Springvale

Springvale is a small, bombed out town in the Capital Wasteland, located 3-4 miles northwest of Arlington, VA.

Location
It is the first location the Lone Wanderer should discover, just down the road from Vault 101, and is hard to miss.

Judging by its appearance, one can assume before the war it was a significant suburban area, cozy but big enough, and just far away enough from the hustle and bustle of D.C. It's a fairly deserted area, infested with giant ants (but not Springvale, itself). Several Enclave propaganda bots also fly around.

The deserted nature of Springvale makes it ideal for your first foray away from Megaton, as you can pick up lots of loot without any trouble (until you get to the Springvale School).

Most of the buildings are destroyed, though almost every wrecked house has at least one cabinet or refrigerator in it with some worthwhile loot, as do most of the mail boxes.

One house is occupied by a woman named Silver, an ex-prostitute from Moriarty's Saloon, who wants to get away from him and her debts. If you go to Megaton before Springvale and talk to Moriarty, he may send you to Springvale to collect from Silver. If you do not mind killing Silver, her house has quite a bit of loot to steal.

Springvale School is another standing building, slightly to the northeast. A group of Raiders have made this building their own.

The settlement of Megaton is just south of Springvale.

Significant Loot

 * The first mail dropbox you come by here will always contain Frag Grenade (3), Jet and Psycho.
 * When approaching Springvale from Vault 101, the first mailbox on the left side of the road may contain a Vault-Tec Letter or be empty. In the first house on the left side of the road, there is a cabinet that contains some bobby pins and alcohol.
 * In the first house on the right side of the road, there is a refrigerator that contains irradiated food, and also a footlocker that may be empty or contain items.
 * The second mailbox on the left side of the road contains a copy of Pugilism Illustrated. (Alternatively, fast travel to Springvale, go north to the small fence, turn right and take the sidewalk with the car on the right, and find the mailbox on just past the car on your left.) In the second house on the left side of the road, there is a safe with a Very Easy lock, which contains random loot, usually consisting of weapons, ammo and chems. The safe may spawn a Scoped .44 Magnum, but it will be in poor shape and not have any accompanying ammo.  This is, however, a rare occurrence.
 * The second mailbox on the right side of the road may contain random loot or be empty. On the steps of the second house on the right side of the road, there are suitcases that may be empty or contain apparel.
 * By the red rocket, there is a Nuka-Cola Machine.
 * After turning left at the street corner where the red rocket is, there are two houses: a tall one on the right and another straight ahead. The house on the right contains a locked cabinet (Very Easy) with some bobby pins and alcohol in. The mailbox of the house straight ahead contains a Vault-Tec Letter. The Letter Congratulates a Mr and Mrs Gomez for Being Accepted into the Vault 101 Community. These are the Ancestors of Fred Gomez, whom lives in the Vault at the start of the game.

Related Quests

 * 300 Pieces of Silver
 * Following in His Footsteps
 * Holy Water

Appearances
Springvale appears only in Fallout 3.

Tips
Unlike either of the two possible player homes, (which require the player to pass through multiple loading-screens), Springvale offers a map spawning point directly in front of storage (a mailbox). The mailbox won't erase your items or run out of room. Decorating it is also an option, this also makes it easier to find.

Silver's home to the right can also be used as a potential "farming" spot for enemies, particularly any nearby Enclave patrols. If they are chasing you and you go inside Silver's house, they will follow you in there and can be killed inside the home, and will respawn in 72 hours inside the house.

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