Evergreen Mills

Evergreen Mills is a large Raider camp located in the southwest quadrant of the Capital Wasteland map just east of Casey's Garage. It is populated by Raiders and an imprisoned Super Mutant Behemoth. A large number of guards patrol outdoors; though many are armed only with 10mm Pistols, they can prove challenging to a player visiting this location at a low level.

Basic Layout
Evergreen Mills consists of a slave pen, Super Mutant Behemoth cage, and a series of metal shacks and train cars surrounding a large factory. Many Raiders patrol the area and guard the rails leading into the camp's northern side. The camp's layout provides many tactical approaches; for example, it is a simple matter to climb the mountainous ring surrounding most of the camp and eliminate the inhabitants with a sneak attack critical assault. Turning off the power of the behemoth cage with a well aimed sniper shot, letting the behemoth out, is also a good way to dispatch many of the raiders without using up too much ammo.

The area is moderately booby trapped, including Frag Mines near the northern entrance and tripwires (releasing Grenade Bouquets) in the shacks' periphery.

The factory contains the Foundry, and through it the Bazaar. The Foundry resembles the interior of most factories, while the Bazaar is a cave complex with a bar, shop, and even a brothel; of the three, only the shop (owned by Smiling Jack) is usable since every other inhabitant is hostile.

Outside

 * U.S. Army: 30 Handy Flamethrower Recipes - Southern Shack. Next to the aid box, in the room where the bed is
 * Missile Launcher - Southern Shack
 * Flamer - Southern Shack (wielded by Raider)
 * Mentats and Rad-X - Southern Shack, in crates on some shelves on other side of room from the bed
 * Bottlecap Mine - Northern Shack. On the Workbench inside the shack.

Foundry

 * Fat Man - Inside a locked room at the top of the stairs (the key to which is placed in a Desk in the same room as the radio).
 * Duck and Cover! - Next to a dead body on a ledge, above the broken terminal on the ground floor. (To reach this location, the player must jump off the stairs to the ledge.)
 * Nuka Grenade - On a Workbench (instead of usual Bottlecap Mine).

Bazaar

 * Nuka-Cola Quantum - Behind the bar on the ground floor.
 * The Terrible Shotgun - Carried by Smiling Jack - whose death carries no negative karma and leads to a large supply of goods.
 * Bobblehead - Barter - On shelves in a cave-like depression in Smiling Jack's shop (back wall, on the right as you enter the room).
 * Nikola Tesla and You - In a holding cell in the brothel area ("Madam's").
 * A box with 4 pulse grenades is hidden behind a refrigerator on the ground floor.

The Slaves
In order to free the slaves from their pens, the player must open the pens in any of the following manners:  Using the Evergreen Mills slave pen key, obtained from one of the raiders, or from the guard house Picking the lock (Average difficulty) Jumping into a slave pen from the catwalk above (which will also unlock the gate if your lockpick skill is not above the required 50 for an average lock). 

The Behemoth


The Super Mutant Behemoth located in the cage inside Evergreen Mills is a formidable opponent, but surprisingly weaker than other Behemoths you may encounter due to the fact that it has no armor or weapons. It is trapped inside the massive cage in the center of the area, one with an electrified door powered by a nearby generator (if you attempt to open the door while the generator is still active, you will get a serious shock, and lose a small amount of health). Take note that followers can open the gate just fine without it being deactivated. Also if the slaves nearby attempt to flee one may open the door to hide in the Behemoth's cage releasing it while you are unaware. Killing this Behemoth is also part of the The Bigger They Are... Achievement/Trophy.

Quite obviously, the Behemoth can be freed by disabling the nearby generator (Either through the use of explosives or a well-placed shot from a rifle), or simply by turning off the switch nearby. This will cause it to quickly exit the cage and attack anyone nearby. If you don't wish to deal with the Raiders, releasing the Behemoth is an easy way to kill most of them. However, despite the fact that many of the Raiders seem to mostly be armed with 10mm Pistols, it is very likely that the Behemoth will eventually be killed by the Raiders due to the simple fact that there are so many of them. In rare cases, the Behemoth will actually fight alongside the Raiders against the player if attacked while the Raiders have detection of the player.

Due to the area's layout, the Behemoth can be engaged in several different ways whether he is inside the cage or not. These methods vary from hitting him with a Mini Nuke from the top of the factory, to shooting him through the cage door, to taking him head on by killing all the Raiders and releasing him. You could even snipe the generator outside the cage and let the Raiders and him fight each other. The Raiders will most likely win due to the fact that there are a lot more Raiders there. Then all you have to do is finish him off. In the end, how the Behemoth is dealt with is entirely dependent on the player's character and combat style.

For more information on how to take on this monster, visit the Super Mutant Behemoth page.

Notes and Tips

 * The surrounding cliffs offer the player many locations from which to jump to building rooftops; these areas can offer a better means of taking out any hostiles (especially the Super Mutant Behemoth, which can be defeated while still in its pen). A suggested area to do so is the cliffs facing the front of the mill and southeast of the mill, where one can snipe and have a very small chance of getting caught. South of Evergreen Mills is a billboard just north of which is a rocky outcropping from which the Lone Wanderer has a perfect line up to shoot the Generator while still well outside of the town.


 * If the Super Mutant Behemoth is set loose, this provides perfect cover to move in & snipe with impunity due to the threat posed by the Behemoth.


 * To get to the top of the Foundry Building (pictured above), take a Med-X and jump onto the west most building (marked by 3 water towers and a horizontal trellis on its roof) from the cliffs west of it (the perfect spot has an electrical tower to the west), from which every other roof is easily accessible (providing a perfect centrally located sniping position or point of entry for a Stealth player).


 * There is a generator near the Super Mutant Behemoth pen which, if shot, will open the pen. Do this at a distance and a AI battle will occur between the raiders and the Super Mutant Behemoth.


 * If you free the slaves after killing all of the enemies (including the Behemoth,) they will wander around the camp and begin to sit down, lean against objects, or even sleep. They seem to be on a type of script and will keep doing the same things over and over regardless of what is occuring around them, and they will never leave their spots unless you engage them in combat. When spoken to, the slaves will respond as if they are still in their slave pen.


 * Three Dog will continue to refer to this area as a hotbed of Raider activity after all Raiders are exterminated, even after the Behemoth is dead and the slaves are freed. This may be due to the lack of a trigger (there is no official quest) or because the location respawns Raiders.


 * Even after the behemoth is slain, scribes at the citadel will continue to discuss sightings of a behemoth near Evergreen Mills.


 * All residents except Smiling Jack & the Super Mutant Behemoth are hostile to the player, irrespective of Karma value.


 * A "Broken Terminal" in the Foundry displays the error "Reconnect Keyboard," despite the fact that the terminal's keyboard is part of the terminal and cannot be detached.


 * A safe is built into the back of the counter located in the cave-like depression in Smiling Jack's.


 * Be sure to clear out the mines at the northern entrance to Evergreen Mills if you want to keep the slaves alive.


 * The slaves provide a limitless supply of cash to the Evil character. Hit them with the Mesmetron, travel to Paradise Falls, cash in, and repeat. They respawn endlessly and are good for 250 caps each time!


 * If you need a quick and fun way to kill the Behemoth, get all the schematics for the bottlecap mine, get alot of components,kill everyone at the mills, place ALL of your mines in front of the gate (not too close or when you blow up the generator it will blow up the mines) shoot the generator and sit back and watch the behemoth go BOOM!


 * In the Northern Shack there is a Raider wearing Sexy Sleepwear


 * Just outside Evergreen Mills is a destroyed church. In the curch is a Pulpit that contains a Lying, Congressional Style book. But be warned, there is also a group of Raiders. This may be a Random encounter location (not confirmed).


 * If you have Jericho as a follower he will occasionally say "....I've been here before"


 * When Broken Steel is downloaded, a few Aqua-Pura crates will spawn near the entrance and around five raiders will jump you.
 * There is a glitch where if you have the Missile Launcher and when you let the Super Mutant Behemoth out of the cage wait for him to get close to the opened gates just a little close to the cage and stand close to him and shoot him he will fly into the air and he will fall and die instantly. (unconfirmed, could not be replicated on PC)

Trivia
The location name may have been taken from a road of the same name which runs through Loudoun County, Virginia, beginning at the west end of Washington Dulles International Airport and ending just south of Leesburg.

Bugs

 * The Behemoth may jump several meters up in the air and die when it lands, or lose a substantial chunk of its health. This happens most often when a VATS-thrown grenade explodes beneath its feet.


 * The game reportedly freezes often in this area, especially if the Mysterious Stranger appears in VATS to assist a player who is wielding a Dart Gun.


 * In all three platforms, the Behemoth (once released) can become trapped behind a gate and die.


 * The player may become stuck inside the set of rocks behind the foundry; should that happen, the console command will free the player.


 * Some cliff rocks on the far western wall were not properly placed and allow you to see through their underside.


 * Some have reported the difficulty change to very hard after entry the first time.


 * Followers, even Dogmeat, can open the Behemoth's cage, regardless of the generator's status. It's best to tell followers stay back when approaching the gate.


 * If you let the Behemoth out, let him slaughter everyone and leave and come back days later, he will sometimes stay hostile (with a red health bar) but not attack you, even if you walk right up to him.


 * Sometimes a Raider will randomly open the cage to the Behemoth.


 * Sometimes the Behemoth may randomly appear out of its cage, with the cage doors still closed and fence electrified.


 * Sometimes loading a game that was saved in the area, or leaving and coming back, will cause the slaves to disappear. The slaves can reappear should you visit again in the future, giving you a second chance to free them.


 * A Raider can have full hitpoints in VATS but be in the position of a dead body. You cannot hit him unless you go down from the cliffs. He will start shooting you at this point, and you can hit him in VATS and manually.


 * Upon freeing the slaves, its possible that they may free the behemoth and they will get killed by it.(Xbox 360, PC)


 * Sometimes when you free the slaves they will run around the place randomly as if they've gone insane.


 * Occasionally, if you open the gate containing the Super Mutant Behemoth after shooting him through it, he may not leave the pen but rather stay inside it and stay in one place (usually in the back left corner). This will give you a great opportunity to take him out without worrying about getting injured. (PS3)(Xbox 360)


 * If you have downloaded the Broken Steel add-on you may find Aqua Pura crates on the path leading to Evergreen Mills before you start the purifier.


 * On the beggining of the path leading to Evergreen Mills, it might spawn two HUGE purple wall.


 * Upon trying to enter the door revealing the small cave where Smiling Jack resides, the game may freeze as the game is loading (indicated by the turning hand of the compass suddenly stopping) (Confirmed on Xbox 360)
 * Using VATS from atop the cliffs will cause to game to freeze if you have Fawkes as a follower. (happened atleast 6 time on the PS3)

Appearances
appears only in Fallout 3.