A routine power outage in Starfield’s bustling New Atlantis leads you beneath the city’s polished surface and into The Well, where a string of mysterious brownouts threatens the settlement’s stability. Team up with the determined Louisa Reyez to trace the source of the drain, solve a tricky junction box puzzle, and uncover secrets that could spark a much bigger conspiracy-all in the “Tapping the Grid” quest.
“Tapping the Grid” is an early Starfield side quest you can stumble on in The Well underneath New Atlantis. While it’s theoretically straightforward, the lack of a clear map makes finding your objectives – locating a series of junction boxes – rather difficult. Finishing this side quest early is worth the trouble, though. You get 75 XP and unlock another quest you can complete immediately afterward. Here’s where to find all the junction boxes to complete “Tapping the Grid” in Starfield.
’Tapping The Grid’ Junction Box 1 Location
The first junction box in the “Tapping the Grid” quest is located near UC Surplus in The Well area of New Atlantis. After speaking with Louisa Reyez by the med bay, she will direct you to this initial box as part of your investigation into the power drain affecting the settlement. To find it, head to UC Surplus and look to the right of the door-there you’ll spot a panel on the wall. Open the panel, interact with the switch inside, and wait for Louisa’s next instructions before proceeding to the other junction boxes.
Louisa directs you to Antonio’s shop for the first panel, which is near the elevator that takes you to Terrabrew. From where you’re talking to Louisa, turn around, and run in a straight line until you reach the New Atlantis info terminal. Turn left, and you’ll see the panel in front of you.
The quest was bugged the first time I completed it. If Louisa doesn’t comment when you approach the box, reload the game, and try again.
’Tapping The Grid’ Junction Box 2 Location
The second junction box in Starfield’s “Tapping the Grid” quest is located to the right of the Trade Authority in The Well. To reach it, head up a flight of stairs and pass through two red security gates. After the gates, look for a yellow panel covering the junction box-interact with the panel to reveal and access the box. This step is part of your mission to help Louisa Reyez trace the source of the power drain affecting the settlement.
The second one is on a floor above Jake’s, a dive bar near where you first met Louisa. Pass Jake’s, turn left, and go up the stairs. Ignore the sealed door in front of you, and turn right, where you’ll see another sealed door at the end of the walkway. Interact with the panel next to it, head up the stairs, and open the beige door in front of you to find the next box.
If you turn right and head down the corridor, you can try to unlock the sealed door at the end of it. Inside is a dangerous robot – and a bag full of credits.
’Tapping The Grid’ Junction Box 3 Location
Junction Box 3 in the “Tapping the Grid” quest is located in The Well area of New Atlantis, opposite Jake’s restaurant/bar. After activating the second junction box near the Trade Authority and passing through the security gates, retrace your steps but instead of heading right and down the stairs, turn left toward Jake’s. You’ll find the third junction box on the wall directly across from Jake’s, making it easy to spot once you know where to look. Interact with the box twice to complete this step before moving on to the next junction box in the quest.
The third box is on the other side of Jake’s. Head down to the open area with the fire, and you’ll see it at the opposite end of the square.
’Tapping The Grid’ Junction Box 4 Location
Junction Box 4 in the “Tapping the Grid” quest is located in a junction room near the Trade Authority in The Well. To reach it, head back toward the Trade Authority, take the left path, and continue straight until you find a staircase leading up. Follow the stairs into the junction room, where you’ll see the final junction box behind a yellow panel. This panel is locked and can only be accessed by solving a puzzle involving four auxiliary junction boxes in the same room. To unlock the panel, you must disable all four auxiliary boxes-simply flip the first and second switches to solve the puzzle and reveal Junction Box 4. Once activated, return to Louisa to complete the quest and unlock the next mission, “Alternating Currents”.
The final box is a little trickier. Louisa says it’s near the Trade Commission, so head there. Instead of turning right to enter the Commission offices, keep going straight ahead, and go up the stairs.
Enter the room, and listen to Louisa’s comment about the secondary power boxes. You need all four green lights turned on, which should look something like this.
If you can’t see the red lights well, the gist of the image is that the second box from the left is the only one that should be left alone. Activate the other three.
How does the ’Tapping the Grid’ quest reveal the power issues in New Atlantis
The “Tapping the Grid” quest in Starfield uncovers the root of New Atlantis’s recurring power issues by taking players into The Well, a subterranean area beneath the city. Residents frequently complain about “brownouts”-partial power outages-that disrupt daily life and threaten the stability of this bustling district.
When you speak with Louisa Reyez, she explains her struggle to pinpoint a mysterious power drain making her job difficult. She enlists your help to inspect several junction boxes scattered throughout The Well. As you activate and troubleshoot these boxes, it becomes clear that power is being siphoned off somewhere in the system.
The investigation ultimately points toward the Trade Authority as the likely culprit, with evidence suggesting someone is rerouting electricity for unauthorized purposes. This revelation not only exposes the immediate cause of the brownouts but also sets up the follow-up quest, “Alternating Currents,” where the broader implications of the power theft are explored. Through this process, the quest reveals that the power issues in New Atlantis are not just technical glitches but symptoms of deeper, potentially criminal activity within the city’s infrastructure.
What does the power outage pattern tell me about New Atlantis’s infrastructure
The pattern of power outages in New Atlantis, as revealed by the “Tapping the Grid” quest, suggests that the city’s infrastructure is both complex and vulnerable to disruptions caused by unauthorized power drains. The recurring brownouts indicate that the electrical distribution system is interconnected, with issues in one area-such as The Well-impacting the broader city above. This mirrors real-world infrastructure where power is distributed from main lines to local circuits, and disruptions or siphoning at any point can cause widespread instability.
Additionally, the fact that outages are not random but follow a pattern tied to specific junction boxes and unauthorized rerouting implies that New Atlantis’s grid lacks sufficient monitoring or failsafes to quickly detect and isolate sources of abnormal consumption. This vulnerability is similar to how real-world grids can be susceptible to both technical faults and deliberate interference, highlighting the importance of robust infrastructure, regular maintenance, and advanced monitoring to ensure reliability.
In summary, the outage pattern in New Atlantis reveals an infrastructure that is intricate but potentially under-secured, where localized issues can cascade and affect the stability of the entire city’s power supply.
