Dead Space 3 walkthrough, Part Thirteen: Tau Volantis Ruins
Isaac's team is now, officially and unequivocally, on the alien world of Tau Volantis. Isaac himself is also separated from everyone else after the crash of the shuttle, and after a big chunk of debris nearly crushes his head he has to cope with the harsh elements. And if the cold doesn't get him, well… there are other things here, too.
Cold remains a factor after the fall of the giant piece of debris, so keep following the fires and picking up anything you find. The blowing snow begins to thin here, so finding items along the path is easier - though there are less fires. Make sure you stop at each blaze and warm back up to full (37 degrees) before continuing.
You'll soon find the remainder of the crash. A video recording inside reveals that most of the team made it, and Ellie was kind enough to leave behind a trail of flares for you to follow. Get your temperature up to full by the largest fire at the front of the shuttle, then head forward and look for the first flare to your left. The second flare is perched on a ledge -
- and a freaking Necromorph will knock you reeling! Once Isaac is back on his feet (don't worry, the thing's not chasing you yet) you'll realize you're near some S.C.A.F. structures. Run ahead until you find a set of red prefab walls. Enter here to find a door. This small room won't keep you warm, but it will stop your temperature from falling. Look to your left for a Text Log and to your right for a generator which you can kickstart to life, warming the room.
Head back outside and run to the left when you find a cliff edge. You'll find containers behind the structure and a ladder. At the top and over some walkways you'll find more living quarters; kickstart the power again and, uh, bad stuff will crawl up the side of the building. Look around once the lights are on for a Bolas Gun, two lockers and a Bench.
Back outside. Hop on the elevator to the left, go down, and enter the busted hallway ahead. Behind you is an Upgrade Circuit; ahead is… yep, definitely being hunted. Keep running when you get to the ground. There's a larger building to your right - and unfortunately, there are also Necromorphs! Yeesh. Four will leap out of the snow nearby; keep your head and use Stasis to bring them down. Ignore the larger, Key-locked structure and follow the overhead tunnels to find more prefab walls, another small room to hunker in, and two more Necromorphs. Take them out and get indoors, as you're probably close to the temperature tipping point by now.
Get the generator working for some heat and check the ground for a Text Log and a second Scavenger Bot! Handy for finding all that rare Tungsten. After you've warmed up sufficiently, head back out the way you came to collect droppings from the Necromorphs you killed. Across from the locked door is a ladder; go up it to find more items, among them an S.C.A.F. Artifact. Go back inside when you're done scavenging and go through the next door.
(Friendly tip that may not apply after future patches: This room can easily be exploited for an infinite number of items. Each time you enter the room, a new item will spawn by the door. Go back outside and you'll find a new item when you return. The item is random, so you don't always get useful swag, but still. Not bad, eh?)
The next section is a large snowfield, and you'll run into Necromorphs several times. There's lots of room to strafe, which is helpful, but that also means there's nowhere to hide. Stasis is invaluable to prevent them from getting to you in groups, and you'll have no trouble picking up their body parts and hurling them back with Kinesis to save ammo. Each time you kill a group, run back to the shelter to get warm again. There are two ways to the cliff at the far end; each will present you with Necromorphs. If you want to avoid extra fights, don't explore both routes - stick with the left, where you see the flares, instead. Keep an eye out for snow being plowed up - that means a Necromorph has your number.
One of the flares is sitting outside another room, this one already lit and warm. A scanner in here will deem your EVA suit unsuitable for the harsh weather beyond, so it won't open the far door. Grab the Tesla Core here anyway and go back outside.
When you reach the far cliffs you'll find a space in the rocks. Inside you'll almost immediately be set on by Necromorphs. You can easily turn this into a shooting gallery by getting back in the rocks and backing up while firing. Beyond you'll find various items, including Stasis Coating. This is an absolutely invaluable upgrade for a weapon as it will slightly slow down every enemy you fight when they're hit without you having to use Stasis itself. Stick it on one of your weapons and leave it on. There's nothing else in here, so backtrack and warm up.
Across from the nearest warm spot is a door into the central installation in the area. Open it up and step inside to find - Buckell? The poor old guy is wounded, and everyone else left him behind when they discovered they didn't have enough Snow Suits. He says there might be more in the basement of this wrecked building… though there's also scratching below. Great. He'll, uh… yeah, so have a look around once he's done talking. There's a small back room in the rear where you'll find a Canister Recovery Module and a Bench. Crank up the generator to get the lights on.
Starting the generator doesn't get the elevator to the basement working, unfortunately. Remedy this by grabbing one of the glowing gears off the walls. Something nearby will take noisy exception to your actions… but you'll be allowed to install the thing anyway. Clearly there's no danger here. To the basement!
