Starfield's Ryujin Industries quests lead players down a dangerous path of corporate espionage. In the mission The Key Ingredient, Ryujin CEO Masako Imada will send players to investigate a mining facility that is late on delivering supplies and has now become irresponsive.
It is highly recommended to have at least one point in the skills Persuasion, Diplomacy, and Security or Medicine for this mission.
Starting The Key Ingredient
Upon completion of the Guilty Parties mission for Ryujin Industries in Starfield, players will automatically have The Key Ingredient register. After informing Dalton of the discovery regarding Imogene and Ularu, players will want to head to the Research and Development floor in Ryujin to find Masako. Exit the elevator to the R&D foyer, and head to the office on the left end of the lobby behind the security robot.
Masako will be inside along with the head of Research and Development, Veena Kalra. Converse with Masako, and she and Veena will elaborate on the newest Ryujin technology designed to give users the ability to suggestively manipulate others, the neuroamp. To create the device, Ryujin needs a large amount of a mineral called rothicite, which led them to create a contract with Consolidated Mining to acquire the mineral; however, communication with the mining outpost has gone dark, and the shipment is behind schedule. Masako will ask players to visit the station CM Station RC-1, located on the moon Carinae III-a, and report back on why the shipment is behind.
CM Station RC-1
Once players are done talking to Masako, head to the Carinae system in the Northwest corner of the galactic map - players will find RC-1 on the first moon orbiting Carinae III. Land at the station, take the main ramp, and head straight to the staircase behind the orange storage containers that climbs to the top floor of the center building. Players will find the base has been taken over by Ecliptic forces that will need to be incapacitated or killed. Most enemies in this area will be around level 15, with a few low-level grunts around level 5and some high-level captains hitting level 35. Once the Ecliptic soldiers are dealt with, players will want to access the storage box on the first desk inside the sleeping area to find the CM Station RC-1 Mine Keycard, along with some additional credits and supplies. With the keycard in hand, continue heading East through the building and descend the stairs to the mine shaft elevator.
Into the Mine
Take the elevator down into the mine - after exiting the elevator players will find a helmet stand and a contraband cache on their right that can be opened with a digipick if the Security skill is leveled up enough to attempt expert level locks. Players will also find a storage crate to the left hidden behind some metal shelves that may contain epic gear. Searching the elevator landing room should not cause any response from the Ecliptic forces in the mine, but players should be ready to fight the moment they leave the room. A long range weapon with a scope is highly recommended for this section as players will have to eliminate many Ecliptic mercenaries in the long and narrow tunnels of the mine. Fight through the forces and follow the curve to the lower part of the mine - be careful not to approach the metal railing for cover as there are some explosive containers nearby that can detonate if shot by an enemy and cause significant damage or death.
Once all visible forces are down (or if the containers are destroyed and players are feeling aggressive), follow the metal walkway to the right, through a smaller cave that exits at a flank to the enemy cover. Take caution at the end of the metal walkway where it transitions into the smaller tunnel as there are more explosive hazards. Once in the tunnel, keep pushing through the Ecliptic forces, searching the health kit on the left and the ammo box on the right, both located right at the end of the first turn in the tunnel. Turn the second corner in the tunnel, and quickly take down the turret visible just to the right of the end of the tunnel on a platform. Once the turret is down, push forward and dispatch the remaining Ecliptic mercenaries.
Follow the pathway to the left back to the area with the large drill - there is an opening on this end to the area underneath the drill that has some searchable crates and bodies and mineable rothicite deposits. Once players are finished exploring this area (or if they choose to skip it altogether), continue following the original path up to the next room in the mine. Players will encounter a few more mercenaries in this room along with another turret, elevated on the right side of the back edge of the room on some storage crates. Once all enemies are down, players can loot the area, finding one storage crate on each side of the lift, and a spacesuit workbench. When finished searching the area, enter and activate the lift platform.
The Security Tower
When players exit the lift they will now be inside the Security Tower, and where the strongest of the Ecliptic soldiers are stationed. Players will encounter one lower-level mercenary and two high-level captains, ensure weapons are reloaded before exiting the lift landing area. Once all Ecliptic are resolved, players can access the computers in the tower. Read the Communications folder to uncover what happened to the mining base and the Shipments folder to uncover the status of the rothicite shipment. Players will find that the shipment of rothicite was canceled and rerouted to a location called the Clinic - a medical ship working with Infinity LTD Industries located in the Narion section - once players are finished exploring and looting the security tower they can fast travel to the Clinic.
The Clinic
After arriving in the Narion system, fly to the Clinic and dock. Head towards the main section and take the first door on the right into the secure wing. There will be a guard blocking access that players can persuade for access. If players cannot persuade the guard, they will have to talk to the receptionist to uncover information that can be used to extort or bribe the guard into granting access.
Once in the secure wing, head into the first office on the right and find Dr. Lane and Sean McAfee. When addressed by Sean, lie and say that Infinity LTD wants an update on progress, and Sean will instruct players to talk to Dr. Lane instead. When talking with Dr. Lane, lie again about wanting the update on behalf of Infinity, and Dr. Lane will give players all the information they are looking for about the experiments. Players will also have the option within the conversation to tell Dr. Lane that Infinity will be handling the research directly and the rothicite needs to be taken - Dr. Lane will agree and tell players to take the briefcase with them when they leave.
If players wish to learn more about the research being conducted at the clinic, Dr. Lane's computer can be freely accessed once the conversation terminates. When ready, grab the case of rothicite on the table and return to Ryujin Industries.
Return to Research and Development
With the rothicite in hand, return to Neon and head back to the Research and Development floor in Ryujin Industries. Find Veena in her office and return the rothicite to her. Once the conversation completes, The Key Ingredient will complete and players will register the next mission in the Ryujin mission line, Sabotage.
Starfield is available now on PC and Xbox.