Starfield: Should You Get The Neuroamp?

Starfield is loaded with intricate plot lines and expansive planets and solar systems to explore. Within the various worlds are different factions you can join. On the Blade Runner aesthetic of Neon, you’ll be able to join and begin a long string of quests for Ryujin Industries.

After getting entangled in the corporate espionage world of Ryujin Industries, a mega-corporation centered in the middle of the lightning-powered city, the player will learn of rival Infinity LTD’s attempt to build a Neuroamp based on stolen Ryujin designs. Will you get the Neuroamp installed, so you can help Ryujin steal back their designs? Here’s everything you need to know to make the best decision for you.

Updated by Evan Schwab on November 7th, 2023: Added the Starfield mini-tag after introduction. Included links to The Key Ingredient quest, as well as a guide to choosing between Masako or Ularu, which may influence personal choices on keeping the Neuroamp.

How To Get The Neuroamp

Immediately after concluding the events of The Key Ingredient side quest for Ryujin Industries, you’ll be asked to sabotage Infinity LTD’s work on their Neuroamp prototype. Fortunately, Infinity LTD forgot an important piece of the design, the part that prevents the Neuroamp user from having the same mind-altering device used on them. With this in mind, Veena is excited to install a Neuroamp within the player in order to help them infiltrate and capture the prototype. Without having much of a choice, you’ll have to agree to have the procedure completed if you want to continue progressing the Ryujin Industries story.

Now that the Neuroamp is installed, Ryujin Industries sends the player on a mission to sabotage the device and those working on the stolen concept (in an aptly named mission called Sabotage). The Neuroamp possesses extreme manipulation powers, and its existence is both a threat to Ryujin Industries (as its design was stolen from Ryujin thanks to a mole) and others at large. After a lengthy process, the player will eventually sneak into the location of the Neuroamp prototype. Grab the device and return to Masako at Ryujin Industries.

How To Use The Neuroamp

After the implant is installed in the player, Veena asks them to test the controls on another willing scientist – DeMarcus. In order to control him, point the camera in his direction, press the left bumper before pressing A on the controller to target him, and then swivel the camera to whatever objective he needs to complete. When he is successfully manipulated, a symbol of a marionette will appear above the target’s head. In this case, Veena asked you to use the Neuroamp to control DeMarcus and open a locked door. Take control of DeMarcus, then find the keycard on the table behind him. Press A again to have him pick up the keycard. Next, direct DeMarcus to use the keycard on the door to finish the tutorial. Now that you know how it works, you can use the Neuroamp freely in many different situations throughout the game.

Below is a video showing how to use the Neuroamp to control a random NPC. Note the manipulation success chance and the icon above the NPC’s head.

How To Upgrade The Neuroamp

With this incredibly useful tool at the player’s disposal, a plethora of gameplay options open up. It is very important to remember that the Neuroamp can be upgraded, but it is located in the final tier of the Social skill tree. This means that in order to use the Neuroamp to its fullest potential, the player will need to commit a large amount of skill points to that skill tree. In addition, each level of the skill unlocks after a certain number of successful manipulations (the first tier, for example, requires five successful manipulation attempts). This information will be vital to the Sabotage quest, as one of the most important optional objectives requires the use of the Neuroamp to control a guard to shut off the ventilation fans at the Infinity LTD headquarters.

At the base level of the Neuroamp skill, the player is only able to manipulate NPCs at or below player level. With each additional skill level unlocked, the player can start manipulating higher level characters with greater success and for longer periods of time. In order to successfully manipulate the guard during Sabotage, the player with a level one Neuroamp skill should be at least level 13.

Should You Use And Keep The Neuroamp?

There really are not too many negatives to using the Neuroamp. Traveling companion Sarah was not too pleased with the decision, so there may be some temporary setbacks in building that relationship after installation and use of the Neuroamp. Outside that minor inconvenience, the Neuroamp serves as a pretty useful tool. Still, it is a very gray moral ground, so if you are looking to have the most honorable playthrough possible, then passing on its usage is probably a good idea. In fact, if this is your goal, working with Ryujin Industries as a whole is not recommended.

In the final quest of the Ryujin Industries line, Executive Level, you will ultimately have the ability to sway the Ryujin board to either keep or destroy the Neuroamp. You can even use the Neuroamp to persuade the members to agree with your desired choice, and there are no real plot consequences for this decision regardless of which path you ultimately take, though your choices may align with whom you choose to side with: Masako or Ularu. The only real consequence to consider is whether you are morally OK with this dangerous tech being brought to the whole of humanity.