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Undertale - Ruins explored: How to beat Napstablook, Froggit, Moldsmal, Vegetoid and Loox

How to explore the Ruins in Undertale.

The Ruins is the first area of Undertale, which gradually introduces combat, light puzzles and the story to come.

The following is designed to be played as part of a complete Pacifist guide - in short, going through the entire game without killing anything to unlock a different ending.

Most other endings follow the exact same route and only differ in small ways, and our wider Undertale walkthrough delves into other areas of the game.

Cover image for YouTube video5 Secrets Hidden In The Music Of Undertale
5 Secrets Hidden In The Music Of Undertale

The Ruins

Once you wake up head to the right into the next room, and then head towards the light to meet Flowey who'll introduce you to some basic combat mechanics. His 'friendliness pellets' are nothing of the sort, but whether you avoid them or fall for his clever ruse the fight will be interrupted by Toriel.

Follow her into the next room, use the save point, and then keep following her as she explains a few things about the game - do as she tells you, and eventually you'll arrive at a combat dummy. Interact with it, then use the Act command to talk to it a few times before Sparing it.

Follow Toriel again and she'll guide you through a bit more of the Ruins, and eventually will leave you and tell you to wait. If you have the patience, staying in this room for five minutes will earn you a short bit of dialogue, or you can leave immediately.

When you enter the next room Toriel will phone you and tell you to stay put again, but ignore her. Use the save point, talk to the Froggit, and then head into the room to the north to grab some Candy - you can take up to four of them.

At this point you'll start encountering your first enemies.

As part of a Pacifist playthrough, you must not kill anything, instead winning random encounters through non-combative actions.. Our encounters boxouts will delve into how to take on each individual foe without their demise.

Head back to the room with the Froggit and make your way to the exit in the south east.

Ahead is some cracked floor that you can't avoid, and you'll be dropped down into a small room. Exit through the right hand door to return to the corridor above, and then keep heading east.

The next room has a sliding block "puzzle" - push the rock onto the switch to lower the spikes. As you head towards the exit Toriel will call to ask about pie ingredients, and it doesn't matter how you answer.

The next room has more cracked floor, but you can walk on some of them safely. If you fall through into the room below pay attention to the clear path through the leaves as it's the same as the safe cracked tiles on the floor above.

In the next room there are three more blocks to push. The first two will move without incident, but the third one will require some persuasion - keep talking to it until it stays put, then cross the spikes.

Use the save point in the next room, then keep heading east until you find a ghost lying on the floor blocking your path.


Playing Undertale? Our complete Undertale walkthrough and Pacifist guide will explain how to finish the game while sparing everyone, covering all areas including the Ruins, Snowdin, Waterfall, Hotlands and The Core and more. You can also learn about how to unlock every Undertale ending and all Undertale Trophies, access hard mode and play the game in the most evil way possible with a Genocide run.


Napstablook boss fight

You need to Cheer him three times before you can Spare him. He has two attacks; the tears that fall down can be avoided by staying low to give you time to dodge, and the spiralling tears are best dodged by staying near the middle of the box.

If you took some damage head back to the save point to heal, then head east and buy a Donut from the spider. DO NOT use it, and guard it with your life! Head back to the Napstablook room and then exit to the north.

There are three large Froggits here who will offer some advice, and there's an invisible one located against the wall behind the leftmost Froggit. As you near the end of the room Toriel will call and say she's left some items lying around, but as you have limited inventory space there's no real point in looking for them.

The exit to the next room is blocked by spikes, and there are several patches of cracked floor.

Fall through the upper middle floor to find the switch to retract the spikes, and drop down the one in the bottom left to find a Faded Ribbon - equipping it will increase your defence, and also allow you to use your old bandages as a healing item.

Once past the spikes you'll enter a room with some coloured switches; pay attention to where they are as the next rooms have the same layout but are rotated meaning that one or more switches will be hidden.

Move to the next room and read the sign, then hit the blue switch concealed behind the pillar in the north of the room. The next room requires you to hit the red switch, and the final room needs the green switch which is hidden behind the pillar pm the middle left.

You're now nearing the end of the ruins. Keep following the path - you'll pass another Froggit you can talk to, and taking a detour into the room to the north will earn you a Toy Dagger you can equip as a weapon if you're not trying for a Pacifist run - and eventually Toriel will come to greet you. Use the save point just outside her house, then follow her inside.

Start by taking a quick nap in your room for a bit of exposition (and a slice of pie which you should hold on to for now), explore her house if you want some more story background, and when you're ready to move on talk to Toriel in the living room.

Keep telling her you want to leave the ruins, and eventually she'll walk off. Nip back outside to save the game and then head down to the basement, and follow Toriel to the end. A battle will then play out, which we'll cover with our Toriel boss fight page - which is tougher than it seems on a Pacifist run.