building the statue w/o the master builder??

can anyone advise me on what to do? I don't have a master builder, (he died) and only a few adept builders, and all my structures, including the clothing hut, are built. I have purchased all the tech requirements in leadership, restoration, magic, alchemy, science, etc. and even my research lab is fixed. the detailed plans for fixing the statue are already drawn, but I can't move forward. Is there a way for the adept builders to become master builders w/o them building anything? I keep dragging them over to finished huts so they can fix them, but that's taking forever and they don't keep coming back to it after they're done. I had the chief lecture everyone but I don't see the villagers skills increasing after the lecture. Am I permanently locked out of all my moves?? What do I do?

I also can't get the pink key, I've used the "light and springy" potion, but the villagers can't get the key when placed over it after drinking it. maybe the statue needs to be completed before the pink key puzzle is attempted?

Hi tangerine33, welcome to the pond sorry cannot help you, as I have not played this game, but am bumping it to page one, to see if any fish can help you, good luck.

Oh, my deepest sympathies for the loss of your master builder, and your dilema. I had the same thing happen to me in my first village. I spent hours and hours with forced labor piling any available adult on cabins. It can be done tho, and I had to really watch which of them had the inclination to stick with it. As soon as a reading came up like didn't need fixing I all but tethered them to keep trying, or move to a different building to fix.

As for the other undone puzzle, I forgot now which master you need, been awhile since I played this one (I love VV2 best). Have you found spoilers or strategy guides ? I find them helpful for what project to do next and hopefully plan ahead which need masters. PM me for some links. Or google, lots of recipes for potions.

It is possible tho, depending on your frustration level/patience.

On VV2 first time I needed THREE MBs to open crate on beach and was at the end with one. arggggg. Next time I played as soon as they finished a big project I grabbed 3 early in the game and been there done that LOL. And it ain't easy working with builders, if you don't herd them around they goof off, do laundry, go swimming, tell jokes. I get ruthless and DRAG PLOP DRAG PLOP.

Hi tangerine33!
I got stuck with having to make master builders. It's hard graft but it can be done. Keep at it!!
You can't take your eye off builders for an instant ... they are always wandering off the job. I pause the game even if I am taking a child to a collectable.
I take care now to keep up the supply of young master builders .... villagers tend to die before you get to the statue puzzle.

As for "light and springy", I have always used the chief for retrieving keys. When the chief has drunk the potion, I take him/her under the red key (cliff key), at the bottom of the cliff and leave him/her to it. As the chief jumps, the key is transferred to him. I think I learned this from the forum, somewhere.

If you do ever get your builder and get started with the statue, don't repeat a mistake I did. I started seeing some workers near the top leave and wander off the right side of the platform or steps. I thought they were going off to go swimming and kept stopping them and dragging them back to the statue. Well, I happened to pay more attention watching one and he just walked out there and returned on his own and had "improved". So I don't know if it is a glitch, but I started leaving them alone and perhaps there is something out there we don't see that they have to do to finish. Also, toward the end they start disappearing over the top, I guess to pull from the back out of our view.

I had some die, and some get pg during that grueling process losing workers. Have to be more careful where you toss those wandering women, too close to the guys to keep their mind on the job. Maybe that's why I keep going back to VV2, not that much to sweat out. Then, I never did get the last piece of the last puzzle for about a week more and that was by pure LUCk and a kid nearby.

Think I will start another Secret City, spending too much $ on other games with time on my hands.