Bethesda Ruins

The Bethesda Ruins are the ruins of a Maryland city located north-west of Washington, D.C.. The closest settlement to the town is Megaton.

History
Prior to the Great War of 2077, Bethesda is a major city with its own suburbs. A major corporation, the Chryslus, is headquartered here. Metro and City Liner service this city. North of the city, there is a monorail train. As the west-east highway ends in the city, another highway traveling north passes through the city. The city has a local park, named after the largest employer in this city, where baseball is played.

In the years since the war, a gang of Raiders has occupied the streets and buildings of the city, while a small gathering of Ghouls has taken root in the Metro Station.

Exterior
To the north is a small bombed out building which holds a Raider with a Sniper Rifle and ammo boxes with a large amount of .308 Caliber Rounds. There are also several Raiders with Hunting Rifles: one is in a destroyed bus, and another is behind the north-eastern building. There are also some mines in a small, grassy area to the south, next to Bethesda Offices East.

In between the two office buildings is a walkway with more .308 rounds. Further west is the metro entrance to Bethesda Underworks. Going even further west is the Raid Shack.

Interior
Inside of the office buildings are several well-equipped Raiders. Several use Flamers, while the bulk of the remainder use assault rifles or Hunting Rifle depending upon player level. The[Raiders have barricaded most of the streets leading to the ruins with haste-make structures and derelict vehicles. While this may force a player bent on attacking the Ruins into unfavorable positions at times, methodical attackers can turn the barricades to their own advantage, drawing the Raiders out to attack in ones or twos, rather than attempting to attack a fortified position. These "fighting positions" also house a few ammunition and supply boxes.

Bethesda Offices West
For more information, see Bethesda Offices West

Bethesda Offices East
For more information, see Bethesda Offices East.

Locations
These places are located in the Bethesda Ruins:
 * Bethesda Offices West
 * Bethesda Offices East
 * Bethesda Underworks
 * Chryslus Building
 * Raid Shack (in the suburbs)
 * Red Rocket Gas Station
 * West of the Offices
 * East of the north-south highway in a roundabout

Bugs

 * You may encounter two Raiders armed with a Lead Pipe that can't be killed. The only way to escape is let your companion fight them so you can run away and fast travel, or go to a previous save. This bug has only been reported on the Xbox 360 version of the game.
 * In Bethesda Offices East, if the player attacks Unarmed or with a melee weapon through V.A.T.S. while above the enemy on the ramp to the second level, they may become stuck in the ground and unable to move upon exiting V.A.T.S..
 * As soon as you enter Bethesda Underworks and the Ghouls run to attack you, put on the Ghoul Mask and all of them will run past you through the entrance outside. They return shortly though.
 * All the ghouls in the Underworks may spawn right outside of the tunnel entrance, remaining unactive unless the player engages them. (Xbox 360)
 * If you put your marker on the Bethesda Ruins, it will lead you Southeast of the Bethesda Ruins, instead of going there directly. (Xbox 360, PC, PS3)

Exploits

 * The Raider wielding the Flamer, (in the East Offices), has the Big Guns skill book in his/her inventory. When they respawn in three days, the book is in his/her inventory again. You can repeat this to get Big Guns to 100% without ever putting anything into it.(It can also be a good source of xp for those that came straight after lvl 4)