From the very first moments of The Outer Worlds 2, you’re introduced to Augustine de Vries, an agent of the Earth Directorate and the mastermind behind the Horizon Point mission. After completing that mission, you discover that Augustine’s tough exterior hides her true intent: she has betrayed everyone, leaving you, Niles, and others for dead.
Now, you’ve tracked her down to Greater Tranquility Station. De Vries is still determined to stop the alliance between Auntie’s Choice and The Order. She plans to assassinate their delegates to prevent the two from joining forces. But you don’t have to worry about her plans; your main goal is to bring her to justice.
### Preparing For The Fiends In High Places Quest
Before jumping into the main story, it’s important to get ready. Once you complete this mission, you can’t return to Greater Tranquility Station, so make sure you’ve done everything you need to beforehand. Be confident in the companions you bring because you won’t be able to change them after landing.
You also won’t be able to leave the station once the mission starts, so finish any side tasks, especially companion quests, before you begin. How you handle Seer Wiley in On The Trail of a Traitor will influence enemy behavior during this quest — if you saved the Order members, Wiley will have sent de Vries station codes, giving her control over the station’s automechs. If you have enough Hack skill points, disabling the automechs becomes easier, making the fight simpler.
Bringing Niles along will significantly influence the final showdown with de Vries. He has a long-standing grudge against her and is unlikely to be sympathetic. Consider whether you want to have him as a companion, depending on how you feel about Augustine.
### Exploring The Greater Tranquility Station
You start at the station’s landing zone, where a ship belonging to Augustine is parked opposite yours. If you have the Scrapper Perk, you can interact with the satellite on her ship. Otherwise, there’s little to do here — just head inside.
Once inside, you’ll meet a soldier you can talk to. Failing skill checks here means fighting, but otherwise, you can download the Greater Tranquility Station Targeting Protocol from a terminal, which will be useful later. Grab the station fuse and insert it into the nearby console to activate the platform that takes you to the first station section.
#### First Section
This part features a large room with enemies and automechs. Using the Targeting Protocol, you can make the automechs target everyone, including enemies, which might help you in the fight. You can also disable the automechs completely with enough Hack skill, preventing them from attacking altogether.
A traitor in this area will have a keycard for Greater Tranquility Maintenance Access, so pick it up to expand your exploration. There’s a hidden door on the east side of the lower section that only high Observation skill or a companion like Tristan can open, revealing a small room with useful items such as the Tranquility Staff Log and Erica Wang Pitchball Card.
From here, you can either use the maintenance card to access the area below or hack a console further ahead — both routes lead to the same destination: another fuse station. Use Tactical Time Dilation to slow down a nearby fan and walk through it to retrieve a fuse if needed. Slot the fuse into the console before crossing to the second station section.
#### Second Section
This area contains no enemies initially, offering a chance to gather items from lockers and examine the environment. The vendor mech here offers valuable items like an Advanced Decryption Key and Black Hat, which lets you hack automechs from afar — if you’re skilled enough to open his door, you can take them for free.
Proceed across the platform, which requires a fuse to operate. Use an extra fuse found in an open room or one you brought with you; in some cases, you might find a fuse near a moving fan, which you can slow down with Tactical Time Dilation. Use the fuse to activate the platform further along the station.
In the next room, you’ll face Verachnid Mines. Quickly eliminate these before they destroy themselves. Take note of notes from Mechanist De Soto explaining their purpose and use the Gas-Energy Deflection Apparatus to avoid poison.
Cross the platform to reach the final station area.
#### Final Section
This large, ominous space is filled with red mist and massive machines you can’t approach. Before proceeding, pick up the Siri Xie Pitchball Card from a container and examine any notepads if you have the necessary Skills. Climb the stairs, where you’ll be immediately detected and forced into a ranged battle. Long-range weapons like Snipers will be very effective here, but it’s not necessary to defeat all enemies right away — it will make the final phase easier.
Before climbing, hack the assembly line consoles behind the stairs to disable automechs, limiting the number that can spawn during the boss fight. Use your Hack skill points to disable some or all bays. Then, activate the bridge by removing fuses on each end, opening the lower rooms where these fuses must be placed. Use Tactical Time Dilation to walk through fans and insert the fuses.
Afterward, the bridge will connect both sides. Clear out remaining enemies in the area, then proceed through the door into the elevator for the last phase.
### Confronting De Vries
Once you step into the final room, you’ll hear a debate between delegates. Save your game here, as your conversation choices will heavily influence how things unfold. Augustine quickly focuses her attention on you, and you’re free to kill her at any time. She’s not a tough opponent but listening to her explanation may reveal her motivations.
She tells you about the rifts destroying the Arcadia star system and claims the rift modulator is necessary to control them. In her view, only the corrupted version of The Order can be trusted to manage it — she believes their current state is misguided, and that preventing a peace deal now is the only way to truly prevent mutual destruction.
If Niles is in your group, he’ll strongly urge you not to trust her. If you’ve spoken with him about Augustine beforehand, he’ll try to calm you down. You can also remind him of the advice you gave him earlier in the game; he’ll reference it directly, affecting his responses.
You have two choices: support Augustine or oppose her. Supporting her will lead to her killing the delegates and leaving her plans in your hands, ensuring no future peace between the factions. Opposing her will require killing Augustine, preventing the delegate assassinations, and possibly setting the stage for an alliance between Auntie’s Choice and The Order if you assist both factions enough. This won’t be a full peace but will extend the ceasefire and set up future negotiations.
### Escaping The Greater Tranquility Station
No matter your choice, the station’s rift begins to expand, gradually consuming the station itself — a disastrous outcome. Aza, even with her fascination with the rift, advises caution. Before escaping, make sure to collect any loot dropped by de Vries, including her unique Sniper Rifle, The Simplifier, which has an effective range of 25,000 meters, near-perfect accuracy, and a multi-level zoom scope — a truly formidable weapon.
The escape route becomes considerably faster as the station starts to collapse. New paths open as the station is torn apart, allowing a direct shot back to your ship. Quickly board your ship and watch as the station is swallowed by the expanding rift.
Looking into the sky afterward, you can see the enlarged rift on any planet — a strange, striking sight.
With de Vries’s story wrapped up, two new planets are unlocked for travel. If Niles survived, be sure to talk to him; depending on your decisions, he’ll have feelings and thoughts he might want to share.
