The Melting Pot: Bastion Walkthrough Part 3

Starting The Melting Pot in Bastion

The Pot only contains this one small area.

You’ll find the Core early on, but you’ll need to survive waves of enemies to get it. This is your first level that’s centered on combat, so it won’t be that hard.

The arena also has lots of health tonics to help you recover between rounds.

Besides that, stabweeds infest the paths here. They don’t drop fragments, but some block the way forward. You can’t roll through them too, so whack ‘em to weed ‘em.

Round 0: The Pot

Step 1: You start on a ferry docked by a highway.

North is a dead end, but east has a “Something Nasty” for your Repeater. Go pick it up. Doing so spawns an Elephant Squirt; kill it to get an extra 50XP.

Hidden Goodies Near Your Starting Position / Bastion
Hidden Goodies Near Your Starting Position

There’s also a hidden bundle of fragments behind the boxes to the left of the material.

Take everything here, and then head down on the western stairs.

Step 2: You’ll find the Core near the foot of the stairs. It’s locked inside a cage. You’ll need to press its switch to your south to access it.

Before you do that, you should pick up some of the items around the floor:

  • There’s the Trip Mine Secret Skill on the bottom left.
  • A fragment bundle hides behind the building beside the stairs. Break through the crates to reach it.
  • A second fragment bundle is inside the crates next to the Trip Mine.
  • Many of the crates along the edges will also yield loose fragments if you smash them.
Find These Items / Bastion
Find These Items

Tip: Don’t grab the tonics yet. You may need them later during the fights. You also should not remove the stinkweeds. They’ll be useful in funneling your foes.

Secret Skill: Trip Mine / Bastion

Secret Skill: Trip Mine


You leave a small mine directly beneath you. It’ll explode in a few seconds if any enemy gets close to it. It has a short detection range, but you can clear out a crowd by planting it right at their center.

Step 3: After taking everything save for the tonics, go press the switch.

Flick the Switch / Bastion
Flick the Switch

It’ll cause the cage to shake and rise at a steady pace.

Fragments will also rain down all around the area. Collect them as fast as you can, because from all this commotion, enemies will start arriving in waves.

Round 1: The Gas

Wave 1: Crates will drop throughout the floor. Four are marked with skulls, and those contain Gasfellas.

Destroy the Marked Crates / Bastion
Destroy the Marked Crates

Smash those boxes before their contents come out.

Even then, a couple may still be able to emerge. Dispatch them quickly and get ready for their reinforcements.

Wave 2: Squirts will sprout around the area. The first few are actually on your side and will help you fight off the others.

The ones on your side are green and have hearts floating above them.

Green Squirts Are Friendly / Bastion
Green Squirts Are Friendly

There’s no friendly-fire in this game, so you needn’t worry about hitting your new friends. You’re still outnumbered though, so clear out the hostile Squirts before your allies die.

Wave 3: More Gasfellas in crates will drop continuously.

Cut Them Down to Reduce Their Numbers / Bastion
Cut Them Down to Reduce Their Numbers

Your green Squirts can draw some of their attention, but they won’t last long. Help out wherever you can, and don’t be stingy with using your Secret Skill.

Wave 4: As the final crates fall, small Scumbags will join the fray right away. Be careful with their slime trails as you continue to fight the remaining enemies.

Near the end of this wave, friendly Gasfellas will arrive and flush out any stragglers.

This Scumbag Got Stuck on a Stinkweed / Bastion
This Scumbag Got Stuck on a Stinkweed

After that, you’ll earn a short respite before the next round begins. Use this time to collect yourself.

The upcoming waves come more rapidly, with no down time between them.

Round 2: The Fire

Wave 1: Two pairs of shotgun Turrets and small Scumbags form the vanguard of this round. They’ll drop at the north and the south edges.

Right after they arrive, a bigger Scumbag will drop at the center of the area.

He’ll stay where he landed and spew goo everywhere. Lay a mine next to him to solve that problem.

Drop a Mine Next to the Big One / Bastion
Drop a Mine Next to the Big One

While waiting for it to explode, go finish off the Turrets and Scumbags.

Wave 2: Even more Gasfellas in crates will rain down. Thankfully, your allies can hold their own against these smaller ones.

Smash These Goons / Bastion
Smash These Goons

These foes will be followed up by Elephant Squirts sprouting from the ground. Keep killing ‘em as they come.

Wave 3: This wave features no enemies. Instead, stabweeds and apples will litter the area.

Grab the Spices / Bastion
Grab the Spices

The “Ancient Spices” memento will also drop near the cage, plus some health and black tonics. Pick them up to replenish your energies.

Wave 4: Corn bins and flamer Turrets lead this wave, followed by a few Gasfellas. The corn bins drop black tonics when destroyed, so go wild with your mines on them.

Set Mines Beside the Bins and Turrets / Bastion
Set Mines Beside the Bins and Turrets

The flamers only have a short range; steer clear from them until they’re the only ones left.

Wave 5: This final wave starts slow with small Squirts meandering around. Some are green ones, which will run away from you.

There will be a couple of Elephant Squirts trying to rally resistance against you, so be sure to kill them.

During this wave, the Core’s cage will almost be finished with its opening. You’ll know this when the Narrator begins counting down. As he does that though, a hodgepodge of enemies will attempt a last hurrah.

This includes one red Gasfella, whose attacks are like the Foreman’s. He’ll appear beside the cage.

Shoot Down the Red Gasfella / Bastion
Shoot Down the Red Gasfella

When you defeat him, the Core should be ready for you to take.

Wave Goodbye: After taking the Core, grab all uncollected tonics in the area.

You can annihilate the remaining enemies, but you don’t need to.

Once you’re done here, run to the cage’s switch.

Press the Switch to Launch the Ferry / Bastion
Press the Switch to Launch the Ferry

Parked near it is a ferry, which is your ride home. Get on it and press its switch to end the level.

Home: The Bastion

Now that you’re home, go install your hard-won Core into the Monument. This opens up a third vacant lot.

You only have one building option left for now, so go choose that. You can also talk to the Rucks about the Ancient Spices. He’ll tell you about the origins of Caelondia’s first settlers.

Once you’re ready to proceed, go to the Bastion’s Skyway.

There are two new levels open to you:

  • Windbag Ranch
  • The Hanging Gardens

You can attempt the Windbag Ranch if you’d like to test your skill with the Machete. It does involve a lot of button-mashing and quick reflexes, so that may become frustrating, especially since you just endured the previous level.

But if you’re not ready for that yet (or after you complete it), then you can head to the Hanging Gardens to progress the story.

Louie Nelson Zafico

44 articles

As a frustrated otter who dreams of getting published, Louie instead wastes his life cuddling his cats. He spent his childhood playing Suikoden, grew up with Total War, and matured (somewhat) with EU4. He hopes to someday find a geopolitical JRPG with the 4X systems of a Paradox game.

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