Mantis Puzzle Guide and Walkthrough - Starfield Guide - IGN (2024)

Starfield's Mantis is inarguably one of the most important and lucrative Side Missions in Starfield because it can earn you a Legendary Spacesuit Set and a Legendary Ship, all at once. But before you can get your hands on this valuable gear, you'll need to take down high-powered enemies, solve the deadly Mantis puzzle, and investigate a mysterious space vigilante.

In this Starfield guide, we'll explain how to start the Mantis Side Mission, provide the solution to the floor puzzle, and break down the legendary items you'll soon add to your inventory.

Mantis Side Mission

Continue reading or click one of the links below to learn more about a specific section of this Starfield guide:

• Mantis Side Mission Rewards
  • Razorleaf - Mantis Legendary Ship
  • Mantis Legendary Spacesuit Set
• How to Start the Mantis Side Mission
• Infiltrate the Lair of the Mantis
• Lair of the Mantis Floor Puzzle Solution
• Collecting the Mantis Spacesuit Set and Ship

Mantis Side Mission Rewards

How to Start the Mantis Side Mission

To begin the Mantis Side Mission, you'll need to find and read the data slate "Secret Outpost!" which can be obtained by looting slain Spacer enemies. Though it seems like the slate is given to a random Spacer, we've collected the Secret Outpost! from fallen Spacers in the following situations:

• During the Back to Vectera Main Mission
• During The Old Neighborhood Main Mission
• While saving a hostage as part of the Deputized Side Mission

Because Secret Outpost! can seemingly be looted from any Spacer, carefully check each corpse's inventory to ensure you don't skip this valuable slate. As seen in the image above, the Secret Outpost! slate looks just like any other item, making it easy to miss.

Once you've collected and read the Secret Outpost! slate, you'll learn about a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity on the moon Denebola I-b. Access your Missions menu to activate the Mantis quest, chart a course to Denebola I-b, then land at the secret outpost marker.

Infiltrate the Lair of the Mantis

When you land on Denebola I-b's secret outpost, you'll be met with near-immediate hostility, so prepare for battle before exiting your ship. Take out the handful of Spacers guarding the outpost, then head toward the entrance highlighted by your quest marker.

Once inside, continue gunning down the Spacers while following the quest marker deeper and deeper into the building. The enemies you'll encounter range from Level 8 to Level 30, so use cover frequently to avoid taking damage from especially powerful foes.

As you shoot your way through the building, search every corpse to restock your ammunition, find valuable loot, and learn more about the mysterious vigilante known as the Mantis. After defeating the formidable Spacer Vulture, you'll discover an NPC named Livvey (assuming they weren't caught in the crossfire).

Livvey will offer to help, and if you accept, they'll explain that the upcoming corridor houses a deadly puzzle that's stumped all that have tried to solve it.

Lair of the Mantis Floor Puzzle Solution

When you're done with Livvey, walk through the blast door to discover a floor puzzle made of letter tiles. To avoid being torn apart by turrets, you'll need to walk across the correct tiles to spell a mystery word.

The solution to this puzzle can be found in one of the audio logs scattered throughout the building. In the log, Leo talks about his mother constantly repeating the phrase, "Sic semper tyrannis."

Because the puzzle is made up of 8 rows of letters, to solve the Mantis floor puzzle, you need to walk across the letters to spell TYRANNIS. If you're having trouble identifying the spray-painted letters that mark your safe exit route, check out the image above or follow the list below:

1. T - 3rd from the left
2. Y - 1st from the left
3. R - 5th from the left
4. A - 6th from the left
5. N - 4th from the left
6. N - 7th from the left
7. I - 2nd from the left
8. S - 3rd from the left

Now that you've cleared the floor puzzle, you'll walk through a narrow corridor to discover a Turret MK III. Equip your best long-range weapon and jiggle-peek the wall to your left to avoid taking more damage than you need to. The turret also has a brief reload cooldown that can be exploited if you learn the timing.

With the turret thwarted, you'll come up to another blast door. Just inside are two high-powered robots. Open the door, throw in grenades, then retreat to the stairs for cover.

Once the robots have been taken care of, gun down the two robots lurking in the following area, and you'll finally reach the Lair of the Mantis. Assuming the coast is clear of enemies, activate your scanner to loot the lair before getting to your real prizes!

Collecting the Mantis Spacesuit Set and Ship

To collect the Legendary Mantis Spacesuit Set, exit the control room where you took down the robodog and take two lefts to find a doorway. In the storage area ahead, you'll find a mannequin wearing the Mantis Spacesuit Set inside a hexagonal display. Open it up to collect your new favorite outfit, then loot the rest of the area.

Collecting, the Razorleaf will require slightly more effort. Return to the center of the lair and walk toward the ship to find the Starship Lift Controls pictured above. Activate the Mantis Ship to lift it to the surface, then head back outside to jump in your new ship.

To get outside, you can take the long way and retrace your steps or use the elevator inside the control room as a shortcut. Hop inside the ship, and you'll become the proud owner of the fabled Razorleaf!

Razorleaf - Mantis Legendary Ship

With a value of over 120,000 Credits, the Razorleaf is a beast of a ship that will likely outmatch any early-game vessels you may have acquired. Not only is the Razorleaf incredibly fast, but it also has a Shielded Cargo Hold that'll prove invaluable if you've been up to no good. About a third of the Razorleaf's Cargo Hold is Shielded, which allows you to smuggle Contraband into major spaceports without consequence.

Though it's currently unclear whether the Razorleaf's stats may vary, here are the stats from the Legendary ship earned during our playthrough:

Mantis Legendary Spacesuit Set

The complete Legendary Mantis Set includes a Spacesuit, Pack, and Helmet. Though there's some uncertainty surrounding whether or not the Razorleaf changes, there is no doubt that the Mantis Set varies from playthrough to playthrough. But regardless of the variants you earn, rest assured that you'll always receive insanely valuable items that you'll be glad to add to your inventory.

While the Mantis outfit will always look the same, here are a few variations we encountered during our limited testing: