Getting stuck in a cage while your fireteam laughs at you is a rite of passage in the Warlord’s Ruin dungeon. Honestly, it’s humbling. You just killed a massive Scorn boss, you’re feeling like a god, and suddenly—clink—you’re behind bars. It's the Warlord’s Ruin jail puzzle, and if you don't know what you're looking for, you're going to be there a while.
The mechanics aren't actually that hard once you see them. But the first time? It's chaos. You’ve got three people in three different cages. You’re spinning around, looking for skeletons, trying to communicate through the sound of the wind howling around the castle peaks. Most players fail this because they try to do everything themselves. You can't. This is a team effort, even if the team is currently trapped in hanging birdcages.
Stop Spinning Your Camera and Look for the Skeletons
The key to the Warlord’s Ruin jail puzzle is the skeletons scattered around the cliffside. These aren't just for decoration. They are the "code" for the lock. You’ll notice that some skeletons have tally marks next to them. Others don't. Specifically, you are looking for white tally marks scratched into the rocks or walls near these remains.
Here is the thing people mess up: you can’t see all the tallies from one cage.
Each player has a specific field of view. One person can see the skeletons to the left, one can see the ones in the center, and the third person usually has a view of the far right or the wall behind the cages. You have to call out the number of tallies you see. Total them up. That’s your magic number. It is usually something low, like five or six, but it changes every single time you run the dungeon.
How to Handle the Gears Without Wiping
Once you have the number, you have to look at the gears. There are these rusted, mechanical gears attached to the walls near the cages. You shoot them to make them spin.
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Now, pay attention. This is where most runs fall apart.
When you shoot a gear, it starts rotating. If you shoot it again, it stops. You need a specific number of gears rotating simultaneously to match the total number of tally marks your team found. If the total count was five, you need five gears spinning. The problem is that the gears are also positioned in places where only certain players can hit them.
It’s a literal puzzle box.
- Player 1 might see two skeletons (2 tallies).
- Player 2 sees one skeleton (1 tally).
- Player 3 sees three skeletons (3 tallies).
- Total needed: 6.
Once the gears are spinning, you'll see a door or a mechanism trigger. If you get the number wrong, the cages don't open, or worse, you just sit there feeling silly while the "Imminent Wish" timer ticks down. Actually, the timer is the real boss here. If you take too long, the dungeon mechanics will just kill the whole fireteam. It’s a hard reset.
The Solo Player’s Nightmare
If you’re running Warlord’s Ruin solo—maybe you’re going for that Discerning Collector triumph or the Rank 11 Guardian status—the jail puzzle is a massive pain. You have to manipulate your camera perfectly to see every single skeleton from the limited range of your one cage.
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It is possible. It’s just annoying.
You’ll have to swing your cage. Yes, you can actually move the cage slightly by walking against the bars or jumping. This shifts your perspective just enough to peek around corners. Most solo players use a sniper rifle or a scout rifle with a high-zoom scope just to count the scratches on the walls far away. If you miss even one tally, the gears won’t work, and your solo flawless run ends right there in a cage. Talk about a buzzkill.
Why Does This Puzzle Even Exist?
Bungie loves putting "breather" puzzles between boss encounters. This one sits right between Locus of Wailing Grief and the final climb. It serves a narrative purpose, too. You’re being imprisoned by the remnants of the cult inhabiting the castle. It’s supposed to feel oppressive. The environment is the enemy as much as the Scorn are.
The jail puzzle is also a soft check on your fireteam's communication. If you can't coordinate "I see two" and "I'll hit the left gear," you’re going to have a nightmare of a time with the final boss, Hefnd’s Vengeance. That fight requires even tighter timing and much more aggressive positioning.
Practical Steps to Master the Jail
Don't overthink it. Seriously.
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First, as soon as you get teleported into the cages, stop moving. Tell your team to look for the white tally marks. Don't guess. If you aren't sure if a mark is a "1" or just a texture on the rock, look closer.
Second, designate who is shooting which gear. Usually, the person in the middle cage has the best line of sight to the most gears. Let them handle the shooting while the people on the flanks provide the numbers.
Third, if the timer is getting low (under 10 seconds), just start spinning gears if you're desperate. It’s a 50/50 shot at that point, but it's better than a guaranteed wipe.
Once the bars drop, you aren't out of the woods yet. You need to jump across the chasm immediately. The platforms are narrow, and if you linger too long in the jail cell area, the game sometimes glitches or kills you for being out of bounds. Move fast. Get to the next encounter.
The Warlord's Ruin jail puzzle is only a wall if you let it be. Treat it like a quick math problem, talk to your friends, and get back to the loot. The Buried Bloodline exotic isn't going to drop itself while you're sitting behind bars.
Check the wall behind you. Sometimes the most obvious tally is the one you're leaning against. Rotate the gears. Jump the gap. Keep moving toward the peak of the mountain. That's the only way this ends.