You’re standing in the Lost Temple on Yaesha, staring at a giant, water-driven mechanical contraption that looks like it belongs in a Victorian clockmaker’s fever dream. The Remnant 2 music puzzle, or the Water Harp as most players call it, is arguably the first major "wall" people hit. It’s not a combat wall. It’s a "why am I suddenly doing music theory in a soulslike" wall.
It's frustrating. I get it. You just want to fight the Corrupted Ravager, but instead, you're stuck looking at a drum with pegs and trying to figure out which ones to pull out. If you've been wandering around the Forbidden Grove for an hour, you’ve probably realized that the solution isn't just hidden in the room. It's actually tied to a physical book nearby, but even then, translating those symbols into mechanical inputs is a headache.
The Secret to the Remnant 2 Music Puzzle is Actually a Book
Most people miss the notebook. It’s sitting on a table in a small room right near the Checkpoint before the harp. Open it. You’ll see a series of symbols and horizontal lines. This is your sheet music.
Here is the thing: the game doesn't explicitly tell you that the lines between the symbols are just as important as the symbols themselves. Each row on the Water Harp cylinder represents a beat. If there’s a symbol on a line in the book, you raise a peg. If there’s a blank line, you leave the entire row empty. It's binary. On or off.
How the Pegs Actually Work
The harp has eight rows. On each row, you have five possible peg positions. This is where the confusion starts because the notebook only shows one symbol per line. You don’t need to guess which of the five pegs to pull. Look at the symbols in the book. They correspond to the position of the peg from left to right.
- Symbol 1 is the far-left peg.
- Symbol 2 is the second.
- Symbol 3 is the middle.
- Symbol 4 is the fourth.
- Symbol 5 is the far-right.
The actual sequence for the standard solution to progress the story is: Peg 5, Skip, Peg 4, Skip, Peg 3, Peg 4, Peg 1, Skip.
Let’s break that down because "Skip" is the part that kills everyone's progress. "Skip" means you do not pull a single peg on that entire horizontal row. You leave it completely flat. If you pull a peg on a skip row, the melody breaks. The harp won't trigger the bridge. You'll just hear a discordant mess and the giant stone pillars won't move.
Why Won't the Lever Move?
If you’ve input the code and the lever won't budge, you’re missing power. This is a classic Remnant 2 move. You can't just solve the puzzle the moment you find it. You have to go around. Specifically, you need to progress through the Nameless Nest or the Expansion Cleaving (depending on your map roll) to reach the upper level of the Lost Temple. There, you’ll find a lever that diverts water to the wheel.
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Once the wheel is spinning, the harp is "live."
It’s a bit of a trek. Yaesha is a labyrinth of floating islands and roots, so if you’re stuck, check your map for the exclamation point icons. Those are your main path objectives. Don't waste time spinning the drum if the water wheel outside isn't turning. It won't work. Honestly, I spent twenty minutes trying to "force" it my first time through before realizing I literally hadn't turned the power on.
The Secret "Bolt Driver" Melody
There is actually a second song. The developers at Gunfire Games tucked away a secret reward for players who pay attention to the environment. If you listen to the Flutist (that blue guy playing the flute nearby), he’s playing a different tune.
If you input his song into the Remnant 2 music puzzle, you get the Bolt Driver handgun. It’s a high-burst weapon that’s surprisingly good for elemental builds.
The "Secret" code is: 1, 4, 0, 2, 5, 0, 3, 0.
Again, "0" means a completely empty row.
- Row 1: Peg 1
- Row 2: Peg 4
- Row 3: All pegs down
- Row 4: Peg 2
- Row 5: Peg 5
- Row 6: All pegs down
- Row 7: Peg 3
- Row 8: All pegs down
Once you play this, a pedestal will rise from the floor near the harp. Grab your gun. It’s one of the few ways to get a solid backup weapon early in the game without having to kill a world boss.
Misconceptions About the Harp
A lot of players think the puzzle changes based on difficulty or world seeds. It doesn't. While the map layout of Yaesha changes every time you "Roll" a new campaign or Adventure Mode, the Remnant 2 music puzzle solution remains static. The symbols in the book are always the same.
Another common mistake is thinking you have to time the lever pull. You don't. Once the pegs are set, you just pull the lever once. The machine does the rest. If it fails, it's 100% because a peg is out of place or you've added an extra note where a "Skip" should be.
Why the Flutist Matters
The Flutist isn't just flavor text. He’s your audio cue. If you’re musically inclined, you can actually hear the intervals he’s playing. The Water Harp is basically a giant music box. The game is teaching you to listen to the world, which is a recurring theme in the DLCs too.
Technical Hiccups and Glitches
Sometimes, the harp glitches. It’s rare, but it happens. If the bridge doesn't raise even with the right code and the water running, try touching the World Stone (the checkpoint) and coming back. This resets the "state" of the machinery.
Also, make sure you aren't in combat. If a stray Root Flyer has followed you into the temple, the interaction prompts for the harp can sometimes get wonky. Clear the room.
Actionable Steps for Success
To get past this and finally face the Ravager, follow this exact workflow:
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- Check the Water Wheel: Go outside and look up. Is the giant stone wheel spinning? If not, follow the path through the side dungeons until you reach the lever on the balcony overlooking the harp.
- Input the Story Code: 5, (skip), 4, (skip), 3, 4, 1, (skip). This is the "top-down" order for the rows on the drum.
- Pull the Small Lever: This is the one to the left of the peg drum.
- Wait for the Bridge: Don't run off. The animation takes a few seconds. The massive stone pillars will rise from the water, forming a path to the Ravager’s lair.
- Get the Secret Weapon: Before you cross the bridge, put in the secret code (1, 4, 0, 2, 5, 0, 3, 0) to unlock the Bolt Driver. It’s worth the extra two minutes.
Once the bridge is up, you’re ready for the encounter with the Ravager and the Doe. That’s a whole different kind of puzzle—a moral one—but at least you’re done with the music theory. Be sure to check your inventory for any "Scroll" items you picked up nearby; Yaesha is dense with lore that explains why the harp was built in the first place to keep the beast at bay.
Check your gear one last time. If you’re playing on Veteran or higher, the Ravager doesn't play around. You'll want a decent long-range option because that arena is bigger than it looks. Good luck.