The Outer Worlds 2like its predecessor, is not the traditional open world, built more around open zones that give you a certain degree of freedom to explore, but is mostly linear so that you are never completely lost, but have the freedom to see everything within reach when you want. That said, there are still some little secrets for you to find on the various planets of Arcadia.
When you land down on the Cloister, you are taken to the stronghold of The Order of the Ascendant. And they are, well, a little detached from reality, this war from the front of the battle. So unhinged are they that one of the Order's members, Laureate Beckett, even asks you to explore the Cloister to find some audio logs in the chapels around the planet. It will bring peace.
How to start deviations under duress
When you land at the Cloister, your first order of business is to do get to Laplace Garden to meet the order representatives, and maybe even get an audience with Presiding Bishop Ruth Basaar if you can make it. Of course, Laplace Garden has a lot more to offer you too, including a population that seems obsessed with ignoring the fact that a war is literally going on outside the walls of their garden.
Even the senior members of the Order act in this way, although perhaps with a little more awareness of what is actually happening. One such person is laureate Beckettwho can be found meditating by the water in Laplace Garden. He asks, in his infinite wisdom, if you happen to come across them, to collect the audio logs left by those who presided over the Excogitation Chapels around the Cloister. They can help bring peace to the Order and, in an admission few others in Laplace can manage, can even help with the war effort against Auntie's Choice.
Of course, Beckett knows you're no Order member, and this is a somewhat monumental task, so he promises you a reward for returning all these logs to him too.
You can find the chapels and their logs before taking on this questbut at least this will make it easier to keep track of it.
Where to find all Excogitation Chapel audio logs
So in total, there are four Excogitation Chapels to findand a single audio log is in each. Beckett makes it sound like there might be more than one, even though that's not the case. They are scattered around the world a bit oddly, with three of them on the east side of the map, and the only one on the west side surrounded by the story progress.
There's almost always something for each of them that makes it a little more difficult than just going in, so here's a quick guide on where to find each one and how to get the audio log.
Excogitation Chapel #1 – Sojourner's Log (North)
The first of the Excogitation Chapels is in the northern part of the mapon the east side of the bridge. The chapel itself has no enemies around it or a large puzzle to reach. There are just some tough enemies on the way. Crossing the northern bridge will require you to bypass the Mantisaurs and the zyranium poisoning, so make sure you have the Gas-Energy Deflector Shield handy.
You can also go along south for an easier time, although this is a much bigger detour. Once you are at the chapel itself, you will encounter a wonderful broken door that can only be opened with the Brawny Trait, or four points in Engineering Skill. If you miss them, you'll have to make your way around the back, climb through the ventilation systems, exit through a door on the upper level, and then enter another door to finally enter the chapel.
Once inside, you can find one Advanced Decryption Key on the table at the lowest level. Level up and you'll find the Sojourner's log you're looking for. There is also a top level Order Scientist for some reason. They have no unique dialogue. If you have hacking, you can also activate the elevator to get down to the basement, although it's just generic Order gear down here.
Excogitation Chapel #2 – Sojourner's Log (Northeast)
The second Excogitation Chapel you can find is in the far east, although the chapel would refer to it being in the northeast. Go figure. This is due east and a little south of the former Excogitation Chapel, and is as far east as the map takes you. This one is very isolated from everything else, including other fast travel, so make sure you're prepared before traveling here.
You can approach this chapel from either the north or the south. This is important because it is flooded with Scrappers and packed with minesalso. So more than likely this is a firefight waiting to happen. One of your prize targets, Buckshot Bill, is also the leader of this small camp, so take him down while you're here.
The door to the chapel is locked, but you can open it with either one Lockpick skill at 17or by simply looting the key from Buckshot Bill, either from his corpse or through pickpocketing. Once inside, you can find one Advanced Decryption Key on the table, as well Hugging vest heavy armor upstairs. The Sojourner's Log will be right next to it.
As before, there's another panel you can hack to unlock a secret room, though it's just a simple Order Gear.
Excogitation Chapel #3 – Sojourner's Log (Southeast)
The next Excogitation Chapel is found in the southeast, just east of Winter's Grasp. It is by far the easiest to reach actually, you just have to walk around a bit. You will see the chapel on the hill above you with a rope dangling down from it. You can't use this rope, but if you weave around to the right, you'll find some scaffolding you can climb, leading directly to the chapel. Just find the many mantisaurus lurking here.
Once you're up, just enter, no other challenges. Sojourner's log will rest on a table. Just like before, there is a panel you can hack to open a secret room. This one has one Tossball cards inside however, making it potentially missed.
Excogitation Chapel #4 – Sojourner's Log (Southwest)
The last Excogitation Chapel, and the only one found in the western cloisteris also one you cannot reach from the surface. It is on top of a large hill with sheer edges all around. So how do you achieve it? From the Archive. And that means you must have closed the crack on the bridge and entered it, and you wanted to finish the negotiations between Aunt Cleo and Ruth Basaar before doing all that.
Once inside, you will eventually be taken to an area called the Underlands. Here you can pick up a few more quests, including one that lets you activate the lift back to the surface. Once this is done, only take the west elevator back up and you will be on top of the previously inaccessible hill.
The chapel itself can go straight into, the act of reaching that challenge enough. Once inside you can find another one Advanced Decryption Key on a corpse and a secret panel that lets you bypass the stuck door if you have high enough observation skills. Turn around to find the last Sojourner's log on the crates.
Return to Laureate Beckett for your reward
Return to laureate Beckett now in Laplace Garden. Although he is grateful that you collected the logs, he is furious at their contents. They speak of heresy, the sort of thing that would undermine faith in the Order and its path to completely solving the Universa equation. So he chooses to destroy them. This is not something you have a say in. But don't worry, you still get a reward – another one Lock box with high security.
