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Solving Vaults lock puzzles faster

During a Vaults battle you can open a lock between bugs. Each one pays cash and an Overclock charge, and in the Daily Gauntlet each lock you solve adds 40 points to your score. The battle is paused while the lock is open and a wrong answer only costs you time, so the goal is not speed but a reliable method. There are five kinds of lock.

Number sequence

You are shown a run of numbers and asked for the next one. Look first at the differences between neighbours: if the differences are constant, you are adding a fixed amount; if they grow steadily, the differences have their own pattern. Then check for multiplying, alternating rules (every second number follows a different rule) and squares. Write the differences down mentally before you guess.

Lights out

A grid of lights where pressing a light flips it and its neighbours. The key fact is that pressing the same light twice cancels out, so the order of presses never matters and you never need to press anything more than once. Work from the top row down: once a row is correct, any light still on in it can only be fixed by pressing the light directly below it, which moves you to the next row. Whatever is left in the last row tells you which top-row presses you needed.

Memory pattern

A pattern flashes and you repeat it. Do not try to remember every cell as a picture. Break the pattern into two or three shapes (a line, an L, a pair) and remember those, and say the order to yourself. If the pattern is too long, remember where it starts and let the rhythm carry you.

Logic circuit

Switches feed gates, and you set the switches so the circuit outputs the target. Work backwards from the output: an AND gate needs every input on, an OR gate needs only one, and a NOT gate flips its input. Decide what each gate needs, then follow the requirement back to the switches. Where a switch feeds two places, check that both are happy before you commit.

Knights and knaves

Several characters make statements, and knights always tell the truth while knaves always lie. Pick one character and assume they are a knight. Follow what that makes true, and see whether it forces a contradiction. If it does, they must be a knave, and the rest follows. A statement about someone else usually settles two characters at once.

General habits

• Solve locks in the quiet moment before you call a wave. You have two per wave and they do not carry over.
• Take your time. The clock stands still, so a careful solve is as good as a quick one.
• Do every lock. Each is 40 points plus cash and a charge, even in the late waves when you are busy.

The scoring side of locks is covered in the Daily Gauntlet scoring guide.