Deathclaw Sanctuary

Deathclaw Sanctuary is a location in Fallout 3, found in the Northwestern region of the Capital Wasteland. The sanctuary between Dickerson Tabernacle Chapel and Broadcast Tower KB5 can be reached travelling south-west from Fort Constantine or south from SatCom Array NW-05a.

Description
The location consists of a dark, maze-like cave complex, and appears to be the home of several Deathclaws. The sanctuary seems to function both as a den/nest and a storage place, indicated by the many piles of maimed bodies and body parts that can be found in specific places.

If the cave is cleared out before The Waters of Life, only Deathclaws will be found here. However, after the arrival of the Enclave, an Enclave camp can be found outside, and a group of soldiers appears have entered the caves to explore (with poor results). This has an effect on the unique weapons found here, see the loot section.

The Enclave probably set up camp here to test out the Deathclaws' usefulness to the Enclave military operations. The research appears to be a success, as one can encounter Deathclaws with mind-controlling devices on their heads in other Enclave settlements (Including Raven Rock).

Notable loot

 * There is a locked footlocker right outside the cave entrance which contains various weapons, ammunition, stimpacks, and a Duck and Cover! book.
 * Bobblehead - Endurance directly south of the entry inside the cave, in the first large chamber - on a short pedestal near a pile of corpses and a Rotting Brahmin. (It is to the immediate left at the bottom of the entry slope, ground level) Also in the first chamber:
 * A Mini Nuke
 * A Nuka Cola Quantum - East side of the chamber, on the ground near the Bobblehead - Endurance; look for the glow.
 * A Nikola Tesla and You
 * Vengeance in the far southeast of the caves, near a dripping pool of blood
 * Jack can only be found here when The Waters of Life has been finished. The Enclave officer that holds this weapon will not spawn earlier, due to the changes this quest makes (The Enclave will only be encountered after finishing this quest).
 * The heaps of bodies has differing loot: Both Raiders, Scavengers, Traders and Wastelanders are among the victims. The loot gained from the scavengers and traders (100-200 bottlecaps per trader, ammo and chems) can be impressive if every nook and crannie is explored.

Bugs

 * On one occasion, on the Xbox 360 version, three Deathclaws were near the entrance when suddenly two of them flew straight up into the air and never came back down (Confirmed on Xbox 360: 6 separate times; Bug still present on 5/26/09). It is possible for the Deathclaw to fly straight up from the same spot or a nearby spot if the player waits an hour or two after the Deathclaw initially flies straight up. Also due to the speed at which they are flying, even if you are able to target them in V.A.T.S, your bullets will almost always miss.The same glitch is confirmed in the PS3 version too, The first death claw encountered outside just before you enter the caverns. One has been shot in V.A.T.S.(the bullet curved very sharply upward) after the Deathclaw died it just fell straight down to the ground. Confirmed on PC. Most likely due to the Deathclaws spawning inside the crates, and being caught in the floor until the physics engine shoots them up into the sky.


 * At my first time in the Sanctuary, I made a fast run to grab the Vengeance and did not take the bobble head (I was waiting for the "almost perfect" perk). I exited and saw an Enclave soldier on the left cliff, all alone in a tesla armor and a plasma gun. The Scientific Pursuit quest was in progress and I had to go in project purity to grab the holotapes. (Confirmed on Xbox 360) There are occasional sightings of Enclave soldiers in various parts of the Capital Wasteland before the Waters Of Life quest, especially at higher levels, however they are a fairly rare and random spawn.