Side story · World navigation
Deploy Probe Relays across the UnknownThe Unknown · Side story
Find each Research Balloon, release its Probe Relays, place them in the correct red circles, and let the green Relays create a Gravity Well. The network you build opens the routes the main story needs.
Balloon, Probe Relays and Gravity Well are tracked separately for every Research Point.
Pope's Research is added to your Quest Log automatically after you finish The Hedron Link. You do not need to find a quest giver.
Once it is in your log, travel into the Unknown and find the first Research Balloon. Each balloon starts a short setup that ends with a Gravity Well.
Pope's Research builds the travel network through the Unknown. You need those routes to continue the main story: Sever the Hedron Links.
That is why the main story can send you into a side quest. It is not busywork; it is the navigation layer for the Unknown.
Open Sever the Hedron Links1 · Previous main quest
The Hedron Link
2 · Unlocks
Pope's Research
3 · Builds
Unknown Gravity Well network
4 · Required during
Sever the Hedron Links
If you arrived from Sever the Hedron Links, Pope's Research is opening the Unknown routes that quest needs.
Track each Research Point in three layers: balloon found, relays placed, Gravity Well active. Progress saves in this browser only.
Balloon found
Relays placed
Gravity Well active
Balloon found
Relays placed
Gravity Well active
Balloon found
Relays placed
Gravity Well active
Balloon found
Relays placed
Gravity Well active
Balloon found
Relays placed
Gravity Well active
Balloon found
Relays placed
Gravity Well active
Balloon found
Relays placed
Gravity Well active
Balloon found
Relays placed
Gravity Well active
Saved in this browser only. It never reads or writes your game save.
Research Points can open in different orders depending on the routes you have built. This list follows the standard balloon order, not a fixed route.
Each completed Research Point adds a Gravity Well edge to the Unknown travel network.
The full island-to-island topology is generated from verified map data. This page tracks which Research Points you have turned into travel edges.
Every Research Point reuses the same loop. Learn it once, then only read each point's placement delta.
When every Relay for the point is green, the Gravity Well appears.
Wrong location
Red / inactive. The Relay will not complete here.
Getting close
The signal shows on the minimap and the Relay starts beeping faster.
Correct
Green light. This Relay is solved.
All Relays green → the Gravity Well opens.
Probe Relays belong in specific spots, not any red circle, and some markers only become valid after an earlier relay is active. Placement order can matter.
A Gravity Well is a travel edge, not a fixed location: it connects the island you are on to the next island your network can reach.
Are all Relays green? If not, one Relay is still incorrectly placed. If they are, re-check that every Relay for this Research Point registered and that you placed them in the expected order before opening the Quest Troubleshooter.
All Relays active
Gravity Well created
Do this early: reveal the Unknown map before hunting the remaining balloons.
After the first research setup, reach the central island area to unfog the zone map. The revealed map shows the other balloons and the island connection arrows, which makes the rest of the network much easier to plan.
Production verification
Some guides split this early navigation step out as its own Map Kit setup. This page treats it as an early navigation objective and does not yet assign it a fixed Research Point number.
One card per Research Point. Cards only repeat the Research-specific delta; the shared Probe Relay loop is explained once above.
Balloon
○
Probe Relays
0 / 2
Gravity Well
○
Gravity Well → next route
The first setup is the tutorial for the whole network. Finishing it opens the route toward the central Unknown and the full map information.
Balloon
○
Probe Relays
Relays placed
Gravity Well
○
Exact placement for this point is being verified against captured footage. Use the shared Probe Relay loop above; this card will list the per-relay delta once it is confirmed.
Gravity Well → next route
Balloon
○
Probe Relays
Relays placed
Gravity Well
○
Exact placement for this point is being verified against captured footage. Use the shared Probe Relay loop above; this card will list the per-relay delta once it is confirmed.
Gravity Well → next route
Balloon
○
Probe Relays
Relays placed
Gravity Well
○
Exact placement for this point is being verified against captured footage. Use the shared Probe Relay loop above; this card will list the per-relay delta once it is confirmed.
Gravity Well → next route
Balloon
○
Probe Relays
Relays placed
Gravity Well
○
Exact placement for this point is being verified against captured footage. Use the shared Probe Relay loop above; this card will list the per-relay delta once it is confirmed.
Gravity Well → next route
Balloon
○
Probe Relays
Relays placed
Gravity Well
○
Exact placement for this point is being verified against captured footage. Use the shared Probe Relay loop above; this card will list the per-relay delta once it is confirmed.
Gravity Well → next route
Balloon
○
Probe Relays
0 / 3
Gravity Well
○
Exact placement for this point is being verified against captured footage. Use the shared Probe Relay loop above; this card will list the per-relay delta once it is confirmed.
Gravity Well → next route
This Research Point uses three Probe Relays instead of the usual pair. Track all three before expecting the Gravity Well.
Balloon
○
Probe Relays
0 / 4
Gravity Well
○
Exact placement for this point is being verified against captured footage. Use the shared Probe Relay loop above; this card will list the per-relay delta once it is confirmed.
Point 0 final objective
The final Research Point uses four Probe Relays. Only after all four are green can you move on to Point 0.
8 / 8 is not quest complete
Finishing all eight Research Points unlocks the second and final quest objective: Investigate Point 0. The quest does not close at 8 / 8.
Final objective: Point 0
Point 0 is a named world objective, not a ninth Research Point. Its canonical page is still being resolved, so this page keeps it as the quest finale.
That is expected. 8 / 8 unlocks Point 0 as your final objective. Go to the central anomaly using the southern Gravity Well route instead of searching for a ninth balloon.
The Resonant Token is used back at The Gap for an extra Combat Ability slot or choice. It is a progression item, not one-time junk loot.
View trophiesWith the Unknown routes open, continue Sever the Hedron Links. Pope's Research may not need to be fully finished before that quest can progress, so treat this as the natural next step rather than a locked gate.
The exact point where Sever the Hedron Links needs the network is still being verified.
What's happening?
Confirm the routes you opened, then continue the main story or check what else is available in the Unknown.
Tell the assistant which Research Point you are on and what the Relay is doing. It knows whether you are at the balloon, mid-placement, or waiting on a Gravity Well.
Ask about this Research Point →This page owns every Research Balloon, Probe Relay and the Point 0 finale. The zone map belongs to the Unknown location page, the main-story routes to Sever the Hedron Links, and the next-step decision to the walkthrough.