There are only a few more things to do before exploring Freeside; namely, there are some areas north of New Vegas which haven’t been explored yet, and there’s that poor Remnant Power Helmet that is missing its armor.

H&H Tools Factory¶

Fast-travel to The Thorn or the South Cistern and make your way east along the northern end of New Vegas to find H&H Tools Factory, which was mentioned by the Gun Runner Isaac as a possible place to look for scrap, although with a high enough Speech or Barter skill, and the abundance of material elsewhere, you didn’t need to come here earlier.

In the lobby you can find a copy of ¡La Fantoma! on a bookshelf to the east and an issue of Boxing Times on a desk to the south. Once done, you can check out the “Suspicious Terminal” to find out that H&H Tools Factory was not a friendly place to work. Continue through a doorway to the south to reach a flooded factory floor and dispose of two Robobrains trudging around here. Once done, head up some stairs, disarm four Frag Mines on a landing along the way, then continue north into an upstairs office, which is also plagued by some Frag Mines.

Disarm a Tripwire in the doorway to the north to reach a small office, where you can take a now-neutered Rigged Shotgun, grab another Lucky 38 VIP Keycard and hack Anthony House’s Terminal [Average], which has the bogus “Lucky 38 Executive Override” entry. It also seems to detail the paranoia of one Anthony House, who seems to be the lesser of the House siblings. Return to the office room to the south, then head into a hallways to the east, east of which you’ll find some cubicles. In the southern of the two doors leading to these cubicles you’ll find another Tripwire, this one being wired to a Grenade Bouquet, which may have been triggered by a careless Mr. Handy. Other than that, this place isn’t terribly interesting.

Return to the lobby downstairs and head through a doorway to the east, then take the first door to the left to reach a cafeteria, where you can find a bunch of food lying around. Return to the hallway and enter an office to the east, which is guarded by a chevron of Frag Mines and a Tripwire linked to a Rigged Shotgun. Ultimately, though, the room is less interesting than the traps around it, as you can only find some Med-X inside. Some cubicles to the south are guarded by a pair of Turrets, but other than some scandalous inter-personal messages, there’s not much of interest here.

North Vegas Square¶

Leave the H&H Tools Factory and continue east to find the North Vegas Square map marker. This area is, like Westside, a shoddy little village that has sprung up along the outskirts of Las Vegas, although it’s not nearly as prosperous as Westside, and a good bit less welcoming.

Here you can find Jules, a paranoid wastelander who justifies his paranoia with life experiences. While talking to him, pass a [Guns 50] check to comment on his weapon, then pass a [Survival 60] check to impress him, for which he’ll teach you the .44 Magnum, Hand Load Recipe… which you shouldn’t need if you have the Hand Load perk. He’s also got some strong opinions on the NCR, New Vegas’s independence, and the Fiends.

You can also find Crandon wandering around, who - like Jules - doesn’t think much of the NCR. Ask him if you can help around and, after he’s done being an exclusionist prick, you can succeed at a [Speech 45] or a[Barter 35] check to get him to give you a job. Seems some squatters are cluttering up the local scenery, and he’d like you to convince them to move on. This starts the quest Someone to Watch Over Me .

Someone to Watch Over Me¶

Find Squatter Bill and his merry band of nowhere-to-gos stand around near a playground east of The Gray. Talk to them and either succeed at a [Barter 45] check and give them 50 Caps or just pass a [Speech 45] check to get them to leave peacefully. Failing that, you can always just kill them, but since this will net you NCR Infamy it’s not recommended. After the squatters are gone, talk to Crandon and he’ll give you another job; de-grease the sewers.

Accept the new task then head down a manhole along the road north of The Gray to reach the North Sewers. These sewers aren’t terribly interesting; you can find tunnels leading to Westside and The Thorn to the west, a cistern that’ll take you to the Central Sewers to the south and south-east, and a ladder leading to Freeside to the east, but other than these - and some New Vegas Citizens - there’s not much going on. The Greasers you’re looking for are to the east, led by Greaser Johnny. The direct approach, of course, is to just kill him, although this turns the New Vegas Citizens nearby hostile too… but since there’s no Infamy for it, it’s not a big deal. If you want to keep playing nice, however, pay him 100 Caps to get him to move on (50 Caps if you pass a [Barter 50] check, or succeed at a [Speech 65] check to keep your Caps and get the outcome you want. Return to Crandon when you’re done and he’ll give you one final task.

Mrs. Hostetler’s daughter is apparently up to no good, and it’s time to become a Courier-nanny for a bit. Fast-travel to the Crimson Caravan compound and make your way to the south-east to find the Hostetler Home, in which dwells Mrs. Hostetler, wife of the shady Don Hostetler, whom you should have had dealings with, earlier. She’ll greet you all friendly-like, and if you tell her you’re here on behalf of Crandon, she’ll ask you to snoop on her daughter.

Return to the North Vegas Square and talk to Jules, who will tell you Alice has been hanging out with some miscreant named Andy in The Gray. The Gray - the one named structure in North Vegas Square - has gone ignored until there was a good excuse to explore it. Now that you have that excuse, head on inside. The layout is identical to the Casa Madrid Apartments in Westside, and if you want to rob some Refrigerators for various food items… go ahead. In the south-western corner of the ground floor you’ll find Andy’s Room [Average] where, on a beside table with a ruined television on top, you can find the “Henchman Message to Andy Scabb” note. Read the note to learn that Andy’s interest in Alice is… well, not genuine.

As you leave the apartment, you’ll be approach by Andy himself. Although he’ll question you, you don’t need to really talk to him; just say goodbye and leave. You can also pick a fight with him, which will also provoke the other Thugs here. If you tell him that you know about his plans concerning Alice, he doesn’t really seem to care too much, although you can offer to help ensure the job goes smoothly for a split of the profits. Ultimately, there’s no reason to leave him alive, much less work with him.

Return to the Hostetler House, where Alice has decided to indulge in a bit of matricide. You have a few ways to handle this situation, both good and bad, with varying degrees of lucrative attached to each. First, of course, you can kill Alice, but this will please nobody, and just fails the quest… but on the plus side it turns Mrs. Hostetler hostile, meaning you can steal 1000 Caps off her corpse. If you’re still feeling wretched, you can say you don’t care and Alice will go through with her plan, only to feel remorse afterwards. Congratulate her or tell her there’s no turning back and she’ll run off, leaving you to loot Mrs. Hostetler’s corpse. For a happier ending, try to talk it out, pass an optional [Speech 70] check for some XP, then pass an [Intelligence 7] check to get her to question her motives. If you then pass a [Speech 75] check, she’ll run off to go find her own way, an outcome which can be achieved other ways, but if you can pass the check, why not score more XP? Ultimately, if she leaves home, Mrs. Hostetler will be mad, but will still give you 500 Caps for your work if you remain diplomatic… or you can turn it down for some Karma and some XP. If she stays, talk to Mrs. Hostetler for a reward, in this case 200 Caps, or 500 Caps if you pass a [Barter 65] check.

Remnants Power Armor¶

The New Vegas Outskirts are done, you don’t even need to report back to Crandon or anything. Now it’s time for another profitable diversion; to obtain the Power Armor that goes with that Remnant Power Helmet. It’ll be quite a fight to obtain it, however, so bring along your best weapons and ammo (and plenty of the latter!) and healing items… some Med-X, Jet and Psycho might come in handy as well.

Fast-travel to the Lucky Jim Mine, an area north of Cottonwood Cove along the Colorado. From there head east, dispatching any Fire Geckos in your way until you reach the cliffs overlooking the Colorado River. Across the river you should find a dirt ramp that cuts through the otherwise impassable stone cliffs, just a bit north of where the Lucky Jim Mine is. That is your destination. How you reach it is up to you; you can pick your way (carefully!) down the cliffs or travel to a more accessible area (like Cottonwood Cove) and swim north… or take a running dive off the cliff and hope for deep water.

Cross the Colorado and sneak up the ramp. Key word; sneak. There are close to ten Deathclaws lurking about at the top of the ramp, one group nearer the cliffs to the south, and another further back, to the north. For that reason, stick to the north and try to sneak onto some rocks in that direction and gain some high ground. Don’t expect your perch to give you immunity, however, you’re over here because of the distance, not the height. Try to pick off the several Deathclaws that comprise the northern group without being detected, then pick off the southern group. If you’re detected… you know the drill. Med-X, Psycho, and hope for the best.

Once those Deathclaws are dead… well, stay sharp. That was just an appetizer. The main course is yet to come, further to the south. The Deathclaws to the south all lurk between the rocks to the east, so you’ll want to stay to the west, preferably along the rocky cliffs near the Colorado. Make your way back to the ramp and ascend the rocks along the cliff face south of the ramp, and make your way south a bit until you see a large rock dominating over the lesser rocks nearby. Scale its north-western face to obtain a key advantage over the rest of the Deathclaws in the area; height. Maintain your high-ground as much as possible and continue south, occasionally checking to the east and picking off Deathclaws as you see them.

Eventually you’ll find the mother-load of Deathclaws in a valley between some rock formations… two mother-loads, in fact. Deathclaw Mothers. And a Deathclaw Alpha. And many normal Deathclaws and the odd youngster… about a dozen Deathclaws in total. From up on the rocks to the west, they shouldn’t be able to reach you, and if you keep your distance, they may start looking for you, but they won’t actually detect you, meaning you can begin the arduous process of picking them all off at your leisure. Once they’re all dead, go loot them and search the rocks to the south-west of where they were lurking to find two Dead Prospectors. On has the coveted Remnants Power Armor and a Multiplas Rifle, while the other has some T-51b Power Armor, a T-51b Power Helmet and a Tri-Beam Laser Rifle. The Enclave Armor is the real prize here, of course, but the T-51b Power Armor isn’t bad either… it’s not Brotherhood armor, so you can wear it anywhere without being confused (or accurately identified, as the case may be) for a member of the Brotherhood of Steel.

You’re now done, pretty much everything outside of the confines of New Vegas is done, save Nelson/Camp Forlorn Hope. Some quests will, of course, draw you out of the confines of New Vegas, but for new quests to start, you’ll need to head to the big city. First stop? Freeside.