TL;DR

You end up in the Hethereau Detention Center after your Warrant level hits 1 star or more.
You can leave by serving your sentence, paying a 30,000 Fons fine, or breaking out.
There are 5 official escape routes: Another World, Be Like Water, Extreme Sports, Cheat Death, and Into the Chaos.
Fast traveling out of prison still makes you pay the 30,000 Fons fine — it is not a free escape.
Getting caught during an escape extends your sentence by 3 days, so move carefully.
Completing escape routes earns you Star Weekly, which you can trade for the Unconventional Attire prison outfit.

Table of Contents

How Does Prison Work in NTE?

In Neverness to Everness, the Warrant system works a lot like the wanted levels in GTA. Commit crimes — steal, attack NPCs, destroy property — and your Warrant value climbs. Once it reaches 1 star, the police will come after you. If they catch you, or if you lose a fight against the Justice Executioner boss, you get sent to the Hethereau Detention Center.

Inside, your daily routine is fixed. You wake up, eat in the cafeteria, spend time in the yard, and go back to your cell at night. You can talk to other prisoners, explore the facility, and collect items while you plan your escape.

The prison is not just a punishment. It is a full gameplay section with its own mechanics, characters, and secrets. First-time escapees earn 1 Star Weekly and 10,000 Fons as a reward.

Simple Ways To Leave Prison in NTE

Before going into escape routes, here are the two straightforward ways out.

Serve Your Sentence

This is the most passive option. Just do your daily routine — eat, spend yard time, and sleep. After 7 days, your sentence ends and you walk out free. No risk involved, but it takes time.

Pay the Fine

Talk to the guard in your cell and choose the option to pay your fine. It costs 30,000 Fons and gets you out immediately. This is instant but expensive, especially early in the game. Note: using fast travel to leave prison also triggers this fine automatically, so you cannot escape it that way either.

All 5 Prison Escape Methods in NTE

1. Another World… (Dig Through the Wall)

This is the first escape method most players find. It is hidden behind a poster in your cell.

Interact with the poster on the wall next to your bed to reveal a brick wall behind it.
During lunch, walk to the cafeteria counter and steal a spoon. Time your grab carefully — wait until the staff member nearby is facing away. Getting caught adds a day to your sentence.
Go back to your cell and use the spoon on the bricks. Each spoon breaks 5 bricks, and you need two full spoons to clear the hole. This means you need at least two days of stealing spoons.
Once the hole is clear, wait for nighttime. Go back to the poster, enter the hole, and you will drop into the sewers.
Follow the path through the sewers while avoiding the moving searchlights. Getting caught by a light sends you back to prison with a 3-day extension. Stick to the walls, stay out of the beams, and follow the route to the ocean to complete your escape.

2. Be Like Water (Disinfectant Sewer Gate)

This method goes through the yard and into the sewers through a corroded gate.

During recreation time, talk to the guard and tell him you are not feeling well. This gets you sent to the infirmary.
In the infirmary, speak to the Feigning Prisoner lying on the bed and convince him to distract the doctor.
While the doctor is distracted, go to the small medical refrigerator near the lockers and steal the Concentrated Disinfectant.
Return to the yard and find the sewer gate by the basketball court. Pour the disinfectant on it.
Wait a full day. The metal will corrode overnight.
Come back the next day, enter the corroded gate, and make your way through the sewers. Avoid the searchlights, follow the path, and reach the ocean to escape.

3. Extreme Sports (Watchtower Rope Descent)

This is the longest and most prep-heavy method. You need to collect several items before attempting it.

detention center watchtower escape 1 in nte

Steal a Bed Sheet from the box near the lockers outside the infirmary during recreation time.
Go to the upper platform of the cell block and enter the first cell on the right. Carefully steal another Bed Sheet from inside without the guard noticing.
Go left on the ground floor staircase and pick up the Grimy Detention Uniform from the bench.
Head to the upper platform on the right side and enter the Show-Off Prisoner’s cell. Steal his Bed Sheet as well.
Find the black building straight ahead from your nighttime spawn point and steal the Watchtower Key from the desk inside. Wait until the guard is facing away before you grab it.
The next morning, talk to a guard and tell him you want to do some cleaning. When the option to go up to the roof appears, take it.
Once on the rooftop of the admin building, walk to the fence on the sea-facing side and interact with it to jump off and escape.

4. Cheat Death (Fake Your Own Death)

This escape method is clever and involves convincing the prison staff you have died.

detention center infirmary escape 1 in nte

Find Spider in prison. Her cell is easy to reach: skip morning, skip lunch, skip yard time. From your spawn point, go forward toward the guard, turn left twice, and enter the first cell. Talk to Spider.
Ask Spider to get you an Asahi Inori Doll. She says she can get it by the next day, so pass the time and come back.
Once you have the doll, take it to Living Fossil and give it to him. He will hand you Restinol — a paralytic drug.
During recreation time, talk to the yard guard and tell him you are not feeling well. You will be taken to the infirmary.
While in the infirmary, interact with the hospital tray and make sure you are not being watched. Ingest the Restinol.
A cutscene plays. The staff believes you are dead. Esper Zero passes out and wakes up on a boat heading away from the prison. You are free.

5. Into the Chaos (Blackout Escape)

This method involves helping a prisoner, triggering a blackout, and sneaking out in the dark.

detention tornado escape escape 1 in nte 1

During lunch, steal a spoon from the cafeteria counter the usual way.
Go to the yard during recreation time. You will find Tornado and his gang harassing another prisoner named Hermit Crab. Fight Tornado’s gang.
You will get thrown back into your cell as punishment — this is exactly what you want. Hermit Crab will come visit you in your cell afterward. Talk to him.
End yard time, then go to Hermit Crab’s cell and give him the spoon. He uses it to trigger a prison blackout.
Now you need to sneak through the darkened facility. Avoid guards by hiding in lockers, luring them away, or waiting for them to pass.
Explore the area until you find the Side Door Key on a desk. Grab it.
Use the key on the side door, make your way to the docks while avoiding the searchlights, and take the boat to escape.

Tips for Escaping Prison in NTE

Pick up everything. Soap, playing cards, Weekly Felony magazines — they all have trading value inside the prison. You can swap them with prisoners like Crocodile, Gourd, and Squid Ball for Strong Painkillers.
Do not get caught during escape. Being spotted by a searchlight or a guard during any sewer route sends you back and adds 3 days to your sentence.
Fast travel costs money. Using it to leave prison charges you the 30,000 Fons fine automatically. It is not a free shortcut.
Complete all 5 escape routes for rewards. Each unique escape earns Star Weekly. You need 15 Star Weekly total to unlock Zero’s Unconventional Attire prison outfit. You can read the full outfit guide in the Zero Prison Outfit guide.
Talk to all prisoners. Each one has dialogue, trades, or hints that connect to the escape routes. Do not skip conversations early on.

Why Go to Prison in NTE?

Getting arrested is not just a setback. The prison in NTE has real rewards attached to it. Here is what you can earn:

Star Weekly — earned by completing escape routes and achievements like Dawn in Detention and Detention Strikes Back.
10,000 Fons — rewarded on your first successful escape.
Unconventional Attire — Zero’s iconic prison outfit, unlocked by collecting 15 Star Weekly and trading with Spider. Check the full prison outfit unlock guide for the exact steps.

The Warrant system is also how you access the Justice Executioner boss fight. Once your Warrant hits the maximum level, the Level 99 boss appears. It is extremely hard to beat in the early game, but if your team has strong S-Class Arcs, it is not impossible.

How to Get Sent to Prison in NTE

If you want to access the prison content intentionally, here are the easiest ways to raise your Warrant level:

Attack police officers or regular NPCs.
Steal from shops or citizens.
Destroy public property.

Once your Warrant value reaches 1 star, officers will chase you. Let them catch you, or lose the fight with the Justice Executioner, and you will be sent to the Hethereau Detention Center.

More NTE Guides

Prison is just one part of what NTE has to offer. Here are more guides to help you get the most out of the game:

Where To Download NTE

Neverness to Everness is available on PC, Android, and PlayStation. Download it on Android through the Google Play Store or grab it on console via the PlayStation Store.

Final Thoughts

Prison in NTE is a genuine content system, not just a time-out. There are 5 ways to break out — dig through the wall, corrode a sewer gate, rappel from the watchtower, fake your death, or trigger a blackout with Hermit Crab’s help. Each one is different, each rewards you with Star Weekly, and together they unlock Zero’s prison outfit. Plan your items carefully, keep an eye on the guards, and never fire the searchlight by accident. Once you are out, the rest of Hethereau is waiting.

How To Escape Prison In NTE – The Path of Redemption (All 5 Escape Methods)

How Does Prison Work in NTE?