Journey To The Savage Planet: How To Reach Rank 4: Senior Executive Explorer

Earn the ‘Pinball Wizard’ achievement / trophy easy while completing these challenges.

The very last ‘For Science!’ step isn’t as important for completing the main game in Journey To The Savage Planet. You can unlock the tower, defeat the final boss, and find all the alien fuel sources without ever unlocking the final level of upgrades. But, if you’re aiming to 100% the game, there’s one specific upgrade that is absolutely required.

At the top rank, you’ll be able to unlock a Visor upgrade that allows you to scan for alien artifacts — so you’ll finally be able to scan for Alien Tablets and Explorer Logs. There are only a handful of these across the planet, but they’re so tricky to find, any additional clues will make your life so much easier if you’re aiming for the best possible ending.

More Journey To The Savage Planet guides:

How To Reach Rank 4: Senior Executive Explorer | ‘For Science!’ Part 3 Guide

The final rank you can unlock is super important for one reason only — the Alien Artifact detector. If you want to 100% the game and get every collectible, you’ll need this super-valuable Visor Upgrade. You can also get the most powerful Nomad Pistol upgrade, the enhanced Stomp Booster, and the Landing Impact Nullifier.

Getting the Slamphibian is tricky. Go with lots of extra health.

Gather live samples from creatures: Slamphibian, Schnoze, Imperial Scarab

Find a Slamphibian (and all the other creatures) at the Tears of T’bo teleporter, in the area where you collected the Stomp Booster material in the lower arena area.

You can find an Imperial Scarab in an oasis near the Tears of T’bo teleporter. It’s just up the hill. The Schnoze are even closer to the teleporter — look for a tall spire just opposite of the teleporter. They pop out of the dirt nests on the spire. Wait near a hole, and one of them will eventually pop out.

Kill 5 creatures with a single Charge Shot.

Before even attempting this, unlock the Bounce Bomb upgrade. I’m not sure this challenge is possible without the Bounce Bomb. This challenge, and the next two, can be completed in Shangtar’s Frigid Embrace.

Go to the chilly area and use Bait to pull five Pufferbirds close together — there’s a big group to the right as you enter the area from the Javelin landing cave. Next, charge the Nomad Pistol up to the third level (Bounce Bomb) to blast all the critters at once.

Shangtar’s Frigid Embrace is the best place to do all of the combat challenges.

Kill 4 creatures while they are shocked by lightning within 3 seconds.

In the same area of Shangtar’s Frigid Embrace, use bait to lure Pufferbirds close together, then use several Shock Fruit to make sure at least four critters are being shocked. Once they’re shocked, either throw a Bombegranate or shoot the Alpha Pufferbird to blow them all up at the same time. It might take a few tries. The most important thing is to make sure at least four creatures are currently being shocked — one Shock Fruit isn’t enough!

Kill 10 creatures in a row using only melee attacks and without getting hurt.

Again, do this one in Shangtar’s Frigid Embrace. Use the charged melee attack to 1-hit defeat Pufferbirds, and use a single-strike to kick the Alpha Pufferbirds away so they can explode far away from you. Just take it slow, take out one Pufferbird at a time, and you’ll earn this one easy.

The easiest way to trick your progress is to fill your health bar completely. If you don’t lose any health, you’ll make progress. Don’t use your Nomad Pistol either. Slapping an Alpha Pufferbird and letting it explode on its own doesn’t seem to count against you, either.