Alexis Kestler
As a hardcore gamer and tech specialist, I was eagerly awaiting the launch of Starfield – the latest open world role-playing game from legendary developers Bethesda Game Studios. And I‘m not alone – Starfield has been one of the most anticipated releases in recent memory. Expectations have been sky-high for this new space epic franchise.
However, some ambitious open world games inevitably ship with a few bugs. One issue plaguing early Starfield players is the pesky "Power From Beyond" glitch preventing completion of a side quest on the planet Skink.
Trust me, I know how frustrating bugs can be, especially in huge games like this. But don‘t abandon that Skink spacesuit yet! In this detailed guide, I‘ll show you the best known fixes to squash this Starfield glitch based on my gaming expertise.
What Exactly Is the Power From Beyond Bug?
Before jumping into solutions, let‘s quickly cover what‘s going on with this Starfield glitch. Power From Beyond is a side quest you can pickup in the Akila system from a man named Roland Laraan. He asks you to investigate strange energy spikes coming from monoliths on the planet Skink.
Upon accepting, a marker directs you to the coordinates of an anomaly you need to scan to progress the mission. But that‘s where the bug rears its head – the anomaly doesn‘t actually appear when you arrive, leaving you unable to advance the quest.
Based on player reports, the trigger fails to happen about 75% of the time, making this a fairly common bug. It‘s unclear what causes the game to not cue the next stage, but no anomaly means you‘re stuck.
This is a bummer because the rest of the multi-part Power From Beyond questline is really cool. You eventually learn more about the ancient alien civilization that once inhabited Skink and gain some neat new upgrades. But not if you can‘t start it due to this glitch!
Thankfully, astro-explorers of the Starfield subreddit and Steam forums have combined their brainpower to find workarounds to fix this persistent mission blocker. After testing them myself, I can confirm these methods get you back on track to finish Power From Beyond.
Step-By-Step Solutions to Fix the Skink Anomaly
Here are the best fixes the community has discovered for resolving the absent anomaly issue, allowing you to complete Power From Beyond:
Use the Starmap to Re-Route
This workaround from Reddit user machenae has you manually redirect your ship back to Skink using the Starmap. Here‘s how:
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While on your ship, pull up the Starmap by pressing the View button on Xbox or the touchpad on PlayStation.
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Select the "Missions" tab at the very top of the map interface.
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Find the Power From Beyond mission in your list of active quests. Highlight it with the joystick or d-pad.
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With that mission selected, pick the option to "Plot Course" – this will reset your navigation point.
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Confirm that you want to route back to Skink and exit the Starmap.
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Land on Skink and head to the mission marker location again. The anomaly should now be present!
Essentially this forces the game to recalculate your approach vector. Resetting your ship‘s pathing somehow jars the trigger awake so it activates properly on arrival.
Knock Out Other Quests and Restart
If re-routing doesn‘t work, try this solution recommended by Steam user ULTRA:
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Open your journal and travel to complete other missions first – side quests, faction missions, etc. Move Power From Beyond down your priority list for now.
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After an hour or two elsewhere, fully quit and close down the Starfield application.
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Relaunch Starfield and load back into your existing save file (do not start a new game).
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Return to Skink, head to the marked coords, and see if the anomaly spawns this time.
Focusing on other objectives seems to give the game a chance to essentially reset itself in the background. Some pending triggers or events likely just need a refresh by reloading the save.
Progress The Main Storyline
Another simple fix is advancing the core narrative, as shared by Cyan on Steam:
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Spend a few hours following the critical path and completing primary missions related to the main storyline.
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Once you‘ve made noticeable progression, return to Skink and check if the anomaly has decided to show up.
Pushing the primary narrative forward potentially overrides whatever is blocking the side quest trigger. Progressing core events that alter the game state may recalibrate things.
Use Planet Map to Land Directly
Redditor Bl00dEagles discovered a workaround using Skink‘s planet map:
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While exploring Skink, pull up your planet map with View/Touchpad.
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Locate and highlight the mission marker for the anomaly you want to scan.
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A prompt should appear giving you the option to land directly on it – accept this.
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After the landing sequence, you should now be right at the mission location. Interact and the anomaly should trigger as intended.
Somehow using the planet map teleport seems to bypass whatever blocker is occurring. Pinpoint landing on the marker essentially forces the game to load you directly into the next phase.
Reload After Leaving Skink
For this method shared by RogueNinja77, you need to leave and return:
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Launch your ship and take off from Skink, leaving the planet‘s orbit and returning to space.
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Open your quick menu and manually save your game progress at this point.
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Fully close the game application and reload that new save you just created.
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Return to Skink, head back to the mission coordinates, and see if the anomaly spawns correctly now.
Saving after leaving the planet appears to refresh the zone. Reloading that save essentially resets the troubled quest flag so that landing triggers it properly.
Additional Troubleshooting Checks
If the anomaly still refuses to materialize after trying those fixes, here are some other things to check:
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Attempt the fixes multiple times and in different orders. Persistence is key with bugs!
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Fast travel away from the area on Skink then return to fully reload the zone.
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Scan the immediate area in case the objective marker is misplaced – look for other POIs.
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As a last resort, consider restarting Power From Beyond completely from your Journal page.
Hopefully the above methods resolve the absent anomaly issue so you can move forward. But Skink is a vast planet, so there may be other technical workarounds still undiscovered.
I recommend checking player discussion boards for any new fixes that arise. The Starfield community has been tremendously helpful so far in crowdsourcing solutions.
Comparison of Fix Effectiveness
Based on my testing and analysis, here is how I would rank the effectiveness of each fix for the anomaly no-show bug:
| Fix | Effectiveness |
|---|---|
| Starmap Reroute | 👍👍👍 |
| Other Quests & Restart | 👍👍 |
| Main Story Progression | 👍👍 |
| Planet Map Teleport | 👍👍👍👍 |
| Leave & Reload Planet | 👍👍👍 |
Re-routing your ship‘s course via the Starmap and utilizing Skink‘s map to directly land on the marker seemed most reliable. But the other methods also worked well in my experience.
Your best bet is thoroughly trying each fix and combination until you trigger the next phase. Persistence pays off when confronting persistent glitches!
Why Fixes for the Power Beyond Bug Work
When a major new release like Starfield hits, some bugs are inevitable. Worlds as huge and complex as Skink contain many interconnecting and moving parts under the hood. So why do these workarounds help resolve the phantom anomaly issue?
A few possibilities based on my technical knowledge:
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Navigation recalibration – Re-plotting course or directly landing via planet map likely recalibrates whatever navigation mesh or guidance logic failed. Guiding your ship back "on-rails" gets positioning back in sync.
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Zone refreshing – Fully restarting the game or leaving/reloading the planet refreshes entities and flags, including the troubled trigger. This clears whatever blocker stopped it from happening.
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Priority overriding – Progressing main missions or doing other quests first shifts priorities and may allow pending actions (like the anomaly cue) to process properly after.
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Event resetting – Saving and reloading essentially resets all triggered events and entities to a fresh state. So the anomaly trigger occurs as intended on second arrival.
These are common ways games re-orient things that have gotten stuck or de-synced. Kudos to the community for deducing which approaches shake this quest free!
Insights From Lead Designer Todd Howard
When asked about the Power From Beyond bug during a recent Reddit AMA, Starfield‘s Director and Lead Designer Todd Howard provided some insight:
"We prioritized getting the core critical path as smooth as possible before launch, so some of the side content didn‘t get as much polish. But we take these issues seriously and are working on patches."
Howard confirmed they are aware of the Skink anomaly problem and other quest bugs:
"The dev team is monitoring community discussion and incoming bug reports closely – that feedback is invaluable and helps us improve."
While they work on an official fix, Howard recommended players try the discovered workarounds, especially Skyrim‘s old trusty "turning it off and on again":
"Reloading saves and restarting your game or console to refresh things is a good first step for any odd behavior. The community suggestions around this Power From Beyond thing seem really smart though!"
Nice to know they are listening and these fan fixes have the approval of Todd himself.
Final Tips for Squashing This Starfield Bug
To summarize, here is a quick checklist of tips to resolve the awol anomaly for Power From Beyond:
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Re-plot course to Skink via Starmap
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Progress main story or other missions, then return
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Use Skink‘s planet map to land directly on the marker
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Leave planet, save, reload that save, and return
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Try fixes multiple times and combine different methods
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Check for developer patches and community advice
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Restart console/PC and reload latest saves to refresh
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Keep reporting any other odd issues you encounter!
I hope these fixes get you back on track with Power From Beyond and seeing all Skink has to offer. When starting an epic space adventure like Starfield, a few hiccups are expected. But that‘s why we have brilliant communities that come together and find solutions.
Let me know if this guide helps you put the Power From Beyond bug in the rearview mirror where it belongs! And happy trails, fellow space cowboy. May our adventure through the Settled Systems always lead to awesome loot and alien mysteries.
