Dedicated to Jim. Now will you get off my case about it?! XD
This guide is going to be a long read. The event itself is fairly complex and there are many tips and tricks to getting that sweet event success for all three habitats.
Project Paradise is designed to be a team-based event. If you are or have heavy hitters that can multitask on your team, then it is possible to trio the event but unless you know what you are doing, then I recommend against it.
Before jumping into this event, assign a teammate as the team leader of the group. This person will be the one to start the event, activate terminals, etc. You can make this person the permanent team leader for this event or you can move the role between your teammates so everyone can learn where the terminals are and how to start the event etc.
Once a team leader has been assigned, work out or pick which habitat each player will be going into. It is generally recommended to pick a habitat and forever be assigned to it however once you are all confident with your assigned habitat, you can switch around and try different habitats.
I'm going to write the rest of this guide on the assumption that there are 2 players per habitat. If you have less than 2 players per habitat or are running an odd number of team members then someone is going to have to defend AND heal a friendly creature at the same time.
Keep in mind that if you are running this event on a public server, other players will see you guys and gals in the event and will come and join you. This can be a good thing and a bad thing. Bad because all the robots can respawn and attack your friendly but good because more players to help kill things.
If you have more than 6 players in the event, then one player per habitat needs to immediately default to the healing position. Let the other players defend. The reason for this is that it is assumed that the other players have not read this super awesome amazing guide and have no idea how to run the event correct. Yes, that is probably the most horrible thing that you will ever hear me say but I have run this event since it first dropped in Fallout 76 and that statement is from many years of personal experience running this event.
Project Paradise is part of the Public Event list. A notification will appear in the top left-hand corner, as well as in the World Activity tab in the bottom left-hand corner of your screen.
Recommended Perk Cards and Gear
Friendly Fire perk card under Charisma
This allows you to heal the friendly animals and your team mates as well.
If you can only fit rank 1 into your build then that is fine, it just means that you will have to hit or Molotov your friendly a few times more compared to running rank 3.
The following weapons work with Friendly Fire:
Personally I run the Molotov Cocktails as it means that I can keep my main weapon equipped and just use the button on my controller or keyboard to throw Molotov's.
If using Molotov's then always aim at the creature's or NPC's feet.
Glow Sight perk card under perception.
The majority of the enemies that spawn during Project Paradise are glowing. This perk card offers a damage output boost.
Exterminator perk card under perception.
Only run this perk card if you have room for it. Personally, I run this card during the event and it can make a difference.
Arktos Pharma layout
If you are serious about mastering this event, I highly recommend going into the Arktos Bio Dome when the event is not running. It gives you a chance to get familiar with the area and makes it far easy to run around and not get lost when you are actually in the event. It will help you when you run Daily Ops in Arktos Pharma as well.
To enter the Dome outside of an event:
From the Arktos Pharma fast travel point, enter the main building via the white door under the stairwell. The elevator to the Biome Lab is behind the main desk.
The elevator will spit you out into the main lobby of the Bio Dome.
Unfortunately, when you enter the Bio Dome via the public event icon, it can throw you anywhere on this floor. Combined with a very small time frame and enemies probably chewing on you, it can be easy to panic and get lost.
Just take a moment to kill the enemies chewing on you, find a point of reference or look for the coloured lines marked on the ground and get your bearings.
There are three Habitats in Arktos Pharma. These are identified by the following:
Habitat A
Follow the Blue Line on the floor.
Or locate the Blue coloured signage
Habitat B
Follow the White Line on the floor.
Or locate the White coloured signage
Habitat C
Follow the Yellow Line on the floor.
Or locate the Yellow coloured signage
Prep Work for the event
It is highly recommended that you do some prep work first, before starting the next step of the event. It makes the event easier to run and is more likely to end with a positive result.
As soon as you spawn into Arktos Pharma Bio Dome ie the event, run into a habitat, do a lap of the feeding troughs, and then move on to the next habitat. (The reason we do this is so if or when you die, the robots won't respawn for you which is a good thing when trying to defend your friendly animal.)
Once you have visited all three habitats, pick "your" habitat. Clear the robots from the habitat and then give the thumbs-up emote when your habitat is clear.
This is a signal to the assigned team leader to start the next part of the event via the terminal.
How to activate/start the event
This is assuming that you are the team leader of your group or you are solo'ing the event.
Once you have cleared your habitat and run through the other habitats, follow the quest marker to the terminal.
The terminal can be found under the main lobby. Take the stairs on your right, down, turn left, and follow the row of controller consoles along.
Wait until you see the thumbs-up emote from each habitat. This indicates that the players have cleared their habitat and are ready to go.
Jump on the terminal and select the first option “Initialize Experiment”.
Spam that thumbs-down emote and stand in front of the terminal if it looks like someone else is going to start the event early.
Jumping on the terminal to "hold it" does not work as every other player can still interact with the terminal and start the event.
Once the event has been started by the team leader, you have two options. You can either continue on like normal or you can activate Formula Q and unlock the Arktos Pharma backpack skin. I will cover Formula Q and the backpack skin in a later section of this guide.
The Event - Part 1
You have 5 mins to kill certain creatures, loot their bodies, and deposit the quest items into the feeding trough in the middle of each habitat, to complete the next part of the event.
As of August 2022, the loot all function does not work with the quest items in Project Paradise. You will need to manually collect them from each body.
If you are solo'ing this event, then I recommend jumping into Habitat A.
Habitat A
Kill the White Sickly Radstags and place the Fragrant Venison into the feeding trough in the middle of the room.
If you have collected and deposited the following amount of Fragrant Venison, then your friendly will be:
0-9 Fragrant Venison: Tick
10-19 Fragrant Venison: Wolf
20-29 Fragrant Venison: Yao Guai
30+ Fragrant Venison: Deathclaw
You need to hit 30 in habitat A.
Habitat A = Blue signage
Feeding Trough Habitat A
White Sickly Radstags & Fragrant Venison
Note: If the radstags stop spawning then it means they are caught up somewhere. 1 person do a quick run around in the habitat and kill any enemies you can find which should start the spawns again. Also, check the locker room that is directly opposite the feeding trough as they can get caught up in there.
If you and your team are running all three habitats and there is time left on the clock then jump into Hab C to help collect radkelp.
Habitat B
Look for the orange/yellow glowing toxic sludge barrels and interact with them. This will spawn Glowing Mole Rats. Kill the mole rats, loot the bodies, and place the Toxic Sludge into the feeding trough in the middle of the room.
If you have collected and deposited the following amount of Toxic Sludge, then your friendly will be:
0-9 Toxic Sludge: Bloatfly
10-19 Toxic Sludge: Feral Ghoul
20-29 Toxic Sludge: Snallygaster
30+ Toxic Sludge: Mega Sloth
You need to hit 20 in habitat B.
Habitat B = White signage
Feeding Trough Habitat B
Toxic Sludge Barrels
Glowing Mole Rat & Toxic Sludge
Be careful when killing the mole rats. If you kill them too soon then they won't spawn toxic sludge, if you kill them too slowly then they also won't spawn toxic sludge.
It is worth coming back and checking the bodies of the mole rats as toxic sludge can spawn after killing them.
*Note for Habitat B: the reason for only needing to hit 20 in Habitat B is because you want the Snallygaster to spawn vs the Mega Sloth. The Mega Sloth has better damage resistance but it is a lot slower than the Snallygaster. The Snallygaster has a better chance of running away and avoiding enemy attacks.
If you and your team are running all three habitats and there is time left on the clock then jump into Hab C to help collect radkelp.
Habitat C
Collect the red/orange glowing Moist Radkelp and place it in the feeding trough in the middle of the room.
If you have collected and deposited the following amount of Radkelp, then your friendly will be:
0-9 Radkelp: Bloodbug
10-19 Radkelp: Mirelurk
20-29 Radkelp: Mirelurk Hunter
30+ Radkelp: Mirelurk King
You need to hit 30 in habitat C.
Enemies that will spawn in Hab C during this phase include Anglers, Radtoads, Stingwings, Gulpers, and Bloodbugs.
Habitat C = Yellow signage
Feeding Trough Habitat C
Glowing Moist Radkelp
Suggest a max of 2 players only in this habitat while collecting radkelp due to buggy spawns, others can join after the 30 has been hit.
Place all the radkelp into the feeding trough at the 1.30min mark and not before.
Note: The radkelp spawns are linked to the enemy spawns in this habitat. If the radkelp stops spawning then it means that there is an enemy alive in the habitat. 1 person do a quick run around in the habitat and kill any enemies you can find which should start the spawns again.
If you and your team are running all three habitats and the other players have finished filling the feeding troughs, if there is still time on the clock, ask them to come over and help you collect radkelp. With the spawns being the way that they are, you will need 2 people to collect the full 30 in time.
The Event - Part 2
Stage 2 of the event has now started and you will need to defend your friendly creature against 2 waves of enemies.
Note that your friendly may not spawn in your habitat. Follow the markers on your HUD until you locate your creature.
This is where you and your teammate will split up.
One player will be in the defend role and needs to kill anything that moves. Try not to wander too far away from the friendly or the second player. It is suggested that the "heavy hitters" are assigned to this role.
The second player will be in the healer role. The healer will need to stick to the friendly like bark to a tree. Wherever that friendly goes, you need to be so close behind it that you will be breathing the same air. The healer can defend if necessary but their main objective is to keep healing.
Your friendly will move around a lot. It will run away from enemies and move between habitats and get stuck in corners and against walls. Follow your friendly and keep it alive.
Enemies that will spawn in Habitat A during this phase include Wolves, Yao Guai, Cave Crickets, Rad Ants, and Honey Beasts.
Enemies that will spawn in Habitat B during this phase include Mole Rats, Radrats, Snallygasters, Bloatflys, and Radroachs.
Enemies that will spawn in Habitat C during this phase include Anglers, Radtoads, Stingwings, Gulpers, and Bloodbugs.
If during this stage, the waves seem overly long but nothing is spawning, then send the defend player to run around the habitat and look for any enemies that might have been caught up. Some enemies can get caught up in the middle lobby area of the event so have a look there as well. The event/stage will fail if you fail to find and kill the spawned enemies.
The Event - Part 3
The final wave for the event is the alpha end boss. They will always be a 3* legendary and will spawn as either a Sheepsquatch, a Fog Crawler, or a Grafton Monster.
What type of Alpha will spawn depends on which friendly animals are still alive and which friendly animals you let die.
If all three creatures are still alive then it's a 33.33% chance to get any of the alphas.
If the friendly from Habitat A is still alive then you might get a Sheepsquatch
If the friendly from Habitat B is still alive then you might get a Grafton Monster
If the friendly from Habitat C is still alive then you might get a Fog Crawler
As soon as the event tells you that the alpha has spawned (check in the top right-hand corner of the screen), the player who was in the defend role needs to break away and look for the alpha. The alpha can spawn in any of the habitats or in the main lobby.
Once the alpha has been located then use the come here emote to show other players where the alpha has spawned.
The healing player must not leave their friendly creature. Do not worry about not getting a lag off on the alpha. It's only going to drop a 1* anyway and an event success will net you better rewards in the long run.
Kill the alpha as fast as possible. These guys have been heavily buffed and can one-shot you and your friendly if they get too close.
In a recent patch, they changed the event, and the rewards are now based solely on how many friendlies are kept alive. This means that if you fail to kill the alpha in time but manage to keep all friendly creatures alive then you can still achieve an event success however it can affect the rewards drop rate.
If the alpha is still alive after the event, it's not going to going to disappear or insta die like daily ops. You will still need to kill the alpha or just run away and find somewhere safe so you can fast-travel out.
Formula Q, Arktos Pharma Backpack Skin, and Quercus
Activate Quercus at your own risk.
While Quercus and Formula Q will heal your friendly creatures between waves, it also causes the friendly to attack the enemies and alpha instead of running away from them which can result in your friendly dying very quickly. You can still use friendly fire to heal the creatures between waves.
I suggest doing this method once, to unlock the backpack skin and then never do it again unless others also need the backpack skin. You will still need to achieve event success with a minimum of one friendly alive to unlock the skin. If the event is a success then every single player in the event will unlock the backpack skin.
If you did it right, then you will get a notification on the top left-hand side of your screen saying that the skin has been unlocked. If not then find a armour workbench, go to modify on your backpack and you should see the skin option there.
Activating Formula Q and Quercus can only be done during the 5 mins given to put the items into the feeding trough. If you are doing the event solo then you will need to be fast or be running this event with a team.
It is recommended that you practice running between the terminals a few times while the event is not active as the downstairs office can be a bit of a maze plus there are ghouls and robots to clear on your way down.
Step 1: Once you have initialized the event at the main terminal. Stand facing the terminal and look to your left. You should be able to see an open double doorway a few feet away.
Walk through the doorway and kill both ghouls that are lying on the ground in front of you. Directly on your right will be a door with a keypad. Enter the code 970930 to open the door.
Step 2: Go down the stairs, turn right, open the door, and walk forward until you get to the metal railing. Jump down onto the ground level and head for the open doorway directly in front of you.
On your left is a terminal against a wall. Interact with the terminal and select "Shutdown Code". You will not need to write the code down.
Step 3: Run back upstairs and go back to the terminal that you first initialized the event on. Interact with that terminal and scroll down to "Shut Down".
Step 4: Congratulations, you have just activated Qurcus and shut down ARIC-4. God help you. Now proceed with the event like normal.
Tips and Tricks and Known Bugs
If you die during the event and then get lost after respawning, stop and look at your surroundings, look for the coloured lines on the floor that lead to your habitat, or pick a task icon on your HUD and follow that until you find your friendly again.
If you are running this event on a public server with randoms, then look at doing Habitat B or Habitat C instead of Habitat A. Most players will immediately go to Habitat A as it is the easiest one but the more creatures alive, the better the rewards.
In each of the habitats, you might notice a turret placed on one of the catwalks. If you can't find them then look up and look for the blue flashing light. You can repair these turrets and use them to help you during the event. Note that as part of the lore of Arktos Pharma, these turrets will attack you, your teammates, the friendly creatures, and the enemies.
Arktos Pharma Lore
Inside Arktos Pharma, there's a fascinating unmarked side quest that delves into the lore behind the lab and the reasons behind the demise of its inhabitants. To start, enter the Biome Lab through the elevator located behind the front desk. Once inside, explore at your leisure; read the terminals and collect the notes scattered around. This quest concludes in the room containing the terminal with ARIC-4's shutdown code. While this side quest lacks map markers and may take some time to complete, it's definitely one of my favorites due to its depth and intriguing backstory.
Event Rewards and Checklist
The % drop rates can change depending on if the event was a success, how many creatures are still alive at the end of the event, and what plans you have already learned. The % noted in the table below is more of a rounded-up average vs an exact drop rate and should only be used as a checklist and guide for plan rarity.
One Creature Still Alive
Item | % Drop Chance |
Arktos Lab Coat | 26.667% |
Baseball Grenade | 31.219% |
Bear Arm | 16.667% |
Corpse Flower Stamen | 4.000% |
Fragmentation Grenade | 31.219% |
Fragmentation Mine | 23.414% |
Legendary Core - 1 to 3 | 100.000% |
Med-X | 8.333% |
Mentats | 8.333% |
Molotov Cocktail | 31.219% |
Orange Mentats | 8.333% |
Overdrive | 8.333% |
Plan: Cryo Grenade | 0.200% |
Plan: Cryo Mine | 0.200% |
Plan: MIRV Frag Grenade | 0.640% |
Plan: Nuka Quantum Grenade | 0.400% |
Plan: Nuka-Cola Grenade | 0.400% |
Plan: Nuke Mine | 0.200% |
Plan: Pulse Grenade | 0.200% |
Plan: Pulse Mine | 0.200% |
Psycho | 8.333% |
Psychobuff | 8.333% |
Psychotats | 8.333% |
Purified Water | 33.333% |
Rad-X | 8.333% |
RadAway | 41.667% |
Recipe: Formula P | 16.667% |
Stimpak | 65.476% |
Stimpak: Super | 8.33% |
Strangler Bloom | 6.000% |
Treasury Note x4 | 100% |
X-Cell | 8.333% |
Two Creatures Still Alive
**If you have learned the Plan: Bear Arm, then it will unlock the chance for the Bear Arm Mods to drop for you as a potential reward.
Item | % Drop Chance |
Arktos Lab Coat | 23.750% |
Baseball Grenade | 31.219% |
Bear Arm | 8.333% |
Corpse Flower Stamen | 10.000% |
Fragmentation Grenade | 31.219% |
Fragmentation Mine | 23.414% |
Legendary Core x8 | 8.667% |
Legendary Core x6 | 18.667% |
Legendary Core x4 | 72.667% |
Med-X | 8.333% |
Mentats | 8.333% |
Molotov Cocktail | 31.219% |
Orange Mentats | 8.333% |
Overdrive | 8.333% |
Plan: Bear Arm** | 2.083% |
Plan: Bear Arm Heavy Mod** | 1.042% |
Plan: Bear Arm Puncturing Mod** | 1.042% |
Plan: Cryo Grenade | 0.200% |
Plan: Cryo Mine | 0.200% |
Plan: MIRV Frag Grenade | 0.640% |
Plan: Nuka Quantum Grenade | 0.400% |
Plan: Nuka-Cola Grenade | 0.400% |
Plan: Nuke Mine | 0.200% |
Plan: Pulse Grenade | 0.200% |
Plan: Pulse Mine | 0.200% |
Plan: Raider Jet Pack | 1.000% |
Plan: T-45 Jet Pack | 1.000% |
Plan: T-51b Jet Pack | 1.000% |
Plan: T-60 Jet Pack | 1.000% |
Plan: Ultracite Jet Pack | 1.000% |
Psycho | 8.333% |
Psychobuff | 8.333% |
Psychotats | 8.333% |
Purified Water | 33.333% |
Rad-X | 8.333% |
RadAway | 41.667% |
Recipe: Formula P | 18.750% |
Recipe: Super Stimpak | 7.500% |
Stimpak | 65.476% |
Stimpak: Super | 8.33% |
Strangler Bloom | 15.000% |
Treasury Notes x4 | 100% |
X-Cell | 8.333% |
Three Creatures Still Alive
**If you have learned the Plan: Bear Arm, then it will unlock the chance for the Bear Arm Mods to drop for you as a potential reward.
***Plans are character-locked and can not be traded. These plans will stop dropping once learned. If you unlocked these rewards in NW, they will not drop for you in adventure.
Item | % Drop Chance |
Arktos Lab Coat | 80.000% |
Baseball Grenade | 31.219% |
Bear Arm | 15.152% |
Corpse Flower Stamen | 20.000% |
Fragmentation Grenade | 31.219% |
Fragmentation Mine | 23.414% |
Improved Repair Kit | 40.000% |
Legendary Core x8 | 100.000% |
Med-X | 8.333% |
Mentats | 8.333% |
Molotov Cocktail | 31.219% |
Orange Mentats | 8.333% |
Overdrive | 8.333% |
Plan: Bear Arm** | 10.606% |
Plan: Bear Arm Heavy Mod** | 5.303% |
Plan: Bear Arm Puncturing Mod** | 5.303% |
Plan: Cryo Grenade | 0.200% |
Plan: Cryo Mine | 0.200% |
Plan: Gladiator Mask*** | 9.091% |
Plan: Inferno Mark 1 Power Armor Paints*** | 9.091% |
Plan: Minigun Hot Rod Shark Paint*** | 9.091% |
Plan: MIRV Frag Grenade | 0.640% |
Plan: Missile Launcher Shi Paint*** | 9.091% |
Plan: Nuka Quantum Grenade | 0.400% |
Plan: Nuka-Cola Grenade | 0.400% |
Plan: Nuke Mine | 0.200% |
Plan: Pulse Grenade | 0.200% |
Plan: Pulse Mine | 0.200% |
Plan: Raider Jet Pack | 1.000% |
Plan: T-45 Jet Pack | 1.000% |
Plan: T-51b Jet Pack | 1.000% |
Plan: T-60 Jet Pack | 1.000% |
Plan: Ultracite Jet Pack | 1.000% |
Psycho | 8.333% |
Psychobuff | 8.333% |
Psychotats | 8.333% |
Purified Water | 33.333% |
Rad-X | 8.333% |
RadAway | 41.667% |
Recipe: Formula P | 9.091% |
Recipe: Stimpak Diffuser | 9.091% |
Recipe: Super Stimpak | 9.091% |
Stimpak | 65.476% |
Stimpak: Super | 8.33% |
Strangler Bloom | 30.000% |
Treasury Notes x4 | 100% |
X-Cell | 8.333% |
Images of Rewards
Arktos Lab Coat
Arktos Pharma Backpack Skin
Bear Arm (Weapon)
Plan: Bear Arm
Plan: Bear Arm Heavy Mod
Plan: Bear Arm Puncturing Mod
Plan: Gladiator Mask
Plan: Inferno Mark 1 Power Armor Paints
Plan: Minigun Hot Rod Shark Paint
Plan: Missile Launcher Shi Paint
Recipe: Formula P
Hi, I'm Kat or Duchess
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