MISSION BRIEF
Before you deploy
Track the mission on the HoloTable, then prepare a balanced team for the confined lower-city approach. Follow the marked access route beneath Courtsilius toward the Coil leader. Control exposed sight lines, conserve ability points for a second contact and follow any updated objectives after reaching the cave.
Recorded Cycle windows are a community launch-build snapshot. Check the current HoloTable timer and objectives in your own save.
TACTICAL DIRECTIONS
Step-by-step walkthrough
Follow 10 documented tactical checkpoints. Exact objectives come from community records; tactical routing includes reported playthroughs and IDS recommendations. Your chosen squad, difficulty and campaign settings can change encounters.
Jump to a checkpoint (10 steps)
- CHECKPOINT 01 OF 10
01 / Unlock the correct Courtsilius operation
If Dark Waters is missing, check the earlier story steps at the Den and resolve the recorded Loose Lips prerequisite. The Critical mission takes you into the Courtsilius undercity to intercept Kundri Fathom.
Next checkpoint → - CHECKPOINT 02 OF 10
02 / Reach the distal lock at Takali Canal
Track Locate the Canal through the undercity. Keep walking toward the lock machinery rather than hunting around surface blocks for a separate cavern entrance. The way underground is under the canal water.
Next checkpoint → - CHECKPOINT 03 OF 10
03 / Prepare for Slugrat resistance at the lock
Before using the console, establish cover near the control area. Slugrats can contest the lock; avoid sending a single operator to the controls with the other three too far away to return fire or Rally.
Next checkpoint → - CHECKPOINT 04 OF 10
04 / Operate the drain console
Use the nearby marked console and complete its OPERATE CONSOLE action, not just the movement marker. Draining Takali Canal lowers the water and exposes the passage into the smugglers' tunnels.
Next checkpoint → - CHECKPOINT 05 OF 10
05 / Enter the newly exposed tunnel
After the water drops, follow the updated Explore the Smugglers' Tunnels objective downward. If you cannot find the opening, return to the canal lock and inspect the newly drained bed; do not leave the district.
Next checkpoint → - CHECKPOINT 06 OF 10
06 / Follow the downed guards toward the grotto
Continue deeper past the incapacitated guards. Those bodies are a clue that someone else passed through ahead of the company, not a reason to return to the surface. Follow the grotto objective toward Fathom's initiation.
Next checkpoint → - CHECKPOINT 07 OF 10
07 / Do not try to shoot through civilians
The story reveals Fathom among converts, but Hawks will not take the shot because civilians are in the line of fire. This is scripted, not an aim-angle puzzle. Let the sequence play until the Coil encounter begins.
Next checkpoint → - CHECKPOINT 08 OF 10
08 / Hold the Coil while the converts escape
Focus on the Coil forces while the unidentified Jedi evacuates the civilians. You do not need to walk operators over to individual converts or follow them out; defend the area and keep wounded squadmates in protected cover.
Next checkpoint → - CHECKPOINT 09 OF 10
09 / Finish the Coil Brute objective
When the tracker narrows to Defeat the Coil Brute, direct concentrated attacks at that named threat without bunching the entire squad into one dangerous firing lane. Confirm the victory state after the brute is defeated.
Next checkpoint → - CHECKPOINT 10 OF 10
10 / Meet Tel-Rea, but do not search for her on the roster yet
The Jedi is introduced as Tel-Rea at the conclusion of Dark Waters. She does not become a deployable operator at this point. Return to the Den and follow the later Smugglers' Den assignment for her recruitment.
After this mission →
COMMON BLOCKERS
Stuck on this mission?
Dark Waters: how do I get into the caverns?
Go to the distal Takali Canal lock and operate the drain console. The underwater route opens when the canal is drained; you do not need to locate another surface cavern entrance.
Link to this answer ↗Dark Waters: why cannot Hawks shoot Fathom?
The shot is blocked by civilians during the scripted initiation scene. Let the scene play; afterwards defend against the Coil while the Jedi handles the converts.
Link to this answer ↗Dark Waters: when does Tel-Rea become playable?
Not in Dark Waters. Finish the later Smugglers' Den story assignment and the follow-up Den conversation to recruit her.
Link to this answer ↗CAMPAIGN CONTINUATION
Where to go next
After the result screen, check the Den, companion conversations, Intel Operations and expiring Hero Missions. Your next documented main assignment is Smugglers' Den. The HoloTable in your own save takes priority over this sequence.
Before deploying again, compare optional and Crisis mission deadlines → or compare gear and utility setups →. Tactical contracts advance the Cycle; eligible 25-Intel Crisis Operations resolve through the HoloTable.
SOURCES
Evidence and further reading
Official guidance establishes the combat and HoloTable systems. Individual objective details come from fan-maintained campaign indexes and observed gameplay. IDS tactical suggestions are not publisher-approved or universal.
Lucasfilm: official Zero Company gameplay guide ↗ Community story mission index ↗ Community objective record: Dark Waters ↗