The Mantis mission in Starfield is one of the most mysterious, lengthy, and action-packed miscellaneous missions you will attempt in your playthrough.
From following the lead of a simple note, you go on a journey across the galaxy to find the base of the legendary Mantis, a name well-known among spaceship captains.
After fighting your way through to the end of the lair, the alluring rewards of a free legendary Class-A ship and one of the best helmets and spacesuits in Starfield are waiting for you to claim.
The great thing about the Mantis is that you can attempt it even if you are at a low level. The rewards you get at the end are going to make your playthrough quite easy.
How to unlock the Mantis mission
The Mantis side mission can only be unlocked in Starfield by reading a data slate called Secret Outpost. The only problem is that the Secret Outpost note can only be looted randomly from the bodies of Spacers and Ecliptics.
Though the drop is random, we have encountered it while fighting Spacers in Nova Galactic Staryard during The Old Neighborhood, while rescuing Barrett in Back To Vectera, and while rescuing the hostage at Maheo III-b in Deputized.
The Old Neighborhood is probably your best bet to find the Secret Outpost note since you will come across numerous Spacer enemies during the mission.
After obtaining the slate, read it in your Inventory under the Notes Tab to unlock the Mantis mission in Starfield. You can go to the Secret Outpost location, but the task will not start without the slate, so make sure to collect it first.
How to complete Mantis in Starfield
To complete the Mantis side quest, read through the Secret Outpost note you collected from the Spacer bodies in Starfield. It mentions a unique opportunity on Denebola I-b that you would regret not looking into sooner.
Make sure your inventory is empty to increase your carry capacity for loot during this mission. You are going to be fighting a lot of enemies, especially Spacers and Robots.
The enemies can reach up to level 30 here, so make sure that you come prepared with the best weapons and a lot of med kits.
Set your course to the moon of Denebola I, Denebola I-b of the Denebola Star System, and make the grav jump. There will be enemies immediately towards your right.
Get your gun out and start clearing the premises. Make sure to loot all of the enemies here because some of the times you get might come in handy later on.
After you are done, take the stairs on your left across and enter the Lair of The Mantis. You will find yourself in a small room. Take the door on head deeper in the lair.
Learn more about the Lair of the Mantis (optional)
Once you enter through the second door, an optional objective of learning more about the Mantis Lair in Starfield will pop up.
You need to collect all the Lore slates and listen to the automated messages from the start till the underground base of the Mantis Lair.
Just to start, first kill the Spacer Punks ahead after you get the mission and pick up Lair Slate: The Gold Mine item from their bodies. In the same room, activate the Automated Message mounted on the wall beside the door for the message.
To collect the Leon Voclain: Mantis Revealed and Lair Slate: Leon’s Corpse items you will need to venture a little deeper into the Mantis Lair.
The last Automated Message will be before the main entrance of the Mantis Lair which will complete the Learn More About The Lair of The Mantis optional objective of the Mantis mission in Starfield.
To summarize, you will require the following items to complete the Learn More About The Lair of The Mantis in Starfield:
- Lair Slate: The Gold Mine
- Leon Voclain: Mantis Revealed
- Lair Slate: Leon’s Corpse
- Two Automated Messages
Head deeper into the Lair of the Mantis
While progressing and taking out the enemies, you will find Leon Voclain: Sic Semper Tyrannis item on the body of one of the Spacers. This will contain the solution to the Mantis Secret Outpost puzzle you encounter ahead in Starfield.
Proceed forward, take the stairs down, head through the server room, and down another flight of stairs you will reach the base floor.
Kill the Spacers in the area to pick up Lair Slate: Leon’s Corpse from the dead body. After killing the enemies in the open hallway area, you will need to progress through the corridor in the back of the room.
Talk to Livvey (optional)
Before you enter the hallway in the back, you will find a scared Livvey next to the door. You can Attack him and kill him here or accept his deal of mutual benefits.
If you spare him, he tells you that the corridor ahead is filled with traps that will kill you in an instant, to avoid this you will need to spell out a word using the letters which can range from anything, a word to a small phrase.
After you’ve dealt with him, the Talk to Livvey optional objective for the Mantis side quest will be completed in Starfield.
Should you kill or spare Livvey?
If you spare Livvey, he offers useless information and will betray you anyway down the line. If you ignore him then he will attack you and if you kill him then there will be no further consequences.
We advise killing him as he doesn’t provide useful information. You also do not need him as another member on your party to look after. Not to mention that he takes a cut of your rewards, so getting rid of Livvey is the best option here.
Solve the Mantis Secret Outpost puzzle
Make your way through the corridor and the door on your left will reveal the huge open room with rows of letters on the floor.
To solve the Mantis Secret Outpost puzzle, listen to the audio log Leon Voclain: Sic Semper Tyrannis for the solution. The correct answer is TYRANNIS so spell it out while making it to the other side of the room.
If you have an active companion then it is best to make them wait so they don’t accidentally mess up the puzzle for you.
Enter the final section of the Mantis Lair
Unlock the door after the Outpost puzzle using the button, and enter into the final area of the Mantis Lair during the Mantis side mission in Starfield.
The door on your right is locked, which will require a Digipick and high Lockpicking skill level to get the loot behind it.
To proceed you will need to head left but there is an MK III Turret on the roof at the back of the corridor which will start shooting you as soon as you open the door.
You can use a long-range weapon to take it down or just quickly run past it if you have enough health.
Before heading forward, there will be another Automated Message mounted on the wall, the last one you need for the optional objective.
Clear out the three robots and enter the main area which is the Lair of the Mantis. There will be more robot enemies to fight but they will be stronger than the ones you encountered before so be ready to use some heavy arsenal.
Claim the Mantis Spacesuit
From the entrance of the Lair of the Mantis, take a left down the stairs and enter through the door to come across the Mantis Spacesuit in Starfield in a glass display case as shown below in the image.
Open its door and grab the suit off the mannequin to obtain it. There is also some loot in the room to the right so grab it while you are there.
Claim the Mantis Razorleaf Starship
To get the Mantis Razorleaf Starship in Starfield, go back towards the entrance door and head straight instead this time.
Go to the very back and down the stairs, activate the Starship Lift Controls to claim the Mantis ship, The Razorleaf.
You won’t be able to access it from here but it is necessary to activate the controls to get the ship outside.
Survey the area for any loot if you would like and once you are done, it is time to take the Razorleaf out for a ride.
Backtrack your steps and take the elevator before the entrance of the underground lair to head up to the main level.
Open the door using the Computer on the right and head left from there to exit the building. Head up the stairs and you will find the Razorleaf waiting for you on the Landing Pad, completing the Mantis side mission in Starfield.
Starfield – Mantis mission rewards
Completing the Mantis miscellaneous mission successfully in Starfield rewards you with 220 XP, 2000 Credits, a Mantis Spaceship, and a Mantis Spacesuit which includes a Reactive Mantis Space Helmet, Repulsing Mantis Pack, and Repulsing Mantis Spacesuit.
The mission is pretty lengthy but we believe the rewards are well worth it. The rewards amount up to a few hundred thousand Credits which you will be getting for free which makes the journey well worth it.
Starfield – Mantis bugs and fixes
During the Mantis mission, players encountered a bug where the lift controls got stuck for claiming the Razorleaf. It can either make the Mantis Spaceship stuck underground or mark the objective as complete without you actually getting the ship.
Unfortunately, the cause of the bug is not known and there is no solution discovered as of yet. You will have to reload a previously saved file to go back and try again.
