The Last Caretaker Walkthrough: Story Route, Skills, and Survival

The Last Caretaker is a first-person survival-crafting game in which most progress comes from restoring systems rather than simply reaching a quest marker. A locked facility may need power, authorization, repaired machinery, a new cable type, and materials from an earlier location. The campaign then grows from one working boat into the recovery of Human Seeds, the Lazarus program, orbital launches, committees, and Project Eden.

This walkthrough follows the main story from Sanctuary Dock 37 through the first launch, then organizes the substantial Early Access side and update content into a sensible order. It reflects Update 5.0, New Horizons, which was live when the sources were checked. Early Access balance, recipes, coordinates, and bug behavior can change. Treat the live quest log, machine tooltip, and build menu as the final authority if a later patch disagrees with a number here.

Story route at a glance#

Stage	Main objective	Do not leave without
Sanctuary Dock 37	Restore the hangar, repair the boat, and learn recycling	A Dismantle Tool, spare cables, renewable power, batteries, storage, fuel, and ideally level 3
Navigation Beacon 49	Repair the array, charge the relay, and reveal Lazarus	A repaired shortcut ladder, a working day-and-night power plan, and the authorization from the terminal
Lazarus Complex	Power the complex, repair one Lazarus Rack, and restore its relay	One dependable rack, water planning, a save at the hall, and the Norfolk Grave marker
Norfolk Grave and Prometheus	Find the vault authorization and recover one Human Seed	Pressure upgrades, a pod, a fast return route, and an empty working rack
First human	Supply the rack with power, fresh water, food, and memories	A confirmed human result and a portable pod for transport
Exodus Station	Prepare the rocket and complete the first orbital delivery	Gas Cables, a fuel-production plan, payload collectibles if wanted, and a manual save before launch
Last Listener	Repair four arrays and reveal the wider Seed Vault network	Strong weapons, portable power, healing, and enough repair materials for all four arrays
Update routes	Unlock companions, committees, jetski, gyro, Eden, oil, and deep-water tools	Security levels, scanner tools, stored rare materials, and separate saves before irreversible choices

Before leaving Sanctuary Dock 37#

The opening dock is unusually resource-rich and mostly safe once its power is restored. Leaving as soon as the hangar opens is possible, but it makes Beacon 49 harder and can turn the first voyage into an electricity or fuel emergency. Use the dock as a tutorial base and complete this checklist first.

• Save in more than one slot. The Backup Station is not an autosave. Make a new slot before a long voyage, before taking a Human Seed from refrigeration, and before a major choice.
• Unlock the Dismantle Tool early. Carrying a chair or robot back to a Recycler is slower than converting distant objects to scraps and processing those scraps later.
• Build both solar and wind generation. Solar production stops at night. Wind covers the dark hours and keeps the boat from becoming a powerless storage barge.
• Carry a Small Battery and Consumable Batteries. The Small Battery can temporarily run a terminal or facility; consumables prevent internal charge from reaching zero.
• Keep spare Electric Cables and at least one Extender. A source, extender, outlet, and machine may require several cable segments. Five-meter cables disappear quickly in a large facility.
• Sort storage by job. Keep common repair materials near the exit, rare metals in a protected container, weapons and healing together, and fluids in their proper tanks.
• Charge and fuel above the quest minimum. The next marker is not the only power cost. Detours, night generation, bad weather, and a damaged engine can consume the reserve.

How power actually flows

Most power problems are direction or topology problems, not missing electricity. Trace the route in one direction: generator or battery to extender, extender to facility outlet, interior outlet to the target machine. Inspect any cable that looks connected but carries nothing; it may be set to input where output is required. A building’s main switch also has to be repaired and flipped after the source is attached.

Symptom	Likely cause	Fix
Machine shows no input	Cable direction is reversed or an extender has no live source	Start at the generator, verify output, and check each segment in order
Doors remain locked	The local switch is damaged, off, or on a different circuit	Repair the switch, power the main outlet, then flip it
Solar system worked earlier	Night arrived or weather reduced output	Add wind generation or a charged buffer battery
Portable battery empties mid-puzzle	Too many devices share a small source	Isolate the required door or terminal, or bring a second battery
Boat will not move	Anchor is down, engine toggle is off, or both reserves are empty	Raise anchor, enable one motor, and verify its matching gauge

Opening walkthrough: From Darkness, Light to Vessel of Tomorrow#

1. Open the sleeping room and find the cable room. The nearby bedroom contains the Electric Cables needed to link the Medium Battery to the first powered outlet. Connect the source, then use the wall switch.
2. Visit the Heal and Backup room. Attach the Backup Machine to the Caretaker before doing risky traversal. Keep internal battery charge above zero; actions consume it and health begins to fall when charge is exhausted.
3. Move the boxes blocking the route. Drag heavy objects that cannot be lifted. Take the elevator or the ladder route upward; the ladder platforms include an optional Memory.
4. Break the corruption at the hangar approach. Use the Repair Tool’s melee action until the door is clear, then move the fallen robot and continue to the dock.
5. Enter the hangar power room through the vent. The powered door itself is the trap: remove the vent cover beside it, crawl inside, and connect the two batteries through the floor extender to the outlet. Repair the switch before activating it.
6. Make the dock renewable. The roof has damaged wind and solar equipment. Restoring it is optional for the quest but valuable while dismantling and crafting at the dock.
7. Repair the Diesel Engine. The opening repair requires 3 Plastic and 6 Iron. Install the available engine cylinder; additional matching cylinders improve the appropriate propulsion system.
8. Fill both boat reserves. Connect the dock battery to a blue electrical port and the dock fuel source to a yellow fuel port. Wait beyond the minimum if supplies permit.
9. Open the hangar and raise anchor. Use the upper switch, take the helm, raise the anchor, and steer into open water only after the storage and skill checklist is complete.

Early achievement: the roof route leads to a basketball court. Sink five consecutive shots for Five in the Quiet. Pick up a basketball at least once because it also counts as a Memory item.

First Voyage and Navigation Beacon 49#

Beacon 49 is east of the starting dock and is the first test of a self-sufficient boat. Build a Lumilite solar panel on an unobstructed upper deck, fabricate its parts, and connect it to a boat electrical port. Add wind generation as soon as it is available. Watch for a line of sea mines on the approach and steer around the exposed structure rather than trying to thread the boat through the explosives.

1. Anchor at the beacon dock. Do not touch movement controls after lowering the anchor, because movement raises it again.
2. Clear the corruption and hostile machines around the entrance and panels.
3. Connect the intact exterior generation to the building’s outlet, then continue the circuit from the interior outlet to the main switch.
4. Use the terminal upstairs and acquire Beacon 49 authorization.
5. Climb the array tower. Repair the top electrical assembly with 2 Copper, 4 Iron, and 2 Plastic.
6. Power the Communications Array from the restored circuit and charge it to 2.0 kWh. Solar plus wind is faster and does not stall after sunset.
7. Activate the charged relay to reveal the Lazarus Complex.

A level 3 security door remains for a later visit; Security 3 access is tied to level 15. Lower any shortcut ladders while climbing. The same habit saves a great deal of time in almost every vertical facility.

The Lazarus Complex#

The Lazarus Complex is southeast of Beacon 49. The obvious elevator is dead when you arrive, so the first route is a vertical traversal around the exterior: stairs, a broken walkway, pipes, vents, a drop into water, ladders, red pipework, boxes, and roof platforms. Save whenever a Backup Station becomes available and lower every ladder that can become a return shortcut.

Restore the roof circuit

On the roof, identify the small utility building that contains a Heal Station, Backup Station, Fabricator, and Recycler. Connect its interior cable to the main outlet, then route the exterior cable to repaired solar panels and preferably wind turbines through extenders. Flip the switch and use the now-powered elevator to reach the Hall of Humanity. At the terminal, acquire Hall of Humanity authorization.

Repair the first Lazarus Rack

Any of the four racks can serve as the first working rack. The recorded repair requirement is:

Material	Amount	Planning note
Plastic	20	Common, but bulky if stored as loose objects
Glass	10	Electronics and monitors are useful sources
Iron	15	Reserve extra for array and switch repairs
Rubber	10	Do not spend the entire supply on optional builds
Aluminium	5	Keep refined material separate from scraps
Gold	10	Rare enough to bank before arriving
Carbon Fiber	5	Search and dismantle higher-tech equipment in the complex
Titanium	5	A likely bottleneck; do not waste it on optional gear first

Power the repaired rack with a permanent route if possible. A local generator is fast to set up, but solar and wind from the upper exterior or a repaired lower facility network reduce repeated refueling. A storage container in the hall keeps rack materials from overwhelming character inventory.

Restore the Lazarus relay

Hall authorization opens the relay building on the roof. Climb the tower and repair its top assembly with 4 Iron, 2 Copper, and 2 Plastic. Connect the relay building to generation, run an interior cable to the machine, and let it charge. Activating it reveals Norfolk Grave and other points of interest.

Norfolk Grave, Prometheus, and the first Human Seed#

Norfolk Grave is submerged north of Lazarus. Invest in Pressure before the dive and bring light, charge, and a way to recover health. Enter the lower circular opening, surface inside the ruin, clear the corruption affecting the power assembly, and connect the nearby battery. The terminal grants Seed Vault Prometheus authorization.

At Prometheus, power the exterior entrance, ride down, and enter the lower power room through the blue tube and vent route. The vault corridor contains dense corruption; a Flamethrower or explosives clear it faster than weak single-target fire. Do not remove several seeds merely because the vault contains them.

Seed timer rule: once removed from refrigerated storage, a Human Seed has roughly one hour before it expires. Refrigeration or a powered Lazarus Rack stops the immediate transport problem. On the first trip, take one seed in one Lazarus Pod for the one rack already prepared.

Carry the pod to the boat and return directly to Lazarus. Running the electric and diesel motors together gives maximum speed. Avoid unplanned salvage stops, and do not arrive with the hall’s rack still missing power or water.

Growing a human without wasting a seed#

1. Connect stable electricity. Growth is a process, not a one-time interaction. Use generation that will continue while you travel.
2. Supply fresh water. The durable solution is to repair and connect the complex’s lower pumps. A boat Water Pump and Purifier can also fill portable Fresh Water Containers through Water Cables.
3. Process bio into nutrients. A Soilforge converts biological material into components such as Protein, Fat, Carbohydrates, Calcium, Omega-3, and Vitamin D.
4. Turn nutrients into food. Use the Food Processor and unlocked recipes. Food affects physical and cognitive traits rather than feeding the robotic player character.
5. Add Memories deliberately. Toys, letters, instruments, art objects, documents, and other artifacts contribute personality traits. Read the trait panel rather than dumping every item into the rack.
6. Check the projected human. Later committee work needs specific occupations. Avoid adding an artifact that raises a competing type to the same or a higher probability.
7. Start growth and leave the infrastructure running. Use the wait for salvage, another rack repair, or a nearby objective, then return when growth completes.

The first completed human awards My precious experiment. Preserve a save from before trait items are committed if you want to test recipes without consuming rare Memories.

Enhancement priorities

Enhancement	Best reason to invest	When to pause
Battery	Adds internal capacity; every action consumes charge	When normal facility routes no longer threaten a zero-charge collapse
Power Management	Reduces overall electricity use	After battery endurance feels reliable
Pressure	Extends safe diving capability	After Norfolk Grave; invest again for Theta-9 and deep update locations
Vitality	Adds health for combat, falls, and battery emergencies	When ordinary enemies no longer remove most health in one exchange
Haul Mastery	Raises inventory carry weight	Storage discipline is still more efficient than carrying everything
Improved Hydraulics	Raises the mass of objects that can be physically lifted	Do not confuse this with inventory capacity
Engineering and Scrapper	Speeds building, repair, and dismantling while improving efficiency	Survival stats come first if power or combat is ending runs
Shock Absorber	Reduces fall damage during vertical facilities	A few points help; it is not permission to skip ladders

Exodus Station and the first launch#

After the human finishes growing, follow the southeastern relay chain to reveal Exodus Station. The local beacon includes a stronger machine enemy, so electric weapons and Shock Grenades are useful. Dock at the accessible building, slot the Human Pod at the entrance, power the building, and clear the corruption before carrying the pod through the interior lifts.

Rocket requirements

Resource	Required	Reliable production route
Electricity	60.00 kWh	Repair station wind and solar generation, then add batteries or player-built generation
Methane	3,000 L	Power a Sabatier Reactor and feed it CO2 from a petrol-fueled generator
Oxygen	12,000 L	Feed purified water into the Sabatier system and supplement with an Oxygen Generator
Human payload	1 pod	Carry the fully grown human to the rocket hatch by elevator

Unlock Gas Cables before starting the production chain. Restore the launch-pad power early; unpowered conditions can make the area much more hostile. If the station insists there is no power despite a correct circuit, save, restart the client, reload, and verify the network again. That behavior was reported in the captured Early Access walkthrough and may be fixed in later builds.

Before closing the hatch, add a teddy bear for Peaceful Passenger and 100 Survival Dollar stacks for Wealth Without Witness. The station lobby supplies suitable objects, but make a save before moving them. Power the Launch Control building, use its terminal to request launch, and wait for the reward pod that drops into the nearby water. The first successful delivery awards Open for business.

Last Listener and the end of the core launch loop#

The Last Listener station is northeast of Exodus. Bring substantial ammunition, healing, and explosives because regular and heavy rollers protect the route. Power the first tower to extend its bridge, power the second section to enter the relay building, and climb to the roof.

There are four arrays. Each one takes 4 Iron, 2 Plastic, and 2 Copper, so bring at least 16 Iron, 8 Plastic, and 8 Copper for the array work alone. Charge the relay with portable batteries or a connected source, then activate it to reveal the wider Human Seed Vault network. At this point the repeatable loop is established: recover a seed, grow a planned human, launch the human, and use the orbital result in the newer committee and restoration systems.

Recommended order for side locations and update content#

The world is open enough to discover locations early, but security access and tool requirements create a practical order. The table below avoids the common mistake of crossing the map only to find an unusable door, a dive that exceeds Pressure, or a blueprint reachable only by gyro.

Location or quest	Gate	Main reward or purpose
One Before Me at Sanctuary 12	Level 10 / Security 2	Dormant Caretaker discovery and high-tech salvage
Central Warehouse Alpha	Level 15 / Security 3	Hidden office route, lore, and valuable warehouse salvage
Mother habitat chain	Level 15 / Security 3 for the final node	Four-node story route ending at Habitat Node 38-98
The Transposium	Portable power, combat supply, careful saves	Maze resolution, Ultra Tech scraps, and Secret of the Maze
Quarantine Stack Amen	Fall-damage protection, Replica Scanner, Jetski access	Four triodes and the Scan-500 sonar attachment
Talon Offshore Proving Deck	Combat-ready loadout and scanner	F.E.L.I.S. companion and Sweetheart blueprint progress
Omega Nursery	Boat mooring and the ability to kill or lure sharks	Three loot bays and access to the later Project Jonah route
Council of Humanity	At least one launched human	Committees, orbital jobs, and the Gold Standard choice
Eden Cradle and Project Canticle	Update 4 route, power, deep diving, light, and heavy combat	Reserve authorizations, model scan, Memories, and advanced scraps
Lost Blueprints	Three Gyro Service Towers and level 14 branch access	Salvage Gyro construction
Ugly Work	Salvage Gyro	Recovery Grinder for turning scrap into Oil
First Roots at Pishon	Update 5, Stainless Steel, Oil, water, power, and a real Seed item	First Project Eden frame and planted restoration platform
Project Jonah	A fully grown spare human and Omega access	Whale encounter and a high-volume Oil extraction route
Still Listening at Theta-9	Strong Pressure, batteries, Photo Drone, and underwater navigation	Twin Jet blueprint and cultural sample recovery

The Transposium maze solution#

Bring a charged portable battery before descending. Power the starting Heal and Backup room, save, and use the numbered doors as landmarks rather than trying to memorize the cube’s orientation.

1. From the first rooms, drop through the floor into the money room and take door 063.
2. Move the wall painting in the bunk room and press the hidden button to open the next route.
3. Drop again, use door 036, move or dismantle crates, and press the button near the front-left portion of the crate room.
4. At the door with three indicator lights, drop into the art gallery. Interact with the audible boat painting beside door 048.
5. Continue through 048 to the shark room, drop into the office, move the desk, and press the button underneath it. Return and climb through the newly opened ceiling route.
6. In the large button room, follow the sound cue. One recorded solution counts four positions from the left wall and six forward from the upper-right corner orientation, but audio is safer if layout behavior changes.
7. Remove every teddy bear from the theater into the Caretaker room so the exit remains open.
8. Pull down the hanging Caretaker, stack furniture to reach the ceiling door, then strike the audible clock and press the wall button.
9. Swim through the timed water room and return to the now-open hazard route. Defeat the roller near the final room.

The bonus door with three lights opens only after the crate-room button, boat painting, and ticking clock are all activated. Enter it for Secret of the Maze. If the final combat door fails to open, return to the Backup Station, save, restart, and reload before replaying the entire maze.

Quarantine Stack Amen: triodes and sonar#

The route begins near coordinates 112, -20, northeast of Lazarus, where an unlisted tower triggers The Isolation. The follow-up leads to Quarantine Stack Amen. Climb to the top to power the main hangar, then descend past the heavy roller to the vault console.

Scan the local triode beside the console, then scan one at each of Quarantine Stack Chorus, Dawn, and Aurora. The Jetski makes the circuit manageable. Each fabricated triode requires 4 Titanium, 2 Gold, and 2 Copper; four complete units therefore need 16 Titanium, 8 Gold, and 8 Copper. Power the console after inserting them to claim the Scan-500 attachment for the Sonar.

Companions, sharks, and the Council#

F.E.L.I.S. and Sweethearts

At Talon Offshore Proving Deck, repair the upper outlet with 4 Iron, power the facility, take the elevator down, and defeat the advanced Rollerboi released from the warehouse. Scan the F.E.L.I.S. prototype upstairs. The recorded fabrication recipe uses 2 Alloy Frames, 1 Battery Cell, 1 Power Core, 1 Cooling Radiator, 1 Logic Chip, 2 Advanced Alloy Mesh, and 1 F.E.L.I.S. Shell.

Scan a broken Sweetheart to start the second companion route, then scan 25 in total. Blue corruption nodes can spawn them, but farming behavior is patch-sensitive. After unlocking the schematic, a Sweetheart costs 5 Iron and 5 Copper and is deployed like a grenade to create temporary allied support.

Omega Nursery shark deliveries

Power the nursery before opening its pens. The three recorded bay requirements are four Talon Shipsharks for Bay 1, two ordinary Talon Sharks for Bay 2, and one Dorsal Model for Bay 3. Dead sharks count, so the safest method is to kill one at sea, attach the boat’s Mooring Cable to the head point, tow it into the correct enclosure, and secure it to a wall point. The reward towers contain rare salvage and artifacts.

Council of Humanity and True Choices

After at least one human reaches orbit, return to the Hall of Humanity and take the adjacent elevator to the Council room. The Habitat Care committee needs particular human roles; the terminal shows the active requirements, and those live values should override any old recipe chart. Build one human at a time and verify that the desired type alone reaches 100 percent before starting growth.

True Choices leads to the Courier Sieve Node Facility and a Gold Standard decision. One branch sends a Star Child human to orbit for certain committee work; the other recycles the Gold Standard for rare materials. This is a genuine branch. Make a separate save before touching the final object and choose according to the committee plan, not the immediate material value.

Eden Cradle, Project Canticle, and the Salvage Gyro#

Eden Cradle is northeast of Exodus. Power the exterior building, take the lower elevator, and provide separate power to the tunnel network. Three PECO terminals grant access to The First Reserve, The Safe Divide, and The Last Remainder. Clear corruption and rollers as you map the corridors. After visiting all three chambers, return to the upper room and scan the central model.

For Project Canticle, return to Helios Reserve Lyra near the Transposium. Power the site, invest enough Pressure for the flooded pit, enter the powered door near the bottom, and follow the old tunnels to the Porcine Vocal Interface Memories. The alternate exit climbs past the Backup Machine and fuel tanks.

The Salvage Gyro requires blueprints from three service towers:

• SGS-SW-115-3225: southeast of the starting sanctuary; power the room and scan the wall plan.
• SGS-NW-115-5100: southeast of Black Vein; clear the dangerous corruption and mosquito swarm before scanning.
• SGS-SE-145-6950: northeast of Exodus; prepare for Green Crawlers inside the service room.

After unlocking the level 14 branch, the recorded gyro build uses 3 Alloy Frames, 1 Battery Cell, 1 Storage Cylinder, 3 Connector Ports, 1 Turbine Blade, 1 Cooling Radiator, and 1 Advanced Alloy Mesh. It also needs a Petrol Engine Cylinder and Petrol. Leave wide rotor clearance, carry repair metals and spare fuel, and secure the craft to the boat when sailing. The A Place to Land blueprint at Sanctuary 12 unlocks a rear Gyro Deck if the boat has become too crowded.

Update 5: Project Eden, oil, Jonah, and Theta-9#

Update 5.0 connects successful orbital work back to Earth. These objectives are later than the first launch even if their markers appear immediately in an updated save.

Recovery Grinder before First Roots

Ugly Work sends the gyro into the Eternal Flame and Dead Breath silos. Scan one blueprint in each. Fuel and repair the gyro before descending; land at the bottom first, then rise slowly to the internal ledge or pad. The completed Recovery Grinder uses 3 Alloy Frames, 2 Connector Ports, 1 Filtering System, 1 Cooling Radiator, and 1 Reactive Core. Supply electricity, connect an Oil tank, and feed it scrap.

Pishon and the first Eden frame

At Pishon, fabricate the Small Eden Frame with 50 Stainless Steel, 3 Connector Ports, 2 Storage Cylinders, and 1 Compression Pump. Keep the boat clear of the snap area. Add a farming platform for another 8 Stainless Steel, then connect electricity and purified water to the main frame. Place biological soil in the bed and use an item explicitly tagged as an organic seed, not a Memory object.

Project Jonah

Take a fully grown spare human to Tower 4 at Omega Nursery, descend with the pod, slot it in the lower chamber, and use the lever to summon the whale. Moor the boat to the whale, run power cables to the extraction point, and connect Oil tanks. This is a fast Oil source, but the human used for the event may be difficult to recover; do not sacrifice the only member needed by an unfinished committee.

Research Outpost Theta-9

Theta-9 is fully submerged south of Black Vein and sits around 200 meters down. Bring upgraded Pressure, several Small Batteries, healing, ammunition, light, a Photo Drone, and optionally the basic Hand Jet. Enter through a damaged tube or roof opening, use cubby 3 to reach the first power terminal, and acquire Theta-9 authorization. A second battery powers the deeper facility.

Clear the large corruption room from above before dropping in. In the pod chamber, deploy the Photo Drone, enter camera control, and scan the far hologram sample. Completing the scan unlocks the Twin Jet through the Skills menu.

Skills that prevent progression stalls#

Skill nodes are largely blueprints. Experience raises the available tier, while Skill Points purchase individual plans. The exact late-game tree has expanded during Early Access, so the safest priority list focuses on functions rather than promising that every item will remain on the same tier.

Priority	Blueprints	Why they matter
Immediate	Dismantle Tool, Electric Cable, Electric Extender	Resource recovery and virtually every power puzzle
Before first voyage	Lumilite, Whisper, Small Battery, Consumable Battery, Durapack	Renewable boat charge, emergency power, and organized storage
Early combat	Electric Pistol, Shock Grenade	Safer range and strong performance against machines
Fuel independence	Diesel Generator, fuel storage, engine cylinders	Converts biological salvage into mobility and improves speed
Human program	Water Cable, Water Purifier, Soilforge, Food Processor, human food recipes	Required for reliable growth at Lazarus
First launch	Gas Cable, gas storage, Oxygen Generator, Sabatier Reactor	Rocket Methane and Oxygen production
Exploration branches	Replica Scanner tools, Jetski, Salvage Gyro, Pressure-support tools	Triodes, service towers, deep facilities, and update content
Restoration	Oil storage, Recovery Grinder, Distillation and Eden modules	Stainless Steel and Update 5 construction

Boat setup and fuel economy#

The boat can run on electricity, diesel, or both. One active motor conserves the other reserve; both active motors provide the speed needed for a timed seed return. Additional cylinders in the lower-deck engines improve performance, but they do not replace fuel or charge.

• Top deck: mixed solar and wind generation with clear exposure and short runs to an extender.
• Lower deck: labeled storage for repair metals, electronics, rare materials, bio, ammunition, and human-program items.
• Fluid side: separate tanks with clearly routed fuel, water, gas, and later Oil lines. Never diagnose a line by color alone when several cross.
• Travel kit: Small Batteries, cables, extenders, basic metals, Plastic, healing, one weapon for machines, one tool for corruption, and a light.
• Timed transport kit: clear deck path, empty rack at destination, both motors fueled, anchor plan, and no optional stop between vault and Lazarus.

Fuel stations provide quick diesel. For long-term independence, feed bio from creatures, corruption, sea collection, or failed seeds into the appropriate generator chain. Renewable electrical generation is simpler, but storms and damage still require maintenance. Inspect deck equipment after rough travel.

Combat and exploration discipline#

• Fight machines with electricity when practical. Shock weapons and grenades are particularly useful against heavy robotic enemies.
• Use flame against dense corruption. Vault corridors and large nests are inefficient targets for weak single shots.
• Do not fight beside explosive or fragile infrastructure. Player-built modules and resource containers can be damaged.
• Night changes risk. Early facilities can become far more hostile after dark. A closed save room is better than spending all ammunition on enemies that disappear in daylight.
• Parkour is often the intended key. Check vents, movable crates, pipes, yellow ladders, broken walls, and handles before assuming a door requires a missing quest.
• Leave glowsticks in tutorial routes. Picking one up extinguishes it. Use crafted markers for later mazes and submerged branches.
• Lower shortcuts immediately. A ladder skipped on the ascent can turn one missed jump into a complete restart.

All 15 Steam achievements and cleanup timing#

Achievement	Requirement	Best cleanup point
Apprentice caretaker	Reach level 5	Natural before or around early Lazarus exploration
Last librarian.	Collect 10 Memories	Search the starting dock and early facilities
That’s an Artifact, In Fact	Collect an artifact Memory	Dismantle the artifact Lazarus Pod in Norfolk Grave’s hidden room
It belongs in a museum!	Collect 40 Memories	Track across facilities; do not discard unregistered finds
Enhance, enhance, enhance..	Use 200 enhancement points	Long-term progression; check for unspent points regularly
My precious experiment	Create the first human	Main story at Lazarus
This is fixable.	Repair 100 objects	Repair useful site machinery instead of replacing everything
Robot the builder.	Build 100 objects	Natural through boat, power, cable, and base expansion
Open for business	Complete the first orbital delivery	Main story at Exodus
Secret of the Maze	Open the Transposium’s hidden room	Activate the crate button, boat painting, and clock in one maze clear
Peaceful Passenger	Send a teddy bear to orbit	Put one in the first rocket payload before closing the hatch
Groundhog	Die 30 times	Late cleanup; do not sabotage a clean playthrough early
Wealth Without Witness	Send 100 Survival Dollar stacks to orbit	Collect them in the Exodus lobby and add them to a payload
Mother Under the Sea	Find the submerged Mother statue	Return below the starting sanctuary with adequate Pressure or Sonar
Five in the Quiet	Sink five basketball shots consecutively	Use the court reached from the starter hangar roof

None of the public Steam achievements requires a difficulty setting. Payload achievements are easiest on the first launch, but later deliveries can provide another attempt. Use separate saves before experiments involving a seed, rare artifact, committee human, or choice object.

Final cleanup checklist#

• Activate every Backup Station and keep a rotating set of manual saves.
• Return to Security 2 doors at level 10 and Security 3 doors at level 15.
• Finish Beacon 49, Lazarus, and Last Listener rooms that were inaccessible on the first visit.
• Collect at least 40 Memories and one artifact Memory.
• Open the Transposium bonus room before leaving the maze complete.
• Send a teddy bear and 100 Survival Dollars in a rocket payload.
• Find Mother below the first sanctuary and complete the five-shot basketball streak.
• Scan all four Quarantine triodes, all three Gyro blueprints, and both Recovery Grinder blueprints.
• Build companions, complete a committee, and preserve a save before the Gold Standard choice.
• Establish renewable boat power, diesel production, fresh water, gas production, and Oil storage.
• Complete First Roots only with a true organic Seed item, then verify the plant takes root.
• Use a spare human for Project Jonah and keep required committee members intact.
• Finish Theta-9 with the Photo Drone scan and confirm the Twin Jet plan appears.

Sources and credits#

Game metadata, Early Access status, update scope, achievement names, and screenshots were checked against the official Steam page, Steam’s app data, and The Last Caretaker official website. Route details were cross-checked against readable community guides and verified walkthrough references. The screenshots on this page are unmodified official Steam media. No competitor guide images are used.