Bendy and the Ink Machine Valued Employee: Full Guide

How to Unlock Valued Employee

One careless encounter in Administration can spoil your Bendy and the Ink Machine valued employee attempt. To unlock it, complete Chapter 5’s pipe puzzle without being seen by the Butcher Gang patrolling the maze. This Bendy and the Ink Machine valued employee walkthrough breaks the trip into recognizable landmarks so you can collect the ink, make each pipe, and finish the puzzle while staying out of sight.

The challenge covers the pipe puzzle that opens the way into the vault. You need three pipe pieces, which means making repeated trips through Administration for ink blobs and returning to the pipe-making machine.

Completing the puzzle advances the story, but earning the stealth achievement adds another requirement: keep every collection trip clean.

Achievement	How to Unlock	Epic Games Store Unlock Rate
Valued Employee	Complete the Administration pipe puzzle without being seen by the Butcher Gang	0.1%
Pipes and Problems	Solve the pipe puzzle and open the way to the vault	7%

Those percentages apply to Epic Games Store players in the recorded achievement snapshot. They are separate from Steam and console achievement statistics.

Make remaining unseen your priority throughout the puzzle. Reaching the ink blob successfully only completes the outward journey; you still need to bring it back through the patrol routes.

Official page: Bendy and the Ink Machine (joeydrewstudios.com)

Prepare Before Entering Administration

Before starting your Bendy and the Ink Machine valued employee attempt, locate the machinery and nearby shelter. Knowing where to go after leaving the maze keeps you from wandering around while carrying the ink or a finished pipe.

Image: Steam / Joey Drew Studios

Identify these landmarks before committing to your collection trips:

Landmark	What to Locate	Your Next Action
Administration entrance	The opening where Piper passes across your route	Wait for Piper before entering
Desk room	The room on the right after following Piper toward his left turn	Use the far corner beside the audio-log desk while patrols pass
Ink pool	The pool with the collectible ink blob near Joey Drew’s office	Collect a blob, then retrace your route
Pipe-making machine	The machine outside the Administration collection route	Produce the missing pipe shape
Pipe puzzle	The incomplete pipe arrangement	Install each finished piece
Outhouse	The nearby hiding place used during the return sequence	Hide from the Ink Demon when necessary

Inspect the missing pipe position before collecting ink. Then select the piece you need when you return to the machine. Keep the sequence clear in your head: collect ink, make the matching pipe, install it, and repeat.

Leave collectible detours until after the puzzle. The desk room contains an audio log, and Administration has additional logs and Bacon Soup. Focus on patrols during the stealth attempt, then return for exploration.

Account for the 2.1.0 Update

Quality of Life update 2.1.0 made the Butcher Gang less likely to get stuck inside Administration rooms. Watch their actual movement instead of expecting an enemy to remain trapped while you cross a hallway.

The update also unlocked all chapters except Archives regardless of progress. Older instructions about reaching Chapter 5 through campaign progression belong to an earlier version.

Use visible patrol positions as your cue to move. Let an enemy clear your route before stepping out, even when the previous collection trip felt straightforward.

Follow the Pipe Collection Route

The Bendy and the Ink Machine valued employee route uses Piper’s movement to time your entrance, the desk room to wait out passing enemies, and the same corridors for the return journey.

Image: Steam / Joey Drew Studios

Repeat this process for all three pipe pieces. Before each trip, watch the entrance again and establish where Piper is.

1. Let Piper Pass the Entrance

Wait at the Administration entrance until Piper walks past from left to right.

Follow him along the hallway. When he turns left around the corner, enter the room on your right. This is the room containing the desk and an audio log.

Keep your attention on Piper’s turn. Move into the room once he has rounded the corner rather than closing the distance behind him.

2. Wait Beside the Desk

Stand in the far corner beside the desk with the audio log. Keep away from the window while waiting for Striker to pass.

Striker approaches from the right in this route. Let him move past the room before continuing along the hallway in your original direction.

The room provides a useful pause between patrol crossings. Take that pause instead of rushing directly from Piper’s route into Striker’s.

3. Continue to the Ink Pool

Follow the corridor without entering the other rooms.

After the long hallway, turn right. Watch for Piper moving left into another hallway, then continue toward the ink pool and collect the ink blob.

Joey Drew’s office is nearby. Save that room and its audio log for your later collectible sweep.

4. Retrace Your Steps

Carry the blob back along the route you used to reach the pool.

Return to the desk room and wait in the same corner for Fisher to pass. Once he has cleared the route, head back toward the Administration entrance.

Keep the return journey deliberate. The collected blob still needs to reach the machine, so continue checking the corridors instead of treating the pickup as the end of the trip.

Part of the Trip	Enemy to Watch	Action
Entering Administration	Piper	Follow after he passes left to right
Leaving the desk room	Striker	Wait beside the desk until he passes
Approaching the ink pool	Piper	Watch him turn into the other hallway
Returning through the desk room	Fisher	Wait for him to pass before heading out

5. Make and Install the Pipe

Put the ink blob into the pipe-making machine and produce the piece needed for the puzzle.

During this sequence, use the nearby outhouse to hide from the Ink Demon when necessary. Once it is safe, take the pipe to the incomplete arrangement and install it.

Repeat the collection route until all three pieces are placed. Valued Employee unlocks when you finish the pipe puzzle, provided the Butcher Gang has not seen you.

Keep Your Stealth Attempt Clean

Timing is the main challenge in Bendy and the Ink Machine valued employee. Repeated trips give you familiar landmarks, but you still need to watch each patrol before crossing its path.

Image: Steam / Joey Drew Studios

Move promptly through clear corridors, then wait behind cover when an enemy is approaching. Avoid turning speed into a reason to skip the desk-room checks.

Avoid These Route Mistakes

• Leaving the desk room before Striker passes: Wait until he has moved past your position.
• Standing by the window: Use the far corner beside the desk while watching the patrol.
• Exploring side rooms with ink in hand: Return directly to the machine.
• Skipping Fisher on the return trip: Stop in the desk room and let him pass.
• Relying on stuck enemies: Account for the Administration pathing changes in version 2.1.0.
• Losing track of the required pipe: Check the missing shape before the next collection run.

If the Butcher Gang sees you, the attempt no longer meets the achievement’s requirement. Completing the puzzle afterward still serves story progression, but it does not fulfill the unseen condition.

Using the Older Save-and-Reload Method

For versions 1.5.0.0 and 1.5.1.0, the save-and-reload method resets the Butcher Gang’s patrol paths between trips.

On a campaign run in those versions, save at the time clock, quit to the menu, and continue. Follow the collection route, install a pipe, then repeat the save-and-reload sequence before the next trip.

In those versions, chapter select does not support saving, so that method requires a campaign save. Back up the entire save before using it.

For a Bendy and the Ink Machine valued employee attempt without saving between trips, repeat the route while watching the patrols each time. Reestablish Piper’s position at the entrance rather than immediately starting the next run.

Finish the Puzzle, Then Sweep the Collectibles

Keep your Bendy and the Ink Machine valued employee attempt focused on the pipes. After completing the puzzle, collect the nearby items before moving deeper into the vault.

This order lets you give the stealth section your full attention and then explore the rooms you passed along the way.

Achievement	How to Unlock	Epic Games Store Unlock Rate
Now Hear This!	Listen to all Chapter 5 audio logs required for the achievement	4%
No Need for a Spoon	Collect all Chapter 5 Bacon Soup	0.2%
A Sweet Discovery	Find the hidden old friend in Chapter 5	0.2%
Toe Tappin	Find and activate the Chapter 5 radio	0.7%

Use this completion order for the surrounding Chapter 5 achievements:

1. Collect the four opening-room soup cans. These appear before Administration, so include them in a Chapter 5 collectible run.
2. Listen to the early Film Vault audio log. After the swarm fight and the fall, enter Film Vault and check the room on the right.
3. Complete the pipe puzzle unseen. Finish all three pipe trips before searching Administration’s side rooms.
4. Sweep Administration’s audio logs. Check the room directly ahead along the first hall, the desk room used for hiding, the next room on the right, and Joey Drew’s office.
5. Collect the remaining soup. Find one can on a bench near Joey Drew’s office and two in the small room opposite.
6. Visit the hidden room after solving the puzzle. Facing Joey Drew’s office, take the hallway on the left, enter the room on the right, and look for the poster on its left wall.
7. Activate the vault radio. Inside the vault proper, open the closed box immediately to your left and turn on the radio.

Chapter 5 has seven Bacon Soup cans in total and five audio logs counted toward Now Hear This! The later unavoidable audio log near the Ink Machine does not add another requirement to that chapter achievement.

FAQ

What unlocks Bendy and the Ink Machine valued employee?

Complete Chapter 5’s Administration pipe puzzle without being seen by the Butcher Gang. Collect the ink, make all three required pipe pieces, and install them while keeping every trip unseen.

Does Valued Employee require saving and reloading?

No. You can complete the collection trips in one continuous attempt. The older save-and-reload method for versions 1.5.0.0 and 1.5.1.0 resets patrol paths between trips, but saving is not part of the achievement’s unlock condition.

Where should I wait for the Butcher Gang?

Use the room on the right after following Piper toward his left turn. Wait in the far corner beside the audio-log desk for Striker on the outward journey and Fisher on the return journey.

When should I collect Administration’s audio logs and soup?

Finish the pipe puzzle first, then sweep the rooms before continuing deeper into the vault. This keeps collectible detours out of your stealth attempt and gives you time to check Joey Drew’s office and the nearby rooms.