Explore the testing facility is a mission in Going Commando taking place in a testing facility, on planet Dobbo. After Ratchet gave Abercrombie Fizzwidget the Protopet, the Unknown Thief, revealing herself to be a female lombax, ominously told them to travel to the testing facility on Dobbo if they had any intention of fixing the mess they had made. It was unclear what she meant, but the two nonetheless resolved to search.
"Explore the testing facility" effectively leads to two different missions, one taking place in the overground facility where the Star Explorer lands, and one taking place in an inner facility accessed by warping in with a teleporter.
It is possible two earn the skill point "Old Skool" if you complete this with only the Gadgetron weapons acquired on Barlow. However, it is also possible to complete that skill point upon returning. If you are going for this skill point, make sure you complete the section with the inner facility first, as the enemies will reset upon traveling to the Dobbo orbit moon at the end of the path in the overground facility.
Walkthrough[]
The Minirocket Tube is available at the Megacorp vendor, it is a versatile missile launcher, as the rockets can be particularly strong against single targets, while also effective at clusters of smaller enemies. It is possible though unlikely that it can be purchased at this stage. Additionally, the planet also has an Megacorp armor vendor, with the Tetrafiber armor on sale, which provides a 33% damage reduction. This armor can be ignored if needed, which will save you 25,000 bolts, and instead lets you spend that money on a new weapon or save it for a later version of better armor.
Overground facility[]
Ignoring the nearby teleporter, deal with the group of Megacorp Chickenbots v2.0, which behave identically to the weaker ones you have previously encountered, but are notably tougher. The Lava Gun is a good weapon of choice against these, or alternatively rely on Synthenoids to deal with them. Behind them is a walkway containing several Megacorp Troopers, which are powerful, well-armored medium-sized enemies that will fire several blasts from their pistols before recharging to fire more. The Seeker Gun can take them out just as well as the Lava Gun can, with support from either the Synthenoids or Miniturret Glove if needed. Destroy the ones that spawn in until they are all done, restock ammo if needed from the vendor, and then continue.
On top of the walkway, the path turns left to a gap, which can only be crossed with the Dynamo. Use the Dynamo, and then take out the Chickenbots on the platform, then head up to the next walkway. Here, a large group of Troopers will arrive. There are several blocks that some Troopers use for cover, use the same weapons as earlier, including the support weapons. After these, a large Megacorp Hover Tank blocks your way forward, which is a durable, powerful enemy, but its attacks are relatively slow and easy to dodge. Take it out with either the Pulse Rifle or Seeker Gun, then uUse the Swingshot to reach the next building.
This building has a stash of blocks and two Megacorp Troopers; dodge their bullets and eliminate them. Behind that is a more open area with more Troopers; stay behind the blocks and use the Pulse Rifle or engage them with several miniturrets along the usual weapons. Afterwards, head forward, up the ladder on the right, and use the Swingshot or jump across the gap to the balcony on the side of another building. Kill the Troopers in here, and drop down to the lower floor with a large group of Chickenbots; destroy them and climb back up the ladder. Past the building is another Hover Tank and a pair of Troopers, deal with them before using the Swingshot to get across.
Head right, turn left and you will encounter another large force of Troopers. Deal with them using the same weapons as before, then head up the ladder to get to the top of the tower and deal with the last Troopers. Using the Dynamo and Swingshot you can make your way across a series of platforms, dealing with a few more Troopers as you go. At the end is a long Swingshot section where you reach an island and the Mathematician, where a cutscene will commence. This mission is continued with "Defeat the Thug Leader". At the end of it, use the taxi to return to your ship, and complete the other part of the mission.
Inner facility[]
The inner facility is entered from the teleporter close to the ship. The first enemies you encounter will be Megacorp Sentinels, which only target you if you enter their spotlight. The Miniturret Glove and Seeker Gun are effective against these durable opponents, as they let you dodge their spotlights without the need to put effort into aiming. The former is also useful, together with the Lava Gun, against the Blade Ball v2.0 enemies found shortly after. Deal with them, and the Megacorp Security Turret by either shooting it from afar or jumping its plasma line attacks. Fight several more Sentinels and then go down an elevator shaft.
Two Turrets will create a field of deadly Plasma, while a pair of Troopers will harass you from behind cover. Either lay down some miniturrets or use the Synthenoids for support, but taking out the latter is preferable as the turrets' attack area is easily avoided. A large group of Blade Balls past this is also easily dealt with using the Lava Gun, and another Security Turret will try and block your path past them. Head up another elevator shaft to find a lone Hover Tank, which is easily destroyed with the Seeker Gun. Afterwards, use the Swingshot and Dynamo to swing and jump across the large gap and reach a lone floating platform that will take you up to the core terminal. After a cutscene, the mission continues in "Repair the power generator".