Unlocking ‘The Roof’ achievement in FORENSIC - M.E. Protocol requires the complete and correct resolution of the side case designated ‘Broken Wings’. This comprehensive forensic me protocol the roof achievement guide will walk you through finding all five drone components, decrypting the corrupted flight log, and linking the evidence to pinpoint the corporate saboteur responsible. The entire process hinges on meticulous evidence collection on a single rooftop and a critical data decryption puzzle.

This isn't just about finding a crashed drone; it's about reconstructing its final moments with surgical precision. Miss one piece of evidence, and the case file remains incomplete, locking you out of the achievement until you backtrack.

Case Prerequisites: What You Need Before You Start

You can't just stumble into this investigation from the game's start. The ‘Broken Wings’ case only becomes available after you complete the main story mission, ‘Data Heist’, which typically occurs around the halfway point of the campaign. Once that mission is logged as complete, you’ll receive a notification for a new case file at your precinct terminal.

More importantly, you need two specific gear upgrades to even access and solve the case. Without them, you'll be staring at an unreachable crime scene.

  • Mag-Boots: This is non-negotiable. The crime scene is on the upper rooftop of the Kanto-9 tower in the Neo-Kyoto district. Access is only possible via a magnetic wall surface climb that requires the Mag-Boots.
  • Data-Spike (Level 3): While you can collect the physical evidence with a lower-level spike, the drone’s flight log is protected by military-grade encryption. You absolutely need a Level 3 Data-Spike to successfully crack the hex-grid puzzle and retrieve the flight path data. Attempting it with a Level 2 spike will result in a failed decryption and a dead end.

Step-by-Step Rooftop Investigation

Once you have the prerequisites, select the ‘Broken Wings’ case from your terminal and head to the Kanto-9 tower in Neo-Kyoto. The building is marked with a waypoint. The climb is straightforward, but the evidence gathering on the roof requires a keen eye.

Gaining Access to the Crime Scene

Your waypoint leads you to an alley behind the Kanto-9 tower. Look for the glowing blue magnetic plating running up the side of the building. Engage your Mag-Boots and ascend. The climb will take you to a lower maintenance roof, from which you’ll take a ladder up to the main rooftop where the drone crashed. This is your entire investigation area.

Locating All 5 Drone Components

The drone shattered on impact, scattering its core components across the roof. You must find and scan all five pieces using your M.E. scanner. They will glow with a faint amber outline when you are near.

  • Main Fuselage: The largest piece. It’s located almost dead center on the rooftop, impossible to miss. This is the piece that contains the flight log you'll need to decrypt later.
  • Damaged Rotor A: Look behind the large, central HVAC unit. It's tucked away in the shadows.
  • Detached Camera Gimbal: Near the northeastern ledge of the roof, close to the chipped railing. It's a small, spherical component.
  • Fragmented Battery Pack: Found to the west, near a set of solar panels. It’s visibly cracked and leaking electrolytic fluid.
  • Scuffed Landing Gear: This is the most commonly missed piece. It's located on the small, raised platform near the rooftop access ladder you came up.
Infographic map showing the 5 drone component locations on the Kanto-9 rooftop.

Infographic map showing the 5 drone component locations on the Kanto-9 rooftop.

Scanning the Environmental Clues

Finding the drone parts isn't enough. To build a complete picture, you must also scan three key pieces of environmental evidence that tell the story of the crash itself. Forgetting these will halt your progress.

  1. Scorch Marks: On the ground right next to where the Main Fuselage lies. Scanning them reveals the high-energy impact.
  2. Chipped Railing: On the northeastern edge of the roof. This is the point of impact, where the drone was hit.
  3. Discarded Data Chip: A tiny, almost invisible clue lying near the northwestern corner, by a ventilation duct. This chip contains encrypted corporate communications that provide context for the sabotage.

The Core Puzzle: Decrypting the Flight Log

With all physical evidence collected, return to the Main Fuselage. You will now have the option to interface with it using your Data-Spike. This initiates the central puzzle of the case: a hex-grid decryption minigame.

Solving the Hex-Grid Decryption

The interface presents a grid of shifting symbols and data blocks. Your goal is to create an unbroken, stabilized path from the entry node to the final data core. As mentioned, this is impossible without the Level 3 Data-Spike.

The key to the puzzle is pattern recognition. You must rotate hexagonal segments to align the glowing pathways. The trick is to focus on the manufacturer's sigil, a 'Kestrel-7' logo, and use it as your starting anchor. The amber-colored data blocks represent the corrupted flight path itself. Align the Kestrel-7 sigil with the first amber block, which stabilizes a portion of the grid. From there, work your way across, creating a continuous line. There are no red herrings; there is only one correct path.

Annotated diagram of the hex-grid decryption puzzle interface.

Annotated diagram of the hex-grid decryption puzzle interface.

Interpreting the Flight Data

Success rewards you with the drone's final flight log. This isn't just a simple video playback. Your M.E. interface translates it into three critical pieces of forensic data:

  • Launch Point: A precise GPS coordinate from a balcony on the neighboring Arasaka-Tachi building.
  • Collision Vector: A trajectory analysis showing the drone was knocked out of the sky by a projectile fired from its flank, not a simple malfunction.
  • Timestamp: Confirms the event happened at 23:47, corroborating witness statements about a loud noise in the area.

Final Deduction: Pinpointing the Pilot

Now it's time to play detective. Open your Mind-Map interface to connect the dots. This is where you formally solve the case. You must logically link the evidence you've gathered to form an unbroken chain of causality.

This process involves dragging and dropping evidence nodes onto each other to form new, deduced conclusions. The correct sequence is crucial.

  1. Link [Flight Data: Collision Vector] with [Environmental: Chipped Railing]. This creates a new node: [Conclusion: Mid-Air Sabotage Confirmed].
  2. Next, link [Conclusion: Mid-Air Sabotage Confirmed] with the [Environmental: Discarded Data Chip]. This unlocks the chip's data, revealing it belongs to a rival corporation. This generates the [Conclusion: Motive Established - Corporate Espionage] node.
  3. Finally, link [Flight Data: Launch Point] with [Conclusion: Motive Established]. This is the final link in the chain. Your system will cross-reference the launch coordinates with known corporate tenant data for the Arasaka-Tachi building.

The system will present you with a final deduction screen. Select the conclusion: "The drone was launched and subsequently sabotaged by a rival corporate agent operating from the Arasaka-Tachi building."

Confirming this choice will close the case file, and 'The Roof' achievement will immediately unlock.

A 4-panel comic showing the Mind-Map deduction steps for the forensic me protocol the roof achievement guide.

A 4-panel comic showing the Mind-Map deduction steps for the forensic me protocol the roof achievement guide.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Can you miss 'The Roof' achievement permanently? No, you cannot. If you fail the decryption or miss a piece of evidence and leave the area, the 'Broken Wings' case will remain open in your log. You can return to the Kanto-9 rooftop at any time to complete the evidence collection. The case is also replayable via the precinct's mission archives terminal after completion.

What happens if I try the decryption with a Level 2 Data-Spike? The minigame will be impossible to solve. The interface will show corrupted symbols that cannot be aligned, and the attempt will eventually time out, forcing you to disconnect. The game explicitly requires the Level 3 hardware for this specific encryption type.

Is the location of the Scuffed Landing Gear always the same? Yes. Unlike some radiant objectives in the game, the evidence locations for the 'Broken Wings' case are fixed. The Scuffed Landing Gear will always be on the raised platform near the access ladder. Its small size and placement out of the main area make it the most frequently overlooked piece.

A Final Byte of Data

'The Roof' is a perfect microcosm of what makes FORENSIC - M.E. Protocol so compelling. It's not about combat or action but pure, methodical investigation. It forces you to slow down, observe your environment, and use the forensic tools at your disposal to piece together a silent story. Completing it is a testament to your skills as a true digital detective.