The Planetologist advanced training quest line is one of the most interesting and unusual quest chains of the five classes. Unlike the other four quest chains which are relatively straightforward, the Planetologist chain takes you on a bit of a ride.
While the Planetologist quest starts out fairly easily, you might begin to scratch your head as you realise that you have no idea where to go to progress to the next stage!
In this quest, we’ll give you a simple rundown of the quests, and, crucially, how to start each quest in the chain. The actual quests are fairly simple, but finding them is the tricky part.
Quest 1: "Minimic Film Recovery"
You can find out the full guide to the first quest in our How to Unlock the Planetologist guide.
Your first major task from Derek. Enter Testing Station No. 2 and locate a secret door behind a glowing sliver on a bookcase. Inside is the first Minimic Reel. Return it to Derek to unlock the Planetologist skill tree.
Quest 2: "Buried Archives"
Travel to Testing Station No. 197 in West Vermilius. You will find Derek at the bottom of the pit. Talk to him to get the quest. The Minimic Film is found by taking the right-hand path down the ramp. Once you enter the large room, it’s to your left in a small room on the right side of the door, as shown below.
Quest 3: "Adhering to Hierarchy"
Go to Arrakeen and speak with Cyprian Io in the Salusan Bull bar, he is upstairs. He refuses access to Kynes' research. Report back to Derek in South Hagga Basin to progress. Derek will ask you to return later, Instead, we can find him at Station No. 76 in a tight spot.
Quest 4: "Science Unlocked"
Now head north to Jabal Eifrit, to Station No. 76. Derek is caged inside; he is a little tricky to see, but he is next to the red exit gate. If you go down the stairs, you’ve gone too far, as he is right before that. Speak to Derek, who will explain how he got stuck, and ask you, once again, to retrieve something for him hidden deep in the facility.
Pro Tip: You have two chances to grab the key, once after speaking with Derek and once at the end.
Retrieve keys in the room after the stairs on the left-hand side near a book, as shown in the left image below. For context, we are facing the stair door in the image (there is a chance it spawns in different places in this room). You will find the Minimic Film deeper in the facility after the boss in a room overlooking the room with a small broken window. Enter the window to find the hidden door. We have shown the broken window below, if you go into the large loot room, you've gone too far (this is the room that has the schematics in).
Note: We are updating this guide as we progress; anything beyond this point is from our early beta testing and may have changed.
Quest 5: "The Search for Kynes"
Speak to Thufir Hawat in Arrakeen. Follow the trail to Sietch Tarl and collect a note near the canyon entrance. Then return it to Derek to complete this step of the quest. Sadly, no new skills are unlocked here, but the story progresses is progress.
Quest 6: "A Reasonable Routine"
Find Derek at Station No. 29 in Northern Hagga Rift. Locate a purple ID bracelet and Minimic Film behind another secret door past the boss room. This unlocks Trainer Level 4 and the Spice Surveyor skill.
Quest 7: "Clues from the Past"
Derek waits at Station No. 71 in The O’odham. Navigate through to find Kyne’s notes and Minimic Film. This unlocks Trainer Level 5 and the Conservation of Energy skill.
Quest 8: "The Planetologist Report"
Return to Cyprian Io in Arrakeen. After a brief betrayal twist, go back to Station No. 2. Kill sniper teams near the area and read Derek’s abandoned note. This quest sets up the final mission but does not unlock any new skills.
Quest 9: "The Final Piece"
Visit Station No. 163 in The O’odham. Push through to the last chamber containing a hologram of Kynes and retrieve the final recording. After speaking with Derek again, you will unlock the final Trainer Level 6, granting the Heat Management capstone skill and a unique stillsuit.
And that’s it, the Planetologist quest chain is complete, and you are now the one true Planetologist.
