Neverness to Everness · City Systems
Prison Complete Guide
Everything about the Hethereau Detention Center — how a Warrant level gets you locked up, how the 5-day sentence works, the 30,000 Fons release fine, all five Path of Redemption escape routes, daily prison life, and the Unconventional Attire outfit.
The Hethereau Detention Center
The Detention Center is a fully explorable location on the Hethereau map — a self-contained mini-sandbox with its own daily routine, NPCs, lootable items and trade economy. It is not a game-over screen: getting locked up is just another way to spend in-game days, and the prison has rewards you can only earn from the inside.
You can find the facility on the interactive map under City Services. Once inside you can serve the sentence, pay your way out, or break out through one of the Path of Redemption routes.
How You Get Sent to Prison
Warrant level
Committing crimes raises your Warrant level — theft, attacking Security Officers or civilians, and destroying public property all add to it. Once your Warrant is at one star or higher and Security Officers knock you out, you are transported to the Detention Center.
Losing the Justice Executioner
Push the Warrant level to its maximum and the Justice Executioner boss appears. Beat it and you walk free with a reward; lose the fight — any character down — and you are sent straight to the Detention Center to serve a sentence instead.
Serving the Sentence
The default sentence is 5 in-game days. Time inside passes the same way it does outside — by exploring, completing tasks and sleeping. Once the sentence is over you are released automatically and returned to the city.
- A failed escape attempt adds 3 days to your sentence — gather every required item before you commit to a route.
- The 30,000 Fons fine is charged on capture no matter what. Fast-travelling out of the prison does not waive it, so escaping is about saving time, not money.
Path of Redemption — All 5 Escape Routes
There are five distinct breakout routes. The first successful run of each route pays out 1 Star Weekly and 10,000 Fons, so running all five across separate sentences is the fastest way to bank Star Weekly toward the prison outfit.
Another World
Wall dig- Examine the poster in your cell to expose the weak section of wall.
- During lunch, take a spoon from the cafeteria counter — you need two in total.
- Chip the loose bricks away with the spoons.
- Slip into the opening during the night curfew.
- Crawl the sewer, staying out of the sweeping security lights.
Cheat Death
Fake death- Talk to Living Fossil to learn the plan.
- Ask Spider for the Asahi Inori plushie — it is delivered after one day passes.
- Hand the plushie to Living Fossil to receive Restinol.
- Fake an illness so you are moved to the infirmary.
- Steal a syringe from the medical cart, then play dead on the tray.
Be Like Water
Corrode the grate- Get yourself sent to the infirmary.
- Use a prisoner conversation to pull the doctor away from the shelf.
- Take the Concentrated Disinfectant from the medicine shelf.
- Pour it onto the sewer grate during yard time.
- Wait one day for it to corrode through, then drop down and follow the sewer.
Extreme Sports
Watchtower jump- Collect two Grimy Detention Uniforms and two Bed Sheets from loot spots around the facility.
- Steal the Watchtower Key from the desk inside the black building.
- Volunteer for roof-cleaning duty with a guard.
- From the roof, make the jump over the sea-side fence.
Into the Chaos
Blackout- Steal a spoon from the cafeteria.
- Help Hermit Crab — hand over the spoon at night — to trigger a facility-wide blackout.
- Grab the Side Door Key during the outage.
- Slip past the guards in the dark and reach the docks.
Hidden route — Breakout Together
You can also simply climb the perimeter fence with no tools at all. It unlocks the Breakout Together achievement, but pays no Fons or Star Weekly — do this one for completion, not for resources.
Escape, Serve, or Pay the Fine?
Every sentence ends one of three ways. There is no wrong choice — it depends on whether you still need a route's first-clear reward, and how badly you need to be back in the city.
Serve it out
Best when You have no Fons to spare and no rush.
Time passes as you explore, do work duty and sleep. You walk free automatically — and you keep every loot item and Strong Painkiller you traded for inside.
Pay the fine
Best when You need to be back in the city right now.
Speak to any Guard. Released immediately regardless of time left. The fine is charged on capture anyway, so you are only paying to skip the wait.
Break out
Best when You want the first-clear reward for that route.
Net positive on a first clear (you gain 10,000 Fons and a Star Weekly). A failed attempt adds 3 days, so only commit once every item is in hand.
Prison Life & Economy
Daily routine
The day splits into three phases: morning in your cell, yard time outdoors, and night when you can visit other cells. Speak to a Guard in the morning or at yard time to volunteer for work duty — each task pays roughly 5 Fons.
Glowing loot spots are scattered across the facility and respawn over time. They drop the items below — keep sweeping them every phase to stock up on escape tools and trade goods.
Trade NPCs
Unconventional Attire — The Prison Outfit
The exclusive Zero outfit (Avatar: Unconventional Attire), Unconventional Attire, is bought from Spider at night in his cell for 15 Star Weekly magazines. It is the only way to keep the detention look after you leave, which is why Star Weekly is worth hoarding.
Pro Tips
- Stockpile every required item before starting a route — a botched escape costs 3 extra days.
- The 10,000 Fons + Star Weekly bonus is one-time per route. Spread the five routes over five separate sentences to collect all five Star Weekly toward the outfit.
- If you just want out and have the cash, the 30,000 Fons fine to a Guard is instant and has no downside beyond the money.
- Don't waste detention time — do work duty, sweep loot spots every phase, and trade Soap / Playing Cards / Weekly Fantasy for Strong Painkillers.
- Need Fons in the first place? See the Fons farming guide so the 30,000 fine never stings.
Prison FAQ
- How do you get sent to prison in NTE?
- Commit crimes — theft, attacking Security Officers or civilians, or destroying public property — to raise your Warrant level. Get knocked out at one star or higher, or lose the Justice Executioner fight at max Warrant, and you are taken to the Hethereau Detention Center.
- How long is the prison sentence?
- The default sentence is 5 in-game days. Time advances as you explore, complete tasks and sleep. A failed escape attempt adds 3 more days.
- How do you get out of prison fast?
- Pay a 30,000 Fons fine to any Guard for immediate release, or run one of the five Path of Redemption escape routes.
- Is escaping worth it over just serving the sentence?
- Yes for the first clear of each route — it pays 1 Star Weekly and 10,000 Fons. After a route's first clear there is no extra reward, so serving or paying is fine on repeat visits.
- How many escape routes are there?
- Five rewarded routes — Another World, Cheat Death, Be Like Water, Extreme Sports and Into the Chaos — plus a hidden no-items fence climb that unlocks the Breakout Together achievement but pays nothing.
- How do you get the Unconventional Attire prison outfit?
- Collect 15 Star Weekly magazines and trade them to Spider at night in his cell. It is the only way to keep the detention look after release.
- Do you lose your items when you go to prison?
- No. Detention is a self-contained area; you keep what you bring and everything you gather or trade for inside, and you are returned to the city on release.