So I spend another hour and a half looking for more covert heists...finally find one and it turns out to be for a settlement that doesn't have a settlement alarm console! GG, FDEV...GG.
TERRA VELASQUEZ
- Thread starter Klemyr
- Start date
Can someone please confirm the below strategy is viable? I really, really don't like stealth gameplay.
Is it reasonable to:
1) Find a mission/settlement that reliably spawns the alarm system inside the power building, and not inside a command building?
2) Clone level 3 authorization through a window or outside NPC. Pin the settlement alarm console via an outside terminal
3) Enter power building and kill the 1 NPC with a silenced tormentor. Maybe just run past them to turn off alarms.
4) Use terminal to find mission item. At this point, I'm safe as long as I avoid guards and restricted areas, right?
Beyond that basic strategy, I've got some other questions:
1) Do settlements with a small, separate power building spawn Level 3 NPCs outside? Or by easily accessible windows?
2) Once the settlement alarms are disabled, will being scanned by a guard cause the mission to fail? Or can I then massacre the base?
3) Do mission items spawn inside restricted areas? Or just behind doors requiring level 2-3 authorization? Do I have to hide from all NPCs while waiting for the 3 minute timer to end?
Please help.
Is it reasonable to:
1) Find a mission/settlement that reliably spawns the alarm system inside the power building, and not inside a command building?
2) Clone level 3 authorization through a window or outside NPC. Pin the settlement alarm console via an outside terminal
3) Enter power building and kill the 1 NPC with a silenced tormentor. Maybe just run past them to turn off alarms.
4) Use terminal to find mission item. At this point, I'm safe as long as I avoid guards and restricted areas, right?
Beyond that basic strategy, I've got some other questions:
1) Do settlements with a small, separate power building spawn Level 3 NPCs outside? Or by easily accessible windows?
2) Once the settlement alarms are disabled, will being scanned by a guard cause the mission to fail? Or can I then massacre the base?
3) Do mission items spawn inside restricted areas? Or just behind doors requiring level 2-3 authorization? Do I have to hide from all NPCs while waiting for the 3 minute timer to end?
Please help.
Yes - although don't rule out a site just because it has a command centre: some of them have back and side entrances you can just cut your way through.
Yes - once the alarms are off you can kill everyone and they can't raise the alarm.
1) Grab a security pass at least level 2.
2) Use a terminal, a level 2 pass will allow you to scan through all buildings except PWR building (lvl 3 required) for settlement alarms.
If you can't find the settlement alarms in any building, it'll then be in the PWR building by powers of deduction.
3) Access Power building, obtain level 3 pass from one of the wondering Workers.
4) There's one of 3 places I've found it can spawn in the power building. a) Inside the power regulator room ,next to side entrance window (will also have Auth scans panel), (b) outside the power regulator room above a computer station (c) upstairs in the side room.
If you don't want to risk it, you can always hop to a safe placed terminal and use the acquired Level 3 access to check the exact spot of the alarms console.
All the heists have been fairly easy regardless of settlement type and console alarm positioning, when I followed the above process.
2) Use a terminal, a level 2 pass will allow you to scan through all buildings except PWR building (lvl 3 required) for settlement alarms.
If you can't find the settlement alarms in any building, it'll then be in the PWR building by powers of deduction.
3) Access Power building, obtain level 3 pass from one of the wondering Workers.
4) There's one of 3 places I've found it can spawn in the power building. a) Inside the power regulator room ,next to side entrance window (will also have Auth scans panel), (b) outside the power regulator room above a computer station (c) upstairs in the side room.
If you don't want to risk it, you can always hop to a safe placed terminal and use the acquired Level 3 access to check the exact spot of the alarms console.
All the heists have been fairly easy regardless of settlement type and console alarm positioning, when I followed the above process.
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IF it's a settlement i'm not familiar with, i just get an E-Breach.
I use that to hack a terminal that's not in the patrol-path of a guard and mark the position of the Settlement Alarms.
Then i find my way there, while on the look for NPCs to get access. Sometimes there are NPC on the outside with appropriate access level (sometimes 2 is enough, some other time level 3 is needed) or i try to clone their ID's through windows.
Watching their move patterns is usually enough to find windows of opportunity to sneak in and disable the alarm - be it in the Power Center or in the Security Zone of the CMD building or in another building (IND / Proc if a mining or mineralogic or Agri / Res building if its a bio /agri / research settlement)
I use that to hack a terminal that's not in the patrol-path of a guard and mark the position of the Settlement Alarms.
Then i find my way there, while on the look for NPCs to get access. Sometimes there are NPC on the outside with appropriate access level (sometimes 2 is enough, some other time level 3 is needed) or i try to clone their ID's through windows.
Watching their move patterns is usually enough to find windows of opportunity to sneak in and disable the alarm - be it in the Power Center or in the Security Zone of the CMD building or in another building (IND / Proc if a mining or mineralogic or Agri / Res building if its a bio /agri / research settlement)
Thank you all for your responses!
Regarding the advice to watch guard patrols to learn their pattern, that's a significant time sink for a mission that may have little to no payoff. Which is why I've been so leery of these. At least of you fail a covert theft mission, you may be left with a suit/weapon schematic.
Regarding the advice to watch guard patrols to learn their pattern, that's a significant time sink for a mission that may have little to no payoff. Which is why I've been so leery of these. At least of you fail a covert theft mission, you may be left with a suit/weapon schematic.
yes, the sneaky missions can be time consuming.
but once you get the hold of them, you'll get better and your times will improve.
Is the e-breach a viable way to access the power station? Or would a guard notice it before you could disarm the alarms?
If the guard sees the e-breached terminal or door access panel it will get into alarm mode.
so use them only outside of the patrol routes
Unlocked this engineer today after I fnished my 6th covert heist mission taken from mission board. I had one more (completed) from npc in concourse but that one very likely was not counted (on Inara I have it shown as expired).
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Just completed my first covert heist! Only five more to go, right?
Right?
Right?
Yes. It works ok. I unlocked her yesterday.
I don't think that something changed in this regards. For some it works, for others it doesn't. Just hope for the best, and if you find it not counting for you, just stop and wait for a fix.
Don't get frustrated if it does not work for you, but CMDRs here tell you how
No, it doesn't "work" for anyone (I think the number of commanders that unlocked Terra after exactly 6 is low), we just kept going until we had brute forced it by numbers.
By all accounts, some missions count and some don't. So I always recommend you keep going (unless you hate the missions).
The only certainty here is if you do not try then you'll never unlock her. It took me about 13 missions to get it done. Which is a drop in the ocean compared to how long it takes to unlock some others.
Until it gets fixed, unlocking Terra is just a matter of when if you just enjoy the missions.
Cool for you. For others - like me - even after 8 covert heists, and 7 covert thefts, even after the referral to Terra, even after numerous relogs, it did not work.
Disagree. If there is a bug that systematically denies it for some CMDRs, it doesn't matter how many they do, it will never unlock. We just don't know yet. If somebody already did more than the required amount, it is better to wait until the bug gets fixed, or issue a support ticket. It is broken and should be treated like so, not find some way around the bug in the hope that some obscure ritual eventually unlocks it.
That's why I described what I did, so that you could compare it with your method. I took the missions from terminals, not patrons, and completed them again on foot, not from my ship, as I am, too, aware of possible bugs and omissions in code.
There are already numerous threads and theories about this bug. None of them worked out in the end. What we do here is speculating and trying to debug a software we have only limited knowledge about. This is not a bad approach per se, if there is no other option. However, there is a much better one: get FDev to fix their buggy software which they took money for. They have the better access to the code, they have tools in place to debug it better, and beyond that all, it is their duty to do it, not ours.
Now you could argue that the more input, the better. Still, a CM already acknowledged the problem, gathered data, and even stated that he has everything he needs and that they will investigate. So why do we still debate this as if there is just some secret sauce we need to make it taste?
If people want to play this type of missions ad nauseam, more power to them. But if somebody wants to unlock Terra, be aware that it is bugged and may never, ever unlock for you in the current state. If this is frustrating you, don't listen to folks doing as if they found the holy grail in this problem, just stop, play one of the numerous other funny things in the game, and wait for the bug fix. It will come.