Our Hell is Us Research Guide tells you how to unlock research, how the research system works, and how it can be used to find Vaults of Forbidden Knowledge.
How to Unlock Research
You can unlock the Hell is Us research system by traveling to the Vyssa Hills Location and talking with the journalist Tania Alver. "Research" is the last tab on your Datapad that is locked at the start of the game.
First, you'll have to complete your core objectives in Senedra Forest, the first Location of the game. That will give you access to the Acasa Marshes. You must then rescue Victor Gaz, which unlocks the ability to upgrade weapons and Defensive Gear.
Once Victor is rescued, he'll unlock the ability for you to travel to Vyssa Hills on the map. You can then travel there and explore; you'll eventually meet a man named Vitalis who will point you toward Tania Alver. Tania Alver is in the same Location, and she will join you in the APC as a traveling researcher helping you with your mission.
How Hell is Us Research Works
Hell is Us research is a system that is used to unlock Vaults of Forbidden Knowledge throughout the land of Hydea by scanning Research Items. These Vaults, in turn, will have Glyphs, Relics, and other useful items inside of them that will aid you in your quest.
As you explore the world, you'll come across Research Items. Give these Research Items to Tania Alver in the APC and she'll find out more details about them for you. Each item she researches advances a tracker toward unlocking the next Vault of Forbidden Knowledge. When you research enough, you'll get the Vault's combination and location.
Below is a list of every Research Item we've come across in the game thus far and an explanation of where you can find it.
Hell is Us Research Items List
| Research Item | Location | Specific Directions |
|---|---|---|
| 9mm Pistol | Lake Cynon | Found on a picnic table in the picnic area at the start of Lake Cynon. |
| Ancient Censer | Acasa Marshes | Behind the Sabinian truck near the green tent near Vaas' lookout |
| Ancient Scroll | Senedra Forest | Found inside of the Lymbic Door - Senedra, Hilltop. |
| Box of Bronze Acorns | Acasa Marshes | To the west of the excavator above the pile of corpses |
| Bronze Cup | Lake Cynon | Lymbic Forge Tomb/dining area at bottom of reservoir (use lift) and collapse the Timeloop to reveal the loot |
| Bronze Eye | Acasa Marshes | Face the Pathem Abbey entrance blocked by a tank and head to the left down the road. Pass the cave with the two guards outside of it and keep going; you'll find it near a fence by the water. |
| Bronze Figurine | Vyssa Hills | Found after closing the Timeloop in the courtyard after you've opened the door with the serpent symbol and the door with the moon symbol. |
| Burnt Notes | Lethe - National Library | In the Accounting Office desk on the fourth floor |
| Ceremonial Key | Auriga Museum | In the door unlocked with the Symbol - Iron Crown. |
| Children's Book | Marastan | In a backpack in the tunnel leading to the Blood Queen statue; follow the path under the sign "Please Watch Your Step As You Are Entering" and make the first left turn in the large open room after the sign. |
| Citizen's File | Marastan | Found in the house with the red car parked out front opposite The Soaring Eagle on the highest tier of Marastan. |
| Clay Vase | Vyssa Hills | Found in the temple after you've opened up the doors with the serpent symbol, moon symbol, and palm symbol, in the room to the right. |
| Crown of Bones | Senedra Forest | Found on the balcony on the far side of the roof of Arcas Spire |
| Cufflinks | Senedra Forest | In the bunker locked by the Symbol - Flame in the trenches area. |
| Faded Parchment | Senedra Forest | Found east of the elevator exit into the upper area of Arcas Spire. |
| Flower Medallion | Vyssa Hills | In a chest locked with the Rusted Key to the West of the road where you first enter Vyssa Hills with your APC. |
| Gold Medallion | Senedra Forest | In a statue near the waterfall right at the beginning of Senedra Forest |
| High-Tech Case | Acasa Marshes | On the far side of the trail of OMSIF Observation Outpost 08 northeast of the Village of Jova, accessed with the code 151991 after you complete Auriga Museum. |
| Jewelled Dagger | Senedra Forest | Found on wooden scaffolding in the large underground cave of the Arcas Spire. |
| Marked Door Polaroid | Jeljin | In Mausoleum Section E-214, southwest of the church on the low ground |
| Marked Map of Hadea | Senedra Forest | Found behind the Flame Door in the upper area of Arcas Spire. |
| Old Sketchbook | Lake Cynon | Found in a cabinet on the second floor of The First Library in the Limbic Forge (the temple underneath the Lake Cynon reservoir). |
| Pocket Watch | Jeljin | Found on a bench south and slightly east of where your APC parks the first time you visit |
| Polaroid | Lethe - National Library | Found on a desk in Computer Room D on the second floor |
| Pottery Fragment | Lethe - National Library | Found in the locked blue SUV out in the parking lot; the keys are in the staff room on the second floor, which is unlocked with the code 5055 as detailed in the computer in Embry Hall. |
| Prison Manifest | Acasa Marshes | Found inside of Captain Vaas' locked office |
| Rusted Gauntlet | Plains of Mist | Next to the sun symbol, southeast of the first puzzle door |
| Scorched Bell | Senedra Forest | Just past the locked gate in Ernest Caddell's farm, in some stone ruins in the forest to the west |
| Skull in a Box | Plains of Mist | Across the wooden bridge and to the right after the first two Sacraments in the Gorge of Our True Sacrament, in a room opened with a Key - Rusted. |
| Syringe | Vyssa Hills | When you arrive in Vyssa Hills for the first time, head onto the grass and follow the fence northeast. You'll find it on a corpse behind some bushes about 40 meters away. |
| Terracotta Oil Lamp | Pathem Abbey | Clear the timeloop, item is white loot indicator in the back of the room |
| Vial of Strange Substance | Senedra Forest | At the OMSIF camp up the road past the APC |
| Wooden Mask | Lethe - National Library | Security Locker in the trash by the guard house - use the last digits of Lukhan's ID# as the code 81643 |
| Wrapped Candle | Acasa Marshes | Open the Vigil Training Ground using Vitalis' note |
That's the end of our Hell is Us Research Guide. Check out our other guides below!
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