Episode 12: School's Out

After quickly dealing with the Toxin in the 'Toxic Relationships' mission, Lydia immediately contacts Crane, requesting him to infiltrate an abandoned school that has been converted into a laboratory by the Baron. This begins the 'School's Out' mission. The feeling of length in this mission doesn't come from numerous objectives, but from needing to delve deep into the building's complex structure to achieve your goals. Don't worry - detailed step-by-step guidance will be provided below to help you smoothly complete the 'School's Out' main quest in Dying Light: The Beast.

Upon arriving at the school, you'll meet Ray, Lydia's informant. He explains that the Baron's men have sentries posted near the main entrance, so you can't force your way through. The main objective is to collect five research papers, all located in a gym outpost at the school's lower level. Ray will point to an open window above as the entrance. Additionally, there's another backup entrance at the very back of the school - you can go down several levels from there.

For your convenience, the backup entrance is marked in the image: it's an open window at the back of the right building's ground floor. Enter through it into a classroom, and you can eventually reach Level 0 of the school through a ventilation duct. However, for continuity of the walkthrough and if you want to maximize resource scavenging (whether selling valuables or using them yourself), I recommend following Ray's suggested route - entering through the window above. This path is longer and also serves as an entrance to a dark zone.

As Ray warned, after entering through the upper window, prepare to deal with a large number of dormant zombies, especially watch out for a variant called 'Screamers' - if their damaging scream alerts you, it will wake all the zombies. This level has abundant resources to scavenge. In fact, subsequent floors of the school are also full of numerous lockers and various loot points. Since the main objective is downstairs, follow the stairs marked in the image to head to Level 1. The stairwell walls are marked with the number '2' icon to help you locate your current floor.

Level 1 has a compact library where fighting space will feel somewhat cramped, so if you decide to clear and explore, try to avoid getting too entangled with infected. Similar to Level 2, this area is full of zombies you can stealth kill, plus more Screamers that you can highlight with Survivor Sense and prioritize. Other than that, there's not much special to note on this level. The path to the lower level is marked in the image: basically just another staircase next to the one you came down. This staircase will take you to Level 0.

Exploring this level of the school has some unique details that don't simply repeat previous patterns. First, you can find a ventilation duct in the bathroom on this level leading to a classroom and that backup entrance window. But next, you'll encounter an interesting puzzle that requires some computer knowledge. In an office next to the bathroom, there's an unlockable safe on the shelf. Unlike usually hiding the code on collectible notes, this time the code is scrawled directly on the whiteboard in front of you - in binary numbers. The safe code is 5-40-90. This is why I said knowing some computer science (binary to decimal conversion) would be helpful. If you don't want to calculate it yourself, I've marked the exact code in the image above.

Additionally, there's a door here that requires lockpicking. Inside, another unlockable cabinet contains valuables and resources - remember to open it. If you want to clear more zombies, the cafeteria area on this level has a large number of infected gathered. Returning to the main quest, we need to go down one more floor. Through a door that requires squeezing sideways (location shown in image), you can descend to Level -1, the school's underground basement, where our final objective is located.

We're about to reach the target area. After going down the stairs, prepare to deal with a Screamer infected and surrounding zombies, and scavenge all available resources. Before crawling into the ventilation duct, don't forget there are several fuel cans to grab. At this point, the mission objective will update, directing you to the exact location. The entire Level -1 hallway is scattered with zombies, but on the other hand, there are also numerous locker rooms with potential loot, though the reward appeal may not be great. You can choose to ignore the loot and zombies and rush directly to the gym outpost on this level, or patiently eliminate every enemy to maximize resource collection.

The gym is full of Baron's soldiers. While you can stealth kill a few, I still recommend directly equipping a shotgun or assault rifle to quickly clear them. After dealing with all the soldiers, start collecting the four research papers scattered around. One is even hidden in a cabinet - easily scanned with Survivor Sense, so they shouldn't be hard to find. You'll find the last paper isn't here. Actually, when you turn around, an investigation icon will point to a room on this level. Opening the door triggers a cutscene revealing that Crane has accidentally discovered a scientist named Camillo.

Crane decides to bring Camillo back to the exile hideout, but first needs to clear a safe passage through the basement to hand him over to Ray. Open the trapdoor in the room and jump into the flooded basement. Clear all infected below. Note that as shown in the image, at the end of the hallway next to an infected, there's an explosive 'Boomer' - be very careful with it to avoid getting caught off guard like we did. In the last room, you'll encounter a military-uniformed zombie with high health. Try to effectively kill it by dodging and attacking its back. Finally, pass through that half-open door and deal with the last Biter on the ground.

Lockpick the nearby door to reveal a hallway with an exit at the end. Interact with it to trigger a cutscene: Camillo and Ray successfully escape in a getaway vehicle. Camillo gives Crane a key to open a file cabinet in the gym. We need to backtrack to the gym. Upon arrival, use the key to open the cabinet to get the final research file, but you'll also witness a chaotic scene.

Baron's soldier reinforcements have encountered Scavengers blocking their way, and both sides have erupted into intense gunfire. At this moment, while it's tempting to eliminate both sides to loot weapons and supplies, I recommend carefully and quickly leaving the scene from the right area as shown in the image, while they're engaged in battle. Exit through the school's main entrance which opened after the cutscene. There should only be two soldiers and two vehicles left. If possible, quickly deal with them, then jump in either vehicle and drive away from the school, bringing the research materials back to Lydia.

After successfully delivering the research files to Lydia, the mission isn't over. There's news that Ray and Camillo didn't successfully reach the exile cave, and we need to investigate their whereabouts. When driving away, Lydia will notify Crane to check near the village to see if Ray took a shortcut. The location isn't far, but upon arrival, you find the vehicle has crashed and Ray has unfortunately died at the scene. The area is gathered with a group of infected, including an Acid Spitter and a Tank zombie. I recommend clearing them all out, or they'll be very troublesome while you're investigating the scene.

After investigating the crashed vehicle, the next task is to follow Camillo's footprints. Unfortunately, in daylight these footprints aren't very obvious, but I've marked their starting point and direction in the image. The footprints actually lead to a huge blue house across the street. The entrance is at a corner of the house - an open window. Climb in, pass through the nearby ventilation duct, then go downstairs to clear the infected inside the house. After completion, interact with the double doors here to trigger a cutscene showing Camillo safe and sound.

Fortunately, we don't need to personally escort Camillo back because Lydia personally comes to pick him up. She thanks Crane for completing this arduous task and says to keep in touch, then the main quest ends. Rewards: - Purple Quality Revolver - 6 Purple Quality Revolver Ammo - 12,500 XP - 800 Old World Currency This was one of the longest and most complex missions, requiring extensive navigation through the school's multiple floors and dealing with various threats along the way.