Classic Games Revisited
Legend of Grimrock 2
Authored and tested in July 2025 by gibberishh.
About this Walkthrough
This guide expects you to follow maps in numerical order, though you can do many things in any order. A numbered marker always refers to the corresponding numbered entry in the text. Apart from numbered markers, the maps also use several icons to depict items you may find that are not singled out as special finds. Shortcuts for speedrunners are not described in this walkthrough: this guide is intended to take you to every single item, puzzle and secret.
Since many maps are multilevel, a general colouring style guide has been followed. Usually, markers in black indicate features on the ‘main’ level and grey markers point to features on a lower level. In water, black markers are used because it is obvious that the features are on a lower level and grey is more difficult to spot on light blue. On both land and in water, green markers denote features that are a level deeper or higher than the black ones. Windgates, as noted in the legend, are always in blue. Pink markers are used to call attention to map exits, but not all exits are marked in pink; only the important ones are. These are only guidelines, not rules—certain maps deserve more intricate treatment and special marker colours have been described alongside those maps.
Gates refer to doors (whether openable or not) that you can see through. Doors refer to those you cannot see through, or ones with only tiny slits in them.
Secret doors refer to any gate, door or wall that can be opened.
Buttons usually refer to the easily visible types. Hidden button indicates either the tiny square ones or a small ‘loose stone’ under a vine. Buttons and levers are always found on human-made hard (permanent) surfaces, never on natural rock faces, landslide debris, crates and such.
When directed to fall or climb down into a pit, the text will ‘cut away’ to the map underneath to describe the events there, and then ‘cut back’ to the current map. The text will make these transitions as explicit as possible.
On that note, most of the maps include multiple levels of elevation. Often I will refer to depressions in the ground or floor as pits. I don’t know what else to call them. The map will make it apparent whether I am referring to such an excavation or a pit that leads to a different map below the current one.
Except for the early parts of the walkthrough and a few sprinklings here and there, you will usually not be told how many or which enemies you will be facing in each spot. Once you get used to spotting and fighting (or evading) enemies, the walkthrough will stop holding your hand in that regard. Also, enemies do respawn in this game, and sometimes different (usually more powerful) enemies spawn in areas visited previously. The different enemies are usually triggered based on your overall progress in the game. The respawn rate is not very appreciable, but be aware that ‘completing’ a map does not mean it will remain clear of dangers.
Many enemies may come individually (one per tile) or in packs (two or four per tile). When talking about creatures, the guide will not distinguish between the two.
This walkthrough does not recite the various notes, scrolls, runes, help from statues and visual cues you can read, and thus does not tell you how the solution to every puzzle is deduced. Finding clues as the game intended involves an excruciating amount of back-and-forth. Solutions are given without any reasoning. If you are so inclined, you can read everything as you are playing the game and pay attention to your surroundings.
Tactics
Races
Minotaurs can opt for the Head Hunter feat, which increases their Strength by 1 for every skull carried. Although useful, I prefer to make everyone an Insectoid because of the 50% less chance of sustaining injuries. This means that I miss out on most of the food-related benefits: Ratlings gain stat boosts after consuming enough Cheese, Insectoids gain boosts by eating Horned Fruit, and Lizardmen benefit by gobbling up Turtle Eggs. However, these foods are not overly abundant in the game so my choice doesn’t keep me awake at night.
Of course, this is what one may call a min-max or powergamer approach. Every race has its own advantages, and you may want different races just for variety. I just find injuries to be very annoying. There are other powergaming approaches too: having all humans will give you +10% XP.
Classes
While most classes are quite straightforward (and every one deserves experimenting if not a full playthrough), I want to take a moment to talk about Farmers. A few sources on the internet claim that this is a ‘joke’ class. Farmers do not start with any skill points and do not get XP through kills. Pretty bad way to start. However, they earn XP by eating food and food is so abundant in the game that they can very quickly become the most powerful member of the party. Having one farmer means that everyone else consumes rations only for nourishment while the farmer gets to eat everything else to keep levelling up. Which is a lot. Additionally, with the Fast Learner trait, the farmer actually does get a tiny portion of the kill XP. This is undocumented but I have tested this thoroughly.
While classes do define certain aspects of how the character will grow, no class is restricted to any particular path of learning. A fighter can learn to cast spells, a mage can learn to backstab. All kinds of (weird?) combinations are possible and experimenting can make the game a lot of fun. This also makes a well-planned farmer extremely viable. Not only do they level up faster, you can train them into whatever role they need to fulfil.
Alchemists are the only class that can grow reagents as long as they are carrying at least one ‘seed’ reagent of that kind. A reagent’s growth is based on the number of steps walked. Crystal Flowers are not abundant in this game and it is quite beneficial for an alchemist to carry around at least one, since they can be used create potions that permanently boost stats. I myself find alchemists annoying though because of the extra inventory management involved. Instead of automatically stacking the new reagents, the game places them in empty inventory slots—a good indicator that the character has been hard at work, but annoying nonetheless.
Locks
There are two kinds of locks: those on doors and gates, and those on chests. Locked chests can only be opened with Lock Picks. No proficiency, class or ability is required to use them. They work like any consumable. There are more than enough Lock Picks in the game, but at the very beginning you may want to pick and choose which chests you want to unlock. Of course, without cheating, that will mean having to trudge back to unopened chests if you want their contents. Leave map notes on chests that you don’t open.
While there are always keys for ‘standard’ door locks, some require Gold Keys. There are 11 such keys in the game, but 17 such locks. Without cheating, you will be forced to pick which ones you want to open. I will give a brief commentary on each one to try and influence your choice.
Projectiles
If you are using any projectiles, keep a track of their count. Although the game automatically picks up any projectile you shot, there are multiple ways to lose them. One, you equipped a different projectile/weapon during the fight, leaving no hands free to pick up the ones you fired. Second, projectiles that land on pressure plates are not automatically picked up (the game assumes you need to keep the pressure plate weighed down).
Third, projectiles may fall into an open pit (if the pit is against a wall or if a creature hit with it dies over a pit): you will have to fall or climb down to retrieve the lost ammo if you really want it. Same goes for windgates; most of them will transport flying objects to their destination, but not all of them will transfer humanoids (i.e., your party)! In fact, some puzzles actually require you to do this, but there is always a way to retrieve your items once the puzzle is solved. Finally, if an enemy was lunging onto your tile when you killed it, the projectile will land on your tile, not the enemy’s, so you will have to walk forward and back to reacquire it.
Confusion can also occur if you have two characters shoot (say) Rocks. Either one of them may retrieve all of them, and they may not be distributed in the way that you did.
Vulnerabilities & Immunities
Some monsters are vulnerable to particular elements. Fire elementals and uggardians are vulnerable to cold damage. Wargs are vulnerable to poison. Frogs and zarchtons hate lightning. As do skeleton warriors (but not archers). Ice guardians, mummies, viper roots and twigroots cannot stand fire. Try out different families of spells on different creatures. It’s fun to discover them as you play. Damage numbers are displayed in red for this kind of extra damage.
On the other hand, certain monsters are also immune to particular elements. However, this immunity doesn’t just protect them; if you attempt such damage, certain creatures (not all) will actually heal from the damage! Healing ‘damage’ numbers are displayed in green. Many creatures are immune to the type of damage they themselves inflict—fire for fire elementals, cold for ice guardians, poison for herders and dark acolytes, lightning for wyverns, etc.
Spells
Many good spells require points in more than one school. Fire is the most versatile (and usually most damaging) school because it affects most enemies, and leaves them burning at higher levels. Ice bolt is particularly useful to potentially freeze a dangerous enemy, but ice shards is the only spell that can hit creatures on multiple tiles.
Although at higher character levels (with a decent choice of skills and weapons) spell damage does not match up to average melee damage, spells have particular advantages that weapons do not. Spells never miss. They also hurt every enemy in a pack. You can use force field to lock up a creature while you combat another. Shields of various kinds reduce incoming physical or elemental damage. Darkbolt can blind creatures. And, until very late (in my recommended route), Dispel will be your only offence against air elementals.
Although the game gives you the option to cast spells immediately upon drawing the rune pattern, I prefer to turn it off. It is quite beneficial to have the option on in frantic battles, but it’s a matter of personal preference.
Hoarding & Dead Weight
If you are a hoarder, the Hub is an ideal location to store all your loot. Even non-hoarders can store food and certain heavy equipment there until they level up enough to be able to use them without penalties. I like to organise my items in Wooden Boxes (as and when I get them) based on type, arranged around the room and labelled on the map. The ledges are particularly useful for clear organisation.
Many puzzles require you to leave items behind on pressure plates, so on most maps you will need to carry dead weight if you are unwilling to let go of items found on that map itself. The Pyramid of Umas also requires two Torches (which can be found within the pyramid itself). Although Scrolls (and Notes, Letters and Maps) are among the lightest items in the game, they do not stack. Instead, ammunition of any kind makes excellent pressure plate fodder. A stack of Pellets, Rocks or Throwing Knives can see you through the whole game, depending on which weapons you are using for combat.
Firearms
Firearms are among the worst ranged weapons in the game. The internet usually complains about the limited ammunition, but that has never been a problem for me. Far worse is their tendency to malfunction at lower levels. Also, firearm damage does not scale with stats so at higher levels (when one can actually mitigate their malfunctioning), they are not comparable to other ranged weapons. This is another reason why Pellets are excellent paperweights.
Difficulty
Easy difficulty is strongly recommended for first-time players. At higher difficulties combat can get quite intense, and there are several very large mobs in the game. The puzzle-solving and tactical aspects of the game are more fun in my opinion, especially when you are not constantly focussed on surviving.
To that end, the game does give you more survivability options than the first one—Potions of Resurrection (which revive and fully heal a dead party member), and a few Crystal Shards of Healing (which revive and rest the entire party). However, there are also certain battles that these resources may be worth hoarding for. More potions can be brewed, but the crystals are limited.
Wherever you are, a Crystal of Life is usually within easy reach. They can be abused; it does not take too long for them to get recharged (unless you turned that off). However, don’t skimp on consumables. A potion may be more appropriate (or less annoying) than having to walk back to a crystal in some cases, and there are quite a few reagents (more so if you have an alchemist).
Mimics
Any chest can randomly turn out to be a mimic when you attempt to open it. The chest icon will also disappear from the map if this happens. The game seems kind enough to not throw these at you early on, but I have not tested what happens if you leave initial chests unopened until later. Mimics will drop all chest contents upon defeat.
Legend
In the legend below you may notice that all wearable gear is lumped together. This includes headgear, chest pieces, leggings, footwear, gauntlets, and amulets. The text will inform you what items you will find in each region.
