Power Lines Walkthrough: Every Station and the Vanished Platform

Power Lines begins after Arish's Briefing at the Field Office in Central. Its first half reroutes three subway stations by placing portable calibration units on yellow-marked squares. The final station vanishes, trapping a maintenance crew and turning the puzzle into a two-platform calibration. Finish by speaking to Dr. Florez; restoring the machinery alone does not close the quest.

This is a Contain the Crisis main mission and one branch of Notes: Plan of Attack. If Arish has not offered it, track Arish's Briefing, speak through his dialogue at the command table, and take the Level 1 Keycard from the Field Office route before entering the subway system.

The three Central stations

Station	Entrance and main obstacle	Calibration rule
Perimeter	Road east of the Field Office; one unit is behind a powered shutter	Put one unit near the device and the others on the farther yellow squares
Factory	North of the Patterned Factory; units are in a shop, tunnel, and on a train	All three units form one straight line toward the console
East Park	Southeast of Perimeter; mold covers sockets and a unit is behind a gate	Clear mold from the sockets, reach the gated unit by using the tuning device, then fill the three squares

The mission log may list the stations in a different order from a particular guide. You can follow the marked Central entrances as access allows; the vanished-station segment begins after all three are rerouted. The following order keeps the more unusual East Park puzzle until last.

Perimeter Station

Clear the Hiss at the road entrance and descend. A movable electric charge opens the shutter at the far end of the tracks, revealing one calibration unit. Another waits at the dead end of the tracks and a third is up the stairs opposite your entrance. Move the charge back when the second unit's route needs it. Seat the three units on the yellow floor outlines—one close to the main machine, two farther away—and activate the tuning device only when the circuit shows green.

Factory Station

The entrance is north of the Patterned Factory. Defeat the Hiss and Mold fighting outside. Take a unit from the shop on the way down, another from the tunnel below the entry stairs, and the third from the train to the left. The yellow squares may tempt you to scatter them. The correct arrangement is a single line pointing at the large machine. With the three units aligned, the console activates.

East Park Station

Clear the Hiss at the intersection and take the first unit from the station level on your right. Down on the platform, destroy the mold covering the three yellow placements. A second unit is shut behind a gate above. Use the central tuning device until it moves you into that room, break the door control from inside, and carry the unit down. The third is near the machine itself. Place all three and reroute the station.

When the exit becomes a wall

The blocked surface stair is part of the quest. Inspect it or its nearby speaker if prompted, then go back down. The previously inaccessible rail tunnel now leads toward the vanished station. Fight through the Mold, follow Dr. Florez's broadcast, and break the Mold covering the roller shutter to reach the survivors. Pick up the maintenance notes nearby; they explain that Mold can carry current across broken cables.

Platform A: make the first calibration stick

At the vanished station, powering both electric boxes at Platform B lets the tuning device move you across to Platform A. This transfer does not mean B has been calibrated: A must be completed first.

From A, follow the southern route and open the gate back toward the survivor room. Carry a charge to A's power socket to open the upper gate and collect the next calibration unit. Another unit appears in the central room. To expose the socket hidden by Mold, remove the relevant electricity so that growth does not immediately return, then destroy the obstruction. Place the two units and run A's tuning device. If the machine refuses, check both yellow placements and whether you are still carrying an object.

Platform B: preserve the conductive Mold

Return through the central area. Powering B grows four Mold patches. Keep the two patches bridging the broken wires in the middle: they conduct electricity into the machine. Remove power so you can destroy the two side patches covering the black placement surfaces, without clearing the middle bridge. Put a calibration unit on each side and activate B.

If you already destroyed the middle Mold, the puzzle is recoverable. Carry electricity back to the B boxes to regrow the conductive bridge, then repeat the side-clearance sequence. This is the most important failure branch in Power Lines: treating every Mold patch as an enemy cuts the device's power.

Reconnect the station and finish

The next console action triggers a Mold ambush, including Sandra. Clear the enemies, return to Dr. Florez, and talk to her. The supplied walkthroughs report a Living Shard for completion; one also records a Talent Point during the station fight. Use the Quest Log's Completed state and the restored Central connection as the reliable confirmation.

The main walkthrough explains how Power Lines and Into the Sinkhole feed the story gate. If this quest exposed a Build Power problem, the build guide helps plan upgrades. The guide hub lists the other Central puzzles and main objectives.