Final Preprations¶

President Kimball is dead. The minor factions in the Mojave have been destroyed to turned to Caesar’s side. The final battle between Caesar’s Legion and the NCR over the Hoover Dam is imminent. Normally this would be a fine time to finish up whatever side-quests remain, but with the NCR hostile you, many of these quests will be somewhat more complicated than they would be for other factions… and ideally you shouldn’t have any outstanding quests left to do by now. That being the case, it’s time to make your final preparations. Namely, make sure your gear is in good repair and that you have plenty of ammo and healing supplies. It’s the final battle, so there’s no need to travel light or anything.

Tell mighty Caesar when you’re ready to tell Legate Lanius to assault the dam and you’ll get one last chance to back down and make some final preparations. When you’re well and truly ready, click “Let’s do this!” and you’ll be whisked away to the Legate’s Camp.

The Legates Camp¶

When you arrive at the Legate’s Camp, head east to find a circular, fortified enclosure. Cross a drawbridge to enter it and talk to Legate Lanius, who is in his tent on a hill to the east of the fort. Inside, Legate Lanius will finish up a sacrifice, then address you and give you your orders; you are tasked with nothing short of killing or General Oliver… or convincing him to flee. Don’t be mistaken, however, this is a very straight-forward quest which involves killing lots of NCR personnel. Once you’re done talking to Legate Lanius the quest Render Unto Caesar finally ends.

Crossing Hoover Dam¶

After your meeting with Lanius you’ll appear outside and the quest Veni, Vidi, Vici will begin. Head back west through the circular fort and you’ll spot a squad of Legionaries lined up, who will exit out a large gate to the west as you approach. Follow them through this gate, then cross a bridge to the west, letting them eradicate any NCR Troopers they encounter. At the western end of the ruined bridge turn north and follow the road to reach the eastern end of Hoover Dam. Your goal here is simple; kill all the NCR Troopers on this half of the dam as you follow its curving path north, then north-east, and finally east. The NCR Troopers here aren’t any tougher than any of the ones you’ve fought previously, but they are better armed, carrying either 12.7mm Pistols or Sniper Rifles. They also occasionally will drop Stimpaks and other healing items, if you are in need.

As you pass an Intake Tower to the north-east, you’ll be reinforced by another squad of Prime Legionaries, to replenish the ones you’ve undoubtedly lost. Your progress forward will be terminated by Hoover Dam Checkpoint building, which you can use to reach the western side of the dam. In the Hoover Dam Checkpoint building you can find a few Lockers with mediocre loot inside, useful only if you’re lucky enough to find something to repair any of your gear with (the odds of this will be greatly expanded with the Jury Rigging perk).

Make sure you’re in tip-top shape, then exit the Hoover Dam Checkpoint building via the western door. On the western half of the dam, more of the same awaits. Immediately snipe a ranger in the tower to the south-west, then follow some Prime Legionaries west and kill any NCR Troopers you come across on the ground. To the north some NCR personnel will spawn near some Intake Towers and atop another tower to the south-west of this you’ll find another NCR Ranger who needs to be counter-sniped. Continue past this tower and watch the Legion’s Howitzer pound the NCR snipers on a ridge west of the dam. If you completed For Auld Lang Syne you’ll also get support in the form of the Remnants (sans Arcade Gannon and Cannibal Johnson, of course).

Breaking Through¶

Fight your way to the Visitor’s Center, disposing several Rangers who have gathered around it in its defense. As sturdy as the defense outside might be, inside it’s arguably worse, as you’ll encounter several NCR Heavy Troopers, who each wear Salvaged Power Armor and wield a Light Machine Gun and a Super Sledge. Kill the NCR opposition and go through a door to the south to reach Hoover Dam Power Plant 01.

Once you’re in the Power Plant more Legionaries will spawn. Your goal here is straight-forward, too; fight your way south to the ground floor, then through Power Plants 01, 02, 03 and reach Power Plant 04. Easy enough to say, but there are plenty of NCR Troopers (including NCR Veteran Rangers) who will complicate your advance. You’ll start encountering NCR Veteran Rangers in Power Plant 02, where they’ll attack from favorable high-ground both to the east and west, and they come equipped with Anti-Material Rifles, Brush Guns, Hunting Shotguns, Marksman Carbines and Ranger Sequoias, so tread carefully. Power Plant 03 is relatively tame, consisting of only a handful of NCR Troopers and Power Plant 04 adds a Heavy Trooper to the mix, but nothing too threatening. In Power Plant 04 NCR Troopers will continuously spawn, so make your way through a doorway on the southern end of the level to reach a door leading to Oliver’s Compound to escape the onslaught.

Olivers Compound¶

As soon as you enter the compound you’ll be pestered by - who else - General Oliver. You can try to talk him out of a fight with a [Speech 50] and a [Speech 100] check, but failing that he’ll run off, raise some force fields, and sic some NCR Troopers on you. If you pass the Speech checks you can return to Legate Lanius and tell him the news, if not… you’ll have to chase down General Oliver.

Kill whatever NCR Troopers you can spot, both lurking amidst the cubicles with you and on a balcony to the north. Once done head through a doorway to the west then turn north, then head down a hallway to the east. Along the way you’ll bypass some bathrooms, should you need a drink of water (for H20 or healing purposes). When you run out of east, turn south, go through a doorway to the west, then head up some stairs on the eastern side of the cubicle room.

Stealth is always good, especially with the opposition you may have to face, but at least keep your Pip-Boy light on, as there are plenty of traps ahead. Go up some stairs to the east to reach another cubicle-filled room. Your goal is to cross this room by heading west, but there are plenty of obstacles in your path, the least of which are numerous Frag Mines, Bear Traps, and Tripwire connected to Rigged Shotguns.

Also running around here are two NCR Rangers, one of whom bears a .44 Magnum Revolver and another - who prefers to stay on the western end of the level - carrying an Anti-Material Rifle. The latter will take shots at you if you poke your head out, and can kill even a powerful character in a few shots. They’ll also automatically detect you, but you won’t necessarily see this displayed on your HUD.

There are three avenues from which he can fire upon you, one to the northern end of the area, one to the south, and one in the middle. Your best bet is to counter-snipe him by waiting near the cubicle to the north (there’s a rigged C-4 Mine in a fridge to the south that’s best avoided) and shoot him with the Gobi when he runs into view. Once done you should be able to make your way west along the northern end of the level with only moderate difficulty due to traps along the way. It should also be noted that both NCR Rangers here have a whopping ten Super Stimpaks and Med-X, which they can use to recover should you fail to kill them quickly enough.

Once the Rangers and their traps have been dealt with, continue up the stairs at the western end of the level. Make your way east across a carpeted room to encounter General Oliver and his last line of defense; several NCR Heavy Troopers armed with either Miniguns or Light Machine Guns and Super Sledges. It’s a hefty amount of force to face at once, but if you back track to the stairs (perhaps after using up your first AP bar to take a few out in VATS) you’ll have a bit of time to heal and recover. You can afford to give some ground, they can’t afford the casualties. Popping some Med-X and Psycho won’t hurt, either. Once they’re dead, make your way back through Oliver’s Compound. When you return to the Power Plants, Legate Lanius will congratulate you, muse about future conquests, and tell you it’s time to see about burning the dead.

Ave, true to Caesar. The Legion has won the Mojave.