How to use the Holographic Shroud in ‘Outer Worlds’
And a guide to every ID Cartridge location in the game.
Congratulations! You’ve been role-play gaming your way across Edgewater and now you want to know “how do I use the holographic shroud in The Outer Worlds?” It’s a reasonable question.
After all, The Outer Worlds is seeing rave reviews based on the strength of its dialogue and writing, and a holographic shroud seems like the perfect tool to let you commit intergalactic espionage on a grand scale. And it would be, if you could actually use the holographic shroud in The Outer Worlds. But you can’t (well, not really)
The holographic shroud isn’t a piece of equipment in your inventory. It kicks on automatically, and only when you pass through barriers that look like this:
Once through, you’ll see a purple bar with three dots on the bottom of your UI. Like this:
The Holographic Shroud runs out as you move around the restricted area. It reduces with each step you take, and running and jumping make it reduce at a faster rate. It also won’t help you if you steal something or decide to test the plasma resistance of a corporate scientist (spoiler: it’s quite low).
Once the purple meter is fully depleted you’ll have to do a dialogue check the next time you get spotted by an enemy. And these moments are what make The Outer Worlds a standout game. Each dialogue interaction is a unique conversation and you’re always presented with three options: lie, persuade or intimidate.
The skill check is level 25. So unless you’re playing some absolutely ridiculous character build, you should be able to meet it in most instances. (Hell, just having Felix in the party can add +10 to persuade). These conversations can be really interesting or funny, so don’t be afraid to roleplay a bit.
Unfortunately, the holographic shroud is not the master of disguises kit you probably hoped it would be. You can’t use it except in restricted areas, and even then you need to find the corresponding ID Cartridge for the holographic shroud or it doesn’t work. Here’s where to find the locations of all the ID cartridges in The Outer Worlds. It’s worth noting many of these are easily acquired during the course of normal questing. I ended up with all of them by the end of the game and didn’t have to go hunting. If you’re playing a character with high dialogue skills (seriously, why aren’t you?) and a fair amount of lockpicking then you’ll get to these with ease. If you’d rather be shooting or sneaking or both, don’t worry about it.
If you do want to take advantage of the holographic shroud, here are the locations you’ll need to seek out.
Mardet ID location
You’ll need this one for snooping around on the Ground Breaker. When you arrive there you’ll get access to the Worst Contact quest line. Follow it. During the course of the mission you’ll pick up the ID cartridge for the holographic shroud on a stack of boxes near Mardet’s office.
Boarst Factory ID Cartridge location
Head to Fallbrook (on the Monarch colony) and you’ll discover a shop called Dry Goods and Sundry. A man named Duncan Elley is inside. You’ll need a dialogue skill over 50 (lie, intimidate or persuade) in order to convince him to hand over the Boarst Factory ID Cartridge for the holographic shroud.
Sublight ID Cartridge location
Also on Monarch. Go to Amber Heights and head to the bar in the back of the town. Go up to the patio on the second floor and open the locked door. YOu need a lockpicking skill of 40 to get in (or Bronson’s key, which you can find doing the Task “Odd Jobs.)” The Sublight ID cartridge for the holographic shroud is in a container on the floor.
UDL ID Cartridge location
The easiest way to acquire this ID cartridge is to come across it during the main quest “The City and The Stars.” It’ll take you to The Ministry on Byzantium, where you either need to talk your way in with a level 70 Lie check, or use the terminal in the lobby to learn about the beef between Caroline and Theodore. After reading it, talk Caroline into letting you into the lab. ONce you’re inside, pick the locked door and find the UDL ID cartridge for the holographic shroud in the middle locker. A guard comes in after, and you need a level 30 Lie or Intimidate to get out of it.
Labyrinth ID Cartridge location
You can’t get this one until the very final mission of the game. You’ll dock … somewhere important … and talk to a guard over comms before getting off your ship. If you have a dialogue skill over 78 (And you really should be the end of the game, either form pure skill or from companion and equipment buffs) then he’ll give you some data that let you make a Labyrinth ID Cartridge for the holographic shroud.
That’s it. You now know everything there is to know about how to use the holographic shroud in The Outer Worlds. Get out there and topple the corporate kleptocracy!
Outer Worlds is available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows. It’s coming to Nintendo Switch in 2020.
