Off the Rails

Story quest in Escape Academy 2: Back 2 School, set in a minecart tunnel reached by going down the spiral stairs and interacting with the minecart at the bottom. Completing it unlocks the achievement of the same name.

Verification: Human verified

Overview

"Off the Rails" is a mandatory story quest in Escape Academy 2: Back 2 School that takes players deep into a minecart tunnel beneath the Academy [src-0dc02cf791]. This quest follows directly after the A Crypt-ic Reveal story events and rewards players with the Off The Rails achievement upon completion [src-0dc02cf791].

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How to Complete and Prerequisites

To unlock and start this quest, players must first complete the preceding A Crypt-ic Reveal objectives by speaking with Professor Jeberson at the rear stairwell past the dorm rooms [src-0dc02cf791]. From there, head down the spiral stairs and interact with the minecart at the bottom to kick off "Off the Rails" [src-0dc02cf791]. Because this is tied to story progression, it cannot be missed [src-0dc02cf791].

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Step-by-Step Walkthrough

Follow these steps to navigate through the tunnel puzzles and advance the quest:

• Gather the Gears: Pick up the gears located just ahead of you when you begin [src-0dc02cf791].
• Solve the Gear Machine: Interact with the gear machine and arrange the pieces as follows: drop Gear L then Gear XL into the middle column, drop Gear S then Gear M into the left column, and finally drop Gear S into the right column [src-0dc02cf791].
• Board the Cart & Read the Poster: Get back in the mine cart and head down the tunnel [src-0dc02cf791]. Read the "Proper Pan Technique" poster on the wall, which provides a riddle to help guide you:

  “First towards the tool(s) that start with a spark / Then towards the tool(s) that help see in the dark / Next towards the tool(s) that break up the stones / Last towards the tool(s) that cover your dome” [src-0dc02cf791]

• Collect Gemstones: Pick up the four gemstones found along the way [src-0dc02cf791].
• Place the Gemstones: Move right and inspect the triangle with letters on the wall [src-0dc02cf791]. Place the gemstones into their matching shapes: the yellow square in the top, the orange gem in the middle, the pink on the right, and the red on the bottom [src-0dc02cf791].
• Analyze the Lanterns: Head back into the tunnel and observe the lanterns [src-0dc02cf791]. On the beam closest to the door, you will find pink and orange; the next is yellow, then red, then pink, and finally orange and yellow [src-0dc02cf791].
• Decrypt the Door Code: Return to the triangle with letters [src-0dc02cf791]. Match each color combination to its corresponding letter: pink and orange yields Y, yellow yields T, red yields S, pink yields U, and orange and yellow yields D [src-0dc02cf791]. Read backwards, this spells out DUSTY [src-0dc02cf791].
• Unlock the Door: Go to the locked door, input DUSTY into the lock, and get back into the mine cart [src-0dc02cf791].
• Navigate the Stone Puzzle: In the next area, approach the stone puzzle next to the cogs [src-0dc02cf791]. The grid matches the layout of the tracks and your mine cart, where you must ultimately maneuver the minecart onto the hexagon shape to continue down the next track [src-0dc02cf791]. Note that you can only move the lighter-colored tiles [src-0dc02cf791]. First, connect the red lever (on the circles symbol) to the three triangles before proceeding [src-0dc02cf791].

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Puzzle Solutions Reference

• Gear Machine Solution:
  • Middle Column: Gear L, then Gear XL [src-0dc02cf791]
  • Left Column: Gear S, then Gear M [src-0dc02cf791]
  • Right Column: Gear S [src-0dc02cf791]
• Gemstone Triangle Placement: Yellow square on top, orange gem in the middle, pink gem on the right, and red gem on the bottom [src-0dc02cf791].
• Locked Door Code: DUSTY, derived by mapping the tunnel lantern sequence to the triangle letters and reading them backwards [src-0dc02cf791].

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Rewards

• Achievement: Unlocks the Off The Rails achievement upon successful completion [src-0dc02cf791].

Details

type

Story quest

missable

Can't be missed (story progression)

prerequisite

Follows the 'A Crypt-ic Reveal' quest: talk to Professor Jeberson at the rear stairwell past the dorm rooms, then go down the spiral stairs and interact with the minecart at the bottom to begin Off the Rails.

location

Minecart tunnel beneath the Academy, accessed via the spiral stairs at the rear stairwell.

walkthrough

• Pick up the gears just ahead of you.
• Interact with the gear machine. Drop Gear L then Gear XL into the middle column. Drop Gear S then Gear M into the left column. Then drop Gear S into the right column.
• Get back in the mine cart and head down the tunnel. Read the 'Proper Pan Technique' poster on the wall: 'First towards the tool(s) that start with a spark / Then towards the tool(s) that help see in the dark / Next towards the tool(s) that break up the stones / Last towards the tool(s) that cover your dome'.
• Pick up the four gemstones.
• Move right and inspect the triangle with letters on the wall. Place the gemstones in the matching shapes: the yellow square in the top, the orange gem in the middle, the pink on the right and the red on the bottom.
• Go back into the tunnel and look at the lanterns. On the beam closest to the door is pink and orange, the next is yellow, then red, then pink, then orange and yellow.
• Look at the triangle again and find the letter next to each gem combination: pink and orange = Y, yellow = T, red = S, pink = U, orange and yellow = D — spelling (backwards!) DUSTY.
• Go to the locked door and input DUSTY into the lock, then get back into the mine cart.
• In the next area, go over to the stone puzzle next to the cogs; the grid matches the layout of the area.

puzzleSolutions

• Gear machine: middle column = Gear L, then Gear XL; left column = Gear S, then Gear M; right column = Gear S.
• Gem triangle placement: yellow square on top, orange gem in the middle, pink gem on the right, red gem on the bottom.
• Door code: DUSTY (derived from lantern colors matched to triangle letters, read backwards).

Sources

• Escape Academy 2: Back 2 School walkthrough - Full guide and puzzle ...
• Escape Academy 2: Back 2 School - Achievement & Trophy Guide