NIGHTFALL: Survey Mission Walkthrough - ICARUS

This mission unlocks the Olympus Outpost, which allows you to establish outposts anywhere on the 64 sq. km. Olympus map. NIGHTFALL: Survey is also the culmination of your survival, crafting, and building experiences, as it combines Recovery, Delivery, Construction, and three Extermination missions into one day-long saga. There are three exotics veins to find and mine if you have extra time.

Objectives and Tips

The NIGHTFALL objectives force you to travel to every biome on the Olympus map. The most convenient place to set up your base is next to the Survey Unit, which you first need to travel to in order to get the rest of your objectives.

icarus nightfall survey mission walkthrough map objectives north section

icarus nightfall survey mission walkthrough map objectives south section

Locate the Survey Unit

Travel to the location marked on the map (in L11, near the lake). We recommend constructing your base in this area and upgrading to Tier 4. Construct a Fabricator and an energy source (Biofuel Generator or Solar Panel), and supply power to the Survey Unit.

Kill the Alpha Wolf

Travel to the southwest part of N14 in the Southern Glacier to find the wolf den (which now should be marked on your map). As you approach, the Alpha Wolf will emerge. Kill it while watching out for meandering polar bears. This is also a good time to kill 6-10 polar bears and craft Polar Bear Armor if you have the talent and recipes.

icarus nightfall survey mission walkthrough alpha wolf miniboss polar bear invasion — If a polar bear interferes, leave the area and the Alpha Wolf will retreat, but it will heal over time.

For tips, check out our KILL LIST: Extermination mission walkthrough.

Recover the Prototype Battery

The prototype battery is in the Crashed Dropship located at the position in the southern part of F2, marked on your map. You can take the long route through the Arctic, cutting through the Desert Canyons if desired. There are no enemies guarding the battery; just pick it up and head back.

Retrieve a Geo-Crystal Sample

Recovering a sample of the atmosphere-sensitive Geo-Crystal is a Delivery mission. It will begin to degrade as soon as you pick it up. The 100-cycle counter decays fast, so consider taking the Desert Canyons shortcut on the way back. The sample is heavy (40 kilograms) but, if you have room, pick it up on your way back from recovering the battery.

icarus nightfall survey mission walkthrough arctic sinkhole crystal location — The crystal can be found at the bottom of an ice sink hole in the NE corner of I8.

Activate the Scanner

If you successfully return the Battery and the Geo-Crystal to the Survey Unit inventory before it degrades, then all it needs to be activated is power.

Connect the Survey Unit to an active power source (if you haven’t already).
Go up to the Survey Unit and wait for the Activate button to light up.
Press the button.

Several pulses will be emitted, but it surprisingly does not attract any predators.

icarus nightfall survey mission walkthrough scanner inventory battery crystal — As soon as you place the Geo-Crystal sample in the Survey Unit, it will cease to degrade (because it is out of the atmosphere).

Kill the Sandworm

The Sandworm is a good choice for your next target. Bring your best desert armor, but consider using a weak weapon to shoot as many Sandworm Scales off of the monster as possible before you finish it off. You can use these to make the Sandworm Armor, which has strong defense and heat resistance.

icarus nightfall survey mission walkthrough sandworm roundhouse attack — The sandworm guards against melee attacks with quick roundhouse attacks.

Taking an Anti-Poison Pill before the battle is suggested because the Sandworm can deliver 3 stacks of Poison, and the Slow side effect stacks as well. It also has a roundhouse melee attack up close, so be careful as you recover the scales during the fight — don’t become encumbered!

Check out our DUST UP: Extermination walkthrough for additional tips on taking down the Sandworm.

Kill the Scorpion

The remaining target is the Scorpion. This final boss is in the arena in C11, just as in the extermination mission, LOOSE ENDS. The Sandworm Armor and an Anti-Poison Pill come in handy here.

icarus nightfall survey mission walkthrough scorpion boss before groundpound — Depending on your running speed, when the Scorpion chases you, **short bursts of walking or look-backs will taunt it to attack you and miss** each time. It takes some practice.

Remember to bring a lot of ammo, and either a strong bow (Caveworm or better) or a strong spear (Platinum or better) to take care of the Scorpion Drones. Weapons that inflict Poison are very useful against the Scorpion to continuously damage it, even while underground or while it chases you.

We hope you found this walkthrough for NIGHTFALL helpful. NOTE: This is a brief mission walkthrough, a new format we are testing. It lets us cut to the chase with tips and tricks, and allows us to cover the many ICARUS missions and updates as they come out. Let us know what you think about it in the comments below.