In this walkthrough, we will be discussing the ins and outs of Trading Places, the third main mission of The Ascent. You will explore Black Lake Towers, Cosmodrome and The Node on this venture.
The Ascent Trading Places
Trading Places is among the lengthiest missions of The Ascent. So, you better upgrade your weapons, armor and put all your skill points in your best categories.
Since you’ll be on the mission for a while, we recommend you also accept and complete the Anabolic Express side quest while you attempt this main one.
The Trading Places mission in the Ascent has four main segments.
Finding the Hacker
Talk to Poone and head out to the left lower exit from the cluster when you are ready. You’re tasked with finding a hacker that Poone needs to get the Habbers that keep the cluster running back.
Go down the elevator and then the stairs, making your path all the way through thugs down south.
Before going more in the south, head to Pearls Hotel and Bar and use the elevator to go upwards. Go to the lower right from the end of a bridge.
Keep moving south. You need to face thugs as you move forward. Use cover, keep a good distance and use your tactics to defeat them. Don’t forget to pick up a Skill Point from a nearby building.
Follow the objective marker now. You will face more thugs, doing good use of covers will help you a lot.
Nitroad sector
You will come across the Nitroad sector. To unlock it, simply head go past the train station. You may need to clean off some thugs along the way but it’s not that much of a struggle. Now move to the lower-right from the train station and keep moving.
Check vending machines and chest icons for loot. You will have more encounters here. Keep your eyes open for bounty enemy thugs they drop components for upgrades, bounty pickup and pieces of equipment after they die.
Bounty enemies are healthier and a little stronger than their normal companions. After crossing the center of this sector, you’ll encounter hammerhead, kill them off and keep heading towards the bottom left side.
Don’t stop until you reach the train station from there take the stairs down to the south. You will encounter some Feral here just finish them off and keep moving. You will find some stairs that go up and down. Move down the other stairs and then enter the nearby plaza. Here you will see a lit door, all brighten up with a yellowish light. Enter into it.
The Hacker nogHead
You’ve reached Coders Cove and it’s time to find the hacker. The hacker’s name is nogHead. Go down the corridor and look around for him. A brief scene will play once you find him and then you’ll get to talk with him about getting those Habbers.
After the conversation, don’t forget to get the Cyberdeck Upgrade while leaving Noghead’s room.
Now we have to go all the way back we came from. You can use call Taxis in-game function, this will allow you to visit any previously visit train station. You will be charged one thousand uCreds against this service.
Travel back to Arcology, You’ll need to circle back around towards the left of the circular area. You will face few neutral and not neutral thugs here. Make your way, reach elevator, get in it and go to highStreet tier.
The Node
You’re on Arcology highStreet tier, find your way to exit that goes to The Node. Don’t forget to check out the market for bounties, upgrades and other business before leaving, it may prove beneficial for you.
After taking the exit you will reach The Glut. Head through Section D28 checkpoint and get on an elevator to go to the lower levels.
You’ll have a combat encounter after crossing the bridge. You will also face a unique prisoner with a shield. Keep moving and shooting to deal with this lot. Move ahead following the Ascent Group Building.
Make your way to the narrow walkaway. Get to the large elevator, call it down using a green colored terminal beside it. Head the lower side to reach Node. You may get attack by random prisoners. To get to the Grafter, go to the north portion of The Node. The building you’re looking for is two stores to the left.
When you get into the lobby start looking for Larkian. One of his men have been taken by a rival gang. If you eliminate the kidnapped man, he’ll tell you where your Habbers are. Return to the outside to begin.
Move towards The Node’s southern side. More combat awaits after you reach Gemini Stacks. Gang members will attack you after crossing the bridge. This will be more of a straightforward fight as there is little to no cover. Enemies will be keep on showing. Continue removing them while keeping yourself safe by a distance.
After clearing the coast, get into the elevator in the building to find Larkians man. He is guarded by Rojins. You will now encounter cloaked enemies. These guys can’t be seen on the radar.
Watch out particularly for the Onyx void Operative. While taking them down, you can use the balcony to the left or right for cover.
After dealing with the enemies and getting the Onyx Void Dogtag, go to the back of the arena to locate a chest, then scavenge the field for any drops before returning to ground level. By going to the top right into The Node, you can return directly to the OV chapter.
The Cosmodrome
From Arcology, go north to the Cosmodrome. After reaching Tham’s gate more goons will start appearing along the way. Clear the enemies and keep going towards the upper right. You’ll continue facing enemies. Head towards the departure lounge, you have to face another group of goons here.
Use the same strategy, take cover nearby and wipe them out. Pass the security check point, face another group enemies, pick up the upgrade and go to the walkway.
You’ll be facing many goons here, coming one after another. Push your way through them and continue up. You’ll reach Cosmodrome proper, move in the upper-right direction from here to get to Melhorst-Gelb Carrier.
Here again, you have to face lots of goons along your way. Don’t forget to look for bounties though. When you reach Sector B3, you will be told to head towards the right side.
Prepare for another fight by turning to the upper-right. To make things easier, utilize the explosive barrels. Once you’ve defeated the opponents, keep going. If your health is in poor shape, you may want to return to a vending machine.
Siege Mech Boss Fight
At the end of the tunnel awaits a boss fight against the Siege Mech. This bad boy is heavily armed with missiles and mini guns.
Recommendations
We recommend using the PF-30 Jackhammer hat, F-30 Hellfire work jacket, and E-40 Redrunner compression pants if possible. If you don’t have these armor pieces yet, don’t panic; the Siege Mech can be controlled without them, and you can wear anything with strong physical or fire-resistance characteristics. It is also worth investing in some better augmentations.
Best strategy
The Siege Mech is big but not slow. Don’t let its size deceives you. The best tactic is to circle-strafe around the boss while striking its back. Humanoid minions will also keep spawning until boss’s defeat. Clear them as per needed but your main focus should be the boss.
After math of the Boss Fight
After getting rid of The Mech move towards the upper-right gate that was guarded by him to find the carrier. Find your way underneath the walkaway and sabotage the carrier. On a terminal nearby, use the override sequence. Move along the expanded bridge to the ship’s internals as soon as possible.
It’s here you’ll finally get to your Habbers now that you’re inside the ship. You’ll be dealing with multiple MG-Corp enemies as you progress here. Keep moving in the lower-right direction. Use the control panel between the two cells to unlock them
Poone will tell you to now locate the MG-Corp official in charge of the vessel. You’ll be having another fight here. After wiping out the enemy you’ll need to hack another terminal. Interact with the Life Support Control to locate the official.
Congratulations! This marks the completion of the Trading Places Mission in The Ascent. There is a brief cut scene and you’ll be transported back to Cluster 13 for story purposes.
