Walkthrough

[Protectron]

Walkthrough for Astrospheres (location data)

The derelicts and the missions/quests on them are randomized in name and order, so it takes several runs to make a list of all of them. What I will do here is to document the missions in the order I get them, and the name of the derelict is left out because it is irrelevant. The quests are also not actually named as such in the mission archive, so I will name them myself to the best of my ability.

* Part of a Strange Object (easy - no chance of failure/very straightforward/peaceful)
- You find a strange object that is half of a pair of droid arms. In the inventory it looks like an L.
> next step: locate the other arm, or talk to the Stargazer on this derelict to be told to find the other half.
- Resolution: return to the Stargazer Barclay with both arms. These turn out to be where the location data is stored, and you are rewarded with the Astrosphere.

* Beauty of these halls (medium - possible chance of failure... but I have never tried other solutions than the one I know works/pretty straightforward/peaceful)
- Preserver: asks you if you have ever stopped and admired the "beauty of these halls". You are given the options yes/no/die robot, die!/I don't have time for this.
> say "yes"
> the robot then asks if you'd like to see "a special room". Say "sure".
> a new triangle appears on the map. Go there.
> the site is one of particular "beauty"; soothing colours and metallic flowers swaying from side to side. You are given two choices: examine or destroy them. Choose Examine.
> the Preserver appears, asking if you liked it. You get three options: Love, indifference or hate. Choose "loved it".
> the Preserver gives you the Astrosphere as a reward.
NOTE: I have no idea what the other options lead to.

* Fantastic surrogate (easy - no chance of failure/pretty straightforward/peaceful)
- Espinoch, a human who wants to become a machine: tasks you with locating a "luminous charismatic machine" and gives you an image file.
- Surmuu, a console who believes he's a god and tasks you with bringing him a disciple.
> If you encounter Surmuu first, you will have to locate Espinoch and return to Surmuu with his image file. Once given the file, Surmuu asks you to tell Espinoch to go to him.
> Return to Espinoch and tell him you found the right machine. He'll disappear.
> Return to Surmuu to get the Astrosphere.

* Beneath a Steel Sky (easy - no chance of success unless you have a Technician; 100% chance of success if you do/very straightforward/peaceful)
- Ami, the melancholic console: allows you to try to hack him.
> This should be considered a broken console that you can fix if you have a Tech with you. The standard outcome is that you can't retreive the data, and the failure completes the mission. Return to the Governor with the bad news.
NOTE: the other option is to ask Ami why he's so uncooperative. There is a small chance that a Leader might be able to convince him - but this must be confirmed. That route has never yielded a result for me the times I have tried them. I know from a distant memory that the Leader also have some skillchecks in the game, but can't remember where.

* Necroguard (medium - Scavenger skillcheck for extra loot, and a Weaponry skillcheck necessary to avoid battle/very straightforward/combat may be necessary if you don't pass the skillcheck)
- Necroguard (forgot to note the name): three options; try do download the data, try to scavenge parts and lastly, blow him up. The first may be a Tech challenge, but if you have a Tracker or other pure damage dealer in your team, you can blow up the construct, making it possible to download the data without initiating combat. Fighting a Necroguard can be challenging very early in the game.
NOTE: I had a Tracker and a Bruiser in my team - the game said that I passed a Weaponry challenge. It is hard to tell if this is a basic skillcheck or a class-specific check.
> killing the construct or blowing it up allowing peaceful download both yield the Astrosphere.

* Planko (medium - no chance of failure if you win a battle/pretty straightforward/combat vs a Juggernaut may be necessary)
- Planko, a sentient floor; tasks you with making a "backpain" go away. If you ask him about how to get the data, he tells you that you'll need a referral, and that he can give it to you if you help him get rid of the "repressor". You may also just ask him how to help to get the same quest.
- Repressor, a Juggernaut: There are two options; say "your reign of back pain is over!" or "stop hurting my friend!". Either option leads directly to combat.
> kill the Juggernaut and return to Planko to get a "referral".
> visit Muuro and show him your referral. He will now "cure" you by giving you the Astrosphere.

* Thieves' Code (Hard - there is a chance of failure here, it must be possible to fail skillchecks, or be defeated in combat by Dr Glas and his two Buddynauts, which is one of the tougher battles in the game/complex - many actions necessary in the right order/combat possible to avoid, but is likely at some point)
- Crumb, the lonely Preserver: loves his colourful cane. You may attempt to find something to replace the cane. This is a Scavenger challenge, so you need a Scrapper to succeed here (presumably).
- Verdurin, Pirate Administrator: Threating you to give him "materials for compensation... or else". There is an option to ask him something like "a pirate organization, really?" I think this leads to a peaceful solution, but I think you might need a Leader to pull it off - not sure.
> Two options, when it comes down to it: fight or give him 400cc. I chose to fight. After defeating them, you get a passkey with two slots in it. One of them is blinking.
- Lucakszz, Piracy Networker: a chatty fellow ending up asking you for a duel.
> This leads to three options: "let's duel", "any other way than shooting somebody"? and "sounds stupid, how about no." I chose the first one. This is a weaponry challenge, so you'll need a Tracker or Bruiser (or possibly anyone with a high enough Weaponry skill).
> You win the duel and get the second passkey - both are now blinking.
- Dr Glas, pirate extraordinnaire: gives you two options; "your organization is suffering from a serious moral crisis" and "I've dealt with your crew. Don't expect a response."
> I chose the first option. This leads to a Mental challenge, which I passed.
> This leads to four options, three empathic ones and one insulting one. I chose the most obvious one "can I help?" Dr Glas complains about the dire times for piracy for a while, then asks you to take the lead of his organization.
> Two options, "what does it require?" and an insult. I chose the former. Dr Glas now tasks you to commit a crime.
> Four options; "I've commited crimes you can only imagine", "I took this stick from a lonesome robot", "...cut you in half" and "I'll go do some hijacking". Since I have the stick, I chose that option.
> Dr Glas crowns you king of all pirates and gives you the Astrosphere.
NOTES: My highest Scavenging skill was 161, highest Mental 66, highest Weaponry 121 while completing this quest.

* Infectious Virus (Hard - failure possible/complex; several actions necessary in the right order/peaceful)
- Kilb, the distressed console: Accept the mission by answering "how can I help?"
> Kilb then gives you instructions to remotely operate the console: "mark corrupted nodes (x) for purification. To help you get started, a few nodes showing the number of adjacent corrupted nodes are already visible. Once you've purified all corrupted nodes, I'll get full control of the console. Beware though, if you hit too many healthy nodes, the virus will take over, forcing me to flee, or worse yet; be consumed by it."
> Say "I'll give it a go", and you get this information:
Corrupted nodes left: 4
Healthy node destructions until system failure: 2
Choose an area for purification:
/ABC
D0 - -
E- 4 -
F- - -
(these may be random)
> You then get the options to choose from "B,D", "C,D", "A,E", "C,E", "A,F", "B,F" and "C,F".
ABC is horizontal, DEF vertical. As you can see, point AD has zero adjecent corrupted nodes, so we know that BD and AE are healthy. BE shows us 4 adjecent corrupted nodes. This means that 4 of CD, CE, CF, BF or AF are corrupted. Only one of those are healthy. I'll try AF first.
> that one was corrupted. I will now try BF.
> Also corrupted. I'll try CF.
> Also corrupted. I'll try CE.
> Success, reward was some energy.
- A Juggernaut guards a different console, saying "None shall pass".
> Two options; "come on, just this time. I promise not to talk about this.", and "Out of my way!" I chose the first one.
> Mental challenge success. You now get access to Kilb, again.
> New game of minesweeper ensues, this time with no room for failure.
> I failed! In hindsight, I knew what I did wrong (facepalm)...
> Lost a few hundred energy.
> Return to Kilb; he is now called Graben. He says "let me corrupt this system and it (the artifact) is yours. Kilb tries to interfere, calling this program "malicious". I choose Yes.
> drained of at least 600 energy. No Astrosphere.
> Return to the Governor with the bad news.

* Poacher (Hard - possible chance of failure even if battles are won [must be confirmed]/several actions in the right order necessary/combat necessary)
- Roacha, Beasthunter: need my assistance hunting a beast. I accept.
> Two options; "What would I need to do?" and "You do sound like one". I chose the first.
> The instructions are to place food on "an appropriate spot" and wait for the beast to come. Then slay it and bring Roacha what was inside.
> Three options: "I'll take the task", "sounds vague" and "sounds like poaching". I chose the first.
- Gatekeeper, a clever Juggernaut: asks your purpose for entry.
> Four options: "I'm here to worship the great sacred beings", "exploration", "recreation" and "treasures". I chose the first one, and gained entry to the closed-off area.
There are four grey triangles there. Three of them are "small biomechanical" critters. Kill them, bring their corpses to the altar, and place them there. This draws in the "beast".
> Kill Nasteeth. This rewards you with the artifact it's got inside.
> The Gatekeeper appears, asks you what you have done. "Nothing", and "I killed them". I chose the second.
> The Gatekeeper tells you that you can redeem yourself of this vile act of sacrilege by killing Roacha. Three options "Fine, I will kill her", "nobody commands me" and "what if I refuse?". I chose the third option. Gatekeeper tells you he is all-powerful here, and that you don't have a choice.
> I tell him I'll do it. This teleports me to Roacha, who can sense that something is amiss. Two options; "I must kill you for your crimes" and "I was asked to kill you, but I won't do it." I chose the first. Fight starts.
(Roacha is a lvl 7 piratech, same as the derelict. 63% evasion, 3 AR, draws and plays two cards and does 23 damage. That much Evasion can be challenging if you don't have the right tools to deal with it.)
> After killing her, Gatekeeper appears and the quest is completed. The artifact is revealed to be an Astrosphere.

* Drinking problem (Medium - no chance of failure/complex; many actions in the right order needed/peaceful)
- Hooch, the party console: tells you that to gain access to its liquids, you must tell him a story.
> Three options: "A story? I don't know any", "why do you want to hear a story" and "don't care for fables". I chose the first one.
> Make limerick for Hooch.
> It goes like this: Hoochie, coochie, handed, stranded, poochie. Congrats, the world's worst limerick just got you rewarded with some booze.
- Albo, the loser: created a cleaning product based on chlorine and coffee, but it tasted so good that people started drinking it with alcohol - a blend that created chloroform. The ensuing scandal had him flee to this derelict.
> Three options; "That doesn't sound good", "so what you're saying is that you're responsible for numerous poisonings in the mirror worlds?" and "stop whining". I chose the second. He responds apologetically.
> Two options; "I can't help it, but that's also quite funny" and "stop whining". I chose the former.
> Albo doesn't think it's funny and proceeds to drink his own creation. He still does so regardless of what you say. Nothing happens at first, and you can continue making fun of him. Regardless, you get a can of his product Bleach-n-Leach while Albo is sick and unresponsive.
- Powell, thirsty officer: if you encounter him before Hooch and Albo, go see them first. Powell asks if you are a "liquid courier". Say yes or fight him. I chose to talk (he won't fight you but goes on at length about how awesome he is).
> Three options: "I'll go get it", "waylaid by pirates" and "got it". I chose the last one because I do.
> He gets drunk and don't want to fall asleep. Asks you if you have any caffeine. Three "yes" and one "but...?" I chose "I have this special, caffeine-induced liqour".
> Powell drinks the Bleach-n-Leach and the mixture creates chloroform, which knocks him out.
- Heebek, the scaredy console: tells you that Powell has been harassing him and he won't give you the data before you have made him go away. He requires proof that he has been dealt with, so you need to go back to Powell to do so.... unless you succeed with a Mental challenge. Then he can be convised by a "trust me" followed up by a "I assure you". Skip the below steps if you had a high enough Mental skill.
> If you have already dealt with Powell, telling Heebek this will prompt the console to have you find evidence of the deed.
> Return to Powell. Get the proof, then return to Heebek. Give him the proof and the Astrosphere is yours.

* The Amnesiac Stargazer (Hard - failure is possible/compex; several actions in the right order required/combat may be necessary)
- Defeat a group of robots (grey triangle) to find two "extraordinary square-shaped items, one black the other red".
- Ahascendary, blind console: ask him "are these yours?" (when you have the square-shaped items). He will tell you of his woes, about having lost his memories. He says "I've unlocked an area which I assume that might contain machines like me, or even machines that are me." The game pans to the area in question. Go there.
- Econdrus, emotional console: wants you to help him figure out what the "shapes of feelings" he sees mean. For now, say no.
- Utu, hint console: this is where you get the clues to solve the puzzle given by Econdrus. Visit Utu before accepting Econdrus' quest. Basically, there are 5 letters, the vowels A, E, I, O, U. These are paired with colours denoting emotions;
A - Red (life)
E - Black (suffering)
I - White (nothing)
O - Blue (mercy)
U - Green (empathy)
> Return to Econdrus and accept his quest. Econdrus shows you a colour. Pair it with the right letter. In my case, the first colour is Red, so I need to find the right meaning as well as letter. There are three A's; death, life and sorrow. The correct one is Life, so I chose that one.
> The next colour is Green (the order should be random). I chose U-Empathy.
> The third and last colour is White. I chose I-nothing. This unlocks another section of the derelict.
- Ooloo, the past ghost of Cronus: Asks you to define him. The choice you make here relates to Utu's colours and their meaning. You get the choice between Blue, White and Black. I chose Black.
> Ooloo says that only memories of loss and turmoil "will activate in the synchronised mind" (Ahascendary). I chose "yes, terror infinite". This results in a fight.
> Ooloo is a Necroguard with initiative 14, DR of 43%, 6 AR, 204 Shields and 164 Life. Kill him.
- Cronus, the amnesiac Stargazer: asks why you have come.
> Three options; "you asked me to bring you spare parts for your refrigerator", "you asked me to remember who you were" and "you asked me to do nothing you're about to ask of me". I chose the middle one (the truth).
> Cronus then tells you to go face the ghost of his path (I already have).
> Click on Cronus again once you have faced Ooloo. You will now get a short monologue with hints about the story of the ancient derelicts. Then you'll get the Astrosphere.

[Protectron]

Walkthrough for other missions

* Alien vessel / human cannonball (medium - two possible outcomes if you have a Technician/several actions in the right order needed/peaceful)
- Tarack (janitor robot): tasks you with destroying an alien vessel by using a missile console. He gives you an ID card to access the console.
- Jill/cannon console: Jill tasks you with escaping the derelict by launching the rocket into space.
- Gobbarb (console), a robotic assembly unit: Here you calibrate the rocket.
> upon completion of the talk with Jill, you complete a scan. Return to Gobbarb once you have done this. If you speak with Gobbarb first, you need to find Tarack to get the ID card, then find Jill/cannon console to complete the incomplete scan. The same goes if you speak with Tarack first.
> Once returning to Gobbarb with a completed scan, the console launches a protocol that fails, but it still finishes by saying "product has been delivered to the cannon".
> Returning to Jill/cannon console, you fire the cannon - and the interaction ends with "wondering what happened to the rocket, you decide to return to Tarack".
> Tarack rewards me for destroying the alien vessel. In other words, I used Jill as a missile, so Jill died. Rewards were two random equipment and 25xp.
NOTE: last time, I saved Jill by launching her into space - but then I had a Technician with me. I don't remember the interaction I had with Gobbarb to do this, but evidently you can only help Jill if you have a Tech in your team. Jill also rewarded me, but I don't remember with what.

* Tone Hunting (medium - no chance of failure, but retries costs energy/several actions in the right order needed/peaceful)
- Jaimes (the taxi driver): Tasks you with locating Jolas and tell her to return.
- Prosloth (console): Asks if you possess a "fantastic surrogate". If you don't, you are tasked with becoming one and then returning, even if you answer yes.
- Jolas (the tone hunter): Tasks you with locating and accessing a "sonic library" to download its "tone bank".
> return to Prosloth and answer "yes". You are now given three questions testing your logical reasoning. Answer them correctly to be given a "sound trope" called Uranium Bulb.
> the answers are 3, 4 and "because it is atonal, there are no rules to follow", in that order.
> return to Jolas and give her the sound trope called Uranium Bulb.
> return to Jaimes to complete the mission.
> collect the reward on the Station.

* Random Access Memory (medium - possible chance of failure/several actions in the right order needed/battle may be necessary if you don't have money)
- Ram, a three-headed Purifier: internal mumbling about "one of us must break free"
- Neko, a hibernating Juggernaut: tasks you with returning its energy core. A new triangle should appear nearby.
- Ohamoul, core thief: you may give him 200cc to buy the core off him, but if you don't you have to fight him. He is an underleveled Tracker, so this should be easy enough.
> Return to Neko and install the core. Ask him about Ram.
> Return to Ram, and tell him what happened. You are given three choices: Embrace the horror/you are a robot - follow that instinct/try to be happy. Tell him to follow his instinct.
> He then tears off two of his heads and gives them to you.
> Return to Neko and ask him if he can do anything with the heads. You are given the option to either transmute them for energy or keep them. It doesn't matter what you choose.
> Return to the station to collect your reward.

* Pain killers (easy - no chance of failure, but retries costs energy/pretty straightforward/peaceful)
- Anamemnon, the questgiver, is in pain and needs you to find his companion to retreive medicine.
- Avi, the weirdo friend, is not the sharpest tool in the shed and communicating with him requires energy-demanding retries.
> If you find Avi first, speaking with him is pointless. Once you have the mission initiated, there are several options requiring energy to use, and only one of them is right.
> Choose "are you using actual letters?" You will get the medicine now.
> Return to Anamemnon with the medicine.
> Return to Avi to get the reward and complete the quest.

* Lost Weapon (medium - no chance of failure/several actions necessary; more than one outcome possible/peaceful - at least the path I chose)
- Votzek, a mad soldier: tells you he lost his gun and want it back. Two options; "any idea who took it" and "what are you talking about". The first option leads to him saying "the doctor! I bet that butcher took it..." You then get the option to say "I'll find your gun", initiating the quest.
- Abendroth, a mischieveous character involved in a strange operation: Two options; "happen to have a deranged soldier's weapon?" and "what are you doing?". The first option leads to him saying "Votzek sent you? Yes I took it, that jarhead is the subject in my research. Want to help?" You then get the options "tell me more" and "I only need the gun". The first option leads to him telling you to give him a pill and read a prescription. You get two options; agree or kill them instead.
> agree to partake in the experiment (or go to combat; note that this may be a challenging battle)
> return to Votzek (named simply "martyr" on the map), and show him the gun.
> Either give him the gun or tell him to take the pill; Either option leads to a peaceful resolution.
> Return to Abenderoth to complete the quest. He is pleased or angry, but there are no other consequences.

* The Red Menace (medium - no chance of failure if you survive the fight/very straightforward/combat is necessary)
- Blanit & Heilou, the "unlimited rage" couple: offers two options; fight or flight.
> Blanit has got high evasion, which may be challenging depending on your crew and equipment. The fight should otherwise be rather easy.
> Collect the reward back at the Station.

* Necroscience (medium - no chance of failure/at least two outcomes possible/combat necessary - but should be rather easy)
- Ade, leader of a team of busy-looking scientists: agree to the mission and she tells you to meet up with Eva at the "Pressure Dome".
> Meet up with Eva and assist her in her research. You can ask questions about it, but this won't change the outcome.
> Return to Ade, and defeat the Necrotics. Ade will then send you a message with coordinates to the other end of an escape tunnel.
> Find the escape hatch. As you approach, a group of Nagas steps forward and tells you that the scientists have been "psychophysically" changed and that you should help catch them. You then get the option to either kill the nagas, or to assist them.
> The latter choice leads to you helping subduing the scientists (no combat), and after all that is done, the nagas thank you for giving them "fresh familiars" and give you a reward.
NOTE: it is implied that the Nagas (unsurprisingly) lied to you, but this must be confirmed by another run choosing to kill the Nagas.

* The Skinkmistress (medium - no chance of failure if you survive the fight/very straightforward/combat is necessary)
- Zharya, the Skinkmistress: throws some insults and gives you the option to engage in combat or flee. Choose the former option, defeat her (easy fight, there's nothing special about her), and claim the reward at the station.

* The Power of Blood (medium - no chance of failure/at least two possible outcomes/peaceful)
- Yumruk, Beasthunter: gives you three options "tell me more", "what beast" and "drip yourself, brass eye". I chose the first one. He tasks you with summoning "the great mag" so that he can drink its blood.
> locate grey triangles described as some very large creature had been trashing around there. Use the pulsator in each one of these until Mag comes.
> Three options: "sorry! didn't mean to disturb you", "I turned it on to get you here!" and I'm striking you down, monster!". I chose the middle option. Mag then asks your intentions.
> Two options: "worshipper" and "killer". I chose the first one. I don't thin it matters which one you take - Mag will still ask you to make him suffer.
> Four options: "I'm ready to cause you pain", "you're not really evil", "your'e sick" and "I have to think about it". I chose the second one. Mag then explains that he have consumed creatures who are now inside him, making him even bigger.
> The previous options return: I now chose the first one. He asks what it will be first.
> 5 options: "Let's try restoring your neural system", "I'll cut your stomach open and see what you have eaten", I'll install a small bomb in your head and see what happens", "what if you swallowed yourself?" and "I have to think about it". These might be, in order, a Medical, Scavenging and Weaponry challenge. I chose to ask him to swallow himself.
> Mag disappears.
> Return to Yumruk with the bad news.
> Yumruk thanks you for making the world a safer place, and this completes the quest.
NOTE: one or all of the other options allows you to return with Mag's blood. This also completes the quest, but I don't quite remember what the consequences are.

* Apparition Apprehender (Medium - no chance of failure if you survive the fights/reasonably complex, several actions necessary/Combat necessary)
- Deng, the tired vigilante: asks you to "get down and dirty".
> Deng tells you that the "immortal" NPC's you have encountered on this derelict can only be trapped by the device he gives you. You're now a Ghostbuster!
- Snotnose: kill him, then use the spirit buster
- Foulmouth: kill the creature, then use the spirit buster. Then return to Deng
> Deng tells you there is only one thing left to do; kill a creature beneath a hidden hatch behind him. I chose to descend.
- Celboogar the Exterminator: three options; "yes" (fight), "no" (unknown) or "why are you kept here?". I chose the latter. Celboogar then tells his story, and again ask if you're ready to die. I chose "no". It led to a fight.
(Celboogar draws and plays 3 cards per turn, 154 life, 89 shields, has 14 initiative, 28 DR, 40% melee evasion, and his weapon does 26 damage. This was also a Energize derelict, so possibly a tough battle)
> After killing him, he tells you to pull his tongue. I chose not to. This completes the quest.

* Rinow (Hard - no chance of failure if you survive the battles/pretty straightforward, but several actions required/combat necessary - of the challenging type)
- Pseudo-Rinow: complains that people have unfairly dismantled him and wants you to put him back together again. I accept.
> Kill Metail 1-4 and get Rinow's head, arms, feet and torso. Return to Pseudo-Rinow.
> Give him back his body parts. Rinow appears as a Juggernaut and wants you to fight him. There are three dialogue options, but I think it doesn't matter which you choose. I chose the first one.
> Three new options, again, just pick the first one. The next one also have the same outcome. You end up getting several options to fight him, from lvl 1-4. They are incrementally harder fights, until the final one where you meet him in his max capacity. I'll go straight to lvl 4. You can leave, heal up, and come back between each level.
(Rinow is a Juggernaut lvl 8 - same as the derelict - with 486 life, 78% DR, 7 AR, and draws and plays two cards each turn. He's got 15 initiative, and 23% criticals, so this means that he is among the toughest enemies in the game.)
> kill him to complete the quest.

* Harkeon the Hacker (Easy - no chance of failure if you survive the fight, and why wouldn't you/very straightforward/combat necessary)
- Harkeon, uncool guy: kill this loser and collect the reward at the station.

* The adventures of Potto (Hard - possible chance of failure/complex; several actions in the right order needed/peaceful)
- Potto, unluckiest person in the universe: tells his story and asks you to help. He says that his boss, his landlord and the boyfriend of his neighbour are all out to kill him. The boss said she didn't like how he treated his client; the landlord claims that he had forgotten mr.xoxo's lunchtime; the neighbour's boyfriend thinks Potto's having an affair with his girlfriend.
> 7 options are available. Ask what happened in each of the three cases. He will claim that he has no idea what they are talking about and pronounces his innocence.
> The boss claims he has ruined her business and he doesn't know why
> He was supposed to give food to mr. xoxo while the landlord was away, but he didn't have the time because of work, so he asked his neighbour Belois to do it for him. Then he got the message that mr.xoxo starved to death and the landlord blames him for this. He's sure something happened to Belois.
> The angry boyfriend, Okubo, thinks that he has sent romantic messages to Belois - but Potto denies this.
> Choose "I will go talk to these people" when you are done talking to Potto.
- Snoedel, angry boss: if you tell anyone about Potto's whereabouts, the mission fails. She will tell you her version. Leave her, for now.
- Okubo, jealous boyfriend: tells you his version. Leave him for now as well.
- Mapono, grieving landlord: tells you her version.
> I think all three options have the same outcome, but I chose "mr.xoxo, was he all about hugs and kisses?"
> Avoid "this sounds familiar", since that implies you know about Potto. The three other options should all lead to her continuing to give you details. I chose "sounds lovely".
> All four options should lead to the same outcome this time. I chose "somebody killed him?"
> The only option to go on is "what was your relationship with mr.xoxo?" This leads to the question "mr.xoxo was a cat?"
> Leave her for now.
> Go to the fourth triangle now. That's where there is a tiny skink that you can capture. I think it might be possible to capture the little skink before meeting Mapono, but I just left this time to be sure I did this in the correct order.
- Tiny, harmless skink: two options; "try to call the Skink to you" and "try to capture the little skink". The latter is a Scavenging challenge, which I passed (224). The former is possibly a Mental challenge that I did not (81). There were no negative consequences of failing to call it to me.
> Return to Mapono. Give the skink to her - she will be pleased with her new pet.
> Two options "you're welcome" and "Potto asked me to give it to you". I chose the latter. This leads to a mental challenge, which I passed. This fixes her problem with Potto. She then gives the info that she had seen Okubo walking around the staircase with "his girlfriend's portable".
> Go to Okubo. A new dialogue option has emerged, confronting him with Mapono's observation.
> Apparently, Potto had written "see you with xoxo" to Belois, and the jealous boyfriend had stolen her phone to read the message, thinking it meant kisses. He later got into Potto's apartment looking for evidence of infidelity, but instead found a list of business contacts. He then pranked Potto by sending these contacts a lewd VR video clip. Two dialogue prompts with two options each are all leading to Okubo returning home in haste to fix his mistake.
> Go to Snoedel. A new option has emerged. Clear up the last misunderstanding. Continue the conversation until she returns home, having forgiven Potto.
> Go to Potto and tell him that all three issues have been resolved. You get some equipment as a reward.

Alzarus, the Foul Practitioner (Easy - no chance of failure if you survive the fight/very straightforward/combat necessary)
- Alzarus, seemingly hellbent on "finding the cure to death", releases necrotics on you as you approach. He's a Medic himself, joining the fight.
> Kill them (should be easy enough). You are rewarded with a unique (Illustrious) Mental Tool, with Animate Dead cards. Collect your reward at the Station.

[Protectron]

I bump this one as well, mostly for my own uses honestly.

[Tarik]

Good day Protection, could you add me as a friend, I have a few questions about quests, and thank you for this post about quests!

[DarkwingedTrumpeter]

Appreciated.

Addendum: When you talk to Ooloo and define him as blue/mercy you get the data without a fight. This might be preferable in some situations. But I think there is no real difference. Cronus will also give you some high level weapons (this might be a result of the chosen color).

[Masteh13]

@DarkwingedTrumpeter, it does matter. If you choose white and then tell the Cronus that Ooloo disappeared, he will thank you and give you high end weapons

[two birbs]

@Protectron Regarding the human cannonball mission, I'm pretty sure as long as you have someone with a high enough Tech skill you can shoot Jill out of the cannon safely. Didn't have a technician on my team, had a medic/shield expert.

[Ash]

About "Beauty of these halls" - it have some variations, but i think you cannot fail it except losing the battle.
So, "Die, robot, die" obviously ends up in a fight.
Destroying the flowers or telling to bot that you're indifferent also leads to the fight. Preserver might be a formidable adversary for underlevelled/underequipped team, so take care.
Telling the Preserver that you hate the garden leads to it blowing up in your face, inflicting minor (4-6 hp) wounds to all party members and yielding some random loot and Astrosphere.

[Protectron]

@ash Yes I suspected as much. I only play Hardcore so can't test out all possibilities.

@twovbirbs I should probably also have clarified that references to a requirement of having a certain class in your team is related to a skillcheck, not the class itself.

[Ash]

Another bunch of choices:
in a "Thieves' Code" after asking about pirate code and passing Mental check you can either ask Verdurin about the sum (260 cc vs initial 340) and give him 260 cc or 2x more - this leads to him leaving you 3 random gear pieces along with passkey or tell him to wait so he can loot bodies of his accomplices - requires successful Mental check, after that he will give you passkey. I did not get any non-quest loot from normal fights with all 3 groups anyway, so I guess it's a free passkey.
Duel with Lucakszz have 3 skill check gradations - if your highest Weaponry score is 100+, you will finish the duel unscathed, if your highest Weaponry skill is around 50, you will win, but your character with highest weapon skill will suffer a serious injury (about 80-90% of max HP), and if you don't have someone with Weaponry skill 50+, one of your characters will die.

DO NOT TAKE THE CANE IF YOU'RE PLANNING TO FIGHT DR. GLAS!
After the combat cane will remain in your inventory, occupying the slot. You won't be able to remove it even after turning astrosphere in.

In a "Planko" you can convince Repressor to leave peacefully via "stop hurting my friend!" option, if your Mental skill is high enough (mine was 190, but perhaps skill test can be passed with lower score).

Edit: correction after some testing

[Ash]

Another bug with quest item: if you've managed to get an Astrosphere from aggressive stargazer Abacada via deconstructing sequence, do not interact with Abacada again - if you agitate stargazer, fight will follow. If you win the fight, you'll be given another Astrosphere, but Sub-Governor will only take one, so you'll be stuck with useless Astrosphere.

[Ash]

tl;dr you can befriend with Triumvirate troops if you spend enough money/buy enough items from them.

I did not have a beef with Triumvirate troops (Death guards, Martyrs, etc) - never attacked them, never provoked a fight via a dialogue. Yet they ambushed me when I was rushing. I thought it was a bug. Apparently I was wrong.
If you spend about 5000 credits buying items from Death guards or Red Hoods (lower Triumvirate ranks), it will cause some changes.
Their tone will be friendlier. While it may be of no consequence by itself, it is accompanied by significantly lower Death Guard item prices (280 instead of 550 for weapon core, for example). Martyrs will trade with you - their prices will be high (500 for the weapon core), but loot quality will be better too. And most important - they will not ambush you when you're rushing near them.
While a lot of players perceive Triumvirate troops as just another enemy pack with phat loot, friendlier Triumvirates could make Hardcore runs a little less perilous.

[Protectron]

I always just press "sorry bye", and never bother attacking them. I never bother with sneak or rush either.

[Ash]

Looks like in "Apparition Apprehender" all dialogue variants lead to fight with Celboogar. But if you pull the tongue after the fight, you will get illustrious medical/mental tool called "Celboogar's tongue" with an ability to Confuse 1 on melee hits.

[Sandormen]

Yeh yeh. Walkthrough.... May I ask who hold your hands during the first hanky-panky? -Your momma?

[Ash]

* Heart-shaped box (Medium - a chance of failure if you take the wrong course of actions/reasonably complex, several actions necessary/combat may be nessessary)
- Hormensorff, a suffering cyborg.
> He asks you to put his "heart" back int his chest.
If you do nothing, he will die, leaving you with Heart Artifact. A group of Naega (Matriarch, Assassin, Serpentwurm) will show up. You may give Heart Artifact to them, avoiding the fight, but failing the mission, or you may fight them - that way you'll keep the heart.
If you try to put "heart" back, you'll need to pass Tech 100+ check. If you succeed, Hormensorff will ask you to restore power and will show you the location of Gohu, if you hadn't found it yet.
If you fail to pass Tech check or decide to go biological way, you'll need to pass Medical test (not sure about difficulty, perhaps same 100+). Hormensorff will ask you to throw the "heart" in the anvil.
-- if you agree, he will tell you to restore power and and will show you the location of Gohu, if you hadn't found it yet.
-- if you decide to keep the Heart Artifact, a group of Naega (Matriarch, Assassin, Serpentwurm) will show up. You may give Heart Artifact to them, avoiding the fight, but failing the mission, or you may fight them - that way you'll keep the heart.
-- if you say you need to think about it, you may leave, but that won't give you option to finish mission early.
- Gohu, the stubborn console
> You can interact with Gohu before or after meeting Hormensorff. Either way Gohu will refuse to cooperate. You can either try to force open it or appease it. If you try to force open it, pressing its buttons will do nothing. Shooting is ill-advised because you will lose around 150 energy with no other results. If you try to punch it, you'll need to pass Weaponry test - if you succeed, even a pinch will be enough to open the console. Both methods of restarting the generator are viably, but shooting will burn away ~150 energy.
If you decide to flatter Gohu, you'll need to pass two Mental checks. After that console will be available and generator will start after simple tickling.
- Go to Hormensorff.
> Here your choices will differ a bit depening on your Tech check success.
If you've succeeded with Tech check, Hormensorff will try to use portal and will ask you to press the button.
-- if you do so, he will vanish and so will location data, thus failing the mission.
-- if you don't press the button, same Naega group will appear with the same choices - hand over artifact or fight.
If you took biological path, Naegas will appear with the same choices - give them artifact or fight. After the fight you may chose to keep artifact or to destroy it.
-- if you chose to destroy it, Hormensorff will give you astrosphere and some random gear.
-- if you chose to keep it, Hormensorff will run away.
- Sub-Governor.
> You may say you failed to find location data or you may mention Heart Artifact if you decided to keep it through any of abovementioned choices. Sub-Governor will be pleased to hear about the artifact - not only rewarding you with XP for location data, but paying you additional 2000 cc.
(lvl 9)