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The Starfield Alternating Currents quest is one of a few early side-quests, and is one of many missions in the game that feature some choices to make alongside all of the other usual questing fare. Knowing the pros and cons of each side is key to making the right decision, and we’re here to help you out.
If you’ve been jumping around on planets but can’t figure out how to use a boost pack, then check out our guide to find out. And if you’re after better gear, check out the Starfield best weapons, Starfield best armor, and even Starfield best reactors if you want to upgrade your ship. For now, though, let’s take a look at how to complete Alternating Currents, and whether you should side with Louisa or Zoe.
Starfield Alternating Currents quest walkthrough
The Alternating Currents quest will take you across New Atlantis, visiting certain locations in The Well and on the city’s surface. Before you get started with the quest, make sure you have at least one Digipick, as it will be required later on in the quest. If you’re not a confident lockpicker, you might want to bring more.
How to start Alternating Currents
Alternating Currents is the follow-up quest to the Tapping the Grid quest where you adventure around The Well of New Atlantis, helping Louisa Reyez deal with the brownouts. Once you’ve completed that previous quest, talk to Louisa in her office where she’ll tell you that she’s narrowed down the source of the brownouts to the Trade Authority. Accompany her to confront them. Before you start, be sure to have at least one Digipick in your inventory, as it will be required later in the quest.
Alex’s Advice
If you haven’t got any digipicks, there are a couple of places to buy them in The Well. Apex Electronics is one, while the Trade Authority itself also sells them, so stock up!
How to find the first junction box
Inside the Trade Authority, you’ll speak with the receptionist at the front desk, Zoe Kaminski, confronting her about the power drain. After briefly leaving, you’ll prepare for a fight, but Zoe returns surprisingly willing to cooperate, and the evidence against the Trade Authority is merely an illusion, and that the single source of the power drain is an unrelated third party. Louisa and Zoe will then send you off to find a series of circuit breakers. Make sure to have this as your active mission, as the quest icons will be very helpful.
To find the first box, head straight from the Trade Union entrance and turn left at Kay’s House. Take another left just past the Med Bay and immediately take a right around the next corner where you’ll find a staircase. Climb the stairs and follow the path all the way around to the quest marker, minding a hole in the walkway, and interact with the junction box. If you use your scanner, you can follow the white arrows on the ground as they will lead directly to the junction box.
How to find the second and third junction boxes
Louisa and Zoe will now argue about what box to flip next, but this doesn’t actually matter either way, so your best bet is to flip the switch you passed on the way up to this one. GO back along the walkway and flip the second junction box in the room at the other end of it. Once you do, you’ll find that the next box is topside. Take the elevator to the surface and then take the NAT to the Residential District. Once here, head to Athena Tower in the Residential District, a red and grey building, where the third and final junction box is outside the doors.
On the way, Zoe will make you an offer to bring whatever information you find during this mission to her before Louisa, promising to pay you handsomely in return.
How to get the evidence
After flipping the switch outside Athena Tower, you’ll next have to head inside, and take the elevator up to a luxury apartment. Simply pick the novice lock to get inside. Here, you’ll find an unauthorised computer. Turn it on and click ‘Download Files’, where you’ll find out that the perpetrator is a hacker who has been stealing credits from GalBank’s systems. Before leaving, go into the bedroom on the left and grab the book ‘Oliver Twist’ from the bookshelf. This will give you the activity “Visit the London Landmark on Earth”. Head back to Louisa or Zoe to give them the information and complete the quest.
Should you give the evidence to Louisa or Zoe?
The simple answer is, it doesn’t matter whether you give the evidence to Louisa or Zoe, as they will both reward you with 2000 credits and 75 XP regardless. For us, it’s quite obvious that Zoe’s motivations are less than upstanding (as well as her being incredibly rude), so we decided to head straight to Louisa to give her the information, but it’s completely up to you – it’s the same amount of credits either way.
As for what each of them actually does with the information, Louisa promises that she will be taking it straight to the authorities to investigate. On the other hand, if you give the evidence to Zoe, she will pay you off and keep the information to herself, heavily implying that she wants the information for personal gain.
If you’re worried about your standing with the Trade Authority if you don’t help Zoe out, there’s no need to. The outcome of this quest has no impact on your relationship with the Trade Authority, and if you choose Louisa over Zoe, you’ll still be able to offload your contraband to the Trade Authority at any time.
That’s everything you need to know about the Starfield Alternating Currents quest. If you’re just starting out with the game and are looking for some helpful tips, read our Starfield beginner’s guide and learn how to scan, where to get Digipicks, and where to get the Mark 1 Spacesuit. And if you’re wanting to learn a bit more about the game’s lore, check out our Starfield United Colonies faction guide to find out more about the faction. If it’s more quests you’re after, the Delivering Devils, Absolute Power, and Operation Starseed quests are three of the best Starfield has to offer.
Starfield Alternating Currents FAQs
Should you help Louisa or Zoe in Alternating Currents?
The rewards for helping Louisa and Zoe are the same, so it doesn’t matter who you choose to help.
Where is The Well in Starfield?
The Well can be accessed through several elevators in New Atlantis, such as the one around the corner from Jemison Mercantile.
