In Wand & Order (Wand and Order): Tidy up the magic shop!, your magical cleanup begins after a runaway tornado spell flings thousands of enchanted items across the workshop. Restoring order across the game's three primary zones—The Archives, The Wand Workshop, and The Alchemy Lab—requires more than just manual sorting. To tidy up thousands of tarot cards, wands, and potion containers efficiently, you must unlock and upgrade a suite of magical spells and physical mobility powers.
The upgrade progression splits into two distinct categories: talent-tree cleaning spells purchased with ability points earned from completing rows, and hidden physical powers unlocked by finding keys and opening secret chests. This guide details how to unlock spells, find every hidden key and chest, and combine your abilities for maximum sorting efficiency.
How the Spell and Ability Systems Work
Progression in Wand & Order is persistent. According to official developer information and confirmed player testing, all abilities, inventory expansions, and spell upgrades you unlock carry over seamlessly from Zone 1 to Zone 2 and Zone 3.
Unlocks occur through three distinct methods:
- Spellbook Upgrades: You earn ability points by correctly filling shelves and completing rows. You spend these points in the spell menu (opened via the Tab key) to unlock and upgrade active sorting spells.
- Hidden Chests: Every zone contains hidden keys that open glowing treasure chests. These reward utility spells, mobility upgrades, and carrying capacity expansions.
- Zone Transitions & Environmental Tasks: Starting new zones grants automatic passive speed boosts, while interactive tasks like watering magical mushrooms grant temporary or minor movement enhancements.
Spellbook Upgrades: Cleaning Spells and Abilities
As you sort items into their correct slots, completed rows generate ability points (represented by purple diamond icons on your HUD). You can invest these points into four core spell lines to speed up your work.
| Spell Name | Primary Effect | Upgrades and Max-Level Bonus |
|---|---|---|
| Sort | Reorganizes carried items into ascending numerical order (1–6 or 1–9) with a finger snap. | Reduces cooldown. |
| Vision (Alchemical Vision) | Outlines all scattered copies of the item currently held in your hand. | Higher tiers reduce cooldown. |
| Magnet (Magnetic Vacuum) | Pulls nearby copies of your held item directly into your hands. | Increases pull capacity while reducing cooldown down to 20 seconds. |
| Guide (Auto-Place Magic) | Highlights the specific shelf where your topmost carried item belongs. | Reaching maximum level allows you to press the button a second time to automatically float carried items onto the shelf. |
Recommended Spell Upgrade Priority
During early gameplay in Zone 1 (The Archives), Magnet is the most impactful upgrade. Early ranks only pull 1 or 2 items, but upgrading capacity to 6 allows you to collect an entire shelf set of tarot cards in a single cast.
In Zone 2 (The Wand Workshop), prioritize maxing out Guide. At maximum level, Guide unlocks Auto-Place. When you combine Auto-Place with a short-cooldown Magnet, you can summon entire wand sets into your hands and instantly fling them onto the designated display case without placing each wand individually.
Note that in Zone 3 (The Alchemy Lab), the Sort spell becomes largely redundant because potion jars, flask types, and tins are grouped by ingredient school and container shape rather than numbered sequence.
Hidden Key and Chest Locations by Zone
Utility powers and inventory expansions do not come from the spellbook menu. Instead, you must find hidden keys to unlock treasure chests tucked away in each zone.
Zone 1: The Archives (~470 Items)
- Cobweb Ability:
- Key Location: Tucked behind a potted plant near the room perimeter.
- Chest Location: Situated in the main tarot library chamber.
- Effect: Grants the flame cast ability to destroy cobwebs. As noted in the in-game description, this removes webs without harming spiders, teleporting them safely to "spider paradise." Destroying your first web unlocks the No Cobwebs Allowed achievement.
- Mushroom Speed Perk:
- Fill the watering can at the water fountain basin and water the wilted mushroom pot to earn the Swift Apprentice achievement and a light movement speed increase.
Zone 2: The Wand Workshop (~1,300 Items)
- Movement Speed 1: Unlocked automatically as a passive trait upon entering Zone 2.
- Double Jump:
- Key Location: Clues near the windows point to a mannequin bust. Interacting with the bust reveals the key hidden underneath it.
- Chest Location: Located on the main floor of the workshop.
- Effect: Allows you to jump a second time in mid-air with a playful sound effect, making it much easier to navigate the multi-tier workshop.
- Carry Capacity 1:
- Key Location: Resting openly on a workspace desk area on the ground floor.
- Chest Location: High above on an elevated ceiling/attic ledge. You must use your newly acquired Double Jump to reach this elevated beam.
- Effect: Permanently increases your hand-carrying capacity from 6 items to 10 items.
Zone 3: The Alchemy Lab (2,200+ Items)
- Movement Speed 2: Granted automatically upon entering Zone 3.
- Carry Capacity 2:
- Key Location: Hidden in the lower reagent and potion sorting area.
- Chest Location: Located on the elevated platforms of the multi-floor lab.
- Effect: Expands carrying capacity from 10 items to 15 items, allowing you to vacuum up large batches of square tins and round flasks.
- Dash:
- Key Location: Inspect the dog portrait hanging on the wall. Straightening or interacting with the painting causes the key to drop from behind the frame.
- Chest Location: Located nearby on the ground floor of the lab.
- Effect: Adds an active dash ability for traversing long room lengths. Dashing a cumulative 50 meters unlocks the Zoomies achievement.
Advanced Mechanics and Sorting Synergy
Maximizing your cleanup speed requires leveraging game mechanics that work alongside your active spells:
- Stacking on the Floor (R Key): You can drop held items directly onto the ground in neat vertical piles by pressing the stack key. Stacking allows you to pre-sort categories in front of shelves before your spell cooldowns refresh.
- The Magnet + Auto-Place Combo: Stand facing the designated shelf for your category. Cast Magnet to pull matching items from the floor directly into your hand, then immediately cast max-level Guide (Auto-Place) while looking at the shelf. As long as you are aimed at the correct shelf, your character will launch every held item into place simultaneously.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Do spells and upgrades reset between zones?
No. All spell levels purchased with ability points, hand capacity expansions (6 to 10 to 15), mobility upgrades (Double Jump and Dash), and the Cobweb Ability carry forward into subsequent levels.
Can you beat Wand & Order without using spells?
Yes. The game includes an official Steam achievement titled The Hard Way (Win - no abilities), which requires you to complete all three zones manually without activating spellbook abilities.
Why is the Auto-Place spell not working?
To trigger the secondary auto-place effect of the Guide spell, you must have the ability upgraded to its maximum rank (Level 7). Additionally, you must be standing relatively close to and looking directly toward the specific shelf where the topmost item in your hand belongs.
Can you unlock the "Beat the Clock" achievement playing solo?
The Beat the Clock achievement requires finishing the entire game in under 3 hours across all three zones combined. Player reports and recorded speedruns indicate that beating the 3-hour timer is exceptionally difficult solo, and is much more manageable when playing in 2- to 4-player online co-op.
