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"Industrial Junk"
Ages ago, long before I was born, we lived underground. Everyone had guns but the overseer wouldn't let us explode anything, not even a hand grenade. We left and wandered the wastes. There were savages with knives. We blew them up with frag mines and grenades, burned them with flamethrowers.Pete, Keeper of the Story

Vault 34 is one of the Vault-Tec Vaults, located southwest of Nellis Air Force Base in the Mojave Wasteland in 2281.

Background[]

As part of the Vault social experiment, the armory was overstocked with weapons and ammunition which gave it a gun focused culture.[1] It was also equipped with a great number of recreational facilities, including a full-sized swimming pool, at the cost of living space. By 2281, it still has people living in it,[Non-game 1] including Horowitz, although most of its residents have become feral ghouls and glowing ones. They are still able to speak with some level of intelligence. According to various sources inside the Vault, the Vault became overpopulated.

Revolt[]

Foreseeing problems, the overseer had a remote link to the armory lock installed on their terminal, denying access. A group of residents demanded access to the armory, stating the right to defend themselves, which the overseer denied. Rioting broke out soon after, and the group who had demanded access to the armory stormed the exit and left the Vault around 2231,[2] while another group took advantage of Vault security being sent to guard the exit to ambush the armory.[3]

This information is corroborated by Boomers historian Pete, who tells the Courier that the Boomers used to occupy Vault 34, but they grew tired of not being allowed to use their weapons so they left and started a community at Nellis. The fact that Pearl possesses the key to a gun case located deep in Vault 34 contributes to the credibility of this story.

After the Vault dwellers' exodus from the Vault, the main exit was sealed and guards posted to prevent anyone else from leaving. This is counterintuitive to the Vault's overpopulation problem, coming to a head years later, with the overseer proposing population control measures. This resulted in a portion attempting to overthrow the overseer, after which they unsuccessfully stormed the armory, damaging areas of the Vault in the process, such as the reactor cooling vents, the main computer systems, and other infrastructure. Consequently, the damaged reactor began leaking radiation throughout the Vault, and attempts to repair the reactor by the engineering team failed. Panic then set in. Whether by accident or design, the main exit could not be opened again, trapping the residents inside, their only hope being an automated unsealing of the Vault in the near future or external intervention before dying of radiation poisoning.

Layout[]

Outside, just in front of the entrance, is a U.S. Army truck with radioactive barrels in the back and several golden geckos will spawn. The interior itself is unique among the Vaults of the Mojave, having a much longer access tunnel appearing to be a natural cave, as well as a radically different layout. Moreover, the Vault interior is highly irradiated. Precautions should be made to address rads accumulated while exploring, as the player character will start to become irradiated immediately upon entering Vault 34. The radiation alongside enemies approaching from all directions will additionally threaten the Courier.

First floor[]

The first floor of the Vault consists of a long entrance tunnel, blast door, atrium, clinic, as well as a few apartments. Although this Vault can feel a little like a labyrinth, it is mostly symmetrical in layout, although some halls have collapsed or been barricaded, forcing alternative routes to be taken. A flooded area along the western side contains the corpse of a Vault technician glowing one under a desk. The corpse holds the Vault 34 security terminal password.

Vault 34 1st floor

The entry room is completely devoid of items, but an overseer's journal fragment can be found in the control booth. Most of the loot found in this section is located in lockers or dressers, although first aid boxes are scattered around, as well as 10mm pistols and 10mm submachine guns. Several doors in this Vault move up and down indefinitely due to rubble blocking the entryways. The doors cannot be interacted with. All doors in the Vault feature a gold stripe instead of the number "34."

A medical center includes a broken Mark III Auto-Doc. It cannot be repaired by the player character, but its diagnostic module can be used as one of the solutions for the quest Et Tumor, Brute?.

There is a terminal (Science 100) on this level, located in the utility room, through the clinic, which can pump water out of one of the flooded areas. To activate the terminal without hacking, backtrack a small amount to the flooded area which will be on the right when facing the armory door. Straight down at the bottom of the pool is another dead glowing Vault technician under a desk with the Vault 34 utility terminal password. This can be used on the terminal in the utility room in order to drain the water from that same flooded area and gain access to the security room. Opposite of the utility room is another overseer's journal fragment in a room with three ghouls and a gas leak. This level also provides access to the armory and the overseer's office.

Reactor[]

Vault 34 reactor

This section has higher radiation than the rest, excluding the armory, as it contains the damaged reactor of the Vault. At the end of the main hallway is a door to the flooded areas of the Vault, which are inaccessible, and a small room containing a few security guards and a True Police Stories on the floor. One of the overseer's journal fragments is also found in this room. Be warned that upon entering, more ghouls will break through the inaccessible door labeled "operations" and attack. Under the stairs is the less flooded engineering level, ending in the reactor chamber itself. The terminal next to the door is used to open it, and the terminal inside the reactor itself is required for the quest Hard Luck Blues. The overseer's window overlooks an inaccessible part of the armory.

Armory[]

Vault 34 armory

This is a small area that begins at a staircase and ends in a hallway. One way goes to a small common room with a reloading bench and a copy of Guns and Bullets by a couch. The other way goes to the armory through a door that needs to be unlocked with the overseer's terminal before it can be entered. To access the armory, two passwords from two ghoul engineers that are in submerged areas must be found. Then a terminal must be used to pump water out of a flooded area and a second terminal will be used to unlock the overseer's door. The overseer is a feral ghoul reaver, who is directly assisted in defense by two turrets.

Once neutralized, the armory password is gleaned from the corpse, which allows the terminal to be hacked and armory accessed by progressing through the clinic. The armory is a small, two-level room, with weapons and ammunition scattered around on the floor, tables, and shelves. The unique weapon All-American is found on an overturned table to the right side of the armory, and in a Very Hard locked footlocker, is the pulse gun. Most of the weapons in the armory are in very poor condition. The upper gantry is inaccessible.

Security station A[]

Vault 34 security station A

The door to this small area is underwater, but can easily be accessed once the water is pumped out. It contains security guards and a set of security armor. An overseer's journal fragment is found on the desk, next to the terminal which unlocks the overseer's quarters.

Notable loot[]

Related quests[]

Notes[]

  • The background music is "Industrial Junk," which was previously used for Junktown in Fallout and Gecko in Fallout 2.
  • The majority of the Vault dwellers are not wearing Vault 34 jumpsuits. Instead, they wear the normal clothing of a feral ghoul. The exceptions are Vault security, who appear to wear the remains of security armor. They do, however, occasionally carry the item.
  • When in the overseer's office, the armory is visible through the window. However, it is a separate area from the actual armory the player character can access. There are feral ghouls within, the only door into it leads nowhere, and if the player character enters the room with console commands, the ammunition crates cannot be interacted with. However, the weapons on the tables can be looted.
  • There is an alternate entrance to the Vault 34 cavern to the northwest of the usual entryway, on top of the rocky hill. The opening is near some radioactive waste barrels, and a golden gecko may be present. Jumping into the pit doesn't result in access to the cave, instead falling a few feet on top of a black void with dialogue to enter if looking down. The pit can not be escaped by normal means, requiring fast travel to exit.
  • The main Vault door is so close to the wall it is actually out of its track and clipping through the floor grating, making it inoperable.
  • If the overseer is somehow knocked off of the pedestal (with Ranger Takedown, Miss Fortune, etc.), they may be flung back to their original position when getting back up.
  • Due to the use of scripted sequences that spawn more ghouls, companions are more vulnerable in this Vault than they are elsewhere. Since companions can see (but not kill) the hostile ghouls, they are treated as still being in combat, and thus won't autoheal until all the ghouls are dead. This can be remedied by going into a vacant section to allow them to recover.
  • This is one of the few Vaults that has no visible control panel to operate the Vault door, despite it being opened manually before.
  • Chris Haversam was born in Vault 34, but left when he was convinced he became a ghoul after maintaining the reactor. The reactor malfunctioned and turned the Vault dwellers into real ghouls, which eventually resulted in them turning feral.
  • When the player talks to Boone while in the Vault, he will say "Let's get out of this first" but it will still open up the normal conversation menu.
  • ED-E may have trouble following the player character throughout the Vault, due to the door frames being slightly lower than its flying height.
  • The door to "operations" will not open upon arrival to the overseer's office if the two Vault 34 terminal passwords have not yet been found. Collecting the passwords will result in the door's immediate opening upon approach.
  • Using console commands to clip through the wall to see the Vault door will reveal the door does not feature the number 34. Instead, it is blank.

Appearances[]

Vault 34 appears only in Fallout: New Vegas.

Behind the scenes[]

  • Vault 34 was first mentioned in Fallout Bible 0 which mentioned the armory was overstocked with weapons and ammo and not provided with a lock. New Vegas expanded on this idea.
  • Sydney Wolfram was responsible for the concept and implementation of Vault 34.[Non-game 2]
  • Vault 34 is geographically situated in the same real world location as Frenchman Mountain, which contained a municipal fallout shelter in real life.[4]
  • On the way into Vault 34 there is a suit-clad skeleton with a 10mm pistol and ammunition - a reference to Ed from Fallout and Fallout 2.
  • The Vault 34 utility terminal passwords are "Thunderbird" and "Bonneville," both names of Triumph motorcycles. These are also the names of popular U.S. cars, the Ford Thunderbird and Pontiac Bonneville.

Bugs[]

  • PCPC Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Xbox 360Xbox 360 Just outside of the Vault's entrance, the golden geckos may become stuck inside of the U.S. Army truck.[verified]
  • PCPC Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Xbox 360Xbox 360 Upon discovery of Vault 34, the related challenge of discovering the Vault is shown as "Find Vault 34 0/0".[verified]
  • PCPC Xbox 360Xbox 360 Saving anywhere inside the overseer's office or the armory may result in a corrupted game save.[verified]
  • Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 While in the armory, Great Khans may appear and can make the camera zoom in and freeze or slow down the game considerably. Two of the Great Khans will appear at the door to the armory and one at the top of the stairs toward the armory.[verified]
  • Xbox 360Xbox 360 Occasionally exiting through doors on lower levels may cause the player character to return to the cave entrance after a loading screen.[verified]
  • Xbox 360Xbox 360 Some clipping issues that may stick the player character while swimming in the room with the glowing one with the Vault 34 security terminal password. Directly above the roll-top desk, the player character may become stuck in the ceiling and will become unable to continue onward. Switching camera perspective repetitively may result in a fix.[verified]
  • PCPC Upon leaving the Vault, some companions may have vanished and/or their markers moved outside of the map.[verified]
  • Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 If companions are told to wait at the top of flooded stairs in this area, they can become permanently stuck between doorways once the pump system is activated. A potential solution involves going into the third person and rotating until the option to talk to them and dismiss them comes up.[verified]
  • PCPC Sometimes the entrance will show as Vault 34, cloning cells.[verified]
  • Xbox 360Xbox 360 Upon entering the armory, any companions that had disappeared without a trace may suddenly join the party (confirmed Rex, ED-E, Veronica and Lily).[verified]
  • Xbox 360Xbox 360 There is an inaccessible room containing three ghouls. Companions may somehow enter this room and become trapped.[verified]
  • PCPC In the overseer's office next to the monitor there is a chance to "fall in" the water and become stuck "in limbo" off the map or between floors in the water. A save must be reloaded.[verified]

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. Chris Haversam: "I was human once, you know. Grew up in Vault 34, northeast of here. Nice upbringing, if you like assault rifles and target practice. But oh, you prefer machines that don't shoot people? Not so nice then."
    (Chris Haversam's dialogue)
  2. The Courier: "Tell me about the Boomers."
    Robert House: "They occupied Nellis Air Force Base a little over 50 years ago. One of my Securitrons got some video of their arrival - and then... exploded. Odds are they were Vault dwellers. That's everything I know about them, really."
    (Robert House's dialogue)
  3. Overseer's journal fragments, Page 66
  4. Clark County Nevada Fallout Shelters

Non-game

  1. Fallout: New Vegas developer diary 4: Factions
  2. Joshua Sawyer: I wrote the basic concepts for F:NV's vaults but individual designers fully fleshed the concepts out and implemented them. Vault 3: Akil Hooper, Vault 11: Eric Fenstermaker, Vault 19: Sydney Wolfram. Vault 21: Jorge Salgado. Vault 22: Jesse Farrell, Vault 34: Sydney Wolfram.
    (Joshua Sawyer on Formspring)
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