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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 in the Mojave Wasteland.

Background

As part of the Vault experiment, the armory was overstocked with weapons and ammunition. 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[1] like Horowitz, although most of its residents have become feral ghouls and glowing ones. They are, however, still able to speak with some level of intelligence.

According to various sources inside the vault, the vault became overpopulated. Foreseeing problems, the overseer had a remote link to the armory lock installed on his 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.

Additionally, according to the Boomers historian Pete, the Boomers used to occupy Vault 34, but they got sick 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.

The main exit was then sealed and guards posted to prevent anyone else from leaving. Years later, another group unsuccessfully stormed the armory. With most guards at the main exit or armory, there was little to stop the damage that was done to other areas in the vault, most importantly the reactor cooling vents, main computer systems, and other infrastructure. Consequently, undetected radioactive gases began venting throughout the vault; after this was discovered, panic 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 they died from 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.

1st floor

This section is comprised of the vault's long entrance tunnel, blast door, atrium, clinic, and 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 glowing one which the game calls a 'Vault Technician' 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 loot in this section is either in lockers or dressers, although first aid boxes are scattered about, as are 10mm pistols and 10mm submachine guns.

There is a terminal (Science 100) on the lower level, located in the Utility room, through the Clinic, which can pump the 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 your right when facing the armory door. Straight down at the bottom is another dead glowing ghoul 'vault technician' under another desk with the Vault 34 utility terminal password. Use this on the computer in the Utility room to drain the water from that same flooded area and gain access to the Security Room.

In the room opposite the Utility room is another overseer's journal fragment. This level has 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 is inaccessible, and a small room containing a few security guards and a True Police Stories on the floor. The mutated overseer is in his office, standing on his raised desk with two turrets mounted underneath it. One of the overseer's journal fragments is in the room also. Be warned that upon entering the room, more ghouls will break through the inaccessible door labeled "Operations" and attack. Under the stairs is the lightly 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 at 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, with a door that needs to be unlocked through the overseer's terminal before it can be entered. The armory is a small, two level room, with weapons and ammunition scattered around on the floor, tables and shelves. among other ammunition. 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. The upper gantry is inaccessible.

To access the armory you must get two passwords from two ghoul engineers that are in submerged areas. Then you must find two terminals, the first to pump out the water and on the second terminal an option will appear to open the overseers door, then proceed to the overseers office which is on the right of a hall beyond the newly unlocked door.

Once inside, you have to destroy the turret(s) and the ghoulified overseer and take his password from his corpse. Use the password to hack his terminal and open the armory door. Proceed to exit the room (if you are searching for the armory) and travel through the clinic. Eventually you will find the room containing many weapons (such as missile launchers, various rifles and SMG's) and the All-American Marksman carbine. Most of the weapons in the armory are in very poor condition but can be repaired with each other.

Security Station A

Vault 34 security station A

The door to this small area is underwater, but can easily be accessed when the water is pumped out. It contains a few 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

  • 7 Vault 34 security armors and 6 helmets. A few can be found lying in the armory. One is also found in the room on the left, right after the 2nd flooded staircase, lying on a chair in a pile of rubble. One is also located in Security Station A, after you pump the water out.
  • Four Overseer's journal fragments can be found throughout the vault.
  • On the left of the broken Mk III Auto-Doc, there's a wall safe, (average lock), containing 15 Rad-X and 10 RadAways.

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 visits: feral ghouls exist in it, the only door into it leads to nothing, and if the player 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 Vault 34 cavern to the north-west 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. If you fall in the pit you can't jump out, so your options are either to enter the Vault or to fast travel.
  • 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.
  • Ghouls will spawn as you enter certain rooms to ambush the player, usually in pairs.
  • The overseer is a feral ghoul reaver. He is protected by two turrets.
  • Interestingly, the reaction of sealing the door to prevent more people from leaving seems utterly counterproductive given the vault's overpopulation problem.
  • Due to the use of scripted sequences that release 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. Ironically, the reactor malfunctioned and turned the vault dwellers into real ghouls, which eventually resulted in them turning feral.
  • Several doors in this vault go up and down. You cannot interact with them. There are tables blocking them from closing so they just go up and down indefinitely.
  • None of the doors feature the number "34", but instead just feature a gold stripe.
  • When you talk 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 throughout the Vault, due to the door frames being slightly lower than its height.

Appearances

Vault 34 was first mentioned in the Fallout Bible and appears only in Fallout: New Vegas.

Behind the scenes

  • On the way into Vault 34 there is a skeleton with a 10mm pistol and ammunition - a reference to Ed from Fallout and Fallout 2.
  • Vault 34 was designed by Sydney Wolfram.
  • The Vault 34 utility terminal passwords are Thunderbird and Bonneville, both names of Triumph motorcycles. These are also the names of popular cars, the Ford Thunderbird, and Pontiac Bonneville.

Bugs

  • Xbox 360Xbox 360 Just outside of the vault's entrance, the golden geckos may become stuck "in" the U.S. Army truck.[verified]
  • Xbox 360Xbox 360 Upon discovery of the Vault 34, the related challenge of discovering the Vault is shown as "Find Vault 34 0/0".[verified]
  • 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 your character 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 player to return to cave entrance after loading screen.[verified]
  • Xbox 360Xbox 360 Some clipping issues that may stick the player while swimming in the room with the glowing one with the Vault 34 security terminal password. Directly above the roll top desk your head can lodge in the ceiling and you become unable to continue onward. Switching camera perspective over and over may un-stick a player.[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 Be careful not to tell companions to wait at the top of flooded stairs in this area. Once you activate the pump system they can become permanently stuck between doorways. Possible solution, go into third person and rotate until you can see the option to talk to them and dismiss them.[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 you (confirmed Rex, ED-E and 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 you'll "fall in" the water and be stuck "in limbo" off the map or between floors in the water. You have to reload the autosave.[verified]

Gallery

References

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