Mantis – Starfield Mission


Every galaxy needs a vigilante to inspire fear and serve not just as a hero, but as a symbol that stands unwavering in the face of overwhelming evil. The time has come for you to take up this mantle, and become the Mantis.

The Night is darkest just before the Dawn, and I promise you, the Dawn is coming.

  • Quest Type: Misc
  • Location
    • System: Denebola
    • Planet: Denebola I-B
    • City: Secret Outpost / Lair of the Mantis
  • Rewards
    • 2000 Credits
    • 200 XP
    • The Razorleaf – Legendary Ship
    • Mantis Suit Set – Legendary Spacesuit, Helmet, and Pack

The Denebola system is quite far from New Atlantis and Sol, so if you’re using the starting ship you will have to make several jumps to reach it. Jumping to Volii before making another small jump to Porrima should put you in range. Once you are in the system, enter orbit around Denebola I-B. The Secret Outpost landing spot will be at the southern pole of the moon.

Before starting the quest, you will need to pick up a Secret Outpost Slate from a defeated Spacer. An early opportunity for this is during the Old Neighborhood main quest, which is the first mission the Constellation assigns you. During the quest be sure to loot any Spacer bodies you come across, you should find a few of these slates. These slates can also show up elsewhere, however this appears to be a guaranteed sighting.

If you ever get lost or need directions during the quest, open the scanner with F / button xbox leftbumper. It will display arrows on the ground to guide you to the next point in the quest.

When you’re ready, read the slate to discover there’s an extraordinarily valuable outpost on Denebola I-B. A difficult, lengthy fight awaits you at the Secret Outpost, so make sure you are stocked up on ammo and healing supplies.

Travel to Denebola I-B with the directions above and land at the Secret Outpost near the southern pole. Once you exit the ship you will almost instantly enter combat, so make sure you’re prepared.

Most of the quest will take place under this objective, with the quest marker guiding you deeper underground and battling through plenty of Spacers. Make sure to save regularly so you don’t lose any progress.

Before entering the outpost proper, head to the staging area next to the landing spot to pick up an Arc Welder. This can be a great weapon for clearing out the enemies in the outpost, especially if you’re doing this directly after the Old Neighborhood quest.

After picking up the Arc Welder, cross the circular landing pad and head up the stairs.

starfield mantis cross the landing pad

Keep heading straight from the stairs and you’ll come across some more Spacers. Defeat them and loot them to make sure you’re well-supplied for fighting through the lair. Afterwards, enter through the marked door to continue.

starfield mantis enter the lair of the mantis

Once you’re inside, go through the door on the far wall and start heading right. Go through the door at the end of this hallway and dispose of the two Spacers on the other side.

With the Spacers defeated, activate the automated message on the wall to hear about some of the story of the Mantis. Proceed down the hallway and go down the stairs to the left, where you’ll encounter three more Spacers.

starfield mantis exploring the lair automated message

After the fight, loot the Spacer Scum to receive more audio lore about the Mantis. This slate also holds the key to the puzzle later on, “Tyrannis”. There’s several ammo boxes in this room you should take the opportunity to loot. Head down the next flight of stairs to get deeper into the lair.

starfield mantis tyrannis message

At the bottom of the stairs, walk through the orange door and you’ll find two more Spacers. Fortunately, they’re sitting directly in front of some huge explosive containers, so a quick shot at one of those should take care of them.

Continue to the next set of stairs and walk down the long hallway. At the end of the hallway you’ll encounter more stairs and a large group of Spacers. I recommend using the high ground to your advantage, but if you’re using the Arc Welder you’ll need to get closer to be effective.

starfield mantis stairwell and group of spacers

Clear out the spacers on both levels and loot the Spacer Scum for the next piece of lore about Leon and the Mantis. Next up is the final combat encounter with Spacers, so make sure your healed up before moving on.

There’s more Spacers in this room compared to anywhere else in the lair, but fortunately they are separated and there’s plenty of cover to use to your advantage. If your Arc Welder has run out of ammo at this point, the lawgiver gun that many of the Spacers drop can be a viable option.

Once they’re defeated, loot Leon’s body for his final tape and the conclusion of his story. Talk to Livvey by the open door and he’ll explain that the traps beyond this point are deadly and you need his assistance. Feel free to spare him or kill him here, he doesn’t help much if you accept his help.

starfield mantis livvey

Proceed through the door past Livvey and go down the stairs. Here is the puzzle where the “Tyrannis” clue from earlier becomes useful. There are 8 rows of letters and stepping on the wrong letter will result in a very fast death, so save often and be careful where you step. You have to spell the word Tyrannis to cross safely, starting with the letter T on your side.

starfield mantis puzzle solution
  1. T – Third from the left
  2. Y – First from the left
  3. R – Fifth from the left
  4. A – Sixth from the left
  5. N – Fourth from the left
  6. N – Seventh from the left
  7. I – Second from the left
  8. S – Third from the left

When you pass the puzzle, press the big red button to open the door. Inside you’ll find an expert-level locked door on the right, but to continue with the quest just head through the door on the left.

starfield mantis puzzle button

Head down the stairs and you’ll encounter a hostile ceiling-mounted turret in the hallway. Destroy the turret and proceed through the hallway. Pass through the door at the end and you’ll encounter some robots to defeat. After taking care of those, continue down the hallway until you reach a set of stairs.

Go up the stairs and you’ll encounter another robot enemy. On one side of the room is an elevator back to the entrance, and the other side is a door into the lair proper. Congratulations, you’ve made it.

Walk through the door into the lair and turn left. You’ll encounter one more robot to dispose of. Take a left into a new series of rooms. From here walk into the next area which serves as a living area and turn left, where you’ll see the suit on a mannequin.

With the legendary suit in hand, head back out into the lair and go straight to the pathway towards the ship. Towards the end you’ll reach an activation button, pressing this will send the ship up to the surface for you to claim.

From the activation button, head back up the stairs and return to the room you originally entered the lair from. Enter the elevator across from the lair and marked with a quest marker to return to the entrance.

starfield mantis computer to open door

Walk straight down the hallway and activate the computer on the left to open the door. This will also work as a shortcut to get back down to the lair if you ever want to return. Head through the door on the left to get back to the outside. Take the stairs to the left to return to the large circular landing zone on the other side of the compound to retrieve your new ship.

starfield mantis razorleaf

With the tools to enforce galactic justice, will you be the hero the Settled Systems deserves? Or will you become a villain like the galaxy has never seen?

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Lucky Boop
Lucky Boop

Strategy game enthusiast, especially Paradox titles and the Civilization series. Whenever he's not writing he spends his time watching sports, enjoying coffee, or studying history.

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Tex
Tex
7 months ago

I very clearly did myself a disservice on this quest.
Not even sure how I got there, just selected a quest, and made a single jump to it.
Wandered around until I found the “puzzle room”. Shot the cannons off the wall using the bed in the nearby room if my health got low, and continued onward.
The part that beat the living snot out of me was the enemy ships in orbit waiting for me. Took over 10 tries to fight them and I finally just decided to try escaping.
Armor, weapons, ship… all around win though.