Here’s a simple guide on how to earn every achievement in Peaks of Yore. It’s my first attempt at making a guide, so it might not be super polished, but I’m confident I can handle it. While it may seem unnecessary since the achievements are quite straightforward, I wanted to give it a try anyway. Any suggestions on how I can make it better are welcome.
Summit Achievements
There are four achievements related to climbing peaks in the game, each with specific summit goals. Novice Climber, Competent Climber, Proficient Climber, and Cragsman achievements are earned by summiting 5, 10, 15, and 20 Fundamental peaks.
For Crimp Competent and Bouldering Expert, you need to summit 5 and 10 Intermediate Boulders. Some players suggest using coffee for these challenges, but they can be accomplished without it.
The achievements Walker’s Pillar, Great Goal, Elden Horn, St. Haelga, and Ymir’s Shadow (including Harnessed) are earned by reaching the summit of each corresponding Advanced mountain without using the safety harness. A recent update also awards these achievements if you summit them with the safety harness after initially reaching the top without it.
OAS Member is achieved after reaching the summit of approximately 33 peaks, triggering the game’s first ending. Great Gales Mountaineer is earned for reaching the top of all 20 fundamental peaks, 10 intermediate boulders, and 5 advanced mountains.
The achievements for climbing the last two Expert mountains, The Great Bulwark of the North and the Solemn Tempest (including Harnessed), can be obtained by completing these challenging climbs. It is recommended to use the safety harness when climbing the Solemn Tempest for the first time to get a sense of its difficulty.
Pioneering Summiteer and OAS President achievements are earned by reaching the top of every peak in the game and witnessing the game’s second ending.
Finally, More Haste, Less Speed, and Friendly Summits are achieved by talking to specific characters on Walter’s Crag and Walker’s Pillar, agreeing to climb with them, and meeting them at the summit to obtain the achievements.
Collectible Achievements
There are several collectible achievements in the game. If you want a detailed guide, check our Peaks of Yore collectibles guide.
Alternatively, check this quick how-to guide:
Family of Mountaineers: To achieve this, you need to gather all the pieces of a torn photograph. There are five pieces in total, with three hidden on the fundamental peaks and the remaining two on the advanced mountains. Exploring and finding these pieces will be rewarding, but I won’t spoil the locations to keep the discovery element intact.
Magpie of the Great Gales: This achievement requires you to collect every single item in the game, including the somewhat tricky one on Leaning Spire. The game provides a map indicating the number of collectibles on each peak, making it easier to track your progress.
Keen Sight: For this achievement, you must use your monocular to spot mermaids in the background. There are seven mermaids in total, scattered across the fundamental peaks. Each peak, except for the Lighthouse, has one mermaid, while the Lighthouse has two. The game notifies you with a little jingle once you’ve spotted them. Note that the mermaids at the Lighthouse and the one at the end of Land’s End can’t be seen from the ground. These mermaids don’t have any impact on the game aside from contributing to the achievement.
Free Solo Achievements
The Free Solo achievements in the game present various challenges, with some achievable in normal mode and others specifically requiring Free Solo mode.
Advanced Free Soloist and Expert Free Soloist: These achievements task you with reaching the summits of all advanced and expert peaks without using any ropes. Notably, you can earn these achievements in the normal mode, eliminating the worry of permadeath.
Walker’s Pillar, Great Goal, Eldenhorn, St. Haelga, and Ymir’s Shadow (Free Solo): These are individual achievements that strictly demand Free Solo mode. You must climb each advanced mountain without any ropes and without falling. Falling means starting anew from the fundamental peaks. Theoretically, Free Solo mode should also work for obtaining these achievements.
Great Bulwark (Free Solo), Legendary Free Soloist, and Death Defier: Achieving Great Bulwark (Free Solo) is straightforward – summit the peak without using ropes. However, Legendary Free Soloist requires reaching the top of the Solemn Tempest without ropes, allowing the use of the Bivouac checkpoint. Death Defier is similar but without the Bivouac option. All these achievements necessitate at least You Fall, You Die mode.
Expert Cragsman, Grand Master, Alpine Master, and Living Legend (Free Solo Mode): These achievements specifically mandate Free Solo mode, meaning no ropes, coffee, chalk, or any other aids. Expert Cragsman and Grand Master require completing all Fundamental and Advanced peaks. Alpine Master demands conquering both the Great Bulwark and the Solemn Tempest in this mode. Living Legend necessitates summiting every peak in Free Solo mode, with the added challenge of permadeath – falling once means redoing everything.
Other Achievements
Here are the remaining achievements that don’t fall into the previous categories:
Don’t Be Hasty and Lofty Ambitions: Experience a big fall 50 and 100 times. Recognize these falls when your character topples over, and the screen goes black. This type of fall is the same as the one causing permanent death in You Fall, You Die mode and Free Solo mode. You’ll likely achieve these naturally during your gameplay.
Bad luck to kill a sea bird!: Slap a sea bird 50 times. This is straightforward – maintain one hand on a handhold, provoke a sea bird, and use your other hand to hit it when it attempts to peck at your hands. You may acquire this achievement naturally as you play.
One Hold Short of Madness: Reach the summit of every peak in You Fall, You Die mode. Fortunately, you’re allowed to use ropes for this achievement. However, the safety harness is off-limits. Falling too far while attached to a rope can also result in death, so be cautious.
Rapid Summiteer, Fleet-footed Boulderer, Pinnacle Chaser, and The Great Gales Sender: Beat the time records on every mountain. While there are also handhold and rope records, only the time records need to be surpassed. Activating the pocketwatch before the intermediate boulders may automatically fulfill most of them. Keep the pocketwatch on to compare your times, and note that it resets upon hitting the ground, but any remaining ropes in the mountain count toward the rope record. Returning with advanced gear later in the game can significantly ease the completion of fundamental peaks and a considerable portion of the advanced ones.
That's everything we are sharing today for this Peaks of Yore guide. This guide was originally created and written by Ninjaboy5056. In case we fail to update this guide, you can find the latest update by following this link.
I found 6/7 of the mermaids, being the ones in Old Langr, Three Brothers, Hangmans Leap, Lands End, and the 2 in Lighthouse and I can’t find this last one for the life of me. You said that they are all in the fundamental peaks, and near the ocean because yk. The only other fundamental peaks near water are The Twins and Old Man of Sjor, but I’ve checked both of those like 100 times. I was wondering if I’m stupid and missed it or if it’s not on those maps.
You might’ve found it already, but someone else might need this so I’ll reply anyway. It’s at Ugsome Storr. It’s the furthest inland based on the map, yet when you get there there’s a huge lake that just isn’t shown on the map.