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Active Matter: Secret Missions and Lore Locations

secrets By Published

Most secret missions in Active Matter start when you pick up a specific item or note and extract with it. The table below says where each one is, how it starts and, where we know, what it leads to.

The short version:

SecretMapHow it startsWhat it leads to
Data from the HeadquartersHeadquartersExtract the commander’s memory card, then four access codesA reward on extraction (contents unknown)
Police safe and encrypted discCity CenterWalk through three portals in orderMoney, a SCAR-H and an RPL-20 machine gun
Deck of cardsCity CenterPick up the deck in an office near the craterA mission to extract the deck (reward unknown)
Failed Evacuation noteShchegolskoyeDive to the sunken helicopter in the lakeA secret investigation in the Park (not covered here)
Captain’s KeyFactory, then DamTake the key from the ship on a workshop roofA quest for the Abakan blueprint (not covered here)
Conscript notesMilitary Base: Silent WitnessesSearch under the nightstands in the barracksA two-part lore note
Park bunker notesParkSearch the bunker’s tables and cabinetsLore notes and the bunker map

Notes you find are kept in your character profile, where you can read them again. A monolith reset wipes all of them. More secrets may turn up with future updates, so treat this as the list so far.

Data from the Headquarters

This one takes more than one raid. It is unlocked in two stages before the mission itself becomes available.

Step 1: the commander’s memory card

Start with the regular quest to recover a memory card from the commander’s body and get out alive with it. The body is in the movie theater, next to a crashed helicopter. Search the commander’s pockets for the card. The helicopter itself can be looted too, and it is split into three sections, so check each one.

Step 2: the four access codes

Once the memory card is extracted, you need four more storage devices holding access codes. All four are on the Headquarters map:

LocationWhere the access codes are
Northern bunkerIn a safe against the wall, on your left as you come through the main entrance
HotelIn a safe in the first room on the left, second floor
Southern bunkerIn a safe left of the table, in the annex on the upper level of the bunker
Airport dispatch roomOn the body of a soldier, at the top of the dispatch room

You have to extract with all four. After that, the Data from the Headquarters quest opens up.

Step 3: the Headquarters computer

Head to the Headquarters building itself. On the top level, kill the Devourers first. Expect four or five of them, and sometimes one more up on the tower.

Then go down inside. The computer is in the center of the Headquarters. Activate it, then extract to finish the quest. There is a reward for it, but we don’t know yet what it is.

Police Safe and Encrypted Disc (City Center)

City Center is full of portals, and this quest has you going through three of them in a set order. The rooms on the far side are dark, so bring a flashlight or night vision goggles.

The three portals on the City Center map are one by the Gun Store, one by the Music Store and one by the Toys for You store. They are marked 1, 2 and 3 on the map below.

The City Center map in Active Matter with the three secret quest portals marked 1, 2 and 3, by the Gun Store, the Music Store and the Toys for You store.

PortalWhere it isWhere it takes youWhat to do
1By the Gun StoreA room with a dead policemanTake the Key to the Safe in the Police Department
2Near the Music StoreAn interrogation room with a safe behind broken glassOpen the safe and take the encrypted disc
3By the Toys for You store, close to portal 1A room with a computerInsert the disc to decrypt it

The map marks the spot by the Gun Store, but there are two portals there and nothing tells them apart. One leads to the policeman’s room, the other only drops you at the far end of the city, so you may need to try both.

Portal 2 sits by the road next to the tall building where a locomotive sticks out onto the bridge. The small police station is nearby.

Portal 3 also has a twin. Use the one nearer the Toys for You store.

After the computer decrypts the disc, search the computer. Among the microchips inside you will find the decrypted disc. Take it and extract with it.

The reward is money plus two weapons: a SCAR-H and an RPL-20 machine gun.

Deck of Cards (City Center)

There is an unusual deck of cards in the building next to the crater on City Center.

The way in is from the water. Climb the train cars that lean out of the water up toward the building.

Train cars leaning out of floodwater toward a building, with a red line tracing the climb up them

Go through the train car and out the other end into the building on the third floor. Turn right straight away into the office.

The inside of a tilted train car, with red arrows pointing the way through and out toward the building

The case on the office desk holds the deck of cards. As soon as it goes into your inventory, you get a mission to extract the deck, so all that is left is getting out alive with it. We don’t know yet what extracting it pays.

A case highlighted on an office desk beside a computer monitor, ready to be searched

Failed Evacuation Note (Shchegolskoye)

On Shchegolskoye, a helicopter has sunk in the lake. From the shore only its tail shows above the water.

Dive down to it and you will find two crates. One holds weapons. The other holds a note called “Failed Evacuation”. Leave the location with the note and it unlocks a secret investigation in the Park.

Captain’s Key (Factory and Dam)

This one spans two maps. On Factory, half of a ship is sitting on the roof of one of the workshops. Climb the stairs up to it and open the crate there for a note and the Captain’s Key.

Bring the Captain’s Key to the Dam map. Near the shore, on the same side as the submarine’s tail, there is a half-sunken ship. The Captain’s safe inside it holds a second note, along with other loot.

Extract with the note from the Captain’s safe on Dam. That opens a quest to unlock the Abakan blueprint.

Conscript Notes (Military Base: Silent Witnesses)

A two-part note about a young conscript is on the Military Base: Silent Witnesses map. Part 1 and Part 2 are in Barracks No. 1 and Barracks No. 2, one in each, under a nightstand beside the beds.

They do not spawn every raid. If a nightstand is empty, check again on a later run.

Park Bunker Notes and Map

On the Park map, walk through the bunker and check its tables and cabinets. There are a lot of notes scattered around, plus a map of the bunker. Once picked up, the bunker map can be opened from your character profile.

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