Turns out the scariest part of A Wrench in the Works isn't the quest, it's everyone camping Spaceport like weirdos. I burned two decent kits before I stopped playing it like a normal raid, and yeah, I topped back up through ARC Raiders Coins because I was tired of going in broke after dumb deaths. My take: treat this Riven Tides Celeste mission like a fast errand, not some big PvE clear. If you're creeping around looting every suitcase, you're making it way harder than it needs to be.

The bus is the part people keep botching

Most people I've watched mess this up are checking the random buses near the middle and then saying the quest is bugged. It's not, at least not in my runs. You want the derelict bus by the western road, between Departure and Arrival, close to that west gate side. Go inside and check near the driver area for the notes. I've had way better luck coming from the south instead of walking through Arrival plaza like I'm volunteering to get beamed.

Don't overfight the first stop

Seriously, don't full-clear unless you're stacked. ARC patrols around there can get annoying, but the real problem is other Raiders hearing shots and deciding you're free lunch. I've been taking a cheap loadout, grabbing the notes, then leaving the area instantly. The quest item doesn't sit in your bag, so dying after that doesn't seem to wipe that step. Tested it once by accident. Painful science, but still science.

The tower climb is the sketchy bit

Second stop is the Water Towers in the northwest industrial side of Spaceport. You need the northern tower, then climb up inside until you hit the upper circular platform. The transmit spot is up top, not at the base, which is another thing I saw someone in chat raging about. The interaction felt like maybe three to five seconds, and you're basically a statue while it happens. Clear the base first if you can, because warehouse roofs near there are sniper bait central.

What I still don't know

I'm not 100% sure how squad credit works on this one. If one person clicks the notes and transmitter, maybe everyone gets it, maybe not. I wouldn't gamble on it. In my group runs, we just had each person hit both prompts because repeating Spaceport chores is peak copium. Also haven't confirmed if the transmit ping shows up for nearby players, but it sure feels like people magically know when you're stuck up there.

My lazy route for it

Spawn, hit west bus, sprint northwest, check tower base, climb, transmit, then decide if extraction is worth the risk. You still get the Celeste progress even if you die after the send, and the payout I got was 500 Credits, 2 Mechanical Components, and 1 Mod Component. I used the reward path toward Radio Renegade, and when I needed extra kits later I ended up using ARC Raiders Coins buy after a bad losing streak, no shame tbh. Run it light if you're stuck, run it geared if you want loot too. Hope this helps, lmk if I missed anything.