You have a number of ways and paths you can take to explore this area, but let’s start off by going to one of the cooler items right away. This requires you to Fast Travel to the “Capsized Factory” which should already be on your map (from “The Glowing Sea” main mission), where your journey will start. From the factory, head south-east and you will see a number of icons pop up on the compass. Among these are a church to the east, an airplane, and a cave. You want to head for the cave first, so put an emphasis on the south and continue toward the cave landmark. On the way you will see a destroyed “Super Duper Mart”, which isn’t marked on your map. There are in fact two ways to enter this building: by the elevator on the top of the building or by the parking garage entrance (down the stairs from the roof). It is actually best to enter in through the “Parking Garage”, so go ahead and do so.

Super Duper Mart¶

As you may have guessed, there are indeed a few Ghouls in this parking garage as you get past the boxes stacked to your right. You can use VATS to find them to the right and take them out from a distance (there are only a few). There are some Ammo Boxes scattered around (check the back of the army truck) and a locked door [Master] here hiding a Steamer Trunk, First Aid Box and other goodies. Open it if you can and then check out the bus in the south-east corner. You can enter it and you will see that it drops down to a lower level (this is the area that the elevator actually would have taken you to).

Save before you drop down as there is a Deathclaw down here. This is actually quite a picturesque place for a fight - an eerie parking garage with ankle-deep water. Still, you can get in a few sneak attacks on him to greatly help your chances of winning. Take him out and then check the north-west room to find another Steamer Trunk. From here you can head up the ramp on the right, follow the ramp and find the elevator. Take it up to the roof and you’ll be done with this location and back outside, ready to proceed.

Cave¶

You should be quite close to the cave marker now, so keep heading south, south-east to find the “Cave” location. Yes, it is named exactly like the other cave location to the north that you discovered earlier. However, this cave location is far and away much better, as you can explore its tunnels to find a suit of “Raider Power II” Power Armor. What’s more is that this is nearly a fully-complete suit. Even if you don’t like the jury-rigged appearance of the armor, the frame can still be used as a base for other, better suits of armor. If you are already wearing Power Armor, return one of them back to one of your settlements.

Skylanes Flight 1665¶

From here, go ahead and head south-east, towards the airplane icon on the map. It won’t take long before you discover the “Skylanes Flight 1665” location. This is unfortunately the spot where a passenger jet crashed following the nuclear war, and the plane is ripped apart into pieces. The main piece of the plane is noteworthy though as it has some stairs leading up to the cockpit where you can find the “Flight Data Recorder”. You can listen to it to hear a bit of the flight right as the plane got torn apart. Other than that, you can wander around the wreckage and check suitcases for loot. To the right of the cockpit stairs is a seating area with a circuit breaker (for some emergency lights) and a Steamer Trunk, but other than that there isn’t much noteworthy here. Let’s continue to the south, south-west now, towards the factory icon you’ll see on the compass. Once you get there, you will discover the “O’Neill Family Manufacturing” location.

ONeill Family Manufacturing¶

At first glance, this building appears to have no clear way to get inside: it has a magnetic-locked door and no terminal. There is also a ramp leading up to the roof, but no way to drop in. The ramp is a red-herring though: the real way to get inside is to take the hole in the ground just to the north of this structure.

Head down this hole and you’ll come to some stairs. Head down and check out the room to the left for a First Aid Box, then hang a right and enter the back room, killing the Ghoul you’ll find. Now, on the table here is a rather odd item: a “Sentry Bot Model Kit” that you have to build. This transforms the kit into the “Sentry Bot Model”, which is a unique item. After that, use the terminal here to unlock the door up above. You can also view some invoices here for some chuckles. Head back out of the factory via the way you entered and return south to the structure, where the door is now open. Inside you’ll find four Ghouls waiting for you, two of which are levelled, including a Glowing One. Once the Ghouls are dead you’ll find a Steamer Trunk, a reward for all your troubles.

Sentinel Site¶

Time to hunt down one more remaining location to the south. Keep heading off to the south and be careful along the way. You will soon see a huge pyramid-like structure and discover the “Sentinel Site”. Thankfully the front door is wide open, so let’s head inside “Sentinel Site Prescott”. Once inside you’ll hear an alarm going in the distance. Open the security door and enter the facility, which you are currently at the top of. If you can, go ahead and use VATS to target any enemies down below, and if you’ve got good aim, you may be able trim down the ranks of some Ghouls waiting below.

After killing whatever you can, head down the left path and use the button to the right of the magnetic door. This opens the door, so head down the stairs and take a right at the door, checking the red desk here for the Astoundingly Awesome Tales magazine. Nearby is the “Sentinel Site Blast Door Override” holotape as well. Now, head to the terminal nearby and it will not respond to your command to open the blast doors. Defiant door! Load up the holotape you just got (which is something you don’t usually have to do, but now you know!) and you can override the door command.

This opens the “Alpha Pod” which you can use the terminal in for some flavor text. Eject the tape and continue on though, heading down the stairs to another door you can open with a button. In this area there is another terminal. You can open up the blast doors here to the “Beta Pod” for another terminal with more flavor text. Continue down the nearby stairs and check underneath them for a locked box [Novice], then continue on to a room with yet another terminal. Note that beyond this one is the broken elevator, but you can find a wooden box inside the container nearby.

Head to the terminal and use your tape to open up the blast doors, leading to the wide-open area down below. There are Ghouls here if you haven’t killed them all already, but overall this area has a bunch of nothing. Take a right and go down the stairs, then continue forward ignoring the left and right. You will get jumped by Mole Rats here, including a few levelled versions. Take them out and head down the tunnels, but get a fast-shooting weapon ready as there will be a Ghoul attack. Continue down the tunnels until you come to a path split. Head right first to a sleeping area that has a lock [Novice] and a First Aid Box. You can also check the bathroom mirror as well for healing items and perhaps the odd Bobby Pin.

The left path goes to a hallway. Follow it and be ready for another Ghoul attack as they come right out of the concrete. Take them out as they show up and be quick as there are three of them. Continue to a door leading to the previous tunnel. Note that you can go right here to a second sleeping area with a Ghoul and a First Aid Box. Continue down the main tunnel now until you reach another path split. The left room here has three Ghouls inside and nothing else, so kill them for the XP and head right, which leads further down. You will eventually come to a large crate elevator with a Glowing One lurking around. Sneak attack him and take him out. The “prize” for going down this tunnel is a Steamer Trunk, so loot it and take the elevator up which leads you back into the Glowing Sea, ending your adventure in this area.

Vertibird Wreckage¶

You are now done exploring the south, it’s now time to hit the north. To make this easy, fast-travel to the Cave you got the Power Armor in (the one just north of Skylanes Flight 1665, not the higher one). From here you are traveling north-east. Head towards the other plane icon up here to find the “Vertibird Wreckage”. It is fun to look at, but there isn’t anything you can do with it and nothing around here to loot.

Relay Tower 0DB-521¶

Next up is the tower icon to the east a little ways. This is the “Relay Tower 0DB-521”. Of course what you want to do here is to turn the satellites on and extend their range, so interact with the Relay Tower Terminal here and send the satellites up. This will make a couple of new radio signals appear, including the “Skylanes 1665 Mayday” signal (which is probably 200 years too late) and an “Unintelligible Radio Signal”. This signal is actually tied to your next destination…

Unintelligible Radio Signal¶

From here, head north-west to the church icon on the map. It isn’t that far away. Once you get there check out the holes in the roof to see this place is just packed with Ghouls… and serves as your own personal shooting gallery. There is also some oil spilt down below, so as you shoot, the church floor will light up, killing a bunch of them outright (which is awesome). Kill whoever you can but do not jump down there. Instead, head to the steeple and jump up to the top of it from the roof’s apex. You will find a staircase here leading down, so head down and kill whatever you can until you reach the level which gives you access to the balconies. Sweep the Ghouls off the balconies and make your way west to find a small room with more stairs going down and a locked Safe [Master], which can be unlocked with the “Church Safe Key” on the ground near some crates. There is also a Ham Radio nearby that, if you turn off, turns off the “Unintelligible Radio Signal”. So much for that. Head down the stairs slowly as there are undoubtedly many Ghouls on the way down. Fight your way to the bottom and make sure everything is dead, then cross the church to the bus at the end where you can find the “Prize” here: a Steamer Trunk and a ton of pre-war money in a suitcase.

Edge of the Glowing Sea/Vault 95 (Exterior)¶

You are nearly done with discovering locations, but there’s much more fighting to do. From the church, head north-east to the “Vault” icon on the map. If you are approaching from the south you may find yourself doing some climbing, but this is still ideal as you get the high ground over the new location, “Vault 95”, which lets you get in some sneak attacks against the vault guardians - some Gunners and their toy robots.

You can likely kill a few before they realize you are there, but your only worry from this vantage point is the two Assaultron units they have (which should be prioritized as they can climb up and reach you, something the humans can’t seem to figure out). Wipe them out and then nothing will stop you from entering this vault. Before you do that though, make a quick run north (slightly north-west) to the mountain/wave icon to get the “Edge of the Glowing Sea” icon on your map. It is just a Fast Travel mark and is meant to show you where the radiation starts really picking up. Head back to the Vault now and let’s explore it.

Vault 95¶

Right away you can tell this area is going to be rough. You’ll start out with two Laser Tripwires right at the start. Go ahead and disarm them and note the door [Advanced] to the right. Pick it if you can and use the terminal here to shut off the turrets in the upcoming area. After that head to the corner and sneak up and disarm all three of the Can Chimes. Now, in this area you’ll have a fight on your hands: three Gunners, two turrets up on the wall (not if you turned them off of course),an Assaultron and a Mr. Gutsy. Quite a welcoming party! If you have a sniper rifle handy, head back as far as you can and start sniping. You should be able to kill off the humans fairly easily by doing this, but be ready for the more hardy robots to come find you. If you have a companion, they can really help here by providing a distraction and letting you sneak attack more.

Once you’ve cleared this initial area you have quite a few path options to take. Start by going right and disarming the four “Grenade Bouquets” in the hallway (hanging from the ceiling). Head down the stairs and you’ll see the path is split again (a fake split; most of these rooms end up linked together). The right room has nothing of interest, so go left and kill the Gunner, then check out the terminal [Novice] here. It has orders from before the war, which is… really messed up. Stupid Government… Exit the door and note the door in front of you (another room with nothing), then head right a bit down the passage facing north. Kill the turret you see here and head in through the right door. This path is a dead end but houses some sleeping quarters with three Gunners. Go in with sneak attacks to do the most damage (some of them are asleep) and take them all out.

The big prize of this entire vault here is in this sleeping area - the Big Guns Bobblehead , which is very nice if you love big guns! There is an open terminal in here with what happened in the vault (which is again very messed up) as well as a locked Ammo Box [Novice] and a Duffle Bag. Head back to the previous room where the turret was and open the nearby door [Novice]. This is a preserved vault room with some Jet, some Pre-War Money and a Bobby Pin Box.

Head back into the main hallway and continue west. You will see the “Drug Room” on the right, where you can loot a lot of chems if you wish. There’s not much left here except bathrooms and such, so explore a bit and loot what you can (which is mainly drugs and medicine). Be sure to check the mirrors in the bathroom as well. Head back to the main floor once you are done looting.

Okay, there are three more directions to explore (although you definitely got the best item here already). Head up the stairs now and check the side room for an ammo box, then continue on and kill the Gunner in the next room. You’ll end up heading further up to the Overseer’s room - where it appears the vault members used to hold their meetings. Up here you will find the “Overseer Terminal”, which lets you unlock the “Facilities Wing” (Otherwise it is a locked terminal [Master] down below - the door on the left). Unlock it if you wish (or leave it locked if you want the hacking XP) and head down to the left door/left path from the main floor.

Head down and silently kill the Gunner in the hallway, then murder three more Gunners in the big room nearby. Loot what you wish here and head south through the hole in the wall to a computer room. Everything is destroyed here, and the door here leads to the hallway you were in, but you will find stairs leading upwards though. Head up and get ready for another sneak attack. Past the door here are three more Gunners, who have some decent cover in this room, so getting off a sneak attack may be tricky. Once they are dead, continue on to a hallway with a couple of turrets and take them out. You will notice there are two rooms up here. The right room is the “Clinic” but there’s not much in there (some meds).

The left room has the leader of these Gunners inside, a Gunner Commander. Open the door and take your shots at him, then retreat back and let him come out to you, if necessary (the room he is in has a turret and you should deal with it later). In the narrow catwalk, your companion can keep the Commander busy while you get in easy shots or, if you have no companion, this at least lets you not deal with the turret and you can retreat back a bit as needed. Either way take him out. Explore the room he was in and take out the turret if you haven’t already. The big prize in here is the Trunk in the back, which has some good items in it.

There is also a “Clean Room Terminal” in here, which Cait will stand in front of. Talk to her and she’ll wonder if she should go through with the detox. Pass an easy speech check to convince her and she’ll sit in the chair, after which you need only activate the “Clean Room Terminal” and select the entry “[Initiate Toxin Purge]”. Cait will be cured of her addictions through a painfully-sounding procedure, then you’ll need to talk to her again to see how she’s doing. Cue the mushy thank-yous and the quest “Benign Intervention” ends.

With that you only have one more path to search: the lower level. Head down and loot the place as you can find a First Aid Box and a cooking station (which is worth using; there is some meat in a pot nearby). There are two doors in this lower area, one to the west and one to the north. It doesn’t matter which path you take, but for the sake of consistency let’s go west first. Follow this path and take out the two Gunners you find while the electricity sparks around. You will encounter various Gunners as you go on (three more, total) as you make your way to a set of stairs. As you head up, crack the locked door [Advanced] for various goodies (a First Aid Box) and continue up and you’ll find that this path re-connects you to the lower floor. A giant loop. You are now done clearing out Vault 95. Time to head out and finish clearing this area out of exploreable locations. At least you got a Bobblehead out of it!

Somerville Place¶

From Vault 95, head east to the farm icon on the map. You will discover the location “Somerville Place”, which is inhabited by a Settler and his two kids (or well, someone’s two kids…). Go ahead and talk to him and he’ll tell you of his troubles and… you know the drill. Another radiant quest. You may get the quest “Somerville Place: Greenskins” which requires you to kill some Super Mutants at a place call Scrap Palace. This is ideal, but you can also get the quest “Raider Troubles at Somerville Place” , which will task you with clearing out the Raiders at Hyde Park, which you should already have done.

Scrap Palace¶

Whether you need to kill the “greenskins” at Scrap Palace or not that’s your next destination. Scrap Palace is to the north of here (slightly to the north-west). Make your way up there but note that you may encounter a levelled Raider by a statue as you travel. Dartwings also love to hang out in the houses to the north (there is a Trunk up there as well). Continue on north/north-west and you will soon be approaching the Scrap Palace.

Once you have killed everything it is time to loot! The first noteworthy item is the “Super Mutant Leg Guard” by the Weapon Bench outside (inside the shack), which Strong can equip if you have him. The rest of the major goodies are inside the barn area. Head up the steps and pick the lock [Novice]. This leads to a Steamer Trunk (good stuff), some “Super Mutant Shoulder Rags” (again, for Strong) and finally a Safe [Expert]. To complete the quest, you have to head back to Somerville Place and report your success to the Settler. He will be very thankful, ending the quest and unlocking Somerville Place as a Settlement. You are now free to build up this settlement as you see fit. Very nice!

Robotics Pioneer Park¶

One final place to explore before you wrap up this section. Just to the north of the Scrap Palace is a cool little place called the “Robotics Pioneer Park”. Now there are various Ghouls littering this place, but head for the house on the south-east (there are two houses; do not go to the west one yet) and enter.

Here you will find four Protectron Units just charging: a Nurse unit, a Police Officer unit, a Fireman unit and a Utility unit. You can use the terminal [Novice] here to power them all up and send them out to clean up the park (which is quite awesome). Now, the house to the west has a Deathclaw inside (snacking on a Brahmin) but go get his attention and bring him back to the Protectron units you just powered up. They will tear him apart, but help them out anyway as you don’t want your robot buddies getting too hurt do you? Once he is dead, you can explore the area he was at for a Steamer Trunk.