Wasteland Survival Guide (quest)

 is a Fallout 3 quest. It is also a Xbox 360/PC achievement and PlayStation 3 Trophy.

Moira Brown, the owner of the Craterside Supply in Megaton, wants you to do some dangerous research for a book she is writing entitled "".

This could be considered to be the longest quest in the game if you were to complete all 9 tasks and optional objectives without lying.

Find food at the Super Duper Mart

 * Main Objective: Find food in the Super-Duper Mart
 * Optional Objective: Find medicine in the Super-Duper Mart.

The mart is nearby Megaton and will appear on your Pip-boy map screen. It is easy to find, but filled with raiders.

At the front of the Mart, opening a refrigerator will trigger the first part of the quest.

Looting the first aid box in the room at the back of the market (next to the Mini Nuke and Protectron) will finish the second part of the quest. But by taking the medicine, you will hear the intercom go off and will be attacked by more raiders.

For more information consult the Super-Duper Mart page.

Moira will reward you with a Food Sanitizer if you complete the optional objective. If you only complete the main objective or if you successfully lie to her, she'll just give you some Iguana Bits. As with all the rewards for this quest that are not unique items, the number of items given is level dependant.

After completing the quest, you can get special conversation paths if certain of your SPECIAL stats are 7 or above. In this case, Endurance, Intelligence, or Charisma if you completed the bonus objective or else Strength, Agility or Intelligence if you didn't. You will always have the option of a standard or snide response in addition to the SPECIAL related options. The conversation path you select at this point will affect the Survival Expert perk you receive at the end of this quest.

Contract Radiation Sickness

 * Main Objective: Contract 200 Rads
 * Optional Objective: Contract 600 Rads

Moira wants you to contract radiation sickness in order to test her radiation sickness remedy on you.

The most efficient way to complete the mission is to stand in and drink the water near the nuke in the center of Megaton (1 or 2 rad per second for standing in the water, 18-20 rads obtained each time you drink the water). You can also drink water from the public restrooms, though this may take slightly longer. Alternatively, the radioactive barrels (8 rads per second) underneath the electrical tower behind Springvale School can significantly boost your rads. (Although actually getting the required radiation level may be faster at this location than in Megaton, the overall efficiency of this method is debatable, due to travel and loading times.) After you have reached 600 rads walk back to the Craterside Supply and speak to Moira to complete the mission. The quest can be completed with only 200 rads, but since getting rads is easy there is no reason not to go for the bonus objective.

After you complete the mission, you will have a rad count of 0. Moira will give you some Rad-X and Rad Away and she will also start selling them.

If you achieve the optional objective by contracting 600 rads, Moira remarks that you now have a "teeny, tiny, um, mutation" after curing you. The mutation causes you to gain the Rad Regeneration perk.

After completing the quest and optional objective, you can get special conversation paths if your Endurance, Perception, or Charisma is 7 or better, which will affect the Survival Expert perk you receive at the end of this quest. Getting the Endurance option may be difficult, since you will be suffering Critical Radiation Poisoning (-1 ST, -2 AG, -3 EN) when you complete the quest (Buffout offers +3 EN, which can help... unless you were already in need of it to meet the skill requirements, before the radiation poisoning). There are no conversation paths for high Strength, Intelligence, or Agility.

Alternatively, should you have a high enough Science skill (at least 50), you will be given the option of simply explaining the effects of radiation poisoning. However, you don't get the perk this way. The optional objective still counts as complete towards the quality of the final reward perk.

Traversing a Mine Field

 * Main Objective: Travel to the playground in the center of Minefield.
 * Optional Objective: Retrieve and return a Frag Mine to Moira.

When you reach the town, look carefully at the winding road leading up the hill. There will be small, yellow discs placed on the street. These are Frag Mines so proceed with caution. Either run up to the mines and rapidly tap the Action button or walk up slowly and disarm the mine as soon as your reticule turns red. You must repeat this process until you get to the Playground at the center of the town. Mines may also be shot, causing them to explode prematurely.

Alternative: You can find Frag Mine elsewhere and lie to Moira about visiting Minefield location to complete the quest. This will only give you optional quest credit if you already have a mine in your inventory to hand over to Moira to examine.

If you already visited Minefield before doing this task, you can tell it to Moira that you've been there. This is also a faster way to finish the task, but you won't be able to finish the optional objective.

If you complete the optional objective: some Frag Grenades and Bottlecap Mine schematics.

After completing the quest and optional objective, you can get special conversation paths if your Endurance, Perception, or Agility is 7 or better, which will affect the Survival Expert perk you receive at the end of this quest. There are no conversation paths for high Strength, Intelligence, or Charisma.

Moira will reward you with some Stimpaks and 100 experience points for finishing the first chapter of.

Chapter 2
Chapter 2 of the guide centers on dealing with some of the many dangerous creatures that are known to inhabit the wastelands, and also how to handle injuries.

Test the repellent on Mole Rats

 * Main Objective:Test the Mole Rat Repellent on 3 Mole Rats.
 * Optional Objective: Test the repellent on 7 more Mole Rats

This portion of the quest is fairly easy, if tedious, as wild Mole Rats can be found all over the wasteland. The Repellent defeats the rats quickly, so the player should easily accumulate enough kills to report back to Moira. At least 5 Mole Rats can be found around Megaton, so if you're only interested in the Main Objective, you don't have to run far.

However, Moira also adds a map marker for the Tepid Sewers, located near the Anchorage Memorial. Several Mole Rats can be found immediately inside the entrance, so it is a simple matter to smack them with the Repellent and exit.

The reward for this quest is some doses of Jet and Psycho. If the optional objective is not completed, Moira will take the Repellent Stick away from you at the end of the quest, but it can be bought back through her store.

After completing the quest and optional objective, you can get special conversation paths if your Endurance, Intelligence, or Charisma is 7 or better, which will affect the Survival Expert perk you receive at the end of this quest. There are no conversation paths for high Strength, Perception, or Agility.

Place an observer unit inside a Mirelurk nest

 * Main Objective: Place an observer unit (provided by Moira) inside a Mirelurk Egg Clutch in the Anchorage Memorial.
 * Optional Objective: Complete the main objective without killing a Mirelurk.

Some easy solutions to complete optional objective include:
 * TIP: Wipe out all the Mirelurks in the Anchorage Memorial before starting the quest, this way there no possible way to fail the optional objective.
 * Enter through underwater tunnel, which is located on the south border of the peninsula. You will spawn near the eggs with no Mirelurks there. After you zone in, swim to the right and you will see the external wall of the memorial. Swim left at the wall and the eggs are at the water line in front of you. Naturally, you will accumulate some radiation from swimming.
 * If you get in through main entrance (the one built into the exterior wall) you can continue until you get to the main room with several stories and jump over the balcony into the floor, containing the nest. Afterward, run and follow the waypoints until you get out. If you have any Stealth Boys, this would be the perfect time to use them, as Moira will give you 2-6 depending on your level as a reward for completing the optional objective. Another alternative is the Dart Gun.

After completing the quest and optional objective, you can get special conversation paths if your Strength, Intelligence, or Charisma is 7 or better, which will affect the Survival Expert perk you receive at the end of this quest. There are no conversation paths for high Endurance, Perception, or Agility.

For completing this optional objective you'll receive some Stealth Boys and a Shady Hat.

Injure yourself for more than 50% of your Health

 * Main Objective: Return to Moira with less than 50% of your total health.
 * Optional Objective: Return to Moira with a crippled body part.

This can easily be done by jumping off of the balcony that you see just as you walk outside of Craterside Supply 2-3 times. This will not only cripple you, but also put you below the 50% HP mark. Take care here - if you jump from too high your character dies instantly.

Alternatively; stand on the platform outside the store but well away from any passing townsfolk. Look down and throw a grenade - which will explode with high probability of crippling one or more of your limbs and dealing the required damage.


 * With a high enough Medicine skill you are "a good enough doctor to just explain" about injuries, and you receive credit for the quest and bonus objective. Be aware that this qualifies as a "smart" response and as a result may have an effect on the perk you receive upon completion of the quest as a whole.

The reward for the quest is some doses of Med-X, and an Environment Suit if the optional objective is completed.

After completing the quest and optional objective, you can get special conversation paths if your Endurance, Intelligence, or Charisma is 7 or better, which will affect the Survival Expert perk you receive at the end of this quest. There are no conversation paths for high Strength, Perception, or Agility.

If this was the last objective of this chapter, you get an additional reward of 100 XP and some ammo, the exact quantities depending on luck. If the Wanderer is between levels 12 and 15, they will have a chance of receiving various quantities of any of the small arms bullet types.

Chapter 3
Chapter 3 revolves around how towns and cities came to be after the Great War and also dealing with technology from the previous "age".

Research Rivet City's History

 * Main Objective: Find out the history about Rivet City.
 * Optional Objective: Find out Rivet City's true history.

This quest is more difficult than it appears, as almost every citizen of Rivet City is unfamiliar with its history. After speaking to a few people in Rivet City, Bannon will claim that he helped found the city. You can return to Moira at this point for normal completion, or fact check his story for optional completion. You will need to speak to Belle Bonny in the Muddy Rudder bar. She will refuse to help you, but not before pointing you to Pinkerton's location in the broken bow of the ship. If you try to engage Pinkerton in conversation about Rivet City's history before talking to Belle, he will claim to have been one of the founders but you won't complete the optional part of the quest, as he does not care enough to give you proof, but he will allow you to access his terminal which will contain information to complete the optional part of the quest. It requires the dialogue option "Bannon claims to have founded the city" for him to give you the proof. You can also get the proof if you haven't even spoken to Bannon, by getting him to give you the password for his computer terminal, which contains an account of the founding of Rivet City.

You may also receive information about Pinkerton by talking to Vera_Weatherly, who will mention that Seagrave_Holmes has lived there since he was a boy. Talking to him will tell you that Pinkerton may have left information in the bow.

To get to Pinkerton, you have to exit Rivet City proper, and travel to the "other uninhabited half" of the ship, where there is a walkway leading to a door. It is a Very Hard lock (level 100 lockpick), and if you're unable to pick it you must jump into the water to the left of the door and swim alongside the ship until you turn the corner, where you will find a door underwater. There is a long swim (be prepared to use a lot of stimpacks if you get turned around), but fortunately no underwater combat. An alternative to swimming around the corner is to jump off the ship from the marketplace entrance and take a short swim to the underwater doorway. It's much shorter and results in less rads. There are several Mirelurk inside, as well as booby traps set by Pinkerton.

Pinkerton's lab should be on the top level, behind a door that, if you try to open the first time, it will say that it has to be opened from a different terminal. There is a rectangular yellow box in the same room hanging on a wall which you have to activate in order to open the door.

If you took the underwater route to get to Pinkerton, you can walk out the Very Hard locked door by activating a switch right next to it (from inside).

At the end of the quest, Moira will reward you with some Mentats, as well as a permanent 10% discount with Rivet City's merchants (if you achieve the bonus conditions).

You can also, as a joke, tell Moira that Rivet City was originally an underwater city. She will then talk about how it might have been part of Atlantis. You will receive Mentats and bad Karma but you won't receive the 10% discount. This option will also worsen the guide, eliminating the chance to get the Guru level perk.

Note that when you first start this quest the optional objective does not appear. It only appears until after you talk to a citizen of Rivet City. Upon speaking to any citizen about the history of Rivet City, you will complete the main objective and the optional objective will appear.

RobCo Production Facility Mainframe

 * Main Objective: Install the processor widget in the RobCo production facility mainframe.
 * Optional Objective: Hack the RobCo production facility mainframe

You have (humorous) special dialog options when speaking with Moira for this quest if you previously obtained The Mechanist's Costume.

You must travel to the RobCo Facility and install the processor widget in the mainframe. The mainframe is on the very top level. If you came here previously to complete the Mole Rat Repellent quest, the first area will be really easy because most of the critters will have already been killed.

The robots, when started, will be hostile. To complete the optional objective, you need a Science skill of at least 50. You have to hack the mainframe you just started up and deactivate the third protocol that makes the robots hostile towards you. Of the other two available protocols, the first orders the robots to clear the area of Radroaches while the second 'stress test' option makes them attack each other (very helpful for landing killing blows on them then looting all the energy weapons ammo they drop).

Alternatively, if you have the Robotics Expert perk, you get the option to just tell Moira about the technology in question, successfully completing the quest AND optional objective immediately, however you must get the perk before you start the quest otherwise you don't get the option and have to do the objectives as normal. Moira will reward you with some Pulse Grenades if you complete the quest, and a Big Book of Science if you complete the optional objective.

After completing the quest and optional objective, you can get special conversation paths if your Strength, Intelligence, or Charisma is 7 or better, which will affect the Survival Expert perk you receive at the end of this quest. There are no conversation paths for high Endurance, Perception, or Agility. Also note that the 'snide' response if the bonus objective is not completed is actually negative - it will reduce the quality of the book / perk. Avoid.

Arlington Public Library

 * Main Objective: Access the card catalog at the Arlington Public Library.
 * Optional Objective: Retrieve complete Library Archive.

The main objective is very easy to complete. Just go to the Library and inside are the Brotherhood of Steel. Scribe Yearling will talk to you, and if you're nice enough, she will let you through. Use the terminal at the front desk and you can get the card catalog. If you want to get the Optional Objective, you have to go through the rest of the Library and fight off Raiders and Radroaches. The terminal used to download the archives can be found on the third floor of the library, in a room just off of a short hallway which can be accessed from the room containing a ceiling turret.

Note: Several points in the library will be, as soon as you enter, battles in progress Brotherhood of Steel and Raiders.

Moira will pay you bottlecaps for completing the quest, and will give you a skill book (Lying, Congressional Style) if the optional objective is completed.

After completing the quest and optional objective, you can get special conversation paths if your Endurance, Intelligence, or Agility is 7 or better, which will affect the Survival Expert perk you receive at the end of this quest. There are no conversation paths for high Strength, Perception, or Charisma.

Final Reward
The end reward for doing this quest is the Survival Expert perk, a Mini Nuke (as she comments how she planned to use it to dig a well), 100 XP, a small karma boost, and a copy of The Wasteland Survival Guide.

What the Survival Expert perk is giving you depends on your previous answers. See Survival Expert.

Note: After completing the last quest and talking to Moira she immediately gives you the printed book.

Alternative Solution
Instead of completing the chapters of the book you can persuade her into not writing the book at all, granted you have a high enough Speech skill.

As a reward, you will get the Dream Crusher perk, a variable amount of XP (depending on how many chapters have been completed - essentially the quest gives the same amount of reward XP whichever course the player chooses), lowered prices at the Craterside Supply, and the achievement for PC/Xbox 360 or the trophy for the PS3 system. Just remember that the solution not only nets you negative karma, but also precludes you from an arguably more useful perk. Also, you may notice that Moira will have a boost of repair skill to about 75% instead of about 25%. Moira becomes less happy in all further encounters with her.

Bugs
If you return to the Arlington library after completing that portion of the question, you can get another copy of the Card Catalog Holotape and the Media Catalog Holotape, but they just clutter up your inventory (PC)


 * (v1.4) After completing the Rivet City History Quest and its optional objective but before receiving the Survival Expert Perk, if the player asks Pinkerton for proof of Rivet City's history the second time, a glitch will cause Moira's conversation to revert back to the Rivet City History Quest. Since the player has already completed the quest, the only option to continue the Wasteland Survival Guide is to Lie. The player will still be able to receive the Survival Expert Perk (Rank: Survival Expert) upon completion of the quest. However, whether the player can receive the Survival Guru Rank is unclear.

If you find yourself stuck on this stage it is possible to complete the quest with console commands in any order. setstage 14e96 70 setstage 14e96 80 setstage 14e96 90

Note that this will only work if you are on the final chapter stages and is only an alternative way of bypassing the bugged dialogue. It is possible to use extra commands to receive Survival Guru before completing the quest, but the commands to simply add the perk are easier. example: player.addperk 331DD for Guru with +6% Damage and Rad and Poison Resistance

Another thing to note here is that this glitch is caused by a single quest variable being reset by Pinkerton's dialogue script (if anyone from Bethsoft reads this, please put a conditional check in his script). If you feel like being pedantic about keeping your save as unfudged as possible you can create a plugin using the G.E.C.K. which resets this value. It just takes 1 line of script: Set MS03.MS03c1 to 4

This should be added to Moira's on-end script for the dialogue option "I can't get a straight answer out of these folks." Then all you do is load the plugin and choose that dialogue option and it will unglitch your save - then you can re-save, disable the plugin again and continue playing as normal. (Ignore the warning about the save depending on a plugin, since it was such a minor change it doesn't matter, and the warning should go away next time you save). Also note that this plugin will almost certainly break the quest if you aren't already experiencing this bug, so be sure to disable it once you have unglitched your save so that you don't end up breaking your other saves.


 * Finishing the main quest while in the middle of the RobCo Facility subquest may make the RobCo Processor Widget to disappear from your inventory, making it impossible to complete (without lying to Moira). To get it back, write in the console: player.additem 0003D3B4 1

Behind the scenes

 * The Wasteland Survival Guide was the name of the hint and walk through book for the game Wasteland (game), considered the inspiration for the first Fallout game.
 * This guide is also included as booklet with at least some of the retail versions of the game.