Exploration Day 12, 13, and 14: Sun-Speckled Terrace Night Expedition

In order to cure Leaflings in Pikmin 4, you'll have to complete Night Expeditions. These become available after finding Yonny the Doctor and are necessary in order to open up new areas and reach the game's first ending. On this page of IGN's Pikmin 4 Guide, we'll walk you through the three Night Expeditions you'll need to do around Days 12, 13, and 14 to open up Hero's Hideaway.

Sun-Speckled Terrace Night Expeditions

In order to unlock the Hero's Hideaway area, you'll have to complete 3 Night Expeditions. Night Expeditions count for an entire day of exploration, so these will cover Days 12, 13, and 14 of your rescue mission.

The reason you must complete 3 of these Night Expeditions, is because you need to find Bernard the Pilot. Bernard is one of the Leaflings rescued from the sublevel caves, and when Yonny administers the cures, he will be the third one cured.

What to Do on Night Expeditions

Night Expeditions are all focused around Luminknoll and keeping it protected from the creatures that will stir during the night. There will be either one or two Lumiknoll on each level.

You will begin with a set number of Glow Pikmin and then need to collect star fragments that will be turned into more Glow Pikmin. The idea of Night Expeditions is to spend the beginning getting as many Glow Pikmin as you can, then switch to defending the Lumiknoll.

Lumiknoll

As mentioned, you can have either one or two Lumiknolls per level. These much be protected before the night ends, or you've killed a certain number of creatures. Sap is then extracted from the Lumiknoll to be used to cure Leaflings.

When there are two Lumiknolls, the best defense method is to divide up. Have Oatchi defend one of the Lumiknolls while you protect the other.

Defeating Creatures

Creatures will begin to stir, with their eyes glowing red, as the night progresses. They will then charge towards the Lumiknoll and you'll need to stop them before they destroy it entirely.

Tricknoll

As well as Lumiknolls, there are mini versions of them called Tricknolls scattered around. These can be used as checkpoints, to have Glow Pikmin drop start fragments in when you're further away from the Lumiknoll. They also act as decoys, so the more of these you have lit up, the better, as creatures will aim for these when they're close by and not go straight for the Lumiknoll itself.

Night Expedition Areas

Night Expeditions will have you revisiting each of the areas you've explored as part of the main story missions. Below we've listed the threat level for each one.

Exploration Day 12: Sun-Speckled Terrace Night Expedition - Ancient Arches

Exploration Day 12: Sun-Speckled Terrace Night Expedition - Rugged Scaffold

Exploration Day 12: Sun-Speckled Terrace Night Expedition - Meandering Slope