Pikmin 3: how to choose Rock Pikmin and break a glass gate

Pikmin 3 is a game about leading little plant-like helpers called Pikmin. Different types solve different problems. This guide shows how to use Rock Pikmin to open a glass gate in the original Wii U game with the Wii U GamePad. Pikmin 3 Deluxe on Switch has different controls, so do not copy the button instructions from this page into that version.

You need Rock Pikmin already available in your party. They are the small, dark, angular creatures that look like stones with legs and a stem on top. If the only Pikmin following your explorer are red, yellow or blue, keep playing until Rock Pikmin have joined your team; choosing a type cannot create Pikmin you do not have.

On the TV, look for a pale, see-through sheet stretched between two thick posts. The scenery behind it is partly visible, as if you are looking through cloudy glass. In Nintendo’s gameplay screenshot below, the posts stand in the middle-right area; white shards burst from the clear center as Rock Pikmin hit it. The brown posts themselves are not the target.

A pile of dirt, a wooden wall and a crystal object are different obstacles. Rock Pikmin can break glass and hard crystal, but first check what is actually blocking the path. If you see the clear panel between posts, continue with the steps below.

Hold the Wii U GamePad normally. L is the shoulder button along its upper-left edge. A is the right-hand button in the four-button group to the right of the screen. ZR is the right-hand rear shoulder button. Nintendo’s original Wii U manual assigns L to choosing what to throw, A to throwing, and ZR to the whistle that calls Pikmin into your group. The labeled Pixel Twelve diagram below shows where to look. It is an original control diagram, not a photo or game screenshot.

If your Rock Pikmin are a few steps away, move your explorer near them and hold ZR to whistle them into the following group. Look for the dark stone bodies to walk in behind your explorer before moving to the gate.

Stand a short distance in front of the gate with Rock Pikmin following. Press L to cycle what your explorer will throw next. Watch the round selected-type icon at the lower right of the TV image as it changes. Stop when it shows a small dark, pointed Rock Pikmin rather than a red, yellow or blue face. In Nintendo’s screenshot below, the Rock icon is the left circle in the lower-right HUD; a red Pikmin icon sits beside it. The number near the icon tells you how many of that type are ready in your group.

If pressing L never shows the Rock icon, check that Rock Pikmin are actually following the active explorer. The large group you can see elsewhere on the field is not necessarily in this explorer’s squad; walk close and whistle with ZR to gather them first.

Face the clear panel from nearby. Move your aiming pointer onto the glass between the posts, not the frame or the ground. With the Rock icon still selected, press A to throw one Rock Pikmin at it. Watch for a chip, crack or burst of white pieces on the panel. Throw more Rock Pikmin at the same glass until the barrier breaks and the opening is clear.

If only a red or yellow Pikmin flies, stop and press L again until the Rock icon appears. If a Rock Pikmin lands on a post without making glass shards, move the pointer inward toward the transparent center and try again. The original Wii U game also supports a Wii Remote and Pro Controller, but their physical button positions differ from the GamePad diagram.

Once the cloudy panel disappears, hold ZR to whistle the Rock Pikmin back. Look for the small dark bodies to leave the broken gate and gather behind your explorer. Then move through the space where the glass used to be. Check that no Pikmin are still working or standing beyond the gate before you leave the area.

Quick check: clear panel between posts → gather the dark Rock Pikmin → press L until their icon is selected → aim at the clear center → press A until it shatters → use ZR to call your team back.

No Rock icon at the lower right? The active explorer may not have any Rock Pikmin following. Bring the dark stone Pikmin close and hold ZR to add them to that explorer’s group, then press L again.

Something else is being thrown? Press L while looking at the lower-right type icon. Stop only when the dark Rock face is shown.

The throw lands but nothing shatters? Move a little closer and aim at the cloudy center between the two posts. If there is no clear panel there, it may be a different kind of obstacle.

Your controls do not match? Confirm the console is Wii U and the controller is a GamePad. Pikmin 3 Deluxe on Switch, and the Wii U game with a Wii Remote, do not use this exact button layout.