The Outer Worlds 2 loves hiding important quest items in plain sight, and Savannah’s Journal is a perfect example. At first glance, it seems like just another optional piece of loot you can steal from an NPC. But if you want the fullest picture of De Vries before the confrontation at the Vox Relay, and the additional dialogue options that come with it, this journal is well worth grabbing.
Here’s the thing: the game never explicitly tells you to grab this journal before it matters. By the time you realize you need it, Savannah might have already left the area, locking you out of certain dialogue paths entirely. Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen to you.
How the Quest Starts: De Vries’s Hidden Room
Before you can find Savannah, you first need to trigger the task. During the main quest “The Saboteur of Paradise,” you’ll visit De Vries’s house on the north side of Fairfield. Inside, look to the right near the toilet and interact with the lever beside it to reveal a hidden room.
Inside, you’ll find a terminal. Interact with it and read both messages: [TO: S. Lockwood, SUBJECT: Farewell] and [TO: A. de Vries, RE: Farewell]. Reading the correspondence between De Vries and Savannah Lockwood automatically adds the task “Stalking an Associate of Angry Ascendance” to your journal and marks Savannah’s location on your map.
Where to Find Savannah’s Journal: Excogitation Chapel Location
Quick Reference:
- Location: Order of the Ascendant Chapel (Excogitation Chapel)
- Region: Paradise Island (northeast of Fairfield)
- NPC: Savannah Lockwood
- Method Required: Pickpocketing
- Bonus loot: 309 Bits (also pickpocketed alongside the journal)
The Order of the Ascendant Chapel sits just northeast of Fairfield, the main settlement you’ll become very familiar with during the early hours on Paradise Island. If you’ve been following the main questline and dealt with the Vox Relay situation, there’s a good chance you’ve already unlocked this location as a fast travel point. The path from Fairfield doesn’t require fighting any enemies, so it’s a quick and easy detour.
Pro tip: The chapel is also tied to the Cloister Excogitation Logs collectibles, so if you’re hunting those down, you’ll definitely pass through here.
Step-by-Step: How to Pickpocket Savannah’s Journal
This isn’t complicated, but timing matters—especially if you want to avoid missing your window.
Prerequisites You’ll Need:
The Pickpocket Perk:
- Cost: 1 perk point
- Requirement: Lockpick skill at Level 1
- Why it matters: This perk unlocks theft opportunities throughout the entire game, not just for Savannah
If you haven’t invested in lockpicking yet, now’s the time. Level 1 is easy to reach—just allocate a single skill point during character progression. The Pickpocket perk itself is incredibly valuable beyond this one journal, so don’t think of it as a wasted investment. You’ll use it constantly if you’re playing any sort of stealth or exploration-focused build.
For more context on skill investment strategies, check out the best starting builds guide.
The Actual Pickpocketing Process:
- Enter the Order of the Ascendant Chapel
- Fast travel if you’ve unlocked it, or walk from Fairfield (short trek, no enemies on the way)
- Locate Savannah Lockwood
- She’s sitting on a bench toward the back of the chapel
- Easy to spot—she’s the only NPC in that specific area
- Position Yourself Behind Her
- Here’s the trick: jump over the back of the bench she’s sitting on
- This puts you directly behind her in the perfect pickpocket position
- Make sure you’re crouched (stealth mode)
- Execute the Pickpocket
- Xbox: Press X
- PlayStation: Press Square
- PC: Press E
- Hold the button until the action completes
- Claim Your Prize
- You’ll successfully steal Savannah’s Journal and 309 Bits
- Both go straight into your inventory; the journal is read automatically as you take it
Critical timing note: Do this BEFORE you progress far enough in the main quest to trigger the De Vries confrontation. Once certain story events advance, Savannah leaves the chapel permanently. If she’s gone, you can’t get the journal, and you’ll lose access to the extra dialogue options it unlocks.
What Savannah’s Journal Actually Contains
The moment you steal the journal, you get to read it immediately. Here’s what it reveals:
- Savannah searched De Vries’s house after De Vries left Fairfield
- Savannah introduced De Vries to a man named Victor, and now deeply regrets doing so
- The code 15-778 holds significance to De Vries — this turns out to be her identification number
This information forms the backbone of the additional dialogue options the journal unlocks when you confront Savannah.
What Savannah’s Journal Is Actually Used For
Okay, so you’ve stolen a journal. Now what? This is where things get interesting from a quest design perspective.
Immediate Use: The “Stalking an Associate of Angry Ascendance” Task
When you sit down to talk with Savannah (after pickpocketing her), the journal unlocks an additional dialogue option during the conversation. Specifically:
- If you couldn’t hack De Vries’s terminal in her Fairfield house, you can use the journal to reveal De Vries’s identification number (15-778) during the conversation
- This opens the [Requires Information OR Savannah’s Journal] dialogue check, which prompts Savannah to confirm her connection to De Vries
- The journal doesn’t completely overhaul the conversation—it mainly helps the talk move more efficiently and gives you access to one additional locked dialogue branch
This is classic Outer Worlds 2 design—multiple paths to the same information. If you’re not playing a tech-focused character who can hack terminals, the journal becomes your backup plan.
The Real Payoff: The Vox Relay and De Vries
Here’s where the task pays off beyond just the Savannah conversation:
Key Dialogue Choice: During your conversation with Savannah, make sure to select the option: “Seem like knowing her was unsettling for you”
Exhausting this dialogue path gives you additional information about De Vries that carries forward. Specifically, completing the “Stalking an Associate of Angry Ascendance” task unlocks an additional terminal option when you use De Vries’s terminal at the Vox Relay Station later in the main quest—giving you an extra avenue to interact with or understand De Vries’s activities there.
Without completing the Savannah conversation thoroughly: You’ll miss a terminal option at the Vox Relay, though you can still complete the main quest through other paths.
With the full conversation and journal: You go into the Vox Relay better informed, with an extra option on De Vries’s terminal that other players won’t see.
Why This Matters for Your Playthrough
The Outer Worlds 2 is built around player choice, but not all choices are equal—and not all choices are available unless you do the groundwork. Savannah’s Journal is a good example of how the game rewards thorough exploration and careful attention to side content.
Think of it this way:
- Surface-level players will talk to Savannah and get a conversation with the information available to them
- Thorough players will grab the journal first, exhaust all dialogue options with the “unsettling” line, and carry more complete intel into the Vox Relay
Neither approach blocks quest completion, but if you’re the type of player who wants to see every option and uncover every layer of the story (or you’re going for specific achievements and trophies), it’s worth the small detour.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Based on player experiences, here are the pitfalls:
❌ Talking to Savannah before pickpocketing her
Once dialogue starts, it’s awkward to back out and steal from her immediately after. Do the theft first—always pickpocket before engaging in conversation.
❌ Progressing too far in the main quest
Savannah leaves the chapel once the De Vries storyline advances past a certain point. If you’re already at or past the confrontation, it’s too late to grab the journal.
❌ Skipping the “unsettling” dialogue option
Even if you have the journal, you need to select “Seem like knowing her was unsettling for you” during the Savannah conversation to get the full benefit—particularly the intel that carries forward to the Vox Relay.
❌ Not reading the De Vries terminal in the hidden room first
The task doesn’t appear in your journal until you read both messages on De Vries’s terminal in her secret room (found via the lever beside the toilet in her Fairfield house). If the task isn’t active, Savannah won’t have the relevant conversation options.
❌ Not having the Pickpocket perk
You can still complete the task without the journal by relying on hacking De Vries’s terminal or having the “Required Information” flag from other sources—but you’ll miss the journal’s specific dialogue check and the 309 Bits bonus. Plan your perk investments accordingly if you want the full experience.
Should You Invest in Pickpocketing for This Alone?
Short answer: Yes, if you care about exploring every dialogue option the game offers.
Long answer: The Pickpocket perk is useful far beyond Savannah’s Journal. Throughout The Outer Worlds 2, you’ll encounter NPCs carrying keycards, access codes, and valuable items that can simplify or bypass entire sections of quests.
For example, earlier in the game you can use pickpocketing to steal Kaur’s War Chest Keycard instead of lockpicking the chest directly. It’s a perk that consistently provides shortcuts and alternative solutions throughout the whole game.
If you’re playing a character focused on stealth, social skills, or exploration, the Pickpocket perk is arguably essential. Even combat-focused characters benefit from the flexibility it provides.
Related Quest Guides
Since Savannah’s Journal ties into broader storylines, these guides will help you navigate the connected content:
- Kaur vs Milverstreet Choice Guide – Fairfield Decision
- Vox Relay Choice – Fairfield vs Westport Space
- Aunties Choice vs Order Ascendant – Trust Guide
- All Factions Guide – How to Join & Reputation
- All Companions Recruitment Guide
Character Build Considerations
If you’re planning your character around quest outcomes and dialogue checks, consider these resources:
- Best Traits Ranked – Complete Tier List
- All Backgrounds & Traits Guide
- Negative Traits Guide – Best & Worst
- Flaws System Complete Guide
- Backgrounds Guide – Which to Choose
Final Thoughts: Don’t Sleep on Small Tasks
Savannah’s Journal is one of those items that perfectly encapsulates what makes The Outer Worlds 2 engaging for RPG enthusiasts. It’s not handed to you. It’s not marked with a giant quest marker. The game trusts you to explore, experiment, and connect the dots between seemingly unrelated tasks and main story beats.
If you’re the type of player who enjoys feeling like you’ve earned every piece of information through thorough exploration rather than just following waypoints, this is exactly the kind of content you should be hunting down.
And honestly? Successfully stealing a journal from someone, then using the information in that journal to unlock a dialogue branch in your confrontation with them, then carrying that intel into a Vox Relay terminal interaction later in the main quest? That’s satisfying RPG design. It feels like you’re playing the game at a deeper level than just “go here, shoot this, move on.”
So grab that journal, exhaust those dialogue trees with the “unsettling” option, and enjoy going into the Vox Relay better prepared than players who rushed past the chapel entirely.
More Outer Worlds 2 Quest & Choice Guides:
- Pinching Pupa – Wentworth vs Bradford Choice
- Inez Graft Choice – Raptidon Skeleton vs Crabble
- Order Initiate Scavenger Hunt Puzzle Solution
- Otto’s Lock Puzzle Solution – Free Market Station
- Pets Guide – How to Get, Unlock & Change Companions
- What to Do First Guide
- Beginners Guide – Tips & Tricks
- How Long to Beat – Main Missions & Playtime
Collectibles & Exploration Guides:
- Science Adventures Quarterly Magazine Locations
- Golden Ridge Mural Locations – Tramicular Stations
- Praetor Lightning Towers – Grounding Stations Locations
Progression & Systems: