The Deep

The Deep is a location in the Forest region of Appalachia. Its main entrance is adjacent to the Blood Eagle camp the Pigsty.

Background
The Deep is an elaborate cave system stretching below the hills west of the the Whitespring Resort, in the Savage Divide. There are at least two entrances, one by a hatch slightly northeast from the Whitespring lookout, and another cave entrance due southeast of Summersville in the Forest. The most notorious area is centered around a building within a massive cavern, surrounded by the same liquid found on fissure sites. Called the Motherlode Acquisition Facility, the structure is occupied by communist infiltrators, who use the site as the central hub for their Motherlode operations.

The communists intercepted one of the Hornwright robots and have been using it to drill multiple tunnels beneath Appalachia. While their exact mission is uncertain, the information provided by the security terminal suggests the communists were working on a project to connect different areas of the region to the Deep via these underground tunnels. So far, four tunnels had been excavated, with a fifth still in progress.

Maintaining a strict secrecy, including standing orders to shoot anyone without clearance, the communists guarded the place fiercely. They managed to acquire some power armor, equipped by their commanders. Sealed since after the Great War, the facility's personnel turned into ghouls, which likely is a result of the emanating radiation from the fisure site liquid surrounding the base.

In 2103, the Vault Dweller infiltrated the building in order to obtain a Chinese stealth armor. This caused the communists to wipe out all their collected data and begin Operation Piercing Viper.

Layout
Upon entering the cave, there are cave crickets along the narrow passages leading down to a body of toxic water. At the end of the water is the body of James Addison, a diver with the holotape President's eyes ONLY. One must swim across and down under the water's surface to the other side of the cave, upon which a set of passageways leads to brightly colored flora including fever blossoms, kaleidopore, and starlight creeper bushes. Small pieces of material fall from the ceiling, and in the middle of the flora chamber is the body of a creature.

Further inside the tunnels, there is a small opening allowing one to see a base of communist soldiers. Heading further down, one will reach a T-intersection. Going straight down will lead to an exit next to the Whitespring. On the left, there is a walkway on the base. The walkway has a few soldiers and Liberators wielding energy weapons. The communists surround the island-like base, which has a moat of ultracite. Two to three soldiers will be on the roof of the base, one with a missile launcher, which can be accessed by stairs on the side.

In the interior of the base, there are three levels including a basement, a first floor, and a second floor. Communist soldiers and two commanders in power armor are inside or nearby the building. At the bottom of the base is an auxiliary control room door on the left. The other door (locked) has a chamber where the Motherlode will appear and will bring the player character to the Mire or several areas within the Savage Divide. The PRC Motherlode access key is found on the commander's body.

Notable loot

 * President's eyes ONLY - Holotape, found on the corpse of a diver just before the toxic water past the entrance tunnels.
 * PRC Motherlode access key - Key, found on the corpse of a communist commander inside the main facility.
 * Potential Vault-Tec bobblehead - On the top floor of the main facility, on a console along the southeast wall, near a steamer trunk.
 * Two potential armor mod plans:
 * On the top floor of the main facility, on a middle bunkbed, facing the eastern wall.
 * On the top floor of the main facility, on a green container, facing the southwestern wall.
 * Mini nuke - On the top floor of the main facility, on the edge of a green container facing the southern wall.
 * 18 starlight creeper bushes:
 * 13 around the base.
 * Five next to the western entrance to the caves.
 * 24 fever blossom plants along the cave passageways and near the main building.
 * Owlet meat - Found on the corpse of an owlet after entering the Deep's main entrance. The meat unlocks the owlet nuggets recipe. Note: due to the spawn of crickets, it is very difficult to hit the owlet in order to loot it.

Appearances
The Deep appears only in Fallout 76, introduced in the Wastelanders update.

Behind the scenes
The Deep was designed by lead artist Nathan Purkeypile.