Operation: Anchorage bugs

Exploitable bugs
See exploits article page.

General bugs

 * If you have a CTD problem when entering simulation while sitting on Simulation Pod for some reason AND want to skip entire OA quests and get rewards right away, try this method. First, this is very important. place all your equipments in safe storage to prevent items removed from your inventory. If you don't do this method, all your items will be removed, so keep in mind. Type 'completequest 010009be'. after that, type 'setstage dlc02oa4 50', 'player.removeitem xx00a6c0 1' and talk to Protector McGraw(xx means load order. if you have no other custom mods or have FOMM and activated, '01' is the right load order. thus, 'player.removeitem 0100a6c0 1'). First one is to complete present quest('Aiding the Outcast' quest.), and second one is to gain access to VSS Armory door and remove the neural interface suit which is marked as the quest item. Use this only if you are having problems teleporting to Anchorage worldspace.
 * Game of the Year Edition: Upon receiving the radio signal, the quest and marker don't appear in the Pipboy until you go to outcast outpost, which doesn't appear on the map as a marker. You will have to use an online guide to find it. Upon arriving, the quest and map marker appears. However, if you reload a save at any point that you've saved in that area or the simulation, your character is loaded at the vault 101 entrance with no record of Anchorage in the Pipboy and with his hands in a weapon holding position with no gun. Achievements still work though. All other DLC seems to work fine.
 * Raiders will yell lines from the American soldiers when attacking, such as "Get out of my country commie"! after the Anchorage simulation is completed.
 * Power armor soldiers will attack you during the fight with Jingwei.
 * Looking into the G.E.C.K. reveals that the power armor Soldiers being hostile is due to the 'PlayerFaction' faction being a friend of the Chinese DLC02ChineseEndBattleFaction while having no relation set (neutral) to the American DLC02AmericanEndBattleFaction faction for the ending sequence. Thus, because the American soldiers are hostile to the Chinese, they also consider the neutral Player, who is friendly with the Chinese, to be hostile. This may be triggered by 'accidentally' attacking or injuring the Soldiers, for example a stray bullet or grenade.
 * If you enter V.A.T.S. after killing Jingwei and try to shoot anyone while leaving the simulation, you will become stuck in the Simulation Pod with half the screen showing the Simulation Pod and the other half showing the battlefield, you must reload your last save to get out of this problem.
 * It is possible before you confront Jingwei to be stuck and Jingwei will not attempt to attack you and it is impossible for your character to move, however the Chinese soldiers will continue to attack the power armor soldiers around you. This happened even when loading a previous save.
 * Most glitches that do not let you complete the Anchorage simulation can be fixed with 'coc DLC02VSS01' which will automatically end the simulation and bring you back to the outpost. This may also result in you keeping all your items from Anchorage.
 * If you leave the Outpost during the objective 'Follow Sibley into the simulator room', Sibley seems to leave and roam the wastes. However, the objective can still be completed by talking to Specialist Olin.
 * If you have the Virgo II Landing Dish it will remain in your inventory during the simulation (as will any other quest or house item, since they are not droppable).
 * If you use a frag grenade on a chimera tank via V.A.T.S. the tank will be floating in mid air. This can be useful because you can now go under the tank and keep shooting it, however it will not be able to shoot you.
 * If you punch the female doctor in the tent with the wounded soldiers, everyone in the camp will try to kill the doctor, even the wounded. Since she cannot be killed, however, she will keep getting up and being immediately shot down.
 * It is possible to reverse pickpocket weapons, armor and items onto the doctor. This allows you to have a highly agile and invincible teammate, but it comes at the cost of having to constantly render her unconscious so you can drag her around. Quite useful for fighting against the Chinese Snipers, however, as she seems to take it very personally that they are in her awareness bubble.
 * If you jump over a ledge after completing Guns Of Anchorage and begin to teleport to the HQ, the game will freeze, and you will be forced to load your last save.
 * If you enter the Chinese Compound at the same time as one of the power armor soldiers, sometimes you will get stuck in mid-air not being able to move. In this case you will still experience the dialogue with Jingwei, but neither of you will be able to move resulting in one of the soldiers killing him.
 * In some cases, this glitch will trap you in the cinematic mode, and Jingwei's dialogue will not start. Neither of you will be able to move and you must wait for one of the soldiers to kill him or quit the game and reload from the main menu. If you load from the menu, Jingwei's dialog should commence.
 * If you jump off the edge of the cliffs right after rejoining Benjamin, you will teleport into the room you just left. You will be unable to get out because of an unusable door, and will have to load a previous save. DO NOT try to exit the cave by going towards the beginning, The game will autosave and then teleport you back into the cave, forcing you to load your last manual save (Which could be in the outcast base)
 * Sometimes the "digital" effect from the simulation will remain indefinitely after completing the DLC.
 * After completing the simulation, you will automatically obtain "Power Armor Training". This is useful if you are playing on the GOTY edition and want to use the T-51b armor straight away in the game.
 * Because items do not deteriorate in the simulation, shooting an enemy's weapon won't have any effect. If the weapon is directly hit by a missile launcher or any other explosive, the enemy will just take splash damage which is usually minimal.
 * Freezing and a slow frame rate is very common occurrence after the Guns of Anchorage quest. Shutting down and re booting should temporarily rectify this. These glitches are noticeable immediately after leaving the generals command tent and are usually preceded by an unusually long loading time. Shutting down during loading may corrupt data so it is best to wait until loading completes and autosaves. It will then be safe to reboot.
 * While clearing the listening outpost there is the chance that you will not be able to clear the outpost even after eliminating all of the Chinese, your objective will be: talk to Sergeant Montgomery which cannot be done because you are stuck in the process of an objective which disables the Sergeants dialogue menu.

Mapping bugs

 * In the building full of super mutants, before you enter the Outcast Outpost, you can enter the second floor and exit the game area. After you cross two makeshift wooden bridges, turn left toward the staircase. There is a bookshelf and a vacuum cleaner near the stairs to the left. Stack some books on top of the shelf to get the height needed to access the second floor. Jump there, and then go to the northwest corner and jump down through the broken wall to exit the map. You can later reenter the area through Bailey's Crossroads Metro Station.
 * Before you cross the bridge to reach the second "Field Storage", head up the stairs and jump onto the rocks nearby. If you follow them along you will find footholds in the cliff for jumping higher up it. After climbing for a short time you will reach a hole in the cliff allowing you to go behind the stone.
 * You can climb onto the top of the mountains by jumping up to the left of the second "Field Storage" door and then making your way up and right, passing over the Field Storage door, though it is difficult. From here you can reach most of the geometry in the cliffs part of the level, including the distant plain and mountains and the bottom of the ravine. If you walk all the way back to start of the level on the top of the mountains on the other side of the ravine, you can see your parachute stuck in some trees on top of the mountain above the level start. There is no known way of getting there; it is the highest mountain in the level and all of the approaches to the peak are apparently too steep to scale. Also there is a "Chinese Radio Beacon" radio station centered in some trees near where the ravine meets the outer plain, but nothing has been found there.
 * After crossing the bridge to reach the Chinese bunker, if you turn directly right and start climbing the cliffs it is simple to reach the top with basic jumping.
 * After reaching the U.S. Army field headquarters at the beginning of second section of the operation, it is possible to get behind the force field and walk freely around the open landscape. You are able to walk on almost all ground. It is also possible to complete the second section of the operation without firing your weapon by simply walking along the pipeline all the way to the Chinese HQ and activating the door from the inside. Doing this will bypass the other mission objectives so you will not receive the "Paving the Way" achievement, but you will receive the other three.
 * Upon entering the Chimera compound, the wall to the right hand side is climbable through a series of jumps and by sticking as close to the wall as possible. Once you reach the top you can walk through the force field and explore freely.
 * To the left of the guard tower directly outside of the Chimera compound, you can walk through the rock (enabling you to see behind it). The same bug can also be found in numerous places on this map. One being the bend along the same wall as before, but earlier in the path.
 * If after exiting the first Chinese cave outpost in the beginning of the sim you jump off the cliff and fade to blue before you die, you will be teleported back inside the cave and the door to the hall that leads out of the cave will be closed and can't be interacted with. there isn't a load at the exit of the cave so if you haven't saved in the sim at all you will be forced to restart it.
 * After completing the add-on using the "Gary 23 glitch", areas of the northern Capital Wasteland, most notably, the area between MDPL-13 power station and Greener Pastures disposal site, will have major texture issues. It appears that the game has loaded the models for Anchorages' simulated distant mountains while in the Capital Wasteland. The mountains are hollow, but can impair your vision. This can be fixed by shutting down your system for roughly 2 hours and allowing it to cool down.
 * On occasion, when leaving the simulation, the game's artwork/graphics will be tunneling and forming lines on the screen. It can be fixed by leaving the Outcast outpost.

Item bugs

 * When wearing the Chinese stealth armor, you are able to equip multiple hats or helmets. You do not get the DR bonuses for more than one piece of headgear (except for the metal helmet, which does stack), but you do get the other bonuses, such as extra points to skills and stats. The hats will all remain equipped when you take off the stealth armor.
 * Multiple copies of the same headgear can be worn, and their bonuses will stack. A single hockey mask, for example, gives +5 to the Unarmed skill; for every additional hockey mask one wears on top of that one, Unarmed will increase by five more points. Given the right combination of hats, this glitch makes it possible to destroy even a super mutant behemoth in one hit.
 * It is possible to obtain all of the weapon packs through the weapons choice terminal. Simply select the first weapon pack on the terminal, then go to the armory tent. Once you receive the weapons you selected, go back to the tent and get the next set. Exit the tent, and before you talk to the quartermaster, drop your weapons. He will say that he'll take your weapons, but the weapons will still be on the ground. Be sure to pick up the weapons again before going back into the tent, because if you don't, they will disappear and you will have to acquire them again.
 * Using this glitch, it is also possible to collect multiple copies of the same weapons.
 * The same trick can be done with Ammo Dispensers. Drop all of your ammunition, activate the dispenser, and your ammunition limit is refreshed. Repeat as often and as long as you wish. Note: collecting a new weapon will remove all excess ammunition for that type to the simulation's maximum Ammo Dispenser limit, for example a Chinese assault rifle will remove all excess 5.56 round ammunition.
 * Do not drop more than 32,768 rounds at a time. Doing so will produce an ammo pickup with negative rounds, and grabbing it will actually remove rounds from your inventory. (You can actually possess negative ammunition with this glitch.)
 * The Quartermaster Double Ammo glitch: Confirmed works for 5.56mm, 10mm, and Flamer Fuel ammo. Pickpocket the Quartermaster place the ammo in his inventory then immediately remove it, the ammo should have now doubled in your inventory. You must have over 32,768 ammo before you start the glitch. Also would be advisable to save before starting the glitch.
 * The simulation contains special decorative copies of certain items, such as scrap metal, that cannot be picked up. In a few cases, however, the developers mistakenly used the Wasteland versions of some items. The result is that three scrap metals in the Listening Post can be picked up. There is also a medical clipboard that can be picked up in the bunker on the roof of the Listening Post.
 * The quartermaster states that the player may only change your gear load out once. Dropping gear however will allow the player to have another gear load out e.g. Infantry and heavy weapons.
 * Sometimes when wearing the Chinese stealth armor, the player's head will disappear and large black lines will obscure your vision in 3rd person mode, taking the armor off and putting it back on will make the black lines small but the player's head will not reappear.

Miscellaneous bugs

 * Follower death. Leave followers behind at your house before starting this quest or they could be killed, as the game does not permit followers inside the Outcast Outpost. Also, sometimes all of the items a follower was carrying disappear after exiting the Outcasts' bunker upon completion of the simulation.
 * When in the simulation, placing a marker on the new 'world map' may in fact cause your compass to direct you to a different, unrelated location. When opening your map again, you will see yourself moving away from the marker you placed, despite the on screen compass suggesting you are approaching it.
 * Attempting to sit in a chair present in the simulation may leave you stuck standing up, and unable to do anything other than load a previous save. Attempting to move slightly (after the sitting animation would normally have completed) should return you to a first-person viewpoint, at which point you can save the game and immediately reload it to become unstuck.
 * At the Pulse Fields, there are winterized T-51b power armor soldiers wielding a Fat Man. When they blow up the wall leading to General Jingwei, there will be radiation from the explosion. If you are being irradiated when entering the Chinese HQ, the Geiger counter sound may continue to play even after you exit the simulation. If this happens, reload your save right before the door to the Chinese HQ. If that does not fix the problem, leaving the Outcast Outpost will.
 * When trying to re-enter the Outcast Outpost after having completed the DLC Quests, the lift may occasionally stop moving, trapping you in the elevator shaft. If this happens to you, try turning around and hitting the switch on the lift. When this works, you'll see the elevator doors close (on the already closed elevator doors, no less), and the lift will rise, sending you back out to Bailey's Crossroads. (You may have to reload the autosave for it to work.)
 * If you have the Cannibal perk, it is possible to feed on the fallen Chinese troops and Stealth Dragoons if you can get to them before they disappear from the simulation. Eating the Dragoons may cause the game to crash.
 * If the quest You Gotta Shoot 'Em in the Head is currently in progress, and you collect the winterized T-51b power armor from the Outcast Outpost armory, then that quest will be automatically completed. Since the quest is complete, you can not continue or finish it. If you have not picked up any keys from the targets, then the keys may no longer be obtainable. Video here. PC users can reset the quest using the resetquest command, and then speak to Crowley to re-add the quest.
 * The loading screen while leaving the Outcast Outpost lift may freeze, forcing you to restart your console. This normally only happens to people running the game from the hard drive.
 * If you get a requisition holotape but don't use it, then it may remain in your inventory after the simulation.
 * The weapons choice terminal in the General's tent doesn't work properly, because you can actually choose only the "Assault Pack", the "Close Assault Pack" and the "Heavy Pack". When you try to get the "Sniper Pack", a message tells you that "You're using this pack". Furthermore, all the terminal's selectable items seem to have something wrong: for example there are only descriptions for "Heavy Pack" and "Sniper Pack" available and – when you click on "Sniper Pack" to choose it – the description for the "Close Assault Pack" will appear. To choose the Sniper Pack in the Italian version, select change package and choose the Heavy Pack, and you will receive from the Quartermaster the Sniper Pack. This does not occur in the GOTY edition for Xbox 360.
 * If you kill the Quartermaster, his body does not disappear, and can be searched.
 * If you've downloaded The Pitt and received both the distress signals, when you choose to play Operation: Anchorage instead and enter the simulation, all of your radio stations on your Pip-Boy are removed except two: the Vault 101 PA System, which cannot be accessed or heard, and Wernher's distress signal, which can.
 * If you've downloaded The Pitt, the game may spontaneously "reset" your DLC: quest progress, DLC items, and DLC perks are all lost. Be wary of this, and reload your game ASAP.
 * On the way to the Chimera mission, you'll pass four Chinese soldiers on their knees about to be executed. You can preemptively execute the prisoners by shooting them from close to the base before the event triggers (or if they are fast enough, even if the event does trigger), and earn experience for each kill.
 * Alternatively, if you run up to the to-be executed Chinese prisoners, you can talk to them. If you talk to the one all the way to the right (last one to get executed) a blank text box will open, which will disappear in a second. After this, you'll receive double your requisition pack, with both guns and bullets.
 * Downloading Point Lookout may remove the ability to place explosive charges on the cannons in the quest "The Guns of Anchorage, preventing you from finishing Operation: Anchorage.
 * After the completing The Guns of Anchorage quest, Charon and Dogmeat may appear in the command tent and follow the player normally.
 * If you have played through Broken Steel before starting Operation: Anchorage, upon exiting the simulation, certain things may be reset to before Broken Steel. The water outside Project Purity that is supposed to be pure is, once again, radioactive.
 * While completing the quest "Trouble on the Homefront", Sergeant Benjamin Montgomery may appear and become hostile to you.
 * The Chimera tanks can sometimes regain health extremely quickly, making it almost impossible to kill them.
 * Deathclaws sometimes spawn in the Chinese held refinery, but neither of the factions seem to attack them.
 * If you have started the quest Picking Up the Trail but have not finished it by the time you start Operation: Anchorage, then the quest may show up as completed when you report to General Chase after securing the Listening Post. The achievement is unlocked, the XP granted, and the quest shown as completed with the next quest (Finding the Garden of Eden) started, even though you may not have even found Little Lamplight yet.
 * If you go to the Mining Town, encounter the Chinese, but return to the American Camp without attacking them, then there is a chance that the Quartermaster, the soldiers outside the tents, and even the grease monkeys will head to the Mining Town and attack the Chinese, often killing them. After the Chinese are dead, they will all return to the American Camp (with the exception of your strike team) and resume what they were doing before they attacked the Mining Town.
 * Due to the complex landscape of the DLC territories, the Mysterious Stranger falling bug will happen more often than in the basic game, and instead of the help you'll only get the "Mysterious Stranger is unconscious" message.
 * If you are killed in the fight with General Jingwei, the dialogue box with him will sometimes not appear when the game loads back up. You will have to quit your game and reload from the main menu to fix this. Alternatively, you can use the command console to kill General Jingwei and force the end cut scene.
 * If you reverse pickpocket a grenade to any Chinese enemy and kill him, you will lose Karma.
 * If you pickpocket a Chinese soldier you will lose Karma.
 * If you die at the Chimera Depot when you are returned to the American base, you may begin to continuously punch.
 * Audio may randomly vanish if you load a save of the simulation