That's why you take the perk which adds mines to your inventory when you defuse them, early on.

There are 2 major and several minor areas in the game which are littered with mines. If you took the time to defuse all the mines, you'd end up with around 700 mines, without having to buy or craft them. Enough to defeat all enemies that emerge from doors in the entire game.

#Spoilers #TheOuterWorlds2

Having taken the Archives twice (on Normal difficulty), I think I could do it solo (without companions) without much of a problem.

I'm usually defeating most of the enemies before my companions even engage.

Most automechanical (and human) enemies emerge from visible doors when you trigger an event (flip a switch to accomplish a task), so if you just drop a couple of mines at each door before you flip the switch, then 90% are defeated.

#Spoilers #TheOuterWorlds2

*Spoilers*

Everyone in the game gives dire warnings about not taking the Archives without the support of one or more factions, but even on my first play-through I had accidentally started the Archives unassisted, and even against the warning advice by companions, taking the Archives was trivially easy on Normal difficulty.

You have to enjoy the world, environment, and minutiae of the smaller quests, because they aren’t necessary.

#Spoilers #TheOuterWorlds2