Honkai Star Rail 4.2 Shiftmation puzzles in Seafeld City (solutions)

Seafeld City, the new coastal tourist area added in Honkai Star Rail 4.2, hides three Shiftmation puzzles tied to the Floating Grease Origin Retrace set. Each one uses the familiar 2D rotation mechanic, where Q spins the world clockwise and E spins it counter-clockwise, and the goal is to collect every paint blob before landing on the frog.

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Quick answer: There are three Shiftmation puzzles in Seafeld City, near the Seafeld Station, Seaside Avenue, and Mayor’s Residence Space Anchors. Use Q to rotate clockwise, E to rotate counter-clockwise, grab every paint, then touch the frog.

Image credit: *Cognosphere Pte. Ltd. (via YouTube/@Sneaky Sheep)*

Controls and objective

Every Shiftmation puzzle follows the same rules. You rotate the stage 90 degrees at a time, landing on surfaces that shift with gravity. Windmills reset your remaining spin count when you need more rotations, and levers open new paths. The run only counts as complete once all paint is reclaimed and the character reaches the frog marker.

The default keyboard bindings put rotation on Q and E. On controller, the two shoulder buttons handle the same inputs. Jumps are on the standard jump key, and interactions (levers, windmills) use the regular interact prompt.

Input	Effect
Q	Rotate world clockwise
E	Rotate world counter-clockwise
Windmill	Resets remaining spin count
Lever	Opens blocked paths or shifts platforms
Frog	Completion marker (touch last)

Puzzle 1: Near Seafeld Station

Teleport to the Seafeld Station Space Anchor and follow the narrow road straight ahead until it ends. Turn right and walk a few steps to reach the puzzle entrance, tucked behind the ticket machines area.

Press E once to rotate the world counter-clockwise. This reorients the platforms so you can reach the lever above.

Jump up and interact with the lever. Pulling it shifts the layout and exposes the next set of blocks.

Press Q once to rotate clockwise, then fall down to the lowest platform and move left.

Use the blocks on the left to climb upward and grab the paint at the top.

Jump to the right to reach the frog and finish the puzzle.

Puzzle 2: Southwest of Seaside Avenue

Teleport to the Seaside Avenue Space Anchor and take the narrow path heading southwest. The puzzle sits at the top of a short staircase at the end of that path. This is the longest of the three, with three separate paints to collect and multiple windmill resets.

Press Q once to rotate clockwise. Jump onto the green platform and claim the first paint.

Press E once to rotate counter-clockwise. Jump up and move right until you reach the windmill, then interact with it to reset your spin count.

Walk right until your character is standing on the platform’s edge, then press E once more to rotate counter-clockwise.

Jump up and grab the second paint.

Press Q once. Jump up and to the right until you reach the second windmill, and reset the spin count again.

Walk to the left edge of the platform and press Q. Jump up to collect the third paint.

Press E to rotate counter-clockwise one final time, then jump up to touch the frog.

Puzzle 3: Northwest of the Mayor’s Residence

Teleport to the Mayor’s Residence Space Anchor, turn around, and head down the stairs heading northwest. The puzzle sits by the roadside in front of a cafe. This one is short, with only a single rotation and two paints.

Use the blue block on the left to jump up one level. Head right and use another blue block to reach the first paint.

Jump back to the blue block on the left side of the stage and press E once to rotate counter-clockwise.

Jump up to the blue block above, then keep climbing to grab the second paint at the top.

Drop down and to the left to land on the frog and close out the puzzle.

Rewards and verification

Each Shiftmation puzzle rewards a treasure chest on completion, which counts toward the total Seafeld City chest tally and the regional exploration progress. In the Seafeld City chest list, the three puzzle chests correspond to Chest 7 (behind the ticket machines near Seafeld Station), Chest 15 (fenced area southeast of Seaside Avenue), and Chest 22 (northwest of the Mayor’s Residence).

You’ll know a puzzle is solved when the frog animation plays and the chest spawns on the stage. If the frog doesn’t trigger, a paint blob was missed, since the puzzle only completes once every paint on the board has been collected.

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Tip: If a rotation leaves you stuck without enough spins remaining, walk back to the nearest windmill to reset. Running out of rotations mid-route is the most common reason players reset these puzzles.

With all three Seafeld City Shiftmation puzzles done, the remaining Floating Grease Origin Retrace entries for version 4.2 are located over in Seafeld TV Tower, which shares the same rotation mechanics and rewards another set of chests toward Planarcadia’s 4.2 exploration totals.