Fort Atlas

Fort Atlas is a location in the Savage Divide region of Appalachia, formerly known as ATLAS Observatory. Once the site of an advanced military science project, the observatory lay dormant for years following the Great War, inhabited by hostile robots. In 2103, the Brotherhood First Expeditionary Force set up base at the observatory with the help of Russell Dorsey and renamed it Fort Atlas.

Pre-War
Serving as an astronomical research laboratory, ATLAS was a military project on weather modification. Scientists worked here to advance the ATLAS Program, or "Atmospheric Terraforming Laser Accelerator System" before the Great War.

Post-War
In 2103, Lucky Lou scavenged several automated turrets from the observatory for use in attempting to commit suicide and avoid turning feral. Later that year, Russell Dorsey established a campsite near the facility's entrance and, with the assistance of his utility Protectrons, began constructing a framework around the structure. This included various elevated platforms, a medical tent, a landing pad, and deliberately sealing the observatory's interior.

In 2103, Russell Dorsey collaborated with the Vault Dwellers of Vault 76 to construct a base for the incoming Brotherhood First Expeditionary Force, using the observatory as their construction site. Upon arrival, the Brotherhood renamed the facility to Fort Atlas, converting it into its current appearance.

Exterior
The observatory caps the crest of a hill along Route 63 east of Monongah. There are three entrances to the building. The exterior of the building has been re-inhabited by Russell Dorsey and several Brotherhood initiates and hopefuls.

Various platforms now provide easy access to higher parts of the structure. Near the eastern entrance, an armor workbench, weapons workbench, and power armor station can be found alongside a stash box. A small medical tent lies above the southern entrance, and a small residential tent has been assembled to the south.

Interior
The building is a multi-level structure, with border rooms encircling a vaulted central room, that houses the telescope, which extends vertically for all of the levels. The ground level floor provides the main entrance to the structure, with an office on the right and a dining / recreation area downstairs. A glowing laser barrier initially prevents entrance to the remainder of the building until the player character applies for entry into the Brotherhood ranks.

The large central room has a workshop and armories in an eastern border room. This room contains two armories behind heavy metal mesh cages each with a power armor suit and weapons. However, they are not accessible. The room includes weapon, tinker, chemistry, and armor workstations as well as a stash box. A barracks with a shower facility is located in the western border room. There are two stairs in the central room at the laser barrier leading to an upstairs area with Paladin Rahmani on one side and Scribe Valdez on the other.

A door off the Paladin's area opens onto the top of a stairwell. Going down to the bottom leads to a kitchen and bathrooms where there are two orphans, Maximo and Marcia Leone. The middle of the stairwell opens into the workshop and armory room off the main floor. To the east in the central room is a door leading down to the substructure.

ATLAS substructure
The substructure is a basement with three levels, internally accessible via a flight of stairs. The top level is the same level as the main floor of the overall building, but that top level is accessible only by going upstairs inside the sub-structure. The lowest level is the first reached via the story line, but the player character will explore further to meet early quest objectives. The lowest and middle levels have solid floors while the top level is a catwalk and doors around an open area surrounding the telescope. There are a total of three workbenches on the middle level of the basement, two for weapons and one for armor.

Main interior

 * ATLAS Research Log 104 - Holotape, on the table next to Scribe Valdez's terminal.
 * ATLAS Research Log 293 - Holotape, on the table next to Scribe Valdez's terminal.
 * Knight Connors: Report - Holotape, on a bench in the western barracks room on the first floor.

ATLAS substructure

 * ATLAS decommission reports - Notes, found throughout the bottom level of the substructure.
 * The first is found on a console near the ATLAS diagnostics terminal.
 * The second is found on a wooden cart near the skeleton of Isaac Hammond.
 * The third is found on a metal cart along some piping, to the right after going down the stairs from the main entrance of the substructure.
 * CPU - Quest item, obtained from the ATLAS data center terminal during Mother of Invention. May be in good condition, damaged, or destroyed, depending on quest choices.
 * Induction coil - Quest item, obtained from the top of the central machine during Mother of Invention. May be in good condition, damaged, or destroyed, depending on quest choices.
 * Ion focus - Quest item, obtained from the base of the central machine during Mother of Invention. May be in good condition, damaged, or destroyed, depending on quest choices.
 * Mysterious component - Quest item, obtained from the top of the central machine after acquiring the induction coil during Mother of Invention. Always in good condition.
 * Pressure gauge - Quest item, obtained from a yellow machine in a side room of the upper chambers during Mother of Invention. May be in good condition, damaged, or destroyed, depending on quest choices.
 * Potential magazine - In the mine section during The Best Defense, on a shelf near the top part of a conveyor belt in the medium-sized room with the catwalk and office niche.
 * Two potential recipes:
 * One in the mine section, near the wall-mounted terminal and connected supply room, on a cabinet at a nearby dead end.
 * One on a shelf near the westernmost tunnel girder, in the final room of the mine section.

Appearances
Fort Atlas appears only in Fallout 76. Formerly known as ATLAS Observatory, it was fully converted to Fort Atlas with the Steel Dawn update. It was further expanded upon in the Steel Reign update.

Behind the scenes
Level designer Steve Massey selected ATLAS Observatory as the location for the incoming Brotherhood First Expeditionary Force. He was initially wary to replace ATLAS Observatory, as it was already an interesting dungeon, but he believed that the story and visuals of the observatory were fascinating enough that they deserved to be expanded upon and developed more, further stating that he was very happy with how Fort Atlas turned out.

Bugs
Upon fast traveling to Fort Atlas as of the Steel Reign update, the game may freeze, become stuck on a loading screen, and never load in. This may occur several times even after joining a new server. Continually server hopping until the game finally loads in is the only known solution.