The Conning Tower is a location on the CMS Terra Nova in Dead Space 3 and Awakened and the site of the Conning Tower optional mission.
History[]
Not much is known about the original purpose of the Conning Tower, but during the Sovereign Colonies Armed Forces' expedition to Tau Volantis, they used it to store the "infected soldiers" bodies. When the Scenario Five order came, most of the crew complied, except for the final two SCAF Navy servicemen: Pvt. Tucker Edwards, the ship's pilot, and Capt. Valery Dietz, the commander of the ship. Edwards didn't understand the protocol or its ramifications, Dietz woefully explained that everyone -- including them, had to die, or someone else would do it for them, as she held up a weapon against Edwards. Edwards tried to convince her not to shoot him, but ended up shooting her instead, vowing that if anyone tries to come for him, "they'll be sorry".
Edwards put his time to rigging traps using the Necromorphs and resources in the Tower , expecting SCAF legionaries to try and pursue him. At first, he was prepared to do whatever it took to ensure he would continue living; but as time passed on, he felt more guilty and remorseful for killing Dietz and being the only one who survived Scenario Five.
After an indeterminable amount of time in the Conning Tower, he decided to "take one for the team". After recording a final farewell that would simultaneously unleash the necromorphs in the conning tower on any survivors who arrived, he commited suicide by gunshot.
Dead Space 3[]
Two centuries later, when Isaac Clarke restores power to the Terra Nova and and enters the tram after avoiding the Regenerators, he notices two stations: Aft Station, where the CMSCrozier is docked; and Mid Station, Conning Tower's location. Austin Buckell discovers that "a number of useful tools and salvage were signed out from storage there" by Edwards; he notifies Isaac of this discovery. The player has the choice to explore the Conning Tower in order to find Edwards' stash of tools and resources.
Isaac first has to find the key to get into the Tower, which is in a nearby tram control station next to an Audio Log, warning against doing so. While Isaac travels through the Tower, he runs into many of Edwards' traps; including quarantine lockdowns reminiscent to the ones encountered in the original Dead Space, electric fences, gravity plating overloads, and the awakening of the dormant Necromorphs stored in the Tower. As he travels, he hears Edwards via pre-recorded messages dissuading him from continuing, giving the illusion that, despite the fact the derelict flotilla has orbited Tau Volantis for 200 years, he's still alive.
Isaac was able to disarm each of Edwards' traps and make it to the top of the Conning Tower, where he finds Edwards corpse sitting in a chair, and his stash nearby. Isaac loots it and tries to leave the room, but Edwards had one last trap set up for anyone who was still alive; he set off any remaining explosives in the Tower and Isaac has to fight through the Necromorphs awakened by them and escape it. When he escapes, he tells Buckell that he is headed to the Aft Section of the Terra Nova to check out the Crozier, hoping "it's not a piece of shit", which Buckell laughs at.
Dead Space 3: Awakened[]
After the battle with the Tau Volantis Moon, Isaac and Carver travel to the Terra Nova to return to Earth. The ship by now has been turned into a church by a Unitologist Cult. Isaac travels to the Conning Tower to retrieve the ShockPoint Drive for the engines to return to Earth. By now Tucker's body has disappeared.
Gameplay[]
You will encounter this optional mission at the end of Chapter 5 and the start of Chapter 6. Once you have activated the Terra Nova's tram system, travel to the mid-section of the ship.
C.M.S Terra Nova Mid-Section []
Exit the tram at Mid-section of the Terra Nova. Climb the stairs, the door on the right requires a key card to get into, so go over to the left one and complete the hacking puzzle game to unlock it. There is a bench inside along with a locker and a crate. Up the set of stairs is a control room containing the key card for Conning Tower [optional mission], and an audio log for mission 6. Grab the weapon part – Conic Dispersal [Weapon part 1/3] from the bench here (note that this will be here on new game + as well as a MK-II Conic Dispersal). Return to the main room and use the key card on the panel next to the door on the right to unlock it. Ride the lift up to Conning Tower.
Conning Tower[]
Exit the lift and as you reach the stairs look at the roof to find a pair of slasher cocoons, shoot these and then kill the baddies that emerge. Follow the corridor around to the left, in front of the next door you will find another cocoon on the roof. Kill it and enter the door.
Climb the stairs to the catwalk at the top of the room. Work your way over to the unlocked door. Attempt to open it and the room will go into lockdown. This is going to summon a whole mess of enemies to attack. The enemies will come in waves of one to two at a time and in total you will have to kill 6 slashers, 3 spitters and 4 lurkers. There are some explosive/stasis canisters on the ground floor to make things a little easier for you. Once all the enemies are dead, interact with the blue panel that has appeared on the wall to the left of the locked door for a mini-game to hack it open.
Continue into the next room. As you enter the main room, shoot the slasher cocoons from the roof and kill the three slashers that appear. Head out the far door. In this room you’ll find a beam of electricity blocking your path. Look above it and to the right to find a small orange glowing panel. Shoot this to disable the beam. Go on through the door it was blocking.
Kill the two slashers that appear and then shoot a third one from a cocoon on the ceiling. Unfortunately the electric beam on the stairs here will not kill them, only stun them temporarily. When they are dead, look on top of the electric barrier to the right for the panel to disable it. At the top of the stairs you’ll see the next orange panel over the railing in the distance. Shoot it and continue through the nearby door.
Loot the area to the right for an upgrade circuit [Circuit 1/4] on the control panel and grab the ammo if required. Take the lift down to the lower floor. Kill the three slashers that emerge from the boxes on the walls. Follow the room to the right and enter the door, again kill a slasher before going through the next door. We’ll have a short scene about gravity panels. The short of it is, do not touch them unless you want to die instantly (note that on these panels there is an upgrade circuit on new game +)!
Climb down the ladder. There is a bench here – you should make a torque bar if you don’t have one as there is a locked door up ahead! Proceed through the next door and up the ladder when you are ready. Here you will find another electric trap. Two slashers and two spitters will come to attack you. Once they are dead, stand at the top of the ladder and look around the corner for the orange panel on the wall. Shoot it to disable the electric trap.
Next to the ladder here you will find a door requiring a torque bar. Use this to enter the room for Weapon part – Rotator Cuff Module [Weapon part 2/3], an upgrade circuit [Circuit 2/4] from the locker on the left. Exit the room and go down the ladder. At the base, look the locker nearby and destroy the grating on the far wall and then the orange panel behind it. Kill the slasher that drops down and then cruise through the door.
When you enter the large computer room, look for the ladder in front. Climb down this and turn right at the bottom. In the corner here you will find a S.C.A.F Artifact [Artifact 1/1]. Head over to the elevator opposite the entry door and activate it to start up another lockdown.
As with the previous lockdown, you are going to fight off another group of enemies. The enemies will come in waves of one to two at a time and in total you will have to kill 6 slashers, 2 spitters and 2 leapers and an exploder. Once they are all dead, head to the bottom of the ladder and look at the wall nearby. There is a puzzle here that we will need to solve to unlock the elevator.
To do this one, you need to use kinesis to rotate the different fuses here so that all of the connections light up. They light up when the two adjoining prongs match up. To do it nice and easy, use the following:
- Rotate the top, middle once
- Rotate the top left twice
- Rotate bottom middle once
- Rotate bottom left twice
- Rotate bottom right once
This unlocks the elevator. Head over and use the lift. After exiting, look down the stairs to the left for a text log [Log 1/3]. Now head over to the spinning fan (note there is an upgrade circuit on the computer bench to the right on new game +). To disable it, use stasis to slow it down and then use kinesis to pull the three circular objects from the end of each fan blade. Return to the lift.
Backtrack all the way to where we encountered the gravity panel trap earlier, noting that you will be attacked by a couple of pairs of slashers and a lurker on the way. When you reach the disabled trap, enter the now accessible elevator. Choose the second floor first.
Exit the lift and grab the key from the crate in front and look on the left side of the room for a text log [Log 2/3]. Loot the rest of the room and then return to the lift. Take it up to the third floor.
Upon leaving the lift, cruise over to the middle of the room to find Edwards, use the audio log [Log 3/3] next to him (there is also a weapon part – MK-II Medic support on a crate at the end of the room closest to the glass on new game +). Use the nearby elevator to go to the next floor. Open the door here for a chest we can open for Weapon Part – Medic Support [Weapon Part 3/3], two upgrade circuits [Circuit 3/4 and 4/4] and some spare parts boxes. After looting, return to the previous room and take the lift down for one last challenge.
Again some explosives will go off and we’ll need to defend ourselves against a couple of waves of enemies. This time they are comprised by 3 Pukers, 1 Leaper and 1 Lurker. Once they are dead, loot the rest of the room and follow your suit locator all the way to the tram station at the start of the mission. You will encounter a couple of spitters and slashers on the way back to the first lockdown room, but they will not cause you too much grief! In the lockdown room, a pair of lurkers, three leapers and an exploder.
Cruise over to the elevator to return to the tram station to complete the mission.
Secrets[]
After unlocking the elevator that leads to Edward's Stash there is a second floor that holds a few ammo and resources, but every time you re-enter this floor a random item may spawn on some furniture to the left of the room. Some items that spawn include:
- Scrap Metal
- Semiconductor
- Somatic Gel
- Stasis Pack
- Transducer
Enemies[]
In order of appearance:
Walkthrough[]
| ||||||||