Starfield: How to complete The Key Ingredient mission

In Starfield, you can complete missions for various factions including UC Vanguard, Freestar Rangers, Crimson Fleet, and Ryujin Industries. The Key Ingredient is a mission for Ryujin where you’ll be tasked with finding certain minerals required to build the internal neuroamp. 

For this mission, you’ll need to travel to different planets and infiltrate certain buildings to spy on a rival company. Naturally, you need to know how to complete this mission to earn all the rewards and progress with the Ryujin faction. 

Here’s how to complete The Key Ingredient mission in Starfield.

Starfield: The Key Ingredient Mission Walkthrough

The Key Ingredient mission for Ryujin Industries revolves around finding an elemental resource that stabilizes the internal neuroamp. Masako and Veena ask you to recover a shipment of Rothicite from CM Station RC-1. This is an old station that is currently occupied by the Ecliptic goons hired by Infinity LTD.

After reaching the station, you’ll discover that the Ecliptic killed several innocent workers and have redirected the shipment to The Clinic. You must visit The Clinic and investigate the Secure Wing to figure out more about Infinity’s plans. The doctors hired by Infinity are conducting illegal human experimentation leading to numerous deaths.

You’ll learn about Project Dominion and what Infinity LTD is trying to cover up as they are rushing against time to launch the internal neuroamp product before Ryujin. Gather the information, get the stolen resources, and return to Masako and Veena at Ryujin Towers to debrief them about the situation to complete this mission.

How to start The Key Ingredient Mission in Starfield

The Key Ingredient mission starts shortly after completing Guilty Parties where you are tasked with finding the mole in Ryujin Industries. To begin this mission, speak to Dalton on the Executive floor. He informs that Masako and Veena have a task for you.

Visit the Research and Development floor in Ryujin Industries to speak to Masako. Veena and Camden will also be a part of this conversation informing you about the internal neuroamp. However, before you can test this tech, a security shielding feature must be installed to make it controllable.

For this feature, the team needs a specific mineral called Rothicite, and you’ll be tasked with tracking its shipment from the Carinae system. The objective is to reach the CM Station RC-1 and figure out what happened to the shipment.

How to find CM Station RC-1 in Starfield

The CM Station RC-1 is located on the moon Carinae III-A in the Carinae star system. The distance between Volii and Carinae is 46.25 Light Years, and you’ll need to discover the Wolf star system to get a direct route. Grav jump from Volii to Wolf, and from Wolf to Carinae to enter the star system.

After reaching the Carinae star system, head for the moon Carinae III-A. While orbiting the moon you’ll notice the CM Station RC-1 outpost. Check above to see the precise location of the star system and the station outpost. Land at this location, but be careful as you’ll face tons of Ecliptic enemies inside the station.

Discover what happened at CM Station RC-1

Inside the CM Station RC-1, there are several Ecliptic enemies that can cut down your health within seconds. I’d recommend sneaking around the station to eliminate the foes outside without making too much noise. Once the area is clear, head inside through one of the doors, but make sure to stay crouched to hide from the enemy.

If you have Starborn powers like Void Form or skills like Concealment, crouching and sneaking will turn your character invisible. The same effect can be emulated by wearing a piece of legendary gear that has the Chameleon trait. I defeated most of these enemies while staying invisible as this is the best way to avoid taking too much damage. After defeating the foes, make your way down to the Mine area.

Inside the Mine, there are several powerful Ecliptic enemies, and you’ll need to defeat them to get through to the next section. I recommend using a scoped weapon to eliminate these enemies from a distance as they are scattered around the mine. Follow the linear pathway to reach the lift that leads to the upper floor of CM Station RC-1.

Find the Rothicite Shipment

After using the lift from the Mine, walk through the doors to find the CM Station RC-1 computer. Interact with the computer and select the Shipment folder. Inside this folder, click on the Ryujin Industries file to open it. You’ll learn that the Refined Rothicite shipment was canceled and redirected to the Clinic. A doctor named Kendrick Lane is highlighted in the report suggesting he is currently situated at the medical facility.

Travel to the Clinic in the Narion System

The Clinic is located on the Narion system in the orbit of the planet Deepala. Get back to your ship and grav jump from the Carinae star system to Narion. Once you reach The Clinic, fly closer until the Dock option appears on the screen. Dock on to The Clinic and get inside to investigate what Infinity LTD is up to with the Rothicite shipment.

Discover what Infinity LTD is doing at the Clinic

Once inside The Clinic, head towards the Secure Wing located on the right-hand side from the entrance. A Freestar Ranger will be guarding the entrance to the Secure Wing and you can persuade this character to gain access. If you have skills like Persuasion and Medicine unlocked, you’ll get the dialogue choices shown in the image above.

I used the Medicine dialogue choice that says “I’m part of a confidential medical task force.” to convince the guard. During the persuasion checks, make sure to choose dialogue options that reflect the emergency without intimidating or being uncivil with the guard.

How to gain access to Dr. Lane’s computer in Starfield

After entering the Security Wing, you’ll need to locate the stolen Refined Rothicite Shipment and access Dr. Lane’s computer to learn more about Infinity’s plans. I sneaked around Dr. Lane’s office by becoming invisible and stole the Refined Rothicite Shipment. Likewise, to access his computer, I used a Digipick to crack the lock. Sneaking around in these objective areas can save a lot of time as you don’t have to engage with NPCs or enemies.

Alternatively, you can get inside the Security Wing and lie to the doctors. Select dialogue options that suggest that your character is an operative from Infinity LTD and has come to The Clinic to get an update. Having the Security skill unlocked also gives you an extra dialogue choice with Dr. Lane where you can access his computer without needing to lockpick it.

Project Dominion

Once you gain access to Dr. Lane’s computer, open the folder called Project Dominion. Read through the notes to learn Infinity’s plans with the internal neuroamp. They have been conducting unauthorized human trials to perfect the product, and it has killed several innocents. Reading this file completes the objective, and you’ll need to report to Veena back at Ryujin Industries. Before leaving Dr. Lane’s room, make sure to retrieve the Refined Rothicite Shipment kept on the table opposite the computer.

Return to Veena at Ryujin Towers

After collecting all the information and retrieving the shipment, return to Veena on the Research and Development floor of Ryujin Towers. Speak to the NPC and hand over the Refined Rothicite. Masako asks you about Infinity LTD plans, inform her about the Ecliptic enemies at the CM Station RC-1. Explain how Infinity is using The Clinic as a base to perform illegal experiments on humans to get the internal neuroamp working.

Inform how Dr. Lane’s unsuccessful experiments on live subjects have left a blood trail. Masako informs you that she has called a board meeting to root out the mole. If you saved Imogene back during the Guilty Parties mission, you’ll get a chance to bring her back to the office by speaking up at the board meeting.

The following Sabotage mission for Ryujin gives you a chance to get the internal neuroamp by performing surgery. I highly recommend getting the surgery as the internal neuroamp allows you to manipulate NPCs, enemies, and other characters.

Keep in mind, if Sarah Morgan is following you during this conversation then she will dislike Masako’s remarks. Getting dislike responses on different situations from companions reduces your chances of romancing them. I’d recommend asking this companion to wait at an isolated spot before speaking to Masako and Veena at Ryujin Towers.

Starfield: The Key Ingredient Mission Rewards

You’ll be rewarded with the following for completing The Key Ingredient mission for the Ryujin faction:

• 250 XP
• Med Pack (Two)
• 4,000 Credits
• Digipicks (Two)