Vault of the Beamcasters Levels 1 and 2: Complete Gem Walkthrough

Order of the Sinking Star is one of the most demanding puzzle adventure games to release this year, and the Vault of the Beamcasters is its west-world challenge. Level 1 asks you to gather 20 gems across two floors using colored laser beams and the rod of alabaster. Level 2 raises the count to 22 and introduces the lucite torc, a tool that lets you rotate any beam you are standing in. Both levels are completable without backtracking if you understand how the tools work before you start.

Vault of the Beamcasters entrance

What is the Vault of the Beamcasters?

The Vault of the Beamcasters is the west-world campaign in Order of the Sinking Star, one of four distinct areas you can tackle from the Crossroads. The recommended difficulty order from the game itself places the west world last, after north (Hearty Heroes of Hauling), east (Mirror Isles), and south (Skipping Stones to Lonely Homes). Trust me on this one: completing the other three first makes the laser logic here feel much more manageable.

The core mechanic is routing colored beams by placing gems in holders to activate them. Each color does something different:

Level 1 walkthrough: all 20 gems

Part 1: upstairs, gems 1 through 12

The first floor holds 12 gems. Every path here opens through beam placement and rock destruction, so keep your gem count in mind as you move.

• Go up two screens, turn right into the alcove to collect gem 1. Insert it into the holder beside the elevator to fire the yellow laser, then press down to destroy the rocks and reveal the map.
• Navigate down to the teal laser holder. Stand in the teal beam, push the top rock all the way right, push the bottom rock down, and collect gem 2. Retrieve the powering gem.
• Backtrack up and right to activate the red laser. Stand in it, press down to clear the red barrier, retrieve the gem, then pass through and insert the gem into the next holder to activate the green laser.
• Use the green laser to walk through the wall, then activate a yellow laser one screen down. Stand at the green-yellow intersection and press right to destroy the blocking rock.
• Use orange and yellow beam intersections to work through the next cluster of obstacles, collecting gems 3, 4, and 5 in sequence. Each requires aligning yourself at a beam crossing before pressing in the correct direction.
• Activate teal and yellow lasers together to push and clear rocks for gems 6 and 7. The teal beam pushes rocks; the yellow beam destroys them. Use both in the same room when both holders are loaded.
• Time your movement with the green and yellow beam overlap to pass through partitions and collect gems 8 and 9. The moving devices here require you to destroy them while standing in the yellow beam.
• Use the red laser to break through a barrier, then route orange and yellow beams to access the alcoves holding gems 10, 11, and 12. After securing all 12, collect every powering gem and take the elevator down.

Part 2: downstairs, gems 13 through 17

The lower floor introduces the rod of alabaster. Here is the short answer on how it works: the rod lets you push objects and laser emitters directly, but it removes your ability to make 90-degree turns normally. To change direction, you need to perform a deliberate turnaround motion (press left then right, or right then left, depending on which way you need to face).

• Insert all 12 gems into the holders to light the red laser. Stand in the beam, deactivate the barrier, and retrieve one gem before moving on.
• Head left one screen, grab the map, then go down and collect the rod of alabaster from the checkpoint.
• Use the rod to push rock rows and slide gem 1 (downstairs) into an accessible alcove. Push the gem down to return it to the elevator area.
• Engage the green laser by pushing a rock onto the second holder. Ride the beam up and collect gem 2.
• Position the teal laser using manual pushes to align it with the holder, then push the rock right for gem 3. Collect the orange orb in the same room.
• The trickiest section: stack-push the teal laser downward in increments, waiting for moving devices to align before each push. Free both vertically moving devices from their alcoves, then collect gem 4 from above.
• Push one freed device into the red laser room and all the way left until it passes a red barrier, freeing gem 5. Go three screens right to collect it.
• Collect any remaining powering gems and ride the elevator back up.

Part 3: upstairs again, gems 18 through 20

With the rod of alabaster in hand, three more gems become reachable on the upper floor.

• Push the rock in the top corridor up three times, then manually drive the horizontally moving device down until it is directly above gem 1 (upstairs). Push it down to free the gem, then collect it one screen below.
• Activate the yellow and green laser network. Stand in the green beam, push the entire laser right while the previous gem keeps it powered, and cross over to collect gem 2.
• Reposition the red laser at the bottom of a room using the rod, navigate the intersecting green and red grid, and use the red beam to lower the final barrier for gem 3.

Collect every active powering gem to bring your total to 20, then take the elevator back down.

Part 4: finishing Level 1

Go two screens down and place all 20 gems into the holders to complete the level.

Level 2 walkthrough: all 22 gems

Level 2 follows the same two-floor structure but replaces the rod of alabaster with the lucite torc. The torc rotates any beam you are standing in toward the direction you are currently facing. Set your facing before activating it.

Lucite torc rotating a laser beam

First floor: gems 1 through 9

No beam rotation on this floor yet. Every puzzle here is solved by placing gems in holders and standing in the resulting beams. You need all nine before the elevator will take you down.

• Move one screen right, enter the green laser to reach the map alcove, then collect gem 1 (the gem powering the laser).
• Go up one screen, load the holder to start the pink laser, enter its beam and press up to reach gem 2, then retrieve the powering gem.
• Move left two screens to the elevator room. Load the holder for a vertical orange laser, then ascend one screen and load the holder on the left for a horizontal orange laser.
• Stand to the right of the gem, enter the horizontal orange beam, press right to the crossing point, press up into the alcove for gem 3, then use the vertical beam to exit.
• Collect the two orange powering gems, move left one screen, and load the holder to activate several lasers together.
• Go down one screen, load the holder for a vertical pink laser, stand in it and press down for gem 4, then move right using the red laser to clear a barrier.
• Descend one screen, load the right holder for a horizontal yellow laser, and smash the two rocks on the left.
• Go down one screen, load the right holder for a horizontal green laser, follow it through the left wall, use the red beam to lower the barrier, and collect gem 5. Retrieve the green powering gem.
• Continue through the floor using orange, pink, red, green, and yellow beam combinations to collect gems 6, 7, 8, and 9 in sequence. Each requires entering a beam and pressing in the direction of the alcove, using red beams to clear barriers and yellow beams to destroy rocks along the way.
• Collect all six remaining powering gems. With all nine in hand, take the elevator down.

Second floor: lucite torc and gems 10 through 17

This floor introduces the lucite torc and the orange orb. You will finish this section with 17 gems total.

• Insert all nine gems into the holders to light the red laser. Stand in it, deactivate the barrier, and retrieve one gem.
• Move right one screen, load the holder for the green laser, ride it through the wall to the checkpoint, and pick up the lucite torc.
• Enter the red beam one screen right. Use the torc while facing right to turn the beam right, then face left and use it again, then face up and use it to drop the barrier at the top of the room. Grab the map and collect gem 1 (downstairs).
• Load a pink laser one screen left. Use the torc to aim it upward, ride it into the alcove for gem 2, then turn it left to exit.
• Rotate the green laser downward (required for the final gem), then reload the red laser and use the torc to aim it upward. Go up one screen, lower the barrier on the left, and retrieve all nine red-laser powering gems.
• Load a yellow laser past the barrier. Use the torc to rotate it down, destroy the rock at the bottom, then rotate it up and destroy a rock above, then rotate it left and destroy a rock to the left. The beam now runs across the floor.
• Go three screens right, stand in the yellow beam, destroy the moving device when it reaches you, go up one screen, and collect gem 3 along with the orange orb.
• Use orange and pink lasers with torc rotations to collect gems 4, 5, and 6. Each requires entering a beam, rotating it toward an alcove, pressing into the alcove, then rotating the beam in a new direction to exit.
• Use green and red beam intersections with torc rotations to collect gems 7 and 8. At each intersection, face the direction of the target alcove before using the torc.
• Collect every remaining powering gem. With 17 gems in hand, take the elevator back up.

Back upstairs: gems 18 through 22

With the torc, five more gems open up on the top floor. These all involve rotating beams into new positions to reach alcoves that were previously inaccessible.

• Load the holder one screen left to activate several lasers. Load a green laser one screen down and one right, rotate it right with the torc.
• Navigate to the lizard's room and rotate the green beam left, then ride it to the green-red intersection and drop the barrier to reach gem 1 (return trip).
• Insert a gem for a new green laser right of the lizard's room. Ride it through the wall, rotate it up, follow it to the second green intersection, rotate the yellow beam left, and follow the green beam out.
• Load a pink laser, ride it up into the alcove, rotate it right to overlap the yellow beam, teleport right into the yellow alcove, destroy the rock below so the vertical green beam keeps rising, and follow the green beam up to gem 2.
• Follow the green beam down, rotate it down at the pink intersection, use the pink beam to teleport left, and exit the alcove.
• Load a yellow laser two screens up and one left, rotate it right. Load a red laser one screen down and right, rotate it right, and use it to drop a barrier.
• Load orange and pink lasers in the room above. Rotate both downward. Take the orange beam down twice, then right into the alcove for gem 3. Use the pink laser to exit.
• Rotate the orange beam left and ride it into the left alcove for gem 4. Break the rock with the yellow beam and leave.
• Enter the alcove with gem 5 using the green beam, then teleport left and out with the pink beam.
• Retrieve every remaining powering gem. In the lizard's room, place all 22 gems into the holder to feed the creature and complete Level 2.

Common mistakes in Vault of the Beamcasters

• Forgetting to retrieve powering gems. Every gem you slot into a holder can be taken back. Players who skip retrieval steps end up short at the finish room.
• Trying to turn 90 degrees with the rod of alabaster. The rod prevents normal turning. Use the press-left-press-right turnaround motion every time you need to change direction.
• Activating the lucite torc while facing the wrong direction. The beam rotates toward wherever you are facing at the moment you use the torc. Face first, then activate.
• Ignoring moving devices. Several gems are locked behind moving devices that need to be destroyed with the yellow laser or repositioned with the rod. Passing them by is the most common reason players get stuck.

For more puzzles across all four worlds, the Order of the Sinking Star guides collection covers the Mirror Isles, Skipping Stones to Lonely Homes, and the Hearty Heroes of Hauling in the same step-by-step format.

Order of the Sinking Star is part of a broader wave of adventure games that prioritize mechanical depth over hand-holding, and the Vault of the Beamcasters is one of the clearest examples of that design philosophy paying off.

Frequently asked questions

How many gems are in Vault of the Beamcasters Level 1? Level 1 requires 20 gems total, split across two floors: 12 upstairs, 5 downstairs, and 3 more upstairs after you acquire the rod of alabaster.

How many gems are in Vault of the Beamcasters Level 2? Level 2 requires 22 gems: 9 on the first floor, 8 on the second floor, and 5 more on the first floor after you return with the lucite torc.

What does the rod of alabaster do in Level 1? The rod lets you push objects and laser emitters directly. The trade-off is that normal 90-degree turns are disabled while holding it. You need to perform a deliberate press-in-two-directions turnaround to change facing.

What does the lucite torc do in Level 2? The lucite torc rotates any beam you are standing in toward the direction you are currently facing when you activate it. This lets you redirect lasers into new paths without moving the emitter.

Do I have to complete the other worlds before the Vault of the Beamcasters? No, but the recommended order is north, east, south, then west. The west world's mechanics build on logic introduced in the other three campaigns, so tackling it last makes the puzzles significantly easier to parse.