The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is about as classic Daedalic Entertainment as you can get, and of course, that means puzzles. One particular puzzle sees you having to figure out how to breed your own bird companion from scratch and can be a bit cryptic if you don't have your adventure-game hats on. This Gollum bird breeding guide will show you what the clues all mean and how to breed whatever bird you like easily.
If you're enjoying this guide, you should also take a look at our collectibles guide, which can help get you find each of the collectibles in Gollum. If not, maybe consider checking out our review of The Lord of the Rings: Gollum to see what we thought of the game itself.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum Bird Breeding Guide
The bird breeding puzzles comes towards the end of Chapter 2 when you're thrown into the service of the Candle Man. You'll be tasked with replacing his old bird breeder by figuring out how to breed new birds, with only the scrawlings of your processors to go on. Luckily, it's not that hard once you get the hang of it.
What Do The Bird Breeding Symbols Mean?
Each symbol can easily be broken down, though you should obviously ignore the instructions that have been scrawled over, as they're clearly wrong. Either way, you can still use it as an example to learn how to break down the information in each version of the symbol. Above, we've made the scrawled-out version of the symbol clearer and annotated what each section means.
The first symbol signifies which color of egg the instructions are for, while the flame next to it, indicates that the rest of the formula is about flame intensity. The number of sticks in the code is how many logs you need to put on the fire, and the number of wavy lines after the bellows symbol is how many pumps of the bellows you need to hatch the egg safely. Simple.
How to Hatch an Egg in Gollum
- Take egg from cages
- Place egg in color station and choose color
- take egg to fire
- follow instructions to properly heat egg
- Take egg to hatching post and pull lever
The actual process of hatching an egg is relatively simple. Firstly, head over to the egg station and pick up an egg, then head over to the color station and choose your color. Next, use the instructions for your particular chosen egg color and heat it in the fire. Once it's heated, place it in the hatching chamber and pull the lever to hatch the egg. If you've done it right, a cutscene will show you with your new friend. You can find each station in the four corners of the breeding room, and the orc nearby will explain each one, so you shouldn't struggle too much.
Which Egg Should I Hatch?
It's not immediately clear how your choice of egg affects the storyline, but there are three options. A White Bird is Elven in nature, a black bird is orcish in nature, while a brown bird lies somewhere in the middle. This probably plays into the whole Gollum/Smeagol aspect of the game, but exactly what effect it has on things like achievements is not currently known.
Egg Instructions and Where to Find Them
Even after you've picked an egg color, you don't necessarily know the formula. YOu can find them around the room if you explore carefully enough, but we've also listed them here for anyone who wants to take the easy way out:
- White Egg | 4 Logs | 2 Pumps
- Brown Egg | 3 Logs | 4 Pumps
- Black Egg | 2 Logs | 3 Pumps
That's it for this The Lord of the Rings: Gollum Bird Breeding Guide; you can check out our other guides and articles below:
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Will has been writing about video games professionally since 2016 and has covered everything from AAA game reviews to industry events and everything in… More about William
