Shenleys Oyster Bar¶

Time to get back on track and continue exploring towards the goal; finding Nick, who was last seen at Park Street Station. From Trinity Plaza (Trinity Church) head north to find a road, which you should follow east. As you go, keep your eyes to the north to find a small alley between two buildings near Hubris Comics. This alley is guarded by a Machinegun Turret MK I and a group of Raiders. Head north up the alley, clear the hostiles, then look around for two chained red doors. Remove the chains and make accessing this area easier, then continue north into a building to find a door leading to the unmarked Shenley’s Oyster Bar. There’s a bit of junk inside, and a Raider guarding it, but the interior of the building is otherwise uninteresting. Head up some stairs and onto the roof to find two more Raiders and a Steamer Chest.

Hubris Comics¶

Leave the Oyster Bar and return south to the street, which you should now follow east to find Hubris Comics. The dead Scavenger outside isn’t a promising sign, but there’s good loot to be had within, so… onward! Sneak as soon as you enter and wait a few seconds: enemies will be coming out soon. You will be facing Ghouls coming out of the woodwork, so stay frosty and have your best Ghoul-slaying weapon handy.

After you’ve killed the Ghouls, it’s time to explore. Near the door is a cash register on a counter, in which you’ll find the “Hubris Comics Storeroom Key” in it. Pick that up and then look to the left for the Unstoppables comic, which is pretty awesome, as you’ll “Permanently gain +1% chance of avoiding all damage from an attack”, when you give it a read Behind the cash register, against the wall, is a locked display case [Advanced] , which is very much worth opening (especially for melee characters) as it contains the unique weapon “Grognak’s Axe” . If you can’t get it with lockpicking, you can also use the Terminal [Advanced] nearby (on the same counter section as the cash register, at the far end). Next check out the bathroom to the east to find another dead Scavenger (on whom you can find the “Scavenger’s Note”), but more importantly use the Hubris Comics Storage Key a door [Novice] in the north-western corner of the entry room door to find a storage room. You’ll find a Safe [Expert] in here that the storage room key will open for several goodies.

Once all that is yours head up the stairs to the second floor where more Ghouls will ambush you, so be ready. Take them all out, then search behind a hole in the wall to the west to find dead Scavenger with a “Scavenger’s List” note on him. In the larger room to the south, search the south-eastern corner of the room to find a door [Novice] beyond which is an office in which you’ll find the “Manager’s Terminal”, which discusses the casting of some comic-book movie. Don’t bother, Tina. Those shows are always awful and fanboys will never be appeased no matter who you cast.

Grab the “Hubris Comics Office Key” from a desk upon which the terminal sits then Head through a hole in the wall to the north. If you loot a break room to the east you’ll find a Nuka Cola Quantum in a Nuka Cola Vending Machine, but otherwise, this level has little left of interest. Continue north and head up some stairs, where you’ll find even more Ghouls (they actually may come down and attack you if you are too noisy). After they’ve been put down head into a room on the western end of the level and search a desk in the south-western corner to find the “Writer’s Terminal” which contains more drama over this little comic book show. Head south from this room to find a small office [Expert], which you can access if you have the Hubris Comics Office Key. Kill the bug inside and loot a safe to find some chems. You can also score a Duffle Bag, pick up the “Silver Shroud Script” holotape from on a desk, and read the Producer’s Terminal for even more drama about the show. Good on you, Tina.

Exit the office and continue east to reach the stairs leading to the final floor, where a Glowing One dwells. It may be the toughest of the Feral Ghouls, but by now, you’ve killed a few, and this one should be nothing special. Once he is dead you can examine the area. The note-able things up here are the “Silver Shroud Costume” and “Silver Sword Hat” from the mannequin near the stage, which is a pretty snazzy outfit. Behind the scenery (where the Glowing One was) is a “Silver Submachine Gun Prop”, which, despite its look, is not actually a weapon. Next check out the lockers along the southern end of the room to find a Grognak Costume … which is actually fairly decent chest armor, as it gives 10 physical resistance, 15 energy resistance, 15 radiation resistance and +2 Strength… at it only takes up your chest armor slot!

More importantly, check out the dressing room up here. First loot a Steamer Trunk in the south-eastern corner of the set room, then go through the door to the east to enter the dressing room. There is a random chem on the table near a red chair, but under that is the Astoundingly Awesome Tales #4 magazine, which gives you a +5% damage boost with the Alien Blaster. Neat. With all of our exploring done we can finally exit the store. You can also mess around with the Studio Control Terminal east of the stage, but there’s really no point.

Malborough House¶

Your goal, the Park Street Station, is further east, but instead of doing things the easy, obvious way… well, why not take a round-about route to kill as many critters, explore as many areas and score as much loot as possible? From Hubris Comics head north up a street to the west to find the HalluciGen, Inc. building. Along the way, past a truck, you’ll find a Pulowski Preservation Shelter, near (west of) which is the unmarked Malborough House, which is pretty uninteresting save for a dead Gunner, a Dufflebag, an Ammo Box and the note “Esplande Mission Brief”.

HalluciGen, Inc.¶

Anywho, back to the HalluciGen Inc. building… Outside the building, be wary of Frag Mines (especially one under a yellow car) and loot the dead Gunners outside the building. Head up some stairs and into the building, but be ready for a fight inside, as Gunners - despite the casualties outside - still populate the building. Of course, their behavior is… off. They’ll giggle like idiots while taking potshots at each other, which will make your job easier… but there’s probably a reason they’re acting this way, which merits investigation. HalluiGen, Inc.? Yeah, the Gunners got into something they shouldn’t have.

Loot the dead Gunners around the lobby, then investigate a Reception Terminal to find out that there is, in fact, a chemical leak, and that - like most pre-war corporations - HalluciGen was pretty unethical. From the lobby head east through a doorway, down a ramp, then through a room to the north, killing whatever Gunners are still alive (although they should have done a fine job of killing each other). When you reach a bathroom turn east to reach a supply room, where you can find a Large Toolbox [Novice]. Continue south into a hallway and east up a ramp, then down another hallway to the north to find a small room where more Gunners (or their corpses) await. Hack a Research Terminal [Novice] to find out about the “HalluciGen Gas” the company was working on before the bombs fell… which is probably the scourge that devastated the Gunners here. You can also activate what is essentially a shock trap, but it’s just as dangerous to you as it is to anybody else, so don’t bother with it.

Grab a copy of Tesla Science off a table in the south-western corner of the room, then head south through a doorway and around a corner to find a Gunner Private in a room, who will talk to you through some glass. If you ask “What’s going on?” She’ll point out the gas as the obvious culprit… but she doesn’t seem to be all there, herself. You can pass an easy speech check “Get out of here” to get her to flee the building and open the door, or you can pass another easy speech check by saying that you’re “A friend”, then a moderate speech check “Open the door” to get her to comply, after which she’ll flee. Finally you can “Threaten” her, which again just get her to open the door and flee. If all that’s not good enough for you, you can just pick the lock on the door [Advanced], but if the Gunner is inside, she’ll go nuts and shoot at you. There’s some ammo and a gun in the room she occupied, but nothing special.

Continue west down the hallway and explore a small side room to the south, carefully disarming the Can Chimes, Tripwire and Grenade Bouquet before looting the dead Gunners inside. Search behind the over-turned table to find an Ammo Box and some ammo. Leave the room and explore another side room to the north, where you can find a Security Terminal [Advanced], which you can use to activate the nearby Protectron. Protectron or not, make your way west through a doorway then up some stairs to reach the upper floor of the building, where the fighting between Gunners still rages.

To the east you’ll find a hotly contested, multi-level room with an Accounting Terminal inside, which itself is of little interest. Continue east then turn south and head down a ramp formed by a section of ruined floor, then continue south to reach an L-shaped hallway. To the south are three doors; one to the south, one to the east, and another to the west, while to the west are two doors; one to the west and one to the north. Head west first, and press a button to open the western room, where two Gunners are playing a game of fist-tag. Go through the doorway to the north and down a hallway to find another door [Novice], which can be hacked to reach a small changing room with a Duffle Bag inside. Return to the L-shaped hallway and turn your focus to the neglected southern doors. In a room beyond the southern of these three doors you’ll find a pair of Gunners engaged in some fisticuffs and an Ammo Box, while in the western one you’ll find a lone Gunner and a Test Chamber Terminal [Novice].

Finally head into the western room and ascend a ramp to reach a glass roof over the areas you previously explored. Follow a metal walkway north, through a doorway and up another flight of stairs. Go trough the doorway atop the stairs to the left (east) to reach the Observation Room, where you’ll find an Observation Room [Advanced]. Hack the terminal for some useless information, then press some buttons to watch some silly demonstrations. Two things you can always count on from pre-war companies; a lack of ethics and buffoonery.

Return to the hallway and head through a doorway to the west to reach the balcony over-looking the lobby. Head north and drop down to a lower ledge where you’ll find plenty of Gunners to loot around this level; the Gunners who were on high-ground in earlier altercations. Kill any who persist and make your way into the CEO’s Office to the north, where you can hack the CEO’s Terminal [Expert], which you can use to unlock a Safe [Master]. After ransacking the CEO Office, return to the balcony overlooking the lobby and head south into a stairwell, which you should descend to the bottom floor, killing the last remaining Gunners as you go. Through a door [Novice] to the west you’ll find a small storage closet with little of interest inside, but through the door to the north you’ll find more interesting things.

Head through a door to the south to find a room with a dead Gunner who possessed a Minigun and the large Mainframe Access Terminal [Novice]. The only purpose of hacking the mainframe, however, is to reset the passwords in the complex, which will let you bypass the Lab Access Terminal [Expert] outside. Access this terminal however you can, then use it to open the door. Beyond the door you’ll find hallways branching north and south. Go north first, as to the south you’ll find chambers so full of dangerous gas that you’ll suffer severe damage from exposure. Follow the northern hallway to reach a small control room where you’ll find yet another terminal - the Decontamination Control Terminal [Advanced] - which can be used to clear the gas out of the southern hallway and allow you to bypass a locked door [Expert] to the south. Note that standing in the decontamination area will remove all your RADS. Groovy.

However you manage to do it, make your way into a room to the east, where you’ll find the Gunner Commander, the most heavily armed of the Gunners you’ve likely had to face so far. They like to employ a Stealth Boy in combat, so either make a commotion while in stealth where you can’t be detected and wait for it to wear off, of just go after them with the potential of fighting an invisible foe in mind. Kill the commander, disarm a Laser Tripwire, neutralize the Tesla Arc trap on a table, then get to looting. The commander will drop the HalluciGen Key, the “Gunner’s Note” and the “HalluciGen Mission Brief” note, as well as high-quality gear. Grab a Stealth Boy and some Frag Grenades out of a safe, then loot the rest of the room to find Hallucigen Gas Canisters, which you can use to make some HalluciGen Gas Grenades at the nearby Chemistry Station. If you check out a Development Lab Terminal you’ll see that… well, most of HalluciGen’s projects are utter failures. Continue north to find a Steamer Trunk with a HalluciGen Key, which opens the door to the exit to the north.

Charles View Amphitheater¶

Whew. That was an involved place. There’s another, more humble area to the north which is part of a quest… but there’s no harm in visiting it now. Continue north to find Charles View Amphitheater, where a cult - which in no way resembles any real-world, money-scamming cults - resides. Find the lead con-artist named Brother James, who will try to sell you on nostalgia and bogus friendliness, identifying his group of brain-washed dupes the “Pillars of the Community”. As him some questions to get some vague, nonsense answers, then say whatever you want in response to his initiation. He won’t take no for an answer and will proceed to a small office.

Follow him and he’ll ask you to make the first step towards becoming a member; give up all your material goods. If you comply, he’ll happily take away everything you possess and make you a “level one” member of the Pillars of the Community which gets you a mantra, and nothing more. If you’re smart, you won’t fall for this religious-scam pyramid scheme nonsense and will refuse to give him anything. Like all religious con-men, however, he’ll react poorly to you standing up against his sales pitch and threaten to rob you if you don’t hand over your loot willingly. Pass a hard speech check to threaten him into submission, fail it, which will provoke Brother James and his cultists, whom you’ll have to exterminate. If you kill them, pick the locked door [Advanced] in the room with Brother James to reach his personal quarters, where you’ll find an Ammo Box and some chems. In the building north-east of the bonfire outside you’ll find the sleeping quarters for the Initiates, where you can steal a Mini Nuke and some other junk.

Vault-Tec Regional HQ¶

From the Charles View Amphitheater head east to find Vault-Tec Regional HQ, which has two entrances. There’s a small door [Expert] on the south-western end of the building and unlocked double doors along the eastern end of the building. Assuming you can’t get in the former, enter the front doors on the eastern side of the building. In the lobby you’ll encounter a pair of Feral Ghouls, and aside from that and the elevator south of the door there’s very little of note here. On the second floor (which you can reach by heading up a ramp in the north-western corner of the level) you can find another pair of Ghouls and, in a room in the south-eastern corner of the floor, Dr. Reid’s Terminal. Finally, head south to find some stairs that’ll take you to the third floor, where - if you head into an office in the north-western corner of the building - you can find Mr. Davison’s Terminal and a Safe [Advanced]. The only bit of really notable loot can be found in the basement, where another pair of Feral Ghouls lurk. On an elevated concrete platform you’ll find a Steamer Trunk, Walter Scott’s Terminal [Novice] (which can open the locked back door [Expert]) and to the north of all this, a bathroom with a Mini Nuke in the toilet. A surprisingly mundane area, really.

Massachusetts State House¶

Leave the Vault-Tech Regional HQ building and make your way south to find the Massachusetts State House, the next stop on the absurdly meandering path to the Park Street Station. From the entrance head east through a hole in the wall then up a ramp formed by some collapsed floor. Go through a hole in the wall to the south and disarm a Laser Tripwire and a Grenade Bouquet, then turn east to find a dead Raider. In a room to the north you’ll find a campfire, a dead Scavenger and a Mirelurk Hatchling - the only clue to what may dominate this building. Read some inane office chatter on a Terminal, then continue through a room to the south.

From here if you turn south-east to reach a bathroom where another dead Raider lurks. A trio of Mirelurk Hatchlings will crawl out of the wall, which isn’t too much trouble, but a skirmish with them may draw the attention of a larger, more dangerous Mirelurk to the west. Yay… Mirelurks. Looks like a good time to dust off that old shotgun. Grab some chems out of the bathroom, then plunder an Ammo Box [Advanced] before heading to the west and down some stairs. Head north between two lion statues (looting a Wooden Crate [Novice] along the way) and turn west, where you should proceed through some holes in the wall until you run out of west. From here you can go through a doorway to the north to find a Terminal with more of the same office banter. To the south you’ll encounter another Mirelurk, beyond which you can ascend a ramp. Make your way down a muddy hallway to the east and dust one more Mirelurk, then continue down a ramp and turn west to find a hole in the floor, which drops down into a Mirelurk lair. Before you go down there you may want to stash your loot and grab some explosives - Bottlecap Mines or Frag Mines, chiefly. There’s a foe down that that might be worth some preparation.

When you’re ready drop down into the Mirelurk lair and kill whatever Mirelurks pop up. Once done, if you want to be safe and set the field for a difficult fight coming up, put down some mines around the room, clustered up if possible. After that’s been taken care of continue down a tunnel to the west and pop a Rad-X when you enter a chamber, because some jerk decided to stow a bunch of radioactive barrels here. Not only does this make this a great place to catch RADS, but the radiation has drawn Mirelurks nearby, so be wary of them lurking about and popping up from the mud. Make your way through the room to the north, go through a hole in the wall, climb through a muddy passage, then turn east to reach a flooded Mirelurk nursery room, where you’ll find several Mirelurk Hatchlings and plenty of Mirelurk Eggs. Head over some pipes and deal with more Mirelurk Hatchlings (and grab more eggs!) then head into a pipe to the south-east. In the room beyond the pipe you’ll find a machine beneath a metal walkway which contains a Fusion Core. Grab it, then continue south along the metal walkway and loot an Ammo Box, a Chem Box a random gun. Next turn your attention to a Terminal on a crate, which you should access and select the entry “[Emergency Door Override [ACTIVATE]]”.

Save your game, make sure you’re healed up and kill whatever Mirelurks you see wandering around in the pond below, but do so at a distance. Once you’re ready, descend through a hole in the wall to the south to return to the nursery chamber, where a Mirelurk Queen - the massive matriarch that rules over all Mirelurks - dwells. This foes is incredibly dangerous, dealing massive damage with its physical attacks and spitting out corrosive poison that can kill faster than Stimpaks can heal. If you’re finding this foe troublesome, try to sneak past through the doors to the south… or make a run for it. The Mirelurk Queen’s girth impedes here in this small places, and you’ll be relatively safe… at least once you go through some doors, get out of the radiation, and turn a corner. As tough as she may be, however, it’s nothing a sneak attack or two (or some critical hits) can’t fix. Failing that, if you planted mines earlier, try to lure her onto or near them, then shoot the mines, which should do massive damage or outright kill her, depending on how many mines you planted. She doesn’t drop anything of note, despite her size.

Head up some stairs to the south and go through the doors, which are now open thanks to the Terminal you used before fighting (or fleeing from) the Mirelurk Queen. You’ll catch some RADS as you head past some barrels in this room, but endure them, continue through some doors to the south, then make your way until you reach a hallway running perpendicular to the one you’re in. If you go west you’ll find a small room, which is uninteresting save for a Terminal that contains the whining of a humble plumber and a First Aid Box. To the east, however, you’ll find yourself in Raider territory (somebody had to be feeding all those Mirelurks, right?). Go through a hole in the wall and disarm three Frag Mines, then loot a Safe [Expert]. Continue down a hallway to the east, then north, being alert for a treacherous Teddy Bear that hides a Tripwire which triggers some wall-mounted guns.

Disarm and continue past this teddy bear betrayal and head up a ramp to reach where the Raiders dwell. Kill any you come across and head upstairs, loot an Ammo Box [Novice] then head up another flight of stairs to find some pretty stiff Raider resistance, some of whom may drop from higher ground to the west. Kill them and destroy a turret atop the stairs, where a barricade prevents your ascent. Go through a hole in the wall to the west and make your way up some ramps to reach the upper floor. If you continue down a hallway to the east you’ll find a Bottlecap Mine on a crate, beyond which you can find an Ammo Box [Novice] and a Metal Crate, in which is the Raider Atrium Key. Unless you’ve got a lot of ranks in Lockpick, you’ll want this key. Continue through a doorway to the north and disarm a Tripwire near a Port-A-Diner, then take down the neutered mounted weapon. Proceed north through a hole in the wall and use the Raider Atrium Key to open a red door [Master], then continue north through a small room to reach some makeshift walkways above the hole in the floor leading to the Mirelurk lair where you encountered the Mirelurk Queen.

Make your way across the walkway to enter the last few chambers in this area, where the leader of these Raiders lurks, armed with a Minigun and Power Armor. They come accompanied by a Machinegun Turret MK I, an Attack Dog and some Raider support. Once they’re dead, grab a Mini Nuke off a wooden cabinet, loot an Ammo Box then claim a Steamer Trunk before finally heading onto an elevator, which you can take down to a room near the entrance.

Swans Pond¶

Well, that was an ordeal, but at least it’s over with. At least you won’t have to end up fighting another massive monster any time soon, right? Well… Not so much. Anyways, back on the hunt for Nick! Continue south and soon you’ll come to “Swan’s Pond”. Now, go ahead and save here as Swan’s Pond as the home of Swan, who just so happens to be a Super Mutant Behemoth. If you managed to kill the Super Mutant Behemoth near Walden Pond - much less the Mirelurk Queen more recently - you should be capable of handling Swan.

Like with the Mirelurk Queen planting various mines near each other is an easy (if cheap) way to win this fight. North of the pond, between the pond and the Massachusetts State House, you’ll find some stairs leading up to the street, near which is a monument. Plant your mines on the concrete path south of these stars, just west of a gazebo. Once done, get Swan’s attention by taking a shot at him while standing at the top of the stairs near the monument. If you have a powerful, long-ranged rifle with a suppressor and your sneak score is good, you can easily score a few easy sneak attacks on Swan. In fact, combine this with a few critical hits and you won’t even need mines! For everybody else, however, lure Swan onto the path near your mines, then target them and blow them up when Swan is nearby. Failing all that, you can use the stairs, the fence, and the monument to provide cover from Swan’s thrown rocks and to give you some distance while you play a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse. Once Swan has fallen, loot his massive body for the Furious Power Fist weapon. You can also find a Steamer Trunk in a small shack near Swan’s Pond, and be sure to search the gazebo (pop a Rad-X, first!) to find an issue of Grognak the Barbarian near a skeleton.

Boston Common Areas¶

Finally, after all that, your goal is near at hand. Clustered around Swan’s Pond are many other areas, which should be covered now, while you’re here:

• The Old Granary Burying Ground to the north-east, where you can kill some Feral Ghouls (Ghouls in a graveyard, how novel) and loot a dead Gunner and his nearby Duffle Bag.
• Boston Common, which if you approach will update the quest “Road to Freedom” , something which will shortly be addressed.
• South of the park in which Swan’s Pond is located you’ll find a row of houses, one of which (the one with the red door) is The Boylston Club. You can go up an elevator to reach a club where a lot of skeletons can be found. Hack the Bolyston Club Terminal [Novice] to claim the holotape “A Toast”, which replays the final moments of the Boylston Club. You can also use this terminal to unlock a wall Safe [Expert] in the small room to the north.
• Just around the corner from the Bolyston Club is the Combat Zone, the exterior of which is crawling with Raiders. Ignore this area for now, however.
• Finally, check out the row of buildings west of Swan’s Pond. Along the northern-most of this row of buildings you’ll find some stairs that lead down to the Prost Bar. Inside, head into an office to the south-east to find some Baseball Grenades on a desk, a floor Safe [Novice] and a Steamer Trunk [Master].
  Once you’ve explored all those places, there’s no more diversions left. Return to Swan’s Pond and head east, north-east to find a small building that houses the entrance to the Park Street Station. It’s time to go find Nick Valentine. For real this time.