How to Start

Into the Valley of Death is picked up from Pope in the Oldest House lobby as Dylan progresses through the Recursions and Iterations main quest. It's a personal matter for Langston: he needs help with something involving his apartment — and his cat. A man named Dombrow in the Sinkhole area is linked to the mission.

Walkthrough

The quest opens with Langston tending to his cat over a feeder when a scream rings out. Head back across the chasm to the ranger standing by the television — he's dead. From there, descend to the chasm floor through the hole, land on the blood stain, and drop again to reach a checkpoint.

South of the checkpoint is a room lined with windows, where a Hiss named Maria attacks. She fights like a normal enemy until her health drops to about half — then she retreats into the walls, where she can't be hit directly.

Alfred, Langston's cat, is the weapon for this fight. Place the cat carrier at the red-glowing crack in one of the walls, and one of the windows will start glowing bright red. The trick is to approach and interact with a window just before it turns red — the window that's already lit marks a spent pane, not the target. Land three successful interactions and Maria is forced back out of the walls, after which she can be killed normally. The timing is generous, so walk up to each candidate window and wait for the glow rather than sprinting between them.

With Maria dead, pick up the cat carrier and carry it back up via the platforms, setting it down beside the ranger's body at the top.

If you missed Alfred's carrier placement or the fight resets, just reposition the carrier at the glowing crack and the window cycle restarts from scratch — there's no penalty at all for repeating the mechanic.

Langston's follow-up request, Panopticon Service Request, picks up right after this one — so if you're working through the Panopticon Intern trophy, speak to him at the Field Office as soon as you're done here.

Rewards

  • Untapped Catnip Toy artifact.
  • 250 XP for the Evacuation Zone.
  • Unlocks the follow-up side quest Panopticon Service Request (Langston's next request).