In this guide, I explained how to make your work easier in the laboratory consisting of locked doors and corridors.
Arriving at Labs
So you’ve overloaded the Electron Pumps, created a Miniature Black Hole, and ventured through the opening it has made in the floor. Now you’re having to navigate through a realm of mad science and horrifying creatures, with not much direction on where to go or what to do. This guide will try and help with those issues.
After walking down a lengthy corridor that gives you just enough time to contemplate how you ended up the heir to Gordan Freeman’s Legacy, you’ll find yourself in the tram corridor. On one side, the Tram Entrance, currently locked up, and on the other, a small facility. There you will meet two scientists, giving you a preview of what they have in store for you, as they strap a device to a Pest, and then act surprised when it starts to explode.
They Flee as the Pest explodes, blowing out all the windows, giving you access to a machine you can research to get the ‘Pest Teleporter’ Blueprints, which you will be unable to build just yet. This will be a bit of a recurring theme for the start of your adventure.
You’ll also find a Water Cooler in the next room over alongside another recording from Derek Manse
Now, you may be wondering where to go from here. Well, if you were like me, you would not have noticed that the wire fence in the corner has had a hole cut through it. This will give you access to the rest of labs.
Head across the bridge, and take note of the warning sign. Unfortunately, if you are reading this sign, it is too late.
Meet IS-0091, aka the Leyak, your new best friend. They will follow you everywhere and attempt to kill you if you don’t give them attention. The most dangerous part is that they only exist for one person at a time, meaning they ignore all doors, barricades, even your base defences. And if you’re in multiplayer, well, only one of you will be able to see it at a time. If you’ve played Lethal Company, you know just how terrifying that can be.
Unlike the Little Girl, you do have a way to defend yourself, stare at them judgmentally until they phase out of existence. Keep in mind, you need to be looking at them directly. Looking at them through glass or chain-link, or even with their body partially obstructed, won’t cause them to leave.
If that wasn’t fun enough, they’ll rematerialise somewhere in the facility after a couple hours, and resume trying to make their way towards you.
Stare at IS-0091 until it goes away, and then make your way into it’s containment chamber. There you can find an X-Ray Gun, the only base defense that can fend it off, though you have none of the materials for such a device just yet.
If you turn left through the door, you’ll find an elevator, which you can take up to find a portal device that will allow you to teleport to and fro from Manufacturing East, saving you some walking time if you ever need to rest or get supplies.
To continue onwards, instead turn right, and head through the containment room. There you’ll see a Big Shiny Red Orb, the Leyak Essence. Be very careful, as this is the most radioactive item in the game. Only pick it up if you have a Containment Suit on, or you’ll instantly contract stage 4 Cancer of the Everything. In either case, continue onwards to find another recording from Derek Manse, and a button that will open up the door, allowing you to continue your trek onwards.
The Containment Blocks
The Containment Blocks is exactly what is says it is, a multi-floored prison for all the strange creatures and artefacts Cascade has picked up over their numerous experiments. Unfortunately, much like the rest of Cascade, it has fallen to chaos. Thankfully, it seems most of the cells have remained secure. Most of them.
After stepping through the doors, and making your way down, you’ll find a massive elevator, and not much else. With nothing else to do, take the elevator up. Due to the multiple floors, I’ll try and structure this section to explain what you can find on each floor.
Floor 2
Apon arriving at Floor 2, you’ll immediately be greeted by a familiar face.
It’s Dr Thule! In case you had been worried about him after his mysterious disappearance while you explored Flathill, don’t he’s safe and sound. Talk to him to get the blueprints for both the Tier 3 Keypad Hacker, and the Memory Brick.
If you head immediately past him, you’ll find yourself at the Lens. Talk to the lady there to learn that the Order has taken the Dark Lens, which has been the cause of all the random portals popping up throughout the facility. Find the Dark Lens, and the unintended portals should hopefully all close up.
There isn’t much past her, besides a locked door, and a large fleshy mass barring your path forwards, but you will find a purple security bot variant. These ones will activate whenever something steps within their boundaries. They’re much faster and tankier, but their attacks are slower, and don’t stun, making them easier to dodge. Kill them, and you’ll recieve a Jailbroken CPU, which you’ll need quite a few of in order to craft the items coming up.
Returning back to the Lift, if you were to instead turn left, you’ll find yourself at the Wildlife Pens. Well, not exactly. They’re locked being a Level 3 Security Pad. So your choices will either be to go Left, or Right. Going Left will lead you to a large break room, and from there, the Tram Station you had originally encountered when first entering. If you did bring a Tram Chip, use it to open up the gate.
Going Right will instead cause you to encounter those two scientists from earlier, who haven’t seemed to have learnt their lesson. Talk with them and they’ll discuss the Fleshy Mass, and that they might know a way to remove it, and even better, you’ll find the materials they need right here in the containment Block.
More importantly, 2 feet to the left of them, is the Legendary Kizz Cola Machine, a vending machine that dispenses solely Kizz Cola, a very safe and tasty drink with no side effects. Please ignore all the warning signs plastered around it.
Passing the Machine, you’ll encounter a Security Cart, which you can repair with a Hotwire Kit, and after following the road, you’ll eventually find yourself back at the Office Sector, usually just in time for your body to start shutting down. Hurrah.
After taking a nap, relieving yourself, and replenishing your supplies, make your way back to the Lift. It’s time to Face the Fear, and Build the Future.
Floor 3
Apon arriving at Floor 3, you’ll find some interesting containment cells. The first of which being IS-1057, ‘The Yellow Paint’, which has bored a hole down into the Dirac Containment Block.
You’ll find 2 Buttons, one requiring a Tier 3 Keypad Hacker, while the other allows you to open the doorway previously sealed, which you will need to get out of this area.
Be warned, an Exor Monk will stand between you and that door. Kill it, or run if you think you can make it.
A few Rows down, you’ll find IS-0010, ‘The Glowing Shard’, which appears to have been taken. Where, and by who remains to be seen.
On the opposite side is something far more important.
The Adjustment Wing
Welcome to my least favourite section of the game. This area is absolutely full of Order Soldiers and Antiverse Exors, which actually can help you as the two sides hate each other just as much as they hate you, and often will engage in massive shootouts that remove both sides from the area, allowing you to loot around. I still highly recommend being as stealthy as possible, and ensuring you have the strongest armor and weapons available to you at this time before entering. Also bringing some Crafting Benches with you to make further navigation easier.
First thing you’ll need to do to get across is pass through the reception area, which contains an Exor and Exor Monk. Kill them, as sneaking past them has proven difficult for me. From there, head up the ramp, be wary of a patrolling Exor Monk, though hopefully it and the Order Soldiers in the room over have killed each other (as seen). Head through the doorway on your immediate left. It will be hard to miss due to the big glowing tank in the center.
From there, head up the stairs on your left. This will lead you to some Office Quarters. Order Soldiers patrol around, so hide in the cubicals if need be, while snagging the Refined Carbon on the desks. On the other side, you should see a Office overlooking the area, head up the stairs.
Heading up the stairs will lead you to a small lounge and kitchen, dispose of the Guard (as seen) and make your way through the yellow maintenance door. I recommend placing a Crafting Bench to prevent him from respawning, as you may have to pass through this area a couple times.
Once inside, you’ll see a red tube, and a vent. Head through the tube and head down the ladder to unlock a door. This will be a shortcut that allows you to skip fighting your way through the entrance, save for a few pests, which, when compared to the Exors, are a cakewalk, and a good source of much needed capacitors.
Whether you take the vent, or head left through the corridor and open up the doors, you’ll find yourself at the viewing room. Head down the ladder, and prepare to do some more sneaking around and fighting. I once again recommend placing down a Crafting Bench to prevent further spawning (Yes, this genuinely seems to be the only way to safely navigate this place. If I had a Bench-Free method to help, I’d post it).
Apon leaving the room, you will notice a set of double doors. Head through them and you’ll find a very conspicious trail of blood, that will lead you right to your next objective. The Lift. However, don’t head inside just yet.
Continuing to follow the trail of blood, you should spot an area with two Level 2 Access Pads. Both of these provide shortcuts. The left leading back into the lobby right next to the room you had just been in, while the right more importantly connects down to the road between Floor 2 and the Office Sector, creating a now safe passage throughout the entire bottom floor of the Adjustment Wing. But we aren’t done. What we need is on the next floor.
Head back to the lift and enter inside. Apon arriving upstairs, you’re going to want to take a right, as the left is guarded by a Security Bot. Heading through a dubious medical room, you’ll encounter 2 doors. The one on the right connects to the hallway next to the maintenance room, so unlock that, before heading through the door in front of you.
The door will lead to a short drop, so once you jump down, you won’t be able to get back up without going through the security bot. And beware, through the double doors is a squadron of Order Soldiers, including one wielding a shotgun, so ensure you’re absolutely prepared to head through.
So, you do need to get through them, which can be rather difficult. I personally like to ping one of them, and lure them into the security bot so they fight one another, before finishing off the survivors. In either case, head left through the double doors, being cautious of any stragglers. This is another spot I highly recommend placing a Crafting Bench, since it prevents the squadron from spawning in.
From there, head left, or break a window to enter into your first of two key structures. A Trading Station. This one trading Antiverse Wheat for Antiverse Gems. From there, you might notice 2 doors. The one on the left unlocks as a shortcut back to the previous room, while the other leads to a maintenance shaft that connects directly to the next room of importance.
Though not needed, I also recommend heading right, up the stairs, as it leads to an area full of Refined Carbon, Antiverse Gems, a Room that is perfectly shaped to be a Base of Operations containing a whiteboard that gives you the Recipe for the Research Backback, and 1 Dr Pendleton hiding in the corner.
Head down the ladder, and once again, prepare yourself for a fight, as the next room contains an Exor and Exor Monk, patrolling up the ramp. Unlock the door to your right, before killing them.
Much like before, I like to place a crafting bench down to prevent further spawns, and ensure a safe pathway to the second of the two Trading Booths, this one arguably more important, as it allows you to trade Silver Scrap for Refined Carbon.
Now, just simply unlock the double doors to have a shortcut back into the lobby, and you’re set! You now have everything you need to safely progress onwards
The Containment Blocks (Cont)
At this point, you should have obtained enough Refined Carbon and Antiverse Gems to upgrade your Keypad Hacker to tier 3. This will finally give you access to the area those two scientists ha been referring to. Containment Block Dirac. Kill the Exor Monk blocking your path, make your way up to the control room, and open up the gate.
Heading through the gate will reveal a long corridor, lined with containment cells, of which you can only access two, IS-0099 “The Antique Shotgun”, which apparently used to be anomalous, but is now just a regular double-barrel shotgun, and IS-0052 “The Gravity Dampener”, which reduces your gravity when held, allowing you to jump higher and fall greater distances. Take both of these, they’ll be useful.
From there, head right. You can head right again through a small corridor to learn more about the different entities and open a door back to the start, but it isn’t needed, so don’t worry about it.
Continue heading up the stairs until you arrive at Floor 4, and the entrance to Containment Block Baird. Though besides it and the Assessment Room, everything else is blocked off by the security system.
Heading into the Assessment Room will reveal a whiteboard showing that a exit portal within Antiverse 23 “HelmHoltz” leads straight into the Lab Control Centre. Keep this in mind as we head into Containment Block Baird, finding all but one path blocked off, leading us to a man inside a Containment Cell. Now, your encounters with your ‘Coworker’ might make you wary, but no, he is in fact, just a guy who hid inside a containment cell and accidentally locked himself inside. He tells you there is a way to shut down the security system, but you will need to reach the Lab Control Centre. Now where did we just hear about that?
Even more coincidentally, as you leave the Containment Block, you’ll notice a sign saying “Helmholtz” just across a short gap that leads straight down into the abyss if you fail to jump across! No Pressure…
Jokes aside, this is where those “Bridges” in the Crafting Bench come in handy. Just grab a few of those, and suddenly you have a path straight across!
