Periodically in Cairn, you’ll come across some fairly cryptic maps that can lead you to some interesting places if you trouble yourself with figuring them out. The first example is one you can find in The Village, which leads you to the Troglodyte Doll Pieces.
A bit further up the way from here, you’ll come to The Palace Of Wind, which houses your next map that you can find. Of course, like most things in Cairn, figuring out where this map leads will be a challenge.
Worry not, fellow climbers. I’ve done the exploration for you already. Follow my lead to complete the Friends’ Map.
Where To Find The Friends’ Map
After completing the short section of Mount Kami, The Two Hundred Steps, you’ll come to this giant, wooden bridge. Your intuition might tell you to avoid traversing it, but go ahead. You’ll be fine.
When looking at The Palace Of Wind in front of you, you’ll notice some open doorways on each floor of the structure. Using the image above, notice the door for the second floor. This is our current goal.
To get here, start by climbing about halfway up the stairs leading to floor one of the palace. This is the route I used. Once you make it to the second floor, head inside this doorway.
If you entered the same door that I did, you’ll find the Friends’ Map in this first room. It’s a bit confusing to look at, but mentions some origami figures, as well as a climbot that went missing on its previous expedition up Kami.
This is all you need for now. Time to keep heading up.
How To Complete The Friends’ Map
Using the doorway on the opposite side of floor two, this is how I made it up to the third floor. Follow a similar route if you’d like. Just remember that this part of the mountain seems prone to rain, and also features some nasty winds that can cause you to fall if you aren’t careful.
Once you make it to the third floor, open your map. The Friends’ Map will now overlay what you’re looking at, giving you plenty of options to continue your climb. However, if you’re looking for this missing climbot mentioned in the map, you need to head to the far right.
This is not a particularly easy climb, but I followed the white path on the right since it led directly below the climbot icon. There are some patches of the mountain here that are too hard for regular pitons, so it’s a good idea to grab the Troglodyte Piton from The Child section of the game earlier on, since it can penetrate harder surfaces.
Part of the way up this path, you’ll be shown a particularly upsetting cutscene involving a voice mail from your trusty climbot. RIP to his antenna.
After this, keep pressing onward, taking time to replenish your stamina or drop a piton or two (or eight) along the way. Don’t be embarrassed if you choose to use the unlimited piton or fall rewind assists here. This journey is no joke.
You’ll reach the missing climbot icon, but you’ll find that you need to keep going. Just above you from here is a small cave opening, which is your utimate goal. The path above is how I got there.
In the back of this cave, you’ll find the missing climbot of legend. Unfortunately, its seen better days and is beyond repair. However, there are a couple of things you can pick up here.
Friends’ Map Rewards
The most important thing of note here is the Lynx Origami, which was also mentioned in the Friends’ Map. You won’t have a use for this right this second, but it will help you earn the In Memorium trophy/achievement later on.
Additionally, the climbot has a couple of useful items on it: some raisins, and a strong infusion. The strong infusion specifically is great, as it has two uses and raises all three of your survival meters.
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With that, the Friends’ Map is done, but you still need to keep going a bit further up from here to progress the game. When looking at the cave entrance, you can head left, then continue on. Once you’re high enough, a new cutscene will trigger, which automatically gets you to safety.
