Guide 101: Building Your Safe Network

Chapter 6

• Now that you're level 6, you can increase your Carry Weight with some perks. Let's go get 'em.
• On the way, let's fight the Black Claw Scorpions. Go to Junktown and talk with Doc Larrikin to get this quest.
• Find the scorpion cave nearby to the northwest of Junktown. Bring a Combat Shotgun and some ammo.
• Do not get stung by these monsters! Their poison is far more intense than most.
• Bring the eggs back to Doc Larrikin and ask him about the venom to get the Snakeater perk.
• Drop off your extra eggs at your House, and bring 4 wooden poles, 1 rope, and 3 pieces of wood.
• Next head to Necropolis to pick up a quest that pays 3000 xp. Be careful. Dangerous zones ahead.
• Enter Necropolis via Watershed and run up toward the main building. Enter the sewer on the way.
• Kill all the rats in the sewer for some decent xp. Exit the same ladder and enter the main building.
• Speak with Elmer to get his quest to Gecko. He gives you a holotape. Load it and check your Pip-Boy Archives.
• Now go back to Boneyard Train Station. Buy 2 train tickets and board the train going to NCR (Shady Sands).
• In the NCR Train Station, talk to 4 people about the man with black hair.
• Head to Shady Sands (NCR) and enter the Guns tent inside the main gate. 150 xp. Talk with Buster about some work.
• Run past the Holding Center fence and go into the Rawhide Saloon. Talk to Mira the bartender twice to get another job and Buster's smokes.
• Now run into the main street past the security gate and read the billboard. Take a note about a job for Westin.
• Keep running straight down the main street and go into Dusty's Cantina. Talk with Hoss in the corner to get Awareness and Cautious Nature!
• Talk with the bartender to return Mira's debt for her. Hand him the money and head out.
• Run back up the street and turn left to find the entrance to the Westin Ranch, protected by an energy fence.
• Talk to the guard to get in, using the job offer as a legitimate reason.
• Go inside the main building and speak with Mr Westin. He's at his desk, under a cross on the wall.
• Talk with Felix, the guy just outside the door there, to go to the brahmin pasture. Wait there near the rocks to the south east.
• When the kids arrive, tell them they are making the animals nervous and get them to stop. 150 xp
• Go back in to NCR and give the smokes to Buster. 800 xp. Put on that black leather jacket. Cool!
• Run back to the Rawhide Saloon and get confirm with Mira that you paid her debt back. 750 xp

Welcome to level 7! Distribute Skill Points: Doctor 50, Lockpick 50, Small Guns 128.

• There's more to do at Shady Sands but later. For now, go back to the Train Station and board the next train going to Vault City.
• When you arrive at the VC train station, ask four people about the man with black hair.
• Exit the train station and go into Vault City. Talk with Doctor Andrew about his Medical Investigation.
• Exit Vault City and head north 2 zones to Gecko, a dangerous place. If any players see you there, they will likely shoot you.
• Use the "town preview" feature before you enter Gecko. If you see other players, do not go in yet.
• When it looks clear, enter Gecko's settlement area and run up into The Harp bar. Talk to Keith, the ghoul Mick wants in the band.
• When you're done paying Keith to join the band, run north all the way to the Scrapyard area of Gecko.
• Find Skeeter to deliver Elmer's message. Skeeter gives you another holotape message to take back to Elmer.
• Make sure you use the tape to upload it to your Pip-Boy Archives.
• Exit Gecko by running north through a hole in the fence and out via the north exit grid. *Whew!*
• Go back to the Vault City Train Station and ask four people about their medical condition. Exit there when done.
• Now let's get a few more tents set up. Hunt 8 brahmin nearby in zones 30:8, 31:8, and 32:8.
• While gathering hides, avoid all other encounters unless you're sure you can win. Craft a tent as soon as you get 8 hides.
• If brahmin hunting is too slow there, hunt them anywhere around Modoc, straight to the west. There are more there.
• Set up a tent near Modoc and make this your tent crafting station, where you hunt tons more brahmin for their Hides.
• You'll likely need more Ropes and Wood. Gather resources, including Junk, in the city ruins above Modoc on the far north edge of the map.
• Hunt brahmin, gather hides and craft 9 more tents. If you have no hatchet here, gather some flint and chop wood with a Primitive Tool.

Welcome to level 8! Distribute Skill Points: Small Guns 130, Doctor 66.

• While you're hunting brahmin, notice Ghost Farm on the map. You can mine here if you run out of ammo.
• By the time you craft 9 more tents, you hit level 9. If not, hunt some more so you do.

Welcome to level 9 and the Even Tougher perk! Distribute Skill Points: Small Guns 140, Doctor 70.

• We were on our way to get those Carry Weight perks. Let's get back to that. We'll build some Houses along the way.
• If you have not done it already, arrange your 9 new Folded Tents in a row with 3 wood on each one.
• Chop wood in the area if you have to. You need 3 wood per tent to upgrade the fire pit to a Campfire.
• Upgrade the fire pit at your Modoc tent if you have not already done it. Rename the tent and get a map to it.
• Now pick up 4 tents and 12 wood and let's go get them set up. Head straight west to Den and Klamath.
• Find a place by Klamath and/or Klamath quarry to use the tent. Rename it to "Klamath" and get a map.
• Drop everything you are carrying at this new Klamath house, and run to Klamath. You will get the Gecko Skinning perk next.
• Klamath is a dangerous place. Player will shoot you so you want to carry nothing as you get this perk.
• Use town preview, and enter Klamath via the Trapper Town entrance. Run up past the fence through the bottom door in the main building.
• Run up through this building and out and up to the bon fire to talk to the trapper there and get Gecko Skinning.
• Ran back down the same way you came in, through the building but stop inside and talk to Meloy.
• Ask Meloy about the Toxic Caves and he'll show you the location. Exit the conversation and avoid the next topic for now.
• (The next topic is a fun quest you cannot do yet, so you'll be back here later to get it.)
• Exit Klamath, go back to your tent, grab all your gear and tents and wood and head to Redding (straight past Den).
• Use a tent next to Redding, upgrade the fire pit, rename it to "Redding" and get a map.
• Drop all gear and go naked bluesuit over to Redding. Use town preview and enter the Mine entrance when ready.
• Run straight west to the building to the left of the Last Gasp Saloon. Talk with Dangerous Dan McGrew to get Pack Rat.
• Look at that 110 Carry Weight! Nice, and it gets even better at Broken Hills.
• Go back to your Redding house, grab all your gear including the tents and wood and head east by southeast.
• From Redding, Broken Hills is mostly east but 6 zones south too. You'll find it in zone 29:17.
• Same drill: use a tent, upgrade the fire, rename it, get a map, then drop everything and go naked blue over to the town.
• Broken Hills is another dangerous place. Most of these northern towns are part of the Town Control system so they can be PvP intense.
• Use town preview and enter via the main entrance. Run all the way down the main street to the open well.
• Francis is a mutant arm wrestler in the building just below the well. He will give you the Strong Back perk. Return to house and get gear.
• Check out your Carry Weight now! 140 woohoo! Head north to Gecko mine. Use a tent there. This will be one of your HQ mining places.
• Head back to your Modoc house to get the other tents. Now that you can skin geckos, hunt Goldens when it's not too much trouble.
• Whenever you carry a tent map, you are taking a bigger risk. And anytime you carry the fruits of so much work, same thing.
• If you are carrying 5 tents and 5 maps, it is critical that you exit forced encounters quickly and avoid them if possible.
• Head to San Francisco mine. It's another good place to have a safe place. Do not hunt on this trip; its too risky.
• You'll be crossing the desert on foot. If your character fails, you'll have to go back to Modoc and craft new tents.
• (As careful as I am, I was killed here by NPCs throwing Plasma Grenades, so i had to go back to Modoc to hunt more brahmin.)

Losing a Fight Near San Fran
When you lose a fight near San Fran, you get a unique opportunity to go on a quest from within the regeneration location. Do the Radscorpion Subway quest.

• Use your next 3 tents near Waterworks, in Boneyard, and back at Shady Sands. Upgrade fires and get maps as you go.
• Stop in Hub along the way to complete The Wasteland Band quest. 1500 xp!
• Remember you're much tougher now with those perks and you should gather Golden Gecko pelts whenever you can safely do so.
• Head over to Necropolis to deliver the reply message to Skeeter. Kill the rats in the sewer again. They are too easy now.

Welcome to level 10! Distribute Skill Points: Small Guns 148, Doctor 75, Traps 28.

• Not sure where you are with this progress now as each player has different experiences en route. Hunt if you need to but get to the next level soon.

Welcome to level 11! Distribute Skill Points: Small Guns 150, Traps 44.

Welcome to level 12! Distribute Skill Points: Lockpick 76, Traps 50. Your next perk is your decision to make. Getting both Action Boy perks will make you faster, which works nicely with your Fast Shot trait. Getting 20 more Hit Points also helps so maybe you want Lifegiver now, but then again, you're doing pretty well as it is, right? You decide.

• (more soon)

Links

• Guide 101: Title Page
• Guide 101: Crawling Out of the Sandstorm