Return to the Hidden Valley Bunker L2, where an important decision awaits you; who do you give the Holotapes to? You’re playing kingmaker in the Brotherhood right now, whoever gets the holotapes will remain - or become - elder. Not only that, but Harding and McNamara will offer different questlines, depending on who you choose. If you want to get all this done with as quickly as possible, side with Hardin. If you want an excuse to explore many more areas and perhaps want to effect some reconciliation between the Brotherhood of Steel and the NCR, side with McNamara. Continue with “Tend to Your Business” below, if you side with Hardin, otherwise skip to “Are the Bears Still Hunting?” to continue supporting Elder McNamara.

Tend to Your Business¶

After you give the Holotapes to Hardin, he’ll begin the process of usurping the position of Elder form McNamara. A few days will pass and you’ll get a generous quest reward, including access to a new safehouse, the specifics of which will be covered later.

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Report back to Elder McNamara after finding the missing Brotherhood patrols (left) then gather intel from his scouts out in the Mojave (right).

Talk to Hardin again when he’s in his swanky new Elder robes and ask to join the Brotherhood of Steel, and wonder of wonders, he agrees… provided you complete a heroic deed to prove your worth to the Brotherhood. What is this deed? Nothing less than exterminating the Van Graffs, who barter the pre-war weaponry the Brotherhood covets so much. If you sided with them earlier… well, you’ll need to choose which is more important to you, their services as merchants, or continuing with the Brotherhood storyline. Alternatively, if you sided with Cass, there’s a good chance they’ll already be dead. Since they turn hostile after you turn in the evidence, you really can’t go about your business on Freeside if they’re still alive, and the only alternative to killing them is to turn in the evidence. If you’re killing them now, shoot Simon (the door guard) without hiding. Try to hit him in a non-lethal spot first, make sure he fires back, then kill him. If you do this, it should guarantee the Van Graffs inside hear, and several more thugs will come out, where they can be easily picked off. This effectively splits the opposition in two, allowing you to heal before you deal with the stragglers inside, which should include Gloria, Jean-Baptiste and another thug or two. Once you’ve killed them return to Hardin for your reward (or if you killed them earlier, just talk to Hardin again), which includes T-45d Power Armor and the training to wear it.

You’re now a full-fledged member of the Brotherhood of Steel, and their questline is effectively over for now. Going the route of siding with Elder McNamara is far, far more complicated, but if Hardin’s your choice, consider following along in spirit; there’s no reason why you can’t pillage Vaults 11, 3 and 22 now. Otherwise, it’ll be time to continue finishing up areas in the middle of the map, including Sloan and Black Mountain. Skip to whatever page you fancy or just following along completing the quests you otherwise would have had to finish if you sided with McNamara, just to keep following the guide and ensure you don’t miss out on any loot.

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Confirm that McNamara broke the Chain-that-Binds to make Hardin the new Elder (left). To join the Brotherhood you’ll have to perform a heroic feat; kill the Van Graffs (right).

Are the Bears Still Hunting?¶

Talk to Elder McNamara, who will give you your next task; three Knights were sent out on recon missions, and have been isolated on the surface for a while. It’s up to you to rendezvous with them and recover their intel by giving them the pass-phrase “Are the Bears Still Hunting?” Obviously the Brotherhood is still worried about the NCR after their disastrous encounter at HELIOS One.

Head to the surface to find the three Knights. One is north-east of the NCRCF facility, another is in the hills east if Nipton, near the train-tracks following during the New Vegas Medical Clinic Run, while the third can be found north-east of Novac, overlooking the unfolding conflict between the NCR and the Legion around Camp Forlorn Hope and Nelson. Get all their reports, then return to Elder McNamara, who will give you another job.

Speak to Senior Knight Lorenzo about finding the components required to fix the bunker’s failing air filtration system and endure his obligatory gloom and doom speech. Eventually he’ll point out the items he needs, and their locations; various vaults scattered throughout the Mojave, namely Vault 11, Vault 3 and Vault 22. Vault 11 will be the first target, as it’s located along the northern end of the El Dorado Dry Lake… and area that’s otherwise been fully explored. Vault 3 is home to the Fiends, and this will be our easiest objective, while Vault 22 is where Doctor Hildern’s quest There Stands the Grass takes place. A lot of effort has gone into preparing you for these areas by picking up quests and dealing with nearby locations, so getting to and exploring these Vaults should be a relatively direct process by now. See? All that apparently extraneous exploration earlier did have a purpose.