Starfield Mantis – Puzzle Code, Razorleaf Ship and Suit

Mantis Mission Overview

Mission type: Miscellaneous mission
Prerequisite: None, the mission triggers from a random item drop
Starts: By reading the “Secret Outpost!” slate looted from a Spacer
Location: Lair of the Mantis, Denebola I-b, Denebola system
Recommended level: Around 20, though it is doable earlier on lower difficulty
Completed at: The Razorleaf on the landing pad outside the lair
Rewards: The Razorleaf starship, plus the Mantis spacesuit, space helmet and pack

There is one puzzle in this mission and a lot of combat. The enemies do not scale down for you, so you can easily pick this mission up at level 8 and walk into Spacers and robots more than twice your level. The floor puzzle near the end of the lair is the only part that can kill you instantly regardless of your gear, so read that section before you step on anything.

1 – Read the Secret Outpost Slate

Mission Text:
“I found a note about a Secret Outpost on a dead Spacer. Might be worth a read.”

The slate is a random drop carried by Spacer enemies. The most reliable place to find one is the Nova Galactic Staryard during The Old Neighborhood, since there are a lot of bodies to loot in a small space, but any Spacer can have it.

Picking the slate up is not enough. Open your inventory, go to the Notes tab and read “Secret Outpost!” to add Mantis to your mission log. Until you read it, the outpost will not appear on the Starmap.

2 – Go to the Secret Outpost at Denebola I-B

Mission Text:
“A dead Spacer had a note about a Secret Outpost on Denebola I-b wit a “once in a lifetime opportunity.” I should investigate.”

Set a course for the Denebola system and select Denebola I-b. The Secret Outpost landing site is marked for you once the mission is active.

Denebola is reachable early, but the mission does not care how low your level is. Stock up on ammo and med packs before you land. If you are under level 15, consider dropping the difficulty for this one, or bringing a companion to soak up damage.

3 – Explore the Lair of the Mantis

Mission Text:
“I landed on Denebola I-b and a Spacer warned me to leave the “Lair of the Mantis” before he attacked me. Mantis? Lair? There’s a mystery here.”

A Spacer greets you at the landing site and warns you to leave before opening fire. Ignoring him is the only way forward.

Clear the welcoming committee outside the compound, then head in and follow the path down towards the mission marker. The Spacers out here sit around level 8 to 15, with the occasional Spacer Punk or Spacer Vulture noticeably higher. The corridors are narrow enough that you can pull them one or two at a time instead of fighting the whole outpost at once, and grenades work well in the cramped rooms.

Some of these Spacers carry rare and epic weapons, so it is worth looting as you go rather than sprinting for the marker.

4 – Learn More About the Lair of the Mantis (Optional)

Mission Text:
“I landed on Denebola I-b and a Spacer warned me to leave the “Lair of the Mantis” before he attacked me. Mantis? Lair? There’s a mystery here.”

This objective is optional, but the slates are the best part of the mission and one of them gives you the answer to the puzzle ahead. There are four things to find on the way down.

Leon Voclain – Sic Semper Tyrannis is carried by a high level Spacer Vulture. Open your scanner and it shows up as a mission marker. Leon was a Spacer who worked out who the Mantis really was and came here to claim the lair for himself. The title of this slate is the puzzle answer, so do not skip it.

The comms system nearby plays an automated message.

Leon Voclain – Mantis Revealed is on a second Spacer Vulture further down.

Leon’s final recording is on his body, lying on the floor further down still. He did not make it past his own family’s security.

Should You Trust Livvey in Starfield?

Talk to the scared person in the same room as Leon. Livvey. He will tell you that there is a trap ahead with letters on the floor that spell a word.

Talk to him and he tells you what is waiting ahead: a corridor with letters on the floor that spell a word, and turrets covering the far end. He knows the trap is there, he does not know the answer.

Your options:

Let him live and leave him behind. The safest choice. He stays put, you keep the information he gave you, and nothing about the mission changes.

Kill him. There is no mission penalty and no reward for doing it. He is a Spacer, so your companion may have an opinion, but the mission plays out identically.

Take him with you. He follows you towards the puzzle corridor. This is the option that can go wrong, because a follower stepping on the wrong tile can set the turrets off while you are still in the room.

Livvey is not required for anything. If you already know the word, you can walk straight past him.

Mantis Floor Puzzle Solution and Lair Code

At the end of the corridor there is a room with lettered tiles across the floor and turrets mounted on the far wall. Step on the wrong letter and every turret opens up at once, which is an instant death at almost any level.

The word is TYRANNIS. It comes from the title of the slate you looted upstairs, Leon Voclain – Sic Semper Tyrannis.

If you would rather skip the tiles entirely, there is a computer at the end of the corridor. Hacking it disables the trap, so if your Security skill is up to it you can walk straight through. Both routes get you into the lair.

Past the door the Spacers stop, but the lair itself is defended. Expect robo sentries, robo dogs and more turrets, all at a higher level than the humans you have been fighting.

5 – Claim the Mantis’ Spacesuit

Mission Text:
“I arrived at the heart of the Lair of the Mantis. No more traps. This was meant to be for the Mantis’s son, Leon. Instead it’s all mine.”

Enter the cave and turn left into a room with lockers. The next room along holds the Mantis spacesuit on a mannequin inside a display case. Interact with it to take the spacesuit, the space helmet and the pack.

The legendary traits on all three pieces are rolled when you open the case, not fixed. If you want a better set, save just before you interact with the mannequin and reload until you get traits you actually want. The base armour values stay the same, only the traits change.

6 – Claim the Mantis’ Starship

Mission Text:
“I arrived at the heart of the Lair of the Mantis. No more traps. This was meant to be for the Mantis’s son, Leon. Instead it’s all mine.”

Head towards the ship and find the Starship Lift Controls switch. Use it to send the Razorleaf up to the surface.

Before you leave, sweep the lair. There is loot scattered around the hangar and the side rooms that is easy to walk past once the ship is on its way up.

7 – Go to the Mantis’ Starship

Mission Text:
“I’ve explored the Lair of the Mantis and found the Mantis’s suit and ship. I pressed a button and raised the ship to the surface, so I should go check that out.”

Follow the mission marker to the exit. Take the elevator, then interact with the computer at the secure door to open it and leave the lair.

Walk up to the round landing platform where the Razorleaf is now sitting. Boarding it completes the mission. You do not need to register the ship to fly it or modify it, and it becomes your home ship as soon as you take control.

Mantis Rewards – Razorleaf and Mantis Spacesuit

The Razorleaf

A Class A legendary ship, and one of the strongest things you can be flying this early. Its standout feature is a shielded cargo hold fitted as standard, which drops your chances of being scanned and caught carrying contraband. The trade offs are a small crew capacity of two and a modest jump range of around 19 light years.

One quirk worth knowing: Spacers and Crimson Fleet pilots recognise the ship and sometimes flee rather than fight you, because they think the Mantis is at the controls. It is a nice touch, but it costs you XP when they grav jump away instead of dying.

There is also a hidden armoury inside the Razorleaf that only opens while you are wearing the Mantis set aboard the ship. Put the suit and helmet on before you go looking for it.

The Mantis Suit Set

Three legendary pieces: the Mantis Spacesuit, the Mantis Space Helmet and the Mantis Pack. The suit sits around 115 to 120 physical, 80 to 85 energy and 100 EM, which is far above anything else you will have in the early game. The helmet and pack are proportionally strong.

The prefix and the legendary traits are randomised per playthrough, which is why you will see the suit called Incendiary, Mechanized, Repulsing or Mirrored in different guides. Traits you can roll include Chameleon (you blend into the environment while sneaking and standing still), Mechanized and Fastened (extra carry capacity), Resource Hauler (resources weigh less), Combat Veteran (reduced damage from human enemies), Ablative (reduced energy damage) and Mirrored (a chance to reflect attacks).

Known Issues With Mantis

A few problems come up regularly on this mission.

The most common one is not a bug at all. If the Secret Outpost does not show on your Starmap, you have picked the slate up but not read it. Open your inventory, go to Notes and read it.

If the slate never drops, keep looting Spacers. It is a random drop and there is no fixed body that always carries it, so clearing a Spacer-heavy location like the Nova Galactic Staryard is the fastest way to force it.

If the turrets in the puzzle room stay hostile after you have spelled the word correctly, reloading a save from before you entered the corridor is the reliable fix. The same applies if a follower or Livvey trips them while you are still lining up your first tile.

If the Razorleaf does not register as yours, make sure you have actually boarded it and taken the pilot seat rather than just walking up to the landing pad.