How to Move the Rock Blocking Shoreside Shrine in Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined

That enormous boulder sitting at the entrance to Shoreside Shrine has probably stopped you in your tracks. You’ve tried everything—pushing, pulling, maybe even casting a few spells at it—but nothing works. The game’s message says it all: this chunk of stone needs more than one person to budge it.

Here’s the thing: you’re not doing anything wrong. This boulder is actually a story gate that won’t move until you’ve progressed far enough in the main questline. Let me walk you through exactly when and how you’ll finally clear this obstacle.

Why You Can’t Move the Rock Yet

When you first encounter the Shoreside Shrine rock, your character is working solo or with limited party members. The game drops a pretty clear hint that one person isn’t cutting it here. This isn’t a puzzle with some clever trick—it’s a roadblock designed to keep you from accessing certain areas before the story catches up.

Think of it as the game’s way of pacing your adventure. Explore other areas and continue the main story, and you’ll eventually gain the ability to move it.

Story Progress Required (Spoilers Ahead)

Fair warning: if you’re trying to avoid spoilers, skip to the next section. For everyone else, here’s the exact progression you need:

Collecting the Yellow Stone Tablets

First, you’ll need to gather all Three Yellow Stone Tablets scattered around Estrad. Once you’ve collected them and activated the Shrine of Mysteries, the story moves forward in a meaningful way.

The Ballymolloy Questline

The real breakthrough comes after you and Kiefer travel to Ballymolloy and complete everything there. When you return to report your findings to the King of Estrad, things get interesting. Kiefer ends up under house arrest for his unsanctioned adventure, leaving you temporarily without your companion.

During this downtime, Maribel asks you to walk her back to Pilchard Bay. After some story scenes and talking with your parents, you’ll meet up with Maribel again the following day.

Finally Moving the Boulder

Here’s where it all comes together:

1. With Maribel back in your party, head to Shoreside Shrine
2. You’ll both attempt to move the rock—still no luck
3. Exit the cave entirely
4. Kiefer will be waiting outside and rejoins your party
5. Head back inside with your three-person team
6. Now you can successfully push the boulder aside

The secret is having three party members working together. Two just isn’t enough for this particular obstacle.

What’s Behind the Rock

Once you clear the boulder, you’ll descend into a secret cove where your ship awaits. This lets you sail back to Ballymolloy in the Present timeline, continuing your adventure across the game’s various time periods.

The good news? This is the last time you’ll need to deal with this specific rock. From here on out, your ship stays wherever you last docked it, making navigation much simpler.

Getting Back to Your Ship Later

Sometimes you’ll use teleportation or other fast travel methods and find yourself stranded far from your vessel. Don’t panic—just use the Zoom spell to fast travel back to the nearest town or landmark, then walk to wherever you left the ship. It’s a bit of backtracking, but it beats being stuck.

Platform Information

Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined is available across multiple platforms, giving you plenty of options for your adventure:

• Official Square Enix site for the latest news
• PlayStation Store
• Xbox Store
• Nintendo eShop
• Steam

Tips for Smooth Progression

While you’re working toward moving this rock, consider boosting your stats and tackling side content. The game has plenty of optional challenges like the Rainbow Mines Level 4 puzzle and finding key items like the Sizzling Stone.

There are also brain-teasers like the Trial Room shadow puzzle that reward clever thinking with valuable loot and experience.

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