“Below the Surface” is a mid‑game side mission set in Dominion’s Terminus District. It opens after the seventeenth story quest and sends you into a flooded research lab to clean out a creep infestation, piece together an optional audio trail, and settle Ted’s past — which ends with a boss fight.

Mission facts Details
Where it starts Dominion > Terminus District (speak with Ted)
Unlock requirement Finish Main Mission 17: The Falling Wall
Core beats Enter lab, reach sub‑level via vent, clear main lab, reactivate elevator, defeat Ted’s corrupted form
Optional objective Collect 5 ECHO logs within the facility
Rewards XP, cash, Shotgun (Rare/Epic), Vehicle Paintjob (Weirdo), Weapon Skin (Weirdo)

Detailed walkthrough

1) Take the keycard and enter the lab. Talk to Ted at the quest icon to receive a keycard. Use it on the marked entrance nearby to get inside.

2) Bypass the dead elevator. The lift in the first room is offline. Grapple the vent cover on the wall near the entrance, crawl through the duct, and drop down at the end.

3) Reach the labs and grab the first log. Follow the linear path until you climb out of the water. There’s an ECHO log on a table in front of you; this counts toward the optional objective.

4) Open the inner gate and continue. In the next rooms, a locked gate carries the mission marker. Get close to see the prompt and open it, then check the broken window immediately left for another log. Push deeper until you hit a grapple point that swings you into the main lab.

5) Clear the infestation and bring the lift back online. Eliminate the insect enemies in the main lab. Then use the upstairs console overlooking the room to reactivate the elevator.

6) Defend against Vile variants and confront Ted. Additional waves arrive, including two “Vile” enemies protected by purple crystals. Remove crystals (details below), then finish them. When Ted enters, speak with him — he’ll step into the purple machine and transform.

7) Defeat Ted’s corrupted form. Take him down; he drops an ECHO log. Exit through the gate behind the machine he used and follow the corridor to the elevator room for the final log. Flip the elevator switch and leave the facility to complete the mission.

Optional ECHO log locations (5 total)

# Where to find it
1 On a table right after climbing out of the water in the early lab section
2 Behind a vent cover in the room adjacent to the locked, blue‑marked gate
3 In a broken window immediately left after passing through the locked gate
4 Dropped by Ted after you defeat his corrupted form
5 On the right side of the final elevator room, on the floor next to a corpse

How Vile enemies work (crystals and regen)

  • Vile enemies have a purple “crystal” layer that negates damage. You must first shoot the crystals off.
  • When the crystals break, they disperse as a floating purple light that will reattach if ignored. Shoot this light immediately to prevent regeneration.
  • Area‑of‑effect damage helps strip crystals quickly; follow with precise shots to delete the floating orbs before they reform.

Rewards and notable drops

  • Guaranteed: XP, money, a Rare/Epic shotgun, and two cosmetics (Weirdo vehicle paintjob and weapon skin).
  • Reported drops: the boss trio in this mission chain (the Experiments and Ted’s corrupted form) can drop Legendary items, including Seventh Sense (pistol) and Goalkeeper (assault rifle).

Post‑mission: quick boss farming route

After finishing the mission, you can return to the encounter area by taking the elevator back down. In the hallway that leads from the boss room, grapple the purple portal to reach the Big Encore machine and re‑spawn the fight, making this a fast farm for potential Legendary drops.

Reported quest bugs and reliable workarounds

  • Lab door won’t open / no interact prompt: Stand at the marked door and repeatedly press interact; the prompt can fail to appear but the door still opens.
  • Ted not at the marker: If his path looks broken or the icon leads into a grate, check the nearby corridor ahead. Players have found him slightly farther down the hallway.
  • “Reactivate the elevator” marker with no button: Some runs show no usable console. Reloading the area or returning to main menu and re‑entering the session has resolved it for players.

Persistent blockers can be escalated through 2K Support (include platform, mission name, and a short clip if possible).

What to play next in Terminus District

After exiting, you’re right by several other Dominion side missions in Terminus District, including AAA for Effort and No‑Escape Room. If you’re chasing side content completion, keep an eye on unfogged map areas for new blue “!” icons as you progress through story beats.