You’ve paved a path for the NCR’s success in the Mojave; the Great Khans and the Brotherhood have been neutralized or have come to terms with the NCR, The Strip and Freeside have been pacified and Caesar’s attempt to assassinate President Kimball has failed. All that’s left to do now is defeat Caesar’s Legion once and for all at the second battle of Hoover Dam.

Before you start this final quest, complete any outstanding quests left to do. If you haven’t already done it, completing For Auld Lang Syne now is a good idea, as it’ll get you some extra backup during the fight (if you complete it correctly, anyways) and Arcade’s trust requirements have gone down. Necessity is the mother of giving the protagonist your companion quest, it seems. Once done, 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.

When you’re ready to move on, find Colonel Moore at Hoover Dam and tell her that the president is safe. She will, for her part, refer you to meet with General Oliver to discuss some last minute changes in strategy. You’ll get a screen warning you that you’re nearing the end of the game; bravely click the “Let’s do this!” option to move on to the end of the game.

Securing the Power Plants¶

You’ll auto-magically be whisked to General Lee Oliver, who will tell you that the NCR is taking the initiative against Caesar. Unfortunately for the NCR, the Legion, as always, is one step ahead, and has infiltrated the Dam. Your job? Drive the Legion out of the Dam and sack the base of Legate Lanius on the eastern bank of the Colorado.

After your conversation you’ll be whisked away again to Hoover Dam Power Plant 04, where an engineer named Mike Lawson will talk to you and tell you about some turbines you can use to mulch the invading Legionaries. Go through a door to the north where you’ll find some NCR Troopers fighting some Legionaries; expect better armed opposition than you’ve faced so far, including Prime Legionaries and Centurions armed with Hunting Rifles, Marksman Carbines, Power Fists Thermic Lances and Super Sledges… and of course the appropriate ammo for these guns.

Once this first wave of foes is dead go through a door to the north to reach the large power plant chamber. You now have two ways to proceed; either you can continue north through Power Plants 04, 03 and 02 to reach Power Plant 01 or you can go through a doorway to the west on any of the Power Plant levels to reach the Hoover Dam Lower Level, which is a long level with exits to each of the four Power Plant levels. Expect around three groups of Legionaries to spawn in each Power Plants and perhaps half a dozen groups on the Lower Level.

If you want to follow through on Mike Lawson’s suggestion make your way into Power Plant 03 and kill whatever Legion opposition is there. Once done, climb some stairs to the west and make your way to the southern end of the chamber to find the Overflow Control Console. Activate it and pass a [Science 65] check to divert the water, then return to Power Plant 04, head up some stairs to the east, then go through a door to reach the exterior of Hoover Dam. Once outside head east to find a Pressure Release Valve behind some barricades. Press it and watch some Legionaries get shredded, turning the Colorado red.

When you reach Power Plant 01 - either after killing the Legionaries with the turbines or not - head up some stairs to the west to reach the second level of this plant, then head to the northern end of the level. Go through a doorway along the northern side of the level and follow a tunnel to reach the large double doors to the Hoover Dam Visitor Center. Your stay here will be brief, however, as your only goal is to exit to the outside of the Dam.

Crossing the Dam¶

Your goal on top of the dam is simple; fight your way north to the checkpoint in the middle of the dam. If anything, your opposition will be lighter here than in the Power Plants, so just head north killing any Legionaries you see until you near the checkpoint. If you got the Boomers on your side you should see their restored bomber flying majestically through the sky, dropping bombs on your foes. Nice.

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). If you want to clear out some foes along the next half of the dam, hack the Terminal [Very Hard] on a table and pick the entry “Activate Generator Diagnostics”. This will cause a generator in one of the towers to overload, taking out some Legionaries with it… at least if you have a Detonator handy.

After you’ve caught your breath in the checkpoint, exit out the eastern door. Once outside an NCR Ranger Veteran Commander will thank you for your support and offer several flavors of help. Say “I need some snipers to cover my advance” to get them to give you some long-range support. If you say “Have your unit follow with me, we’ll assault them head on.” they’ll follow you around. If you tell that that you “can manage this without your assistance.” they’ll leave you alone. Finally, pass a [Speech 85] check to get them to lead the way.

Do what you will with the rangers and make your way east along the dam. You’ll have to waste more Legionaries as you cross the dam, and if you completed the quest For Auld Lang Syne your forces will be bolstered by the arrival of the remnants. When you reach the eastern end of the dam (it will be curving south by now) continue east along a road and over a ruined bridge to reach The Legate’s Camp.

The Legates Camp¶

Enter the camp and head east to reach a fortified camp occupied largely by Praetorians. Kill them at a distance to stay out of range of their Ballistic Fists, then continue east through the camp. At the eastern end of the camp ascend some stairs to find Legate Lanius, Caesar’s right hand man and most formidable soldier. It’s easy enough to pick a fight with him, if that’s your intent, and you can loot him for his Legate Helmet and his unique weapon, Blade of the East, which you won’t get much use out of, seeing as it’s the end of the game and all. He’s fairly strong, for a legionary, and is joined some some Praetorians, but if you were able to eradicate Deathclaws, you won’t find him to be too much trouble. If you can pop some Med-X and Psycho and shoot him with a potent weapon like the Gobi, you’ll find he doesn’t put up too much of a fight. Once he’s injured he’ll flee (at high speed!) towards the camp to the west, chucking Frag Grenades at you as he goes, after which he’ll use some of his Legendary Healing Powder to recover a bit before wading back into the fray.

Alternatively you can say “Maybe you’re willing to listen to reason.” where you’ll get a slew of dialogue options. Pass a series of Speech checks [Speech 55], [Speech 65], [Speech 75], [Speech 85] and finally three [Speech 100] checks to convince Lanius that the Legion cannot hold both the east and the west. You can also attempt a series of Speech checks ([Speech 60], [Speech 75], and two [Speech 90] checks). After the second [Speech 90] checks continue talking to Lanius and eventually you’ll end up with a [Speech 80] check to convince him to fight you one-on-one, which removes his Praetorian backup. Finally, if you have more faith in your Barter skill than your Speech skill, pass a series of Barter checks ([Barter 55], [Barter 75], [Barter 90], then either [Barter 100] or [Barter 75]). After passing either the last [Barter 100] or [Barter 75] check you will then either need to pass another [Barter 100] check or [Speech 100] check to get Legate Lanius to withdraw.

When Legate Lanius lies dead or has retreated, make your way back west through the camp, the western gate of which is now sealed. As you approach, General Oliver and some NCR Rangers will make a dramatic entrance and congratulate you. You’ll get a meaningless XP reward and, once the conversation is over, a slide-show will play showing you the outcomes of the various choices you made along the way. Congrats, Courier, you’ve successfully shaped the Mojave to your will.