Porter needs you to print out the machine code from The Thinker so he can return with it to the surface. Computer Core Access is through the Operations wing. Head to Operations through the Minerva’s Den lobby.
Corporate Offices
Don’t head straight for the Operations wing right away—there’s a lot to explore in the Minerva’s Den wing first. For starters, visit the Corporate Offices area on the right, just past the Circus of Values machine as you make your way back to the lobby. Carry one of the gas cylinders from the prior hallway for use against the Spider Splicers in the hallway and head into the offices.
Enter the lounge area on the right and use Security Command on the Splicer inside, beyond the lockers. Wait for the Security Bots to kill her, then step into the room and hack the Security Camera to the left when it’s not facing the door. Gather up the Thermal Cell and Spear Ammo from the lounge and exit the lounge. The door on the right currently has an electromagnetic lock on it that can’t be bypassed.
Venture out onto the balcony of the two-story office room opposite the lounge. Grab the Speargun near the railing and set to sniping each of the Splicers patrolling the area with their personal Security Bots. There is one on the upper level and another two down below. Hack their Security Bots as you scour the area for loot if you don’t already have two active.
Round the corner toward the El Ammo Bandito machine and take aim on the RPG Turret on the ground floor. Hack it if you have any spare Remote Hack Darts, otherwise use the Ion Laser to aid your Security Bots in destroying it. Purchase some Auto-Hack Darts if you have the funds, as well as some additional Drill Fuel or Laser Cells if needed (there are plenty of Thermal Cells downstairs). Drop off the ledge near the break in the railing, equip the Hack Tool, and step out from behind cover to use the Hack Tool on the Turret beyond the doorway.
Gather up your Spear Ammo and other loot and collect the Audio Diary (“Reversing ADAM Sickness”) from the center of the lower level of the offices. Bypass the hacked Turret and locate the Rocket Spear Ammo and CarefulHacker tonic in the corner room. Return to the second floor.
Fight your way back through the offices to the Gatherer’s Garden machine near reception and purchase a Gene Tonic Slot (25 ADAM) and the Master Protector tonic if you hadn’t already obtained it. Round the corner through the door that is beside the reception desk and hurry past the Turret to claim the Audio Diary (“The Thinker”) behind the desk. Hack the Turret in the adjacent room and use an Auto-Hack Turret on the Safe to gain 42 Dollars, three EVE Hypos, and 100 Laser Cells. Slot the Sports Boost tonic into the fifth Gene Tonic Slot you purchased. Save your progress before returning to the lobby.
Little Sister Encounter
You’ll likely encounter your first Lancer and Little Sister near the Gene Bank in the lobby. Switch to the Rocket Spears and open fire on the Lancer from atop the balcony where you first found the Ion Laser. Splash it with Security Command to lure any Security Bots in the area to your side and continue peppering it with the Rocket Spears. The four Rocket Spears you found earlier should do the trick. If you stick to the stairs, you can kill it before it even gets a shot off at you.
Gather #1: Minerva’s Den Lobby
The first Gather Corpse is located near the Gene Bank in the lobby, right near the entrance to Operations. You won’t have any access to traps, so there’s not much in the way of preparations to make, other than trying to pull two Security Bots to your side. Equip Security Command and the Ion Laser with Thermal Cell ammo and use this combination to light attacking Splicers on fire while training your Security Bots on them. Strafe back and forth between the two staircases, past the Gather Corpse as you pick off the Splicers. This will help you stay behind cover and avoid being shot by any Leadhead Splicers entering from the airlock area. Remember that the Thermal Cells should be used to set the enemy on fire. Once the fire is set, switch to a different ammo type or other weapon to add to the damage. A Fiery Brute Splicer attacks once the Little Sister is halfway done collecting ADAM. Your Thermal Cells won’t harm it (other than minor piercing damage), so switch ammo or weapons once it appears.
Gather #2: Robotics Showroom
Scour the Robotics Showroom for collectibles and return to the Gather Corpse in the room with the water. Set the Little Sister down and ready your Rivet Gun and the Hypnotize Plasmid. None of the attacking Splicers present an electrical threat, so feel free to strafe around the stage, through the water, using Hypnotize on the Spider Splicers as they appear. Let your new allies (and Security Bots) handle the Leadhead and Thuggish Splicers while you conserve your ammo for any Spider Splicers who decide to attack Subject Sigma. If your Security Bots are destroyed, try to lure an enemy into view of the Security Camera near the kitchen display (some will run for the Health Station in that area and set off the alarm on their own accord). A Fiery Brute Splicer will attack halfway through the Gather, just as before. You can’t Hypnotize a Brute Splicer with the base form of the Plasmid, so switch to your Rocket Spears and enlist the help of all other Splicers in the area.
If you’re using the Master Collector tonic, you should have enough ADAM after the first Gather to purchase the Hypnotize Plasmid and another Gene Tonic Slot. Return to the lobby and head left toward the door leading to McClendon Robotics. Grab the Audio Diary (“The Thinker’s Potential”) from the hole in the wall and use the Hack Tool to open the door.
McClendon Robotics
Hack your way inside McClendon Robotics to find the Drill Dash tonic on a pedestal around the corner. Now Subject Sigma can move like Subject Delta! Acquire the Rivet Gun near the signboard up ahead, hack the Health Station, and proceed to the Demonstration Stage, making note of the Bot Shutdown panel on the right as you go.
Kill the Splicers near the second Gather Corpse in the Demonstration Stage area and destroy the Vacuum Bot by the kitchen display. Ready the Hack Tool and use it to hack the Security Camera atop the stairs that lead out of the water—don’t destroy this camera! Locate the Audio Diary (“New Bot Models”) near the kitchen display, dropped by the Vacuum Bot. Enter the storage room beside the Health Station and destroy the SMG Turret guarding the EVE Link tonic on the shelf in the rear of the room. If you are out of Gene Tonic Slots, consider swapping EVE Link in place of the Hacker’s Delight tonic. Return to the prior room and complete the ADAM Gather.
Return the Little Sister to the vent near the entrance to the Robotics Workshops after performing the second Gather. Purchase additional Remote Hack Darts from the El Ammo Bandito on the left and continue through the door leading to the Workshops. Hack the Security Camera around the corner and pick up the Handyman tonic. Splice this Gene Tonic immediately because it will allow you to expend EVE in order to repair your Security Bots. Security Bots are far more prevalent in Minerva’s Den and it’s imperative that you keep a pair of healthy ones with you at all times.
Continue down the hall to the large two-story room with the overhead crane. Use Security Command to turn the personal Security Bots against their Splicers, then hack any disabled bots to ensure you have two. Heal them with Handyman and have a look around. Make sure you hack the Health Station beneath the stairs and pick up any Trap Rivets you find.
Pick up the Auto-Hack Dart on the stairs and use it against the Rocket Turret on the second floor. It’s important to not destroy this Turret; you’ve been warned! Enter the control room on the second floor, grab the Audio Diary (“The Turing Test”), and throw the controls for the overhead crane. With the crane slid out of the way, you can now cross the second-floor beam and obtain the Electro Bolt Plasmid from the room atop the stairs. There’s also an Audio Diary (“Thinker, Meet Pearl”) near the Little Sister models in this area as well as a Safe containing 60 Dollars, two Mini-Turrets, and three Rocket Spears.
Little Sister Encounter
There will be a Little Sister and her Lancer protector in the Robotics Workshops, as you make your way across the beam after collecting the Electro Bolt. Conserve your Trap Rivets and opt to hit the Lancer with Security Command and a pair of Rocket Spears before retreating to the room where you just were. The Lancer can’t get you in there, so duck into cover whenever you need to reload or use a First Aid Kit. Finish the Lancer off with the Ion Laser while trying to keep it away from the stairs. The first Gather Corpse is right in this room and you will want the Rocket Turret atop the stairs in good condition for the fight to come.
Gather #1: Robotics Workshops
Load up on First Aid Kits and return to the El Ammo Bandito down the hall if you have money for ammo. Once ready, set the Little Sister down on the Gather Corpse near the oil slick and retreat upstairs to where you battled the Lancer. Ring the Little Sister with Trap Rivets and switch to Hypnotize to enlist the help of the Splicers who attack. Use the Ion Laser and Rivet Gun to keep the Splicers away from the Little Sister. Use Telekinesis to hurl any undetonated fuel barrels or gas cylinders at the attackers. The Fiery Brute Splicer that attacks during the latter half of the Gather will come searching for you. This is where the Rocket Turret atop the stairs comes in handy. Search the Spider Splicer corpses for money and use the vending machine to purchase more EVE Hypos if necessary.
Gather #2: System Design
The second Gather Corpse is up the stairs inside the System Design area of McClendon Robotics. Hack the Turret in the rear of the room and the Security Camera around the corner from it by the Safe. Set up some Trap Rivets around the corpse and a Mini-Turret near the ledge that overlooks the lower area to pick off the Splicers as they arrive. Switch to the Thermal Cells and the Hypnotize Plasmid and prepare for battle. You’ll encounter a number of Spider Splicers in this battle, as well as several Fiery Brute Splicers. Use Hypnotize to enlist the help of the Spider Splicers and continue to replenish the Mini-Turrets as they are destroyed. Also, use your Handyman tonic to repair the Turret and any Security Bots you happen to have enlisted the help of.
Crouch down and smash the grate in the corner of the Workshop to access the northwest room on the first level. There you’ll find an Audio Diary (“Robotic Little Sisters”) and a Safe containing 80 Dollars, two Auto-Hack Darts, and three Rocket Spears. There’s also a Vacuum Bot in this area. Exit the Workshop area and head to System Design, the area to the right of the El Ammo Bandito on the way back to the lobby.
Locate the Audio Diary (“Somebody Else’s War”) near the Security Camera in System Design and hack the Safe to gain 50 Dollars, 100 Laser Cells, and 80 Thermal Cells. This will come in handy for the nearby ADAM Gather. Return to the lobby and use your abundance of ADAM at the Gatherer’s Garden near the offices. Consider purchasing Insect Swarm, Hypnotize 2, a Plasmid Slot, Armored Shell, and any EVE or Health Upgrades you can afford. Go ahead and proceed through the doorway leading to Operations—you won’t get far!
