Quick answer: work through Taj Faris' questline on Layali Grove — find him, run his errands, then haul four batches of building materials to his workbench in the Ghurab Desolation across four separate raids. After a test launch, a second phase on Normal difficulty (Operation Starseeker) steals the Dark Matter fuel, and the Ahsarah Mini Rocket collectible is yours.
Where Taj Faris spawns (and what to do when he is not there)
Finding Taj is the step most runs stall on, so here is the full picture. Community walkthroughs document eleven random spawn spots across Layali Grove, and only one of them is occupied per match — some matches spawn nobody at all. If he is not at a spot, do not sweep the whole map: back out and join a fresh match. The quest is also single-player — if a teammate runs it, you cannot run it in the same match.
The loop: Taj asks for a small task at whichever spot he appears (retrieve an item, recover equipment), and the tasks repeat a random three to six times. Once they are done, the hand-in is not a random spot: it is Taj's home in the abandoned village on the map's eastern side — the Ghurab Desolation area, where his workbench stands. You hand the tasks in there and the rocket build unlocks. Watch the compass: the abandoned village sits on the east of the map, while the Small Manor easter-egg room that shares the quest is away on the west — they are easy to mix up.
| Spawn spot | What the guides document |
|---|---|
| Old Ghurab ruins | North gate, close to the spawns (Ali213). Behind the ruin side, with the task item under the gravestone at the right rear (Redfinger). |
| Small Manor code room | A talk-only easter-egg room behind a 3-digit code door, on the map's western side — if Taj is inside, talking to him counts; do not confuse this west-side room with the eastern hand-in village (Redfinger). |
| The ranch | Southern flat ground (Ali213). Out in the open, with the item on the second-floor box of the house behind him (Redfinger). |
| The crash site | The high point on the zipline (both guides). Item on the marked streetlight (Redfinger). |
| The checkpoint key room | Also close to the spawns — a cheap early check (Ali213). |
| The substation | West gate (Ali213). By the dirt track under the trees at the left-hand door; item on the cable spool in the middle of the yard (Redfinger). |
| Superstar Station | West gate (Ali213). Left of the entrance; item on the raised platform the enemy squad crowds, once it is cleared (Redfinger). |
| Radar Station, side entrance | West/left-hand door (both guides). Item under the sniper deck to the left of the entrance (Redfinger). |
| Radar Station, main gate | Right of the main gate; item beside the air-freight box on the helipad (Redfinger). |
| Aminya Village | By the fountain (Ali213); along the main road, with the item in one of three marks — a pickup bed, a second-floor sofa, or the crate on the high tower (Redfinger). |
| The docks | By the garbage bins (Ali213); in the flower bed by the lift, item on the parasol behind it (Redfinger). |
| The abandoned village | Not a spawn spot — the eastern hand-in point where Taj's home and workbench stand once the three to six tasks are done. This is where the rocket build unlocks. |
Spot list: Ali213's spawn rundown dated September 8, 2026 cross-checked against Redfinger's marker walkthrough dated September 18, 2026, both linked below; the hand-in point (the eastern abandoned village, not the west-side Small Manor room) follows Redfinger's own text and our in-game check. The two guides number the spots differently, so this table records both wordings per spot instead of inventing a third numbering.
When he does not spawn at all: re-roll the match rather than roaming. If you want to minimise running, the Ali213 guide notes that the Old Ghurab north gate, the ranch's southern ground and the checkpoint key room sit closest to the usual player spawns. Remember the map was rebuilt in Season 11, so older videos of Taj's spots predate the current layout.
Phase 1: build the rocket
- Find Taj Faris on Layali Grove using the eleven-spot list above. Only one player per match can run his quest — if a teammate is doing it, join a fresh match for yours.
- Run his errands. Phase 1 objectives vary by spawn (retrieve an item, recover equipment), then extract successfully.
- Four material runs. Taj asks for loot, not market purchases: bring them unbound or they do not count.
| Run | Items |
|---|---|
| Batch 1 | Polyethylene Fiber + Special Steel |
| Batch 2 | ASOS Motherboard + Programmable Processor + Relay |
| Batch 3 | Crusher Pliers + Handsaw |
| Batch 4 | High Performance Fuel |
- Submit each batch at the workbench in the Ghurab Desolation — interact with the radio to receive each batch's list — then extract and come back for the next one. Four batches, four raids.
- The test launch. After the final batch, extract once more, return to the workbench, and call Taj over the radio. Grab the rocket from his desk, follow him to the launch spot, and interact when prompted. Talk to him again to close Phase 1.
Phase 2: Operation Starseeker (Normal mode)
- Requirements: the Vigil Harmonica owned and Fishing Level 40 reached — fall short on either and the material batches stop counting at the workbench — plus a Normal-difficulty Layali Grove deployment: the basement laptop by the workbench stairs only exists on Normal.
- Activate within five minutes. Head to the tent at the marked starting spot and start the mission; after the five-minute mark it will not arm.
- Superstar Station. Interact with the train control lever before the time limit runs out.
- Haavk Radar Station. Reach the second-floor data control area and upload Taj's hacking program — a 120-second upload with enemies swarming. You do not need to kill everyone, only keep the upload alive.
- Steal the fuel. The Dark Matter train reroutes and arrives in about 3 minutes 45 seconds. Board it quietly, decode the container, grab the fuel — the decode alerts every guard, so leave immediately instead of fighting.
- Hold for extraction. Reach the bridge, call for extraction support, and hold the position for one minute under pressure. Joe arrives with the ride out.
- Claim the rocket. Finish Taj's storyline and the Ahsarah Mini Rocket collectible is yours. Slot it into the EDC Tool Kit and you can launch it during raids — cosmetic, but loud.
Why it stalls
- The Phase 2 gates were missed: without the Vigil Harmonica and Fishing Level 40, the material submission round stalls no matter what you hand over.
- Roaming the whole map looking for Taj after he failed to spawn — only one spot is occupied per match, and some matches spawn nobody. Re-roll instead.
- Materials bought from the Auction House are bound and rejected — they must be looted unbound.
- Phase 2 attempted on Easy, where the starting laptop does not exist.
- The tent activation came after the five-minute window.
- The radar upload was abandoned halfway, or the guards were fully alerted before the fuel decode.
- A material run that ended without extraction — the batch does not register.
Sources: the publisher's own news pages; step documentation from GamesFuze (September 15, 2026); the spawn list cross-checked between Ali213 (September 8, 2026) and Redfinger (September 18, 2026) — the in-page screenshots are theirs, credited under each one. Read October 11, 2026 and re-worded, with the Phase 2 gates (Vigil Harmonica + Fishing Level 40) verified in our own game. See also: the Vigil Harmonica quest and the fishing rod unlock — the Harmonica and the Level 40 grind are the Phase 2 gates.
Update Rule
This page is re-checked while Season 11 runs and whenever a patch changes the quest. The date at the top is the date the steps were last verified against the live global client.