Viper Gunslinger Ambush¶

You’ve now pretty much cleared everything in the south-western section of the Mojave, excluding DLC content, of course. It’s time to continue on to Novac and pursue our attackers… taking plenty of detours to explore and complete side-quests along the way, of course. From the Coyote Den continue south until the train tracks bisect a road running east/west. Follow the road east until you find a traffic cone on the road in front of an over-turned blue truck. Disarm the Frag Mine under the traffic cone. If you continue east past the blue truck you’ll suffer an ambush by Viper Gunslingers, but you can get the drop on them if you scale the cliffs to the south. Once they’re dead, search the truck to find a Sunset Sarsaparilla Star Bottle Cap on top of a Sunset Sarsaparilla Crate near the opening of the truck, and a Gun Cabinet inside.

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Be wary of traps hidden on the road (left). If you take to the hills, you can ambush the Viper Gangers who would otherwise have tried to ambush you (right).

Wolfhorn Ranch¶

Pass the truck to the east, watching out for traffic cones (which likely serve as cover for Frag Mines) as you go and follow the road as it turns north, then east again. As you go north keep your eye east to see a windmill in the distance, which marks the location as Wolfhorn Ranch. Head uphill to discover the ranch, where you can find an Ammo Box in a sandbag shelter and a Toolbox, Stash Toolbox and a Sunset Sarsaparilla Crate near and within a metal structure connected to the Wolfhorn Farmhouse. Once those are looted head into the house to find two Ammo Boxes near an Armor Locker, a Varmint Rifle on a metal shelf, the unique melee weapon Chopper on the stove and a copy of Tumblers Today on the floor near a fridge.

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The windmill in the distance marks Wolfhorn Ranch (left). Inside a building you can find the unique weapon Chopper (right).

Raided Farmstead¶

Venture south-east from the Wolfhorn Ranch to find another lifeless farmhouse… although here it is obvious that the residents didn’t simply desert. Enter a trailer to find plenty of skeletons lying around. What killed the people who lived here is not immediately apparent, but whatever did it must have been incompetent, or it didn’t care about robbing, as there’s an Armor Case, a First Aid Box, Ammo Box and a Duffle Bag to the north. You can also grab a Sunset Sarsaparilla Star Bottle Cap in the fridge. When you leave the trailer you’ll be attacked by a sizable group of Viper Gunslingers who, although numerous, aren’t very powerful. Give Chopper a try in combat and let it live up to its name, after which you can loot their bodies for various, generally mediocre loot.

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Find a copy of the Wasteland Survival Guide in the loft of the barn (left). The various diary page you find lying around reveal what happened at this farm (right).

Matthews Animal Husbandry Farm¶

South and slightly east of the Raided Farmstead you’ll find Matthews Animal Husbandry Farm, a third desolate farmstead east of Nipton. The only living things inside the barn you’ll find are some Malnourished Brahmin. Poor things. Head up some stairs to the south-west to find some crates, on which you can find a Sunset Sarsaparilla Star Bottle Cap and the note “Torn Diary Page 3”. To the north-west you’ll find a copy of the Wasteland Survival Guide on the ground near some Metal Boxes. in another barn to the south you’ll find a Malnourished Bighorner, where on the loft you’ll find a Duffle Bag, along with a few other containers to loot. On the stairs leading to the loft is the note “Torn Diary Page 1”. From the southern barn head east to find a track near a ruined house. On the bed of the truck you’ll find “Torn Diary Entry 2”, while “Torn Diary Entry 4” can be found inside the ruined house, on the ground near a fridge. If you’ll read the notes, you’ll be privy to a story of a farmer’s descent into madness, but more interestingly, somehow his parents became Ghouls incredibly quickly… and how did his last diary entry survive the fire he set to the house when he did not? Oh well…

If you want to take a detour, complete some side quests, and find out what caused the parents of the man at Matthews Animal Husbandry Farm to turn into Ghouls so quickly, get your Advanced Radiation Suit, some Rad-X and some RadAway, then continue with the “Camp Searchlight” section of the guide. If you just want to continue onto Novac, skip to “From Nipton to Novac (Part 2)” .