Starfield is the latest Bethesda Game Studios’ open world scifi RPG. You explore space, pilot ships, help your new Constellation group of friends find special artifacts to discover the mysteries of the universe, and kill lots of space crooks and aliens who stand in your way.

You can also deviate from the main quest to do whatever the hell you like, Bethesda open world game style. That means a ton of sidequests. This one we’re focusing on will net you a free ship and free spacesuit. The former is pretty expensive to get through conventional methods, so getting a free spaceship with decent stats for the early game is always a plus.

This requires you to access the sidequest called The MANTIS; here’s a guide on how to do just that. Spoiler warning, of course.

Check out our review of Starfield if you still need convincing to get one of this year’s finest scifi titles.

Starfield The MANTIS Quest

First up, you need to kill a bunch of random Spacers (bandits in this universe); one of them is bound to drop a datapad called Secret Outpost!

While you’re doing the main quest “The Old Neighbourhood” or “Back to Vectera”, you’re bound to fight Spacers along the way. One of them is sure to drop the datapad; we got ours during “The Old Neighbourhood”. Read the datapad; you’ll get the location Denebola 1-B.

You may want to be at level 10 or higher before doing this mission, as well as get some ammo and strong laser guns/rifles. You will fight robots and spacers who can go up to level 30. Our advice for companions is to get someone like Andreja who is good at recon and sniping foes from afar.

Chart a course to Denebola, and then land on the marked spot. You’ll end up at a base of sorts filled with Spacers; just deal with them with your guns and enter.

Throughout the quest, you’ll come across datalogs and messages from a guy named Leon and from his mom. Just keep going down the corridors, killing Spacers along the way. You’ll be at high ground, so you can throw grenades from where you’re at to ambush them.

You’ll eventually get to a chamber with eight rows of letters along the floor and dead bodies. If you step on the wrong letter, turrets will fire at you. If you have been paying attention to the logs and messages as you head down, you’ll hear the phrase “sic semper tyrannis” a lot. That’s your clue.

Walk across the letters T-Y-R-A-N-N-I-S and you’ll cross the chamber unharmed. Loot the bodies along the way for resources.

Once you’re past the puzzle, you’ll head through the corridor, fighting turrets and robots along the way. Take it easy, and you’ll eventually get to the main lair. In the lair, you can access the real treasures: the Razorleaf ship and the MANTIS spacesuit set.

This whole plotline is about Leon’s mom being a space vigilante called the MANTIS. Basically it’s space Batman. Unfortunately for Leon, he died trying to reach the lair, which means the loot is fair game for anyone. In other words, it’s all yours.

Here are the stats:

Repulsing Mantis Spacesuit

Chameleon: Blend with the environment while sneaking and not moving.
Weapon Holsters: Weapons weight 50% less.
Repulsing: 5% chance to disarm nearby attackers.

Armor-plated Mantis Pack

Chameleon: Blend with the environment while sneaking and not moving.
Liquid cooled: +25 thermal resistance. Armor-plated: -10% incoming physical, energy, and EM damage.

Sensor-Chipped Mantis Space Helmet

02 Filter: -25% oxygen consumption.
Hacker: +2 max auto attempts that can be banked while hacking.
Sensor Chip: +20 accuracy while firing on the move.

Razorleaf

Class A ship
Crew: 2
Fuel: 148
Hull: 469
Cargo: 967, shielded capacity: 160

All in all, it’s good stuff and a quest worth taking part in. The best part? You can sometimes scare enemy Spacer ships when flying the Razorleaf. The legend of the MANTIS truly lives on with your Starfield character.