The Amateur Alchemist

Your friend's guide to The Amateur Alchemist quest in The Outer Worlds. Learn how to start, navigate the Covert Lab, and recover Raptidon Musk.

Alright, let's get this 'Amateur Alchemist' quest sorted out in The Outer Worlds. It's a bit of a trek, but totally doable. You'll be heading to Terra 2, specifically the Roseway area.

How to Start: First things first, you need to get the ball rolling. During the 'Passage to Anywhere' quest, make sure you chat with Gladys on Groundbreaker. She'll give you the starting point for 'The Distress Signal.' Complete that little bit, which lets you access Roseway on Terra 2. Once you land, head over to the town of Roseway itself and find Vaughn Cortes. He's the guy who kicks off 'The Amateur Alchemist' for you.

Vaughn's got a bit of a sticky situation. He was trying to extract Raptidon musk for an aphrodisiac – fancy, right? – when his lab got raided. The stuff is valuable, so he's asking you to go back and grab it for him.

Walkthrough:

Your main goal now is to get to the Covert Lab. It's located towards the southern end of the map. Fun fact: this is the same lab you'll visit for 'The Doom that Came to Roseway' quest, so there's a good bit of overlap. If you're doing both, you can follow the same path.

Head south from Roseway town, following the road. You'll pass the Auntie-Biotics Lab. Keep your eyes peeled and try to avoid any marauders or raptidons hanging around – they can be a real nuisance. You'll eventually hit a fork in the road down in the southeastern part of the map. This area is usually crawling with marauders, so be ready.

Take the southern path at the fork. This will lead you to an entrance of the Covert Lab. You might see a character named Lillian standing guard here. If you want to pick up another quest, 'Journey Into Smoke,' you can chat with her, but it's not essential for this particular objective.

From where Lillian is, head uphill towards the south. You're looking for another entrance to the Covert Lab – this one is a ventilation duct in the ground. Once you're inside, follow the walkway heading east. You'll pass through a barred door, then make a turn south and go through another door. From here, the path continues into the lab, where you'll need to secure that Raptidon Musk for Vaughn.