The Frightened Engineer was the first quest in The Outer Worlds which made me take a wrong turn. It’s not difficult by any stretch of the imagination and most of this quest is actually really easy thanks to the waypoints, but collecting the second book in this quest took me way longer than it should have and I’m kind of embarrassed about it, especially considering the waypoint takes you directly to it. Anyway, just in case anyone else has found themselves in a similar situation, I’ve put together this guide:
Finding the Guide to Mechanical Engineering Volume 1
The first volume is easy to find within the community center. Take out the bad guys as you enter (be careful because they’re actually pretty tough, depending on the difficulty you’re playing on) and head upstairs and you’ll find Volume 1 sitting on a desk (you can’t miss it thanks to the big blue waypoint).
Finding the Guide to Mechanical Engineering Volume 2
The second volume can be found back at Edgewater. To find it, head into the Saltuna Cannery building and take an immediate left and go through the door (it’s easy to think you should go up to Reeds Office as that’s where the marker is). Once you’ve gone through the door, head up the stairs directly in front of you. Once at the top, ignore the first door and follow the catwalk around until you reach another door, enter and you’ll see Volume 2 sitting on the filing cabinets in front of you (video below). As well as the second Volume, there’s also a supply crate under the desk which you can lockpick your way into.
Finding the Guide to Mechanical Engineering Volume 3
The third and final volume can be found at the Geotherml Power Plant. It’s right at the bottom of the silo where you first meet the crazy guy (Higgins). You’ll see all his belongings there and it’s right next to his bedroll, as you can see below:
Completing the Quest
Once you’ve collected all three Volumes you can return them to Thomas Kemp and complete the quest. It’s important to note that *Spoiler* no matter which side you choose to take out of the Deserters and Edgewater, the option to hand in and complete the quest will always be there, so feel free to complete the main story line quest while you’re at the Geothermal Plant and choose whichever side you originally planned on choosing.
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