The Key Ingredient – Starfield Ryujin Industries Mission Walkthrough

Mission Overview

Faction: Ryujin Industries
Previous Mission: Guilty Parties
Next Mission: Sabotage
Starts: automatically once Guilty Parties ends
Locations: Ryujin Tower (Neon, Volii Alpha), CM Station RC-1 (Carinae III-A), The Clinic (Narion)
Useful Skills: Persuasion, Medicine, Security

How to Start the Mission

Dalton Fiennes has taken Imogene slate from Guilty Parties away for analysis. While he works on it, the new CEO wants a word with you, and The Key Ingredient registers automatically the moment that conversation ends.

1 – Meet Masako in Veena Kalra’s Office

Mission Text:
“Dalton told me Masako wanted to see me in Veena’s office on the Research and Development floor. I should go speak with her.”

This walkthrough follows the path where Masako becomes the new CEO. Your version may name someone else depending on the choices you made in Guilty Parties, but the objectives and the route are identical either way.

Take the Ryujin Industries elevator to the Research and Development floor. Masako is visible from the moment you step out, in the ground floor office on the left, with Veena Kalra beside her.

Veena is building the Internal Neuroamp for Project Dominion, and the alloy that shields it needs refined rothicite. A shipment went missing. Recovering it is your job.

If Camden Cho is still employed at Ryujin, he hands you a CM Station RC-1 keycard during this conversation. Take it.

2 – Travel to Carinae III-A

Mission Text:
“I need to travel to the moon Carinae III-a in the Carinae System, then find out what happened to the station and locate the rothicite shipment.”

Head to your ship and set a course for Carinae III-A, the first moon orbiting Carinae III. On the starmap it sits in the far north-west of the galaxy, a long jump from Neon on Volii Alpha, though any starting ship will get there. Land at CM Station RC-1.

3 – Enter the CM Station RC-1 Mine

Mission Text:
“I’ve landed on Carinae III-a. I need to enter the Consolidated Mining station and make my way to the research and control tower through the mine.”

Ecliptic mercenaries have taken the station and they open fire on sight, so top up ammo and healing before you leave the ship. Enemy levels vary widely here, with a couple of high level captains mixed in among the rank and file, so check the level next to each health bar before you commit to a fight.

Clear the surface, then enter the main building and head downstairs. The elevator at the bottom takes you into the mine.

4 – Discover What Happened at CM Station RC-1

Mission Text:
“I need to find out what happened to the station personnel and location the rothicite shipment.”

Follow the marker through the mine, fighting Ecliptic as you go, until you reach a second elevator. Loot as you move, since there is decent gear scattered through the tunnels.

Ride the elevator further down and enter the control room. Several Ecliptic are waiting inside, including their commander.

Search the strongest Ecliptic body for the Contract Orders, then open your inventory and read the file under “Notes”. It names Infinity LTD as the client and confirms the rothicite was rerouted to The Clinic. The CM Station RC-1 computer in the same room tells you the same thing, so either one clears the objective.

Nobody at this station survived. The Ecliptic contract was kill on sight, and the bodies are exactly where the miners fell.

When you are done looting, leave through the emergency exit at the back of the room.

5 – Travel to the Clinic in the Narion System

Mission Text:
“Infinity LTD hired Ecliptic to find the rothicite shipment and reroute it to the Clinic. They left no one alive. I need to get to the Clinic to retrieve the shipment and bring it back to Veena.”

Return to your ship and grav jump to the Narion system, south-east of Carinae on the starmap. The Clinic is a station in orbit of Deepala. Fly towards it until the dock prompt appears, dock, and step inside.

6 – Retrieve the Rothicite

Mission Text:
“I arrived at The Clinic. I need to figure out where the rothicite shipment is and discover why Infinity LTD sent it here.”

Follow the marker and a Freestar guard stops you at the Secure Wing door. There are four ways past him.

Persuade him. A successful Persuasion check gets you the Secure Wing Access Key directly.

Use the Medicine skill. If you have Medicine, an extra dialogue option appears and works the same way.

Bribe him. He accepts credits, and he also accepts Aurora if you happen to be carrying any.

Get him to walk away. The route below, and the one this walkthrough uses.

Talk to Ari Miller, the administrator standing in the centre of The Clinic. He lets slip that the guard has a crush on Doctor Osian.

Return to the guard and take the new dialogue option: lie that Doctor Osian sent you. It is a mean trick, but it works, and he leaves his post.

With the guard gone, the door is a Novice lock. Pick it and go through.

Inside, head for the room with the two mission markers. Sean McAfee stops you at the door. Choose the [Lie] option and say Infinity LTD wants a progress update, and he sends you through to Doctor Kendrick Lane.

Lie to Doctor Lane the same way and ask for a verbal update. He explains what Infinity LTD has been running here: unauthorised human trials, in a race to finish their own version of the Internal Neuroamp before Ryujin does. That clears the second objective. A Medicine or Persuasion answer works here too if you prefer.

Take the rothicite only after that conversation. The shipment sits in a case on the desk by the window, and grabbing it before you have talked your way through turns the entire Clinic hostile and forces you to shoot your way out. If you would rather avoid the dialogue altogether, wait for both medics to leave the room and take the case then.

7 – Return to Veena at Ryujin Tower

Mission Text:
“I retrieved the rothicite shipment and discovered Infinity LTD was performing unauthorized human trials in the Clinic. I need to report back to Veena and Masako.”

Fly back to Neon and take the elevator to Research and Development. Hand the shipment to Veena so she can finish the alloy.

Masako speaks to you straight afterwards. Tell her what Infinity LTD is doing at The Clinic, and she sends you up to the executive floor, which starts Sabotage, the next mission in the Ryujin Industries questline.

The Key Ingredient FAQ

Where is the rothicite shipment in The Key Ingredient?
Infinity LTD rerouted it to The Clinic, a station orbiting Deepala in the Narion system. It is in a case on the desk in the Secure Wing office, in front of Doctor Kendrick Lane.

How do you get into the Secure Wing at The Clinic?
Four ways: pass a Persuasion check, use a Medicine dialogue option, bribe the guard with credits or Aurora, or talk to Ari Miller and then lie that Doctor Osian sent for the guard. The last option leaves a Novice lock on the door.

What happens if you take the rothicite without talking to Doctor Lane?
Security is alerted and The Clinic turns hostile, so you have to fight your way back to your ship. Talk to Sean McAfee and Doctor Lane first, or wait until both leave the room.

Where is CM Station RC-1?
On Carinae III-A, the first moon orbiting Carinae III in the Carinae system, in the far north-west of the starmap.

What mission comes after The Key Ingredient?
Sabotage. It registers as soon as Masako finishes speaking to you on the Research and Development floor.