How to use the hacking pod in Deep Rock Galactic

In Deep Rock Galactic, you’re sent deep into some of the darkest caves in space to retrieve valuable minerals. While your character is expendable, the rare resources you’re collecting aren’t, and some of them are worth more than others. Sometimes, you’ll come across technology deep inside the caves you’re exploring that need to be hacked before you can access the treasures within. This guide explains how to use the hacking pod that allows you to do this, helping you get more out of your next mission.

Step 1: Summon the hacking pod

Before you can hack anything, you need to find a machine and summon the hacking pod. This is a prompt that pops up when you approach the device, but you don’t have to do it if you only want to complete the main objectives. However, the rewards you’ll get are worth it.

Step 2: Locate and hook up the Hack-C Bot

Next, you need to explore the cave system you’re in to find the Hack-C Bot. This is a large drone that will have tunneled down from the surface. When you find it, you can pick up its nodes and connect them via data streams. You need to place the nodes close to the green forcefield that the Hack-C Bot generates but stay on the inside. As long as the nodes are placed on the inside, they’ll connect to the Hack-C Bot and each other. Place nodes along a line until you reach the machine you need to hack. The final drone you place should link to the machine.

Step 3: Activate and defend the Hack-C Bot

Once you’ve connected the Hack-C Bot to the machine you want to hack using the nodes, go back to the Hack-C Bot and activate it. This will trigger a lot of noise and a mighty swarm. From there, you must kill bugs and defend the Hack-C Bot until it completes its hack. When it’s done, it’ll fly off.

Step 4: Collect and store your loot

With the machine hacked, you can go back to it and collect whatever was inside. The most important thing to do is to store the loot in your Mule because you’ll lose it if you don’t. The loot will be counted with everything else you’ve gathered at the end of the mission.