players to explore the cave further.
From there, it's as simple as running to the end of the linear path and interacting with the small box on top of the crates, which will begin a small cutscene and reward players with the Bracer, which will allow Amicia to recover from enemy attacks even faster.