====== Softlocks ======
> //Alright, people. Don't mess this up.// \\ ---[[:agents:Central]]

There are rare situations known as **softlocks**, where a [[:mission]] certainly cannot be completed successfully, but the [[:failure|mission failure condition]] is not actually met. In this case, there may be no in-game action the player can take to progress the mission, or the mission might be continued indefinitely but fruitlessly.

Most unwinnable situations are not softlocks; for example, when the last remaining agent is [[:guard behaviour#overwatch|overwatched]] by a guard with no way to escape, the player can take an in-game action to continue (i.e. the agent can say their "final words" and get shot), but cannot prolong the mission //indefinitely//.

If a softlock does occur, the mission can only end in [[:failure]], either by losing every agent, or by selecting "Retire Agency" from the game menu.

===== Tutorial softlock =====

There is a possible softlock in the [[:missions:Tutorial]] mission which can occur when [[:agents:Decker]] [[:dragging|drags]] the first [[:guards:Security Guard]] to the door before the second Security Guard, and opens the door to distract the second guard while [[:pinning]] the first guard.

If this happens, the Tutorial mission script requires the player to prepare an [[:attack#ambush]] for the second guard, but this is impossible while Decker is pinning another guard. The player therefore has no in-game action to progress the Tutorial, and must retire the agency.

The Tutorial mission softlock is demonstrated in [[youtube>lsu4LJ1aClc|this video]]. A similar softlock occurs if Decker is not pinning the first guard, but his [[:weapons:Neural Disruptor]] is on cooldown.

===== Losing Central or Monst3r =====

The [[:missions:OMNI Mainframe]] mission can become unwinnable if [[:agents:Central]] or [[:agents:Monst3r]] become [[:lethal damage|lethally-wounded]] before completing their respective objectives, and there are no remaining [[:items:Med Gels]] in the facility to revive them.

===== No way to hack a compulsory device =====

In the [[:missions:Research Facility]], [[:missions:OMNI Foundry Lab]] and [[:missions:OMNI Mainframe]] missions, a softlock can occur if the agency finds themselves with no way to hack a compulsory [[:mainframe device]] such as the [[:mainframe devices:Access Switch|Access Switches]] or [[:mainframe devices:Security Hub]]. Missions in the [[:Contingency Plan#extended campaign]] after the OMNI Foundry Lab can also become unwinnable if the agency has no way to hack or [[:rebooting|reboot]] the [[:mainframe devices:Redundant Power Relay]].

This can happen if the agency runs out of [[:PWR]] with no way to generate more, such as when using [[:programs:Fusion]], or [[:programs:Seed]] with a [[:programs:breaker]] which costs at least 5\ [[:PWR]] to use. Alternatively, it can happen if the agency sells its breaker program(s). In either case, to be a true softlock the agency must have no alternative such as hacking using [[:items:Buster Chips]] or generating PWR from [[:augments]].

In the [[:missions:OMNI Mainframe]] mission, [[:agents:Central]]'s [[:augments:Antiviral Proxy]] augment can usually be used to generate PWR by triggering a [[:daemon]], either by walking through the [[:mainframe devices:Infrared Emitter]] or firing the [[:weapons:Overclocked Neural DART]]. However, the softlock can still occur if Central gets KO'd (preventing her augment from granting power), the Infrared Emitter's [[:mainframe devices:Power Supply]] is controlled by the agency and the Overclocked Neural DART becomes irretrievably lost.

===== Unable to activate both Access Switches =====

The [[:missions:Research Facility]] mission can become unwinnable if all but one agent is [[:lethal damage|lethally-wounded]], and there are no remaining [[:items:Med Gels]] in the facility to revive another agent. The two [[:mainframe devices:Access Switch|Access Switches]] are typically too far apart from each other for one agent to activate both switches on the same turn; so in this case, there is no way to unlock the exit teleporter in order to complete the mission.

===== Losing a compulsory item =====

The [[:missions:OMNI Foundry Lab]] mission can become unwinnable if the [[:items:Quantum Reservoir]] is lost, missions in the [[:Contingency Plan#extended campaign]] can become unwinnable if the [[:items:Universal Power Cell]] is lost, and missions in [[:modes:Endless]] mode can become unwinnable if the [[:items:Exit Access Card]] is lost before being used to open the [[:doors#Exit Door]].

One of these compulsory items can become irretrievably lost if:

  * It is given to a [[:guard]] who wakes up from being [[:KO|knocked out]], the agency finds themselves with no way to attack the guard carrying it, and no active or revivable agent has [[:skill#Anarchy]] skill level 2 to [[:stealing|steal]] it back.
  * It is given to a [[:civilian]] who exits the facility while [[:guard behaviour#panicking]].
  * It is left in an unhacked or [[:rebooting#recapturing|recaptured]] [[:mainframe devices:Corporate Safe]] or other device, and the agency finds themselves with no way to hack or disable the device again.
  * The Exit Access Card can be sold at a [[:mainframe devices:Nanofabricator]] and then lost if the agency wastes enough [[:credits]] and cannot afford to buy it back.

===== Unable to pick up a compulsory item =====

In the [[:missions:OMNI Mainframe]] mission, the [[:items:Incognita Memory Drive]] should appear in [[:agents:Central]]'s inventory at the start of the mission, and the [[:augments:OMNI Security Chip]] augment should be installed on [[:agents:Monst3r]] or placed in his inventory after hacking the [[:mainframe devices:Security Hub]]. If Central has no free inventory slot then the Incognita Memory Drive appears on the floor, and if Monst3r has four augments and no free inventory slot then the OMNI Security Chip appears on the floor.

Due to a bug in the game, in either case the item cannot be picked up, leaving the game in an unwinnable state. This bug is fixed in the [[:mods:Sim Constructor]] mod.

===== Rubiks or Castle on a compulsory device =====

Due to a bug in the game, the [[:missions:OMNI Foundry Lab]] and [[:missions:OMNI Mainframe]] missions can become unwinnable if the [[:mainframe devices:Research Security Terminal]], [[:mainframe devices:Security Hub]] or [[:mainframe devices:Mainframe Lock]] have [[:daemons:Rubiks]] installed. If either device is hacked using a [[:programs:breaker|breaker]] which breaks exactly the number of [[:firewalls]] the device has, then Rubiks leaves the device in an inconsistent state where it still has 1 firewall (so it cannot be accessed), but the device is also "controlled" by the agency (so its firewall cannot be hacked by [[:Incognita]]). In this case the device cannot be used to progress the mission.

This can also occur if the device has [[:daemons:Castle]] installed, if Castle targets the device itself.

When this bug occurs, the mission can still be recovered by hacking the device with a [[:items:Buster Chip]] or the [[:items:Prototype Chip]]. However, if the agency does not have one of these, and has no way to acquire one, then the mission becomes unwinnable. The bug is fixed by the [[:mods:Function Library]] mod.

===== Trapped in cover =====

The [[:prefabs:OMNI Foundry Lab starting room]] has a unique layout of [[:cover]] objects which allows up to four agents to hide in cover, such that even if a [[:guard]] [[:guard behaviour#interest point|notices]] an agent there, he cannot step past the cover objects to see and [[:guard behaviour#overwatch]] the agent, because the agent on that tile is blocking his only path there.

This can cause a softlock when all active agents are hidden on these four tiles, if the agency finds themselves with no way to [[:attack]] or [[:strategy:distraction|distract]] the guard who notices them. When this happens, the guard will continue to peek every turn without moving, also blocking the agents' only path out.

===== Gel Injectors =====

The augment [[:augments:Gel Injectors]] initially gives an agent +3\ base [[:AP]], but then reduces their base AP by 1 at each [[:alarm level]]; the penalty continues to apply beyond alarm level 6, down to a minimum of 0\ AP. It is therefore possible for an agent with Gel Injectors to become completely immobile, if there is no other way to gain [[:AP]] such as by using [[:items:Stims]], and the agent cannot become [[:KO|knocked out]] or [[:lethal damage|lethally-wounded]] in order for another agent to [[:dragging|drag]] them. This can happen if every surviving [[:guard]] in the facility is [[:KO|knocked out]] on few enough tiles to be [[:pinning|pinned]] by one or more agents with 0 base AP due to Gel Injectors, causing a softlock.