Refuge

Niko looking at The Tower upon entering the Refuge

**The Refuge**, also called the city, is a city that occupies the majority of the innermost ring of the World. Due to the steady deterioration of the world, several paths have been blocked off and others completely gone. The Refuge contains the majority of the World's inhabitants.

## Overview

The Refuge consists of two parts, one in the sky and the other one on the ground, connected by elevators. In a normal run, Niko's objective in the first part is to help the Lamplighter fix the elevator to the ground, and in the second part to enter The Tower after finding out more information about it in The Library. The Refuge's phosphor color is red.

## Map

Map of Upper Refuge (view full image).Map of Lower Refuge (view full image).Map of 2014 Refuge/Tower (view full image).
## Sublocations

### Catwalks

The catwalks are the first part Niko must go through and the higher part of the Refuge. Upon arrival, Niko will be greeted by a robot who informs them that they cannot pass further unless they are holding a seed, in which case the robot grants them access to the garden.

#### City gate

A giant robot is stationed before the T-intersection connecting the Glen entrance to the Elevator deck and the Garden. The robot will not allow Niko to pass into the Garden unless they carry the kernel from which Maize can be reborn.

#### Elevator deck

When Niko arrives here, they will meet the Lamplighter who will tell them that the elevator isn't working because the button that displays "GROUND" is missing.

#### Apartments

This location has many separate rooms as well as a hallway. The first room contains a robot that will scan Niko, and upon finding no suspicious activity, set their threat level to low but will warn Niko that they are monitoring them.

In the second room resides a sad young lady. Upon interacting with her, no dialogue will appear, instead showing a long line of ellipses. This room also contains a penguin plush, which, when talked to, will deliver a warbled "hello".

The third room contains another robot and a young girl. Upon interacting with the robot, they will ask Niko if they want to play a game. After being asked about many settings, Niko decides not to play. The girl will iterate that her parents are never home and that she doesn't mind, as she has the robot to keep her company. They mention taming, but are unable to explain it to Niko.

The fourth room contains a ram named Betsy and a citizen of the Glen that has recently moved to the city. They explain that things are very different compared to the Glen and how they miss it. This room also has many chewed up or completely eaten potted plants, presumably eaten by the ram.

The fifth room contains a roomba, and upon interacting with it, the player can tell Niko to ride it, which can be done infinitely. If Niko exits the room while on the roomba, they will stop riding it. Riding and dismounting the roomba awards the Steam achievement We Ride At Dawn.

Mason can be found in the sixth room, as well as many different types of plants. Talking to Mason after placing the kernel of corn in the garden pot will give the item dirt. This room also has sinks that can be used to refill the empty tube.

South from the left-most apartments, a large room with bookshelves, a small coffee machine, fridges and an NPC with a TV as a head can be found. One of the fridges will have the magnets on it, which are needed to recreate the elevator button.

#### Cafe

The cafe consists of tables and chairs, a coffee machine and Ling. Going here when Niko is hungry and talking to Ling will play a cutscene where Niko confesses their worries about the sun and their home world. Viewing this scene unlocks the "Pancakes" achievement. The metal can is also obtainable here.

#### Office

In the office, a stapler and an tape dispenser are adhered to a desk. A nearby note explains they can be used, but they are glued in place to prevent theft. The tape, if interacted with, can be used on the magnetized (?) button or you tried to prevent it from collapsing. The main Refuge generator is located in this room, and is guarded by a robot.

#### Garden

Although called the Garden, there are no visible plants in this area. Small pools of phosphor in the ground form the lightbulb emblem. In the center is an empty pot where Niko can place and tend to the corn kernel left behind by Maize.

#### Observation deck

Here, Niko can observe a large portion of Refuge, as well as pink water reflecting it while pensive music plays. By continuing to walk along here, Niko initiates a conversation with the player about where they live, and will ask where the player lives. This room loops back to a staircase that returns to the countdown room.

In the Solstice Route, Rue and Niko have a long discussion in this room about taming and the Entity before another outbreak of squares forces them go back inside.

### Surface

The Surface is the second area Niko must go through in Refuge, located at ground level. They arrive here after fixing the elevator. Their objective is to reach the Tower after informing themselves about it in the Library.

#### Elevator street

Despite the Refuge being built over a visible body of water, the Newsbot and another NPC mention a water shortage caused by square particles corrupting a pipeline. This would imply that the phosphorescent water all around is undrinkable, unless the pipeline was connected to a local filtration system.

#### Vendor street

Between every building down this street are vendors, one of which sells the water pill and offers Niko a free sample. The Lamplighter can be seen refilling dim lamp posts at the right end of the street. In one of the buildings is a camera where Niko can take their picture to put over Kip's library card once they arrange the lenses in the correct order. After talking to the NPC outside the camera room, each of the vendors will also provide hints for the correct lens order.

#### Back alley

The back alley contains a hallway with a large number of trash cans. Kelvin and Rue can be found here, as well as the Lamplighter's apartment and the secret ram room. There is a robot captured by glitches warning Niko not to approach. In the Lamplighter's apartment, Niko can find an assortment of lenses for the photo booth.

#### Library

The Library is mainly occupied by humans and more objectheads. There are several books Niko can read in the Library written by the Author. They are about phosphor and flora and fauna from all three zones. One such book mentions that black clovers may be this world's oldest known life form. An NPC comments that this Library is a place to remember the world by, considering the possibility that it may end soon.

A robot receptionist is stationed at a desk before the archival rooms where George is working and will not allow Niko access until shown a library card with their picture on it. In George's room upstairs, Niko can find out from her how to access the Tower after she translates the strange journal. While she does that, she lets Niko borrow her bed in the adjoining room.

#### Factory

The robot factory is staffed by human and objecthead scientists, several of which are frazzled or fatigued by the square particles and several indicators of an impending end-of-the-world scenario.

Past a strange security puzzle, Niko can find Kip and retrieve her library card and some glitter glue. If Niko goes back and shows her the amber pendant from Silver, Kip provides Silver's backstory in a remorseful tone.

## Strategy

OneShot is a game with lots of hints towards how to get through the game in its storytelling and world-building. The steps listed here are not necessarily the intended way to get through the Refuge, it's simply a guide of the basic things you need to do to progress for people who are stuck and want help.

Following these steps directly will mean missing out on certain character interactions, dialogue and world-building. Do so at your own discretion.

### Catwalks

1. Head downwards to the elevator and talk to the Lamplighter.
2. To the top left of the Elevator deck there is a path that leads to the apartments. The doors with red light in the windows are the ones you can open, though it is not necessary to go through any of the apartments to proceed.
3. Go through the door in the hallway that leads to a bathroom and get the scissors there.
4. To the far left in the apartment area is a pathway that leads downwards to a big communal area. Go over to the fridges and get the magnets.
5. Go back to the elevator deck. The bottom right path leads to the Cafe where you will find a coffee tin on the ground.
6. Cut the tin with the scissors and combine that with the magnets.
7. Follow the top right path of the elevator deck. Go to the office area where you will find a tape dispenser.
8. Tape the magnified button together so it doesn't fall apart.
9. Put the new button in the elevator and then it should ask for a security code.
10. Downwards from the office and at the end of the hallway is a computer. Talk to the computer, get the weird film and "expose it to the void". (If you're not sure what this means, you can talk to the computer more for further explanation, but basically it means drag the game window outside of your computer screen.)
11. To the bottom left of the elevator is a bed where Niko can sleep before you head onto the Surface.

### Surface

1. Head to the right from the elevator and go to the library. Talk to the Bookbot so Niko knows they need to get a library card.
2. Go to the right and walk up the creepy alley way.
3. Find the Lamplighter's apartment and get the camera lenses from the box.
4. Upwards from the creepy alley way is the vendor street that leads to the factory.
5. To get to the factory you need to solve a randomized entrance puzzle. In the room to the right there are papers explaining how it works.
6. Go up to the factory and talk to Kip. Take her glitter glue from the shelf.
7. Go to the Vendor Street and head inside the building with a hooded person in front of it.
8. Put the lenses in the camera in this order (from left to right): thick, concave, thin, convex.
9. Use the glitter glue to put Niko's picture on the library card.
10. Head back to the library and talk to George upstairs. Get her to translate the journal and sleep in the bed there.
11. Proceed to the tower room near the factory.

### Seed Achievement Guide

These don't necessarily have to be done in order.

* If you have picked up the seed from the Glen, you are allowed to pass through to the garden in the Refuge Sky area where you can plant the seed.
* In the last apartment in the apartment area there is a gardener, Mason, who will give you a bag of dirt.
* On Vendor Street there is a guy who gives you a water pill. Put the pill in the water and then water the plant with it.
* If you ever lose the water sample you can fill it up again at the sinks in the bathroom.

## Trivia

* In map 009 "Red sky" (viewable in RPG Maker XP), the internal folder for Upper Refuge maps, a picture of Rue with a ":3c" emote on the top-left corner can be seen. Backgrounds like refuge skyline or water don't show up in RPG Maker XP. In-game renders and more about unused maps.
* In map 083 "Red ground" a picture of Tsuyu Asui from *My Hero Academia* with the caption "gir..." just below it can be seen.
* In map 207 "POSTGAME RED SKY", the folder map for Solstice Upper Refuge maps, is "MYAA" can be seen.
* In the back alley, in the narrow vertical passageway, there is a spot near the clotheslines where Niko can walk into the left wall and find a bunch of mice huddled together. This spot is internally named "CUBBYHOLE".
* There are 2 similar spots: near transition to the vendor street and inside the lamplighter's home. They lack mice but Niko can still walk into a wall there.