Quests

The Last Caretaker Friendly by Design: Scan 10 Sweethearts and Build Your Own

Short answer: Friendly by Design starts when you scan a broken Sweetheart. Scan 10 more (Update 03 asked for 25) and the quest unlocks the Sweetheart design, so you can build Friendly Sweethearts in the Fabricator. A Friendly Sweetheart works like a grenade: put it in your holster and throw it.

That Update 03 added the Sweetheart helpers is official (A). The start, the count of 10, the unlock and how to use the Sweetheart are cross-checked (B). Where to find Sweethearts and the one-Sweetheart trick are single-source player reports (C).

Last Updated: October 25, 2026

Game version: Early Access, Update 6 (October 19, 2026); the count is checked against the release-build quest data, the rest against recordings and threads from March to July 2026

What Friendly by Design Asks

How do you start Friendly by Design?

Scanning a deceased Sweetheart starts Friendly by Design. Completing the task lets you craft Sweethearts.

Cross-checked (B) · Checked 2026-10-05 · Sources: The40YearOldGamer — July 11, 2026, 2:20: Friendly by Design, 10/10 · Official Update 03 / 0.7.0 patch notes — March 18, 2026

Update 03, Curiosity Wakes, added support gameplay so you are not on your own: the Sweetheart grenade, a craftable Sweetheart item and a friendly swarm type. These are in-game helpers, not other players.

Official (A) · Checked 2026-10-10 · Sources: Official Steam announcement: Update 03 is Live: Curiosity Wakes

How many Sweethearts do you scan for Friendly by Design?

Scan 10 broken Sweethearts after the one that starts the quest. A July 2026 recording shows the quest at 10/10, and the quest data for the Update 6 release build also asks for 10 scans.

Cross-checked (B) · Checked 2026-10-25 · Sources: The40YearOldGamer — July 11, 2026, 2:20: Friendly by Design, 10/10 · The40YearOldGamer video, July 10, 2026: Friendly by Design with one broken Sweetheart (description)

Update 03 footage from March 2026 showed a target of 25, so older guides and threads say 25. Follow the count in your own quest log.

Cross-checked (B) · Checked 2026-10-25 · Sources: Sgt DangerCow — March 24, 2026, 1:10: True Choices and the older Sweetheart target · Steam: Friendly by Design, March 2026 / older target

Finding and Scanning Sweethearts

Where do you find broken Sweethearts?

The wiki says Sweethearts are small hostile robots, drawn to electricity, that appear in many places and also come out when you destroy a blue Cocoon. In one Steam thread players found several back at Helios Draco after an update, while others found that station empty.

Player reports, not yet verified (C) · Checked 2026-10-25 · Sources: Community wiki: Sweetheart (revision 3223) · Steam discussion: Helios stations restocked, with Sweethearts to scan (March 2026)

Can you finish it with one Sweetheart?

One player finishes the quest with a single broken Sweetheart: take it to a save terminal, scan it, lift it and put it back down, then save, reload and scan again until the count is full.

Player reports, not yet verified (C) · Checked 2026-10-25 · Sources: The40YearOldGamer video, July 10, 2026: Friendly by Design with one broken Sweetheart (description)

A player in the older, 25-scan version reported that extra scans after completion reopened the task. Avoiding extra scans is an unverified workaround, not a confirmed current requirement.

Player reports, not yet verified (C) · Checked 2026-10-05 · Sources: Steam: Friendly by Design, March 2026 / older target