Editing Hint

[[File:P3D Menu Default Hint.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The default hint, telling the player to keep moving ahead.]]

{{for|hints on loading screens|Loading#Tip}}

'''Hints''' are a game mechanic in {{p3d}} that give advice on what to do in the game. Their purpose is to assist players who are not sure what to do to advance the game's [[Story Mode|story]]. Hints consist of some text, some images, and in most cases, arrows on the ground pointing towards the next destination.

[[File:P3D Distant Tundra Bridge Building.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A screenshot with the "Hints" button sparkling.]]

Hints are designed to guide the player towards advancing through the story. Some are about where to go next, some are about how to defeat [[boss]]es, and some are about other things. Many hints have associated locations in an [[area]] that they refer to. Due to {{p3}}{{'s}} structure, there is generally a linear progression of hints. Only one hint can be active at a time. Each new hint will appear in response to some threshold being reached, and will disappear when some other threshold has been reached. Hints may also have multiple stages to them, requiring multiple tasks to be done before they disappear, and the location they point to can change in response to these tasks. If no hint directly relevant to the player's location in the story is available, the hint will be a default "Keep moving ahead" hint, and may or may not have an associated location. If the player is in an area where the story for that area has already been completed, the default hint is instead about ending the [[day]].

The way hints are shown depends on a setting in the [[pause menu]], called "Hint Display". If it is on (which is the default setting), a bubble with the text "Hints" will appear in the [[HUD]], and if it is off, this bubble will not appear. In both cases, a Hint bubble will be present in the pause menu. If Hint Display is on, pressing {{button|switch|faceu}} will show the current hint. Selecting the bubble in the pause menu will also show the current hint. If a new hint is available, the bubble will sparkle, and an exclamation mark icon will appear over the HUD bubble, indicating a new hint is available. Once the new hint has been viewed, the bubbles will no longer sparkle until a new hint is available.

When a hint is shown, the game is paused and a special hint window takes up most of the screen. It contains an image, which may be a screenshot or a map, and some text below. There may be multiple pages in a hint, and if there are, these can be advanced to the right with {{button|switch|zr}}, {{button|switch|facer}}, or right on {{button|switch|lstick}}, and to the left with {{button|switch|zl}}, {{button|switch|facel}}, or left on {{button|switch|lstick}}. (The face buttons or the stick can be held to quickly advance through pages in a loop, but the same does not happen for {{button|switch|zr}} or {{button|switch|zl}}.) {{button|switch|b}} can be pressed to close the hint window and return to gameplay (or the pause menu, if the hint was opened from there).

[[File:P3DX Prerelease Twilight River Arrows 2.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A trail of arrows in the Twilight River.]]

If Hint Display is on, hints will not only consist of pages of information, but in arrows on the ground. These large blue arrows will point towards that hint's associated location, forming a path in front of the player using the same waypoint system as [[Go Here!]]. Since not all hints have an associated location, not all hints have arrows. The arrows will only appear near the active leader, and up to 5 arrows can be on the ground at a time. Arrows are 3D objects and can clip into the ground and illuminate their surroundings. They do not appear on the [[radar]] or the KopPad camera view. After appearing, arrows will not stop pointing towards their destination until their completion condition is fulfilled, though they will briefly disappear after the [[KopPad]] or [[Onion menu]] is closed (except the camera app on the KopPad). Arrows can be made to disappear by turning Hint Display off; after turning it back on the arrows will not reappear unless the hint is opened again.

When a hint has multiple associated locations in a set order (such as [[fragment]] piles), arrows will initially point towards the first of these locations. When a location has been visited and a task done there (such as picking up all the fragments), the arrows will disappear. If the player opens the hint page again, the arrows will reappear and point to the next location. (Note that the bubble will not sparkle in this situation, so the game will not let the player know that new arrows are available.) If for some reason the condition for an earlier hint is broken (such as calling Pikmin off fragments from an earlier pile), the arrows will point to the earlier location again until its condition is met again.

{{game help|p3d|Finish the list of hints.}}

 

| [[File:Hint DT1 P1.jpg|200px]]

 

[[File:Hint DT1 P2.jpg|200px]]

 

{{transcript|Press {{button|switch|+}} to open Options and view Basic Information or go to Other Settings to change controls to your liking.}}

| [[Distant Tundra]] || Opened automatically at the start of the game || N/A

| || [[#Default hints|Keep moving ahead]] || Distant Tundra || Close first hint || Initially: The can with the [[Yellow Pikmin]]

After the throwing tutorial: Vehemoth Phosbat arena (Note: The arrows point past the trigger point for the cutscene that ends the Distant Tundra section of day 1, so it is not possible to see where the arrows point to.)

| [[File:Hint TW1 P1.jpg|200px]]

| [[Tropical Wilds]] || Start [[Alph]]'s section of day 1 || Initially: The first [[Red Pikmin]] Alph sees

After the Red Pikmin runs away: The Red Pikmin in front of the Onion

| [[File:Hint TW2 P1.jpg|200px]]

| Tropical Wilds || Rescue the Red [[Onion]] || Initially: The 2 fragment piles, in either order

After picking up all fragments: None

| || [[#Default hints|Keep moving ahead]] || Tropical Wilds || Complete the brown bridge || The [[KopPad]]

| [[File:Hint TW3 P1.jpg|200px]]

[[File:Hint TW3 P2.jpg|200px]]

| Tropical Wilds || Collect the KopPad || None

| [[File:Hint TW4 P1.jpg|200px]]

| Tropical Wilds || Have at least 20 Pikmin in the field || The [[cardboard box]]

| || [[#Default hints|Keep moving ahead]] || Tropical Wilds || Push the cardboard box || The western exit of the cave (Note: It is not possible to see if the arrows initially stop at the [[dirt wall]] before pointing to the exit of the cave.)

| [[File:Hint GH1 P1.jpg|200px]]

| [[Garden of Hope]] || Land in the Garden of Hope on day 2 || The Red Onion

| [[File:Hint GH2 P1.jpg|200px]]

| Garden of Hope || Take at least 1 Pikmin out of the Onion || The 2 brown fragment piles in either order

| || [[#Default hints|Keep moving ahead]] || Garden of Hope || Complete the brown [[bridge]] || Initially: None

After seeing [[Brittany]]: The Rock Onion

| [[File:Hint GH3 P1.jpg|200px]]

| Garden of Hope || Seen the [[Medusal Slurker]] || None

| [[File:Hint GH4 P1.jpg|200px]]

[[File:Hint GH4 P2.jpg|200px]]

| Garden of Hope || Unlock [[Rock Pikmin]] || None

| [[File:Hint GH5 P1.jpg|200px]]

[[File:Hint GH5 P2.jpg|200px]]

| Garden of Hope || Rescue [[Brittany]] || The 2 blue fragment piles, in either order

| || [[#Default hints|Keep moving ahead]] || Garden of Hope || Complete the blue bridge || The Armored Mawdad arena

| [[File:Hint GH6 P1.jpg|200px]]

| Garden of Hope || Begin the [[Armored Mawdad]] boss fight || None

| [[File:Hint GH7 P1.jpg|200px]]

| Garden of Hope || Defeat the Armored Mawdad || None

| || [[#Default hints|End day]] || Garden of Hope || Collect the [[Data Glutton]] || None

| || [[#Default hints|Keep moving ahead]] || [[Distant Tundra]] || First landing in the Distant Tundra || None

| [[File:Hint DT2 P1.jpg|200px]]

| Distant Tundra || See Yellow Pikmin || None

| [[File:Hint DT3 P1.jpg|200px]]

| Distant Tundra || Activate the light in the Yellow Onion cave || None

| [[File:Hint DT4 P1.jpg|200px]]

| Distant Tundra || Have at least 20 Pikmin in the field || The iron ball in the cave

| || [[#Default hints|Keep moving ahead]] || Distant Tundra || Push the iron ball in the cave || The door to the outside

| [[File:Hint DT5 P1.jpg|200px]]

[[File:Hint DT5 P2.jpg|200px]]

| Distant Tundra || Leave Brittany's cave || Initially: The place for throwing Pikmin across the river

After reaching with either leader: Alph and Brittany have different associated locations. Alph has the 2 blue fragment piles in either order; Brittany has the 2 orange fragment pies in either order.

| [[File:Hint DT6 P1.jpg|200px]]

[[File:Hint DT6 P2.jpg|200px]]

| Distant Tundra || Complete the double bridge || Behind the iron ball outside

| || [[#Default hints|Keep moving ahead]] || Distant Tundra || Push the iron ball outside || Initially: The cave where the Vehemoth Phosbat is first seen

After reaching the cave: None

| [[File:Hint DT7 P1.jpg|200px]]

[[File:Hint DT7 P2.jpg|200px]]

| Distant Tundra || Activate the lightbulb that reveals the [[Vehemoth Phosbat]] || The 4 [[electrode]]s in the Vehemoth Phosbat arena, in any order

| [[File:Hint DT8 P1.jpg|200px]]

[[File:Hint DT8 P2.jpg|200px]]

| Distant Tundra || The Vehemoth Phosbat does its [[Phosbat Pod]] activation cutscene || The 2 [[fragment]] piles in the Vehemoth Phosbat arena, in either order

| [[File:Hint DT9 P1.jpg|200px]]

| Distant Tundra || Activated the big lightbulb in the Vehemoth Phosbat arena || None

| || [[#Default hints|End day]] || Distant Tundra || Defeat the Vehemoth Phosbat || None

===Default hints===

These hints appear many times throughout the story, so to simplify the list above, their images and text are listed below, along with the abbreviation used in the main list to represent the hint.

! Image !! Text !! Abbreviation

| [[File:Hint KMA P1.jpg|200px]]

[[File:Hint KMA P2.jpg|200px]]

|Keep moving ahead

| [[File:Hint EDO P1.jpg|200px]]

| {{transcript|If you've done all your work for the day, skip ahead by selecting End Day from the Options menu.}}

| End day

*[[Badge]]