NTE Wandering Puppets Guide: How to Solve All Puppet Puzzles

The Lonely Player Commission

In Neverness to Everness (NTE), the Lonely Player commission tasks you with finding and interacting with mysterious entities known as Wandering Puppets. This quest is crucial for completing your city exploration progress and rewards you with Annulith and upgrade materials.

However, many players get stuck on this quest because the puppets only appear under specific conditions, and the puzzles require precise interactions.

Time Requirement

The most important rule for the Wandering Puppets is the time of day. The in-game time must be between 20:00 and 06:00 (Nighttime) for the commission to trigger and for the puppets to spawn.

If you arrive at a location during the day, the puppets will not be there. You can use the in-game clock feature in your phone menu to advance the time to 20:00.

How to Invite Wandering Puppets

The core mechanic of the Wandering Puppets puzzles involves “inviting” them to specific locations or interacting with them in a specific sequence.

Puzzle Type 1: The Follower

Some puppets are standing alone in dark alleys or rooftops.

1. Approach the puppet and interact with it.
2. The puppet will begin to slowly float or walk away.
3. Follow the puppet closely. Do not sprint too far ahead or fall too far behind, or the puppet will reset to its original position.
4. Escort the puppet to its destination (usually a glowing circle or another group of puppets) to claim the chest.

Puzzle Type 2: The Missing Audience

You will occasionally find a puppet performing on a makeshift stage, but there is no audience.

1. Use your Esper Vision (scan ability) to highlight trails leading away from the stage.
2. Follow the trails to find hidden “Audience Puppets” cowering behind dumpsters, on fire escapes, or inside empty storefronts.
3. Interact with each Audience Puppet to “invite” them back to the stage.
4. Once all 3-4 audience members are gathered, the performance will conclude, and a chest will spawn.

Puzzle Type 3: The Mimic Sequence

This is the most confusing puzzle type. You will find a group of puppets arranged in a specific formation (e.g., a circle or a line).

1. One puppet will perform an action (e.g., jump, spin, or glow a specific color).
2. You must interact with the puppets in the exact order they performed their actions.
3. If you make a mistake, the sequence resets, and you must watch the pattern again.
4. Successfully mimicking the sequence 3 times will solve the puzzle.

Tips for Finding All Puppets

• Listen for the Music: Wandering Puppets emit a faint, eerie music box melody. If you hear this sound while exploring at night, a puppet puzzle is nearby.
• Check Vertical Spaces: Hotta Studio loves placing puppets on billboards, construction cranes, and the roofs of convenience stores. Always look up.
• Use the Interactive Map: If you are missing just one or two puppets for your 100% exploration achievement, cross-reference your in-game map with the official interactive map, filtering specifically for “Wandering Puppets.”

Completing all Wandering Puppet puzzles in Hethereau will unlock the hidden achievement “Curtain Call,” granting an additional 20 Annulith.