“ | Time to work. Meet me in the Maintenance. | ” |
— Ahti |
Directorial Override is the third story mission of Control. It is preceded by Unknown Caller and followed by Old Boys' Club.
Synopsis[]
Jesse Faden enters the Maintenance Sector of the Oldest House to lift the Internal Lockdown and gain access to the rest of the House. In the process, she must repair the NSC Power Plant to prevent the destruction of the Bureau.
Overview[]
- Mission start
- The Internal Lockdown — an emergency security measure — is stopping Jesse from looking for Trench's missing management team in the other sectors. Jesse sets out to enter the Maintenance Sector to find the Directorial Override and lift the Internal Lockdown.
- Enter the Maintenance Sector
- With Ahti's help, Jesse reaches the Maintenance Sector, where the Internal Lockdown can be lifted.
- Lift the Internal Lockdown
- She helps Chief of Security Arish to stabilize the overloading NSC Power Plant before performing the Directorial Override and unlocking the Sector Elevator.
- Mission end
- Jesse reveals to Pope that she came here to find her younger brother, Dylan, who was taken as a child by Bureau agents. Years ago, Jesse and Dylan were involved in an Altered World Event in their hometown of Ordinary. Ever since then, an entity Jesse calls Polaris has guided her. Polaris led her to the Oldest House.
Objectives[]
- Search for a way into the Maintenance Sector (Executive / Central Executive)
- Find Ahti the Janitor (Maintenance / Janitor's Office)
- Find a way to fix the NSC Power Plant (Maintenance / NSC Power Plant)
- Speak with Security Chief Arish in the Security Booth (Maintenance / NSC Power Plant)
- Fix the NSC Coolant Pumps (Maintenance / NSC Coolant Pumps)
- Investigate what is blocking the pipe (Maintenance / Pipeworks)
- Fix the NSC Energy Converters (Maintenance / NSC Energy Converters
- Lift the Internal Lockdown using the Directorial Override (Maintenance / NSC Control Room)
- Speak with Emily (Executive / Board Room)
Walkthrough[]
After talking to Emily in the Board Room, the Sector Elevator is opened, and Ahti will be heard singing. Enter the Sector Elevator and travel to the Maintenance Sector Access Corridor. This section is linear and no enemies are present; the second large room has a Clearance Level 2-locked door that can be bypassed by breaking open the nearby windows.
Enemies will first be seen at the first Control Point outside Ventilation. Entering Ventilation will lead to a wave of Hiss Guards and Hiss Rangers. Gead on to reach the Janitor's Office. Just outside the Janitor's Office is the Break Room; approaching this hallway will start the side mission A Merry Chase, which grants Jesse the Evade ability.
Enter the Janitor's Office and chat to Ahti, who will explain that he will not help Jesse with the Directorial Override until she helps him repair the NSC Power Plant and stop it from malfunctioning (and exploding, bringing the Bureau down with it.) Jesse will receive the Clearance Level 2 keycard, allowing her to head forward. Along the way, Trench's presence will appear, giving the Northmoor Collectible. Afterwards, use the elevator and enter the NSC Power Plant to meet several friendly guards and another Control Point. The first guard will direct Jesse to enter the nearby security booth. Enter the NSC Security booth and talk to Simon Arish. Afterwards, Jesse will have two objectives: to fix the NSC Coolant Pumps and the NSC Energy Converters. These areas can both be entered from other parts of the NSC Power Plant ground floor; navigate around the main NSC structure to reach them.
Approaching the Coolant Pumps will spawn several waves of a new Hiss enemy: the Hiss Charged. The Hiss Charged Collectible will be obtained after defeating them. Meanwhile, the entrancec to the Energy Converters is patrolled by Hiss Guards, Hiss Demolition Experts, and a Hiss Elevated.
For both areas, after entering from the Power Plant, Jesse will need to use Launch to reattach a fallen Power Core to progress.
NSC Coolant Pumps[]
First, Jesse must use Launch to reattach a Power Core and open a door. Afterwards, the NSC Coolant Pumps Entrance Control Point can be cleansed after defeating several waves of Hiss Guards, Hiss Rangers, and Hiss Charged. From here, the Coolant Pumps can be reached through a short rocky path; Hiss Guards and Rangers will attack on this path.
In the NSC Coolant Pumps area, the three blue pump machines (one at the entrance, one in the northeast corner, and one at the far south end) must be "repaired" using Power Cores. Repairing the first two machines will lead to an attack by a wave of Hiss Guards, Hiss Rangers, and Hiss Charged. For the third (southern) pump, the Power Core will initially fall off right after being placed on. Ahti will then tell Jesse to deal with the Clog, an "old enemy" of his. Enter the Pipeworks nearby to find it blocked by a fleshy mass with undulating bright-tipped tentacles; shoot the tentacles to make the creature retreat and unblock new paths in the Pipeworks. Watch out for the Clog's highly damaging toxic spews, which start almost immediately after it is shot and occur at fixed intervals. After the Clog retreats completely from the Pipeworks, head back and repair the third pump.
Repairing the final pump will trigger a fight against a single Hiss "miniboss" in the form of Trooper Second Class Coppack, a Hiss Trooper who will descend from the elevator leading back up to the Power Plant. Coppack has an HP shield which can be broken using Launch. Coppack's chain gun can quickly reduce Jesse's health, so the use of cover is essential. Defeating Coppack will make the elevator to the Power Plant accessible, and the Hiss Trooper Collectible will be obtained.
On returning to the Power Plant, the security guards will be found battling against multiple waves of Hiss Guards, Hiss Rangers, Hiss Demolition Experts, and Hiss Charged. The final wave of enemies includes two named Hiss Guards. If any of the friendly guards die, they will still reappear in their normal positions after the map is reloaded.
NSC Energy Converters[]
The NSC Energy Converters Entrance Control Point can be claimed after defeating the Hiss Rangers present in the area. Afterwards, Jesse must use Launch to reattach a fallen Power Core and open the door leading forward. The Energy Converters area is also patrolled by Hiss Guards, Hiss Rangers, and Hiss Demolition Experts. The Collectible Home Safe Tests can be found up the stairs to the left just after turning the corner from the entrance; picking it up starts the side mission A Good Defense, which grants Jesse the Shield ability. (This Collectible also appears elsewhere, so it may not be present if already obtained.)
To repair the Energy Converters, Jesse must Launch Power Cores onto three sockets on three platform levels of the large central machine. Three waves of Hiss Guards, Hiss Rangers, and Hiss Demolition Experts will spawn while advancing through the area. Return to the Power Plant using the door to the NSC Control Room on the top platform level. If the NSC Coolant Pumps have already been repaired, then the NSC Control Room will already be open. Otherwise, use the elevator to return to the Power Plant.
End the Internal Lockdown[]
Travel to the NSC Control Room (from the NSC Power Plant, head to the elevator at the NSC Energy Converters) and defeat the Hiss Rangers inside to cleanse the NSC Control Room Control Point. Trench's presence will appear again, delivering the Internal Lockdown Collectible. Use the console in front of the Control Point to end the Internal Lockdown, unlocking the ability to travel to all Sectors with the Sector Elevator.
Return to Central Executive and talk to Pope. Jesse will tell her the truth behind her own involvement in the Ordinary AWE, Polaris, and her search for her brother Dylan. Pope in turn will tell Jesse about her investigation into Ordinary and an entity called "Hedron". She directs Jesse to head to the Research Sector to find Helen Marshall, who is their best lead on Dylan's whereabouts.
Achievements and trophies[]
A secret achievement and trophy can be gained during this mission.
Icon | Achievement/trophy | Score | Rank |
---|---|---|---|
C L A S S I F I E D
Directorial Override Complete Mission 3 |
15 | Bronze |
Bugs[]
- It is possible to be locked out of some content if Jesse is killed by Trooper Second Class Coppack after fixing the NSC Coolant Pumps.
- After respawning, the coolant pumps objective will be marked as complete. However, the elevator between the NSC Power Plant and the NSC Coolant Pumps will be inaccessible, and the Hiss Trooper Collectible will no longer be obtainable, as Coppack will have despawned. The only known way to fix this issue is to revert to an earlier save before being killed by Coppack.
- If the NSC Coolant Pumps are fixed after the NSC Energy Converters, then the power and coolant status screens (i.e. in NSC Security and outside the NSC Control Room) will be green for coolant but red for power, even though both areas are fixed. The power core at the coolant pump near Pipeworks will also be detached and will fall off if Launched into the socket, acting as if the Clog is still present even though it no longer is. This does not happen if the areas are fixed in the opposite order, after which both displays will be green.