Vault 22

Vault 22 is a Vault-Tec Vault constructed before the start of the Great War in 2077 in what became the Mojave Wasteland. The Vault door is opened, with various kinds of plants around the exterior and creatures such as giant mantises can be seen outside. It is located, and can be approached from, south-south-west of the Griffin Wares Sacked Caravan, east of Jacobstown and west from The Thorn. The entrance is at the bottom of the cliff.

Background
Vault 22 was part of an agricultural experiment that was itself part of the larger Vault Experiment and involved the growing of genetically altered spores which eventually led to the mutation of the inhabitants of the Vault as well as the growth of dense vegetation. The mutagen was distributed through the Vault's ventilation system. There were reports of noises in the vents, which turned out to be praying mantises that had mutated over time into their giant forms.

Leaving the Vault
At some stage, likely after the mutagen began to infect other Vault dwellers, a group of around 118 Vault 22 dwellers evacuated the vault and made their way to Zion on an expedition to explore the region as a possible area to settle. Many of these Vault dwellers had already been infected by the mutagen which killed off most of Vault 22, leaving many of these Vault dwellers suffering similar symptoms, most notably, according to Randall Clark's terminal entries, the racking cough. Several of them met their ends at the hands of the experimental mutagen, which eventually turned them into spore carriers; those that survived were systematically wiped out by Randall Clark due to their allegedly cannibalistic ways - many terminal entries by Clark claim that the Vault dwellers captured, murdered and then ate the flesh of a number of survivors residing in Zion. Whether this cannibalism is actual fact or not is impossible to determine, as the terminal entries are only one side of the story.

After 11 months living in Zion, the remaining 34 Vault 22 dwellers elected J. Hendricks to be the Overseer. His first order as Overseer was to move out of Zion Canyon. On February 2096, they all moved south-east out of Zion. What happened to the survivors is unknown.

A single member of the expedition left the group as they evacuated Zion, eventually being caught in one of Randall Clark's many traps. Clark found and almost finished the injured Vault dweller off, only to find himself feeling sorry for her. He rescued and nursed the survivor, calling herself Sylvie, back to health. They eventually procreated sometime within the next 3 years, and Sylvie carried Clark's child. Sadly, however, Sylvie and the unborn child died during childbirth.

Layout
The entrance of this vault is quite unusual. It is advertised with a sign that reads "Welcome to Vault 22" covered by "stay out! The plants kill!". The vault door leads directly outside, unlike most that have a natural rock formation or tunnel enclosing the entrance.

Once inside the Vault, the Courier will come to a door that leads to a room with an elevator and stairs. From here on out, the player will encounter spore carriers, spore plants, and giant mantises throughout the Vault. The vault is split into five levels, the different floors can be accessed by repairing the main elevator within the Vault (requires Repair skill of 50) or accessed by perpendicular staircases.

1st floor - Main Entrance
Immediately upon entering the vault, turn to the left to find a usable mattress, a duffle bag with some supplies, and one of Keely's terminals with entries 1 and 2. Next to the mattress hidden between two books is a Programmer's Digest.

2nd floor - Oxygen Recycling
From the entrance of the lab take a right and continue to the room directly across the hall to find one of Keely's terminals with entries 3, 4, and 5 in the series.

3rd floor - Food Production
The key card to access the cave tunnels on level 2 is located in the Common Quarters (the floor below). Once inside, an average locked door must be opened on the lower level in the northwestern corner of the room or you can go to the overseer's office, go onto the terminal and disengage the lock. Once inside, the first room on the left, on a shelving unit will have the 'Vault 22 Cave Door Keycard'. Note that the keycard does not open the cave door on level 3 directly, it instructs the terminal next to the cave door to unlock the door.

From the elevator, go down to the hallway and into the first room on the right to find one of Keely's terminals with entries 6 and 7 in the series.

For the quest Bleed Me Dry, the Pile of giant mantis egg(s) will spawn in the caverns down a side tunnel guarded by a giant mantis female and several giant mantis nymphs.

4th floor - Common Areas
From the entrance to the Commons, take a right over the little bridge and straight back to the billiard room for one of Keely's terminals with entries 8 and 9 in the series. The keycard that unlocks the door to the tunnels on the Food production level is found in the lower level of the Common Areas in the Quarters section on a shelf in the first room to the left. If the keycard cannot be found, check the floor near the shelf as it may have somehow fallen off. It is a darkish red/orange color. The stair between this level and the fifth level is blocked by debris. The tunnels on the second level or the elevator can be used to bypass it.

5th floor - Pest Control
This floor is filled with deadly "Savage" spore carriers. The large cavern contains many giant mantises and spore plants. Five mantis ootheca and Keely are located here.

Notable loot

 * AER14 prototype - on the fifth floor; Pest Control, enter the stairway door to the Common Areas directly to your right which has a very easy lock. The AER14 is laying on the ground next to a scorched skeleton with some energy cells.
 * Tales of a Junktown Jerky Vendor - located on the 5th level "Vault 22 - Pest Control". If you take elevator to "Pest Control", then turn left and go up the stair to a large room with the door that leads to the caves Food Production, turn left and it is on the long table with bubbling vials or on floor in front of the long table.
 * A cave fungus on the floor in the bar on the 4th floor (Common Areas level).
 * 6 HEPA 20 cartridge filters, used for Still in the Dark, located in a blocked-off section of 2nd level "Oxygen Recycling" which can only be accessed via the cave system surrounding the vault (the room and its cave entrance are visible through a window on the main part of the 2nd level). There are entrances to these caves on the 5th level "Pest Control", and on the 3rd level "Food Production". The terminal on the 3rd level will not open the door to the caves without the Cave Access keycard, which is found on 4th level "Common Area", downstairs on a shelf in the bedroom with the baby carriage. To locate the HEPA filters, go to the third floor. Open the metal door to the cave, then turn right at the fork. Follow the cave to find another wooden door labeled "Oxygen Recycling". The HEPA filters are located in a locker in the upper right corner of the room. This is the only locker which is not empty.
 * A food additive meant for Cpl. William Farber in Camp McCarran. When exiting the elevator on the 3rd Floor-Food Production level, go forward through the vegetation and turn left down a hallway, enter the door on the left. This room has a long railed off area of undeveloped Maize. Turn right (Northwest) and walk to the far end of the room where there is a small office. There are spores growing around the desk. The food additive is sitting on the corner of the desk, but can be knocked off onto the floor by a spore carrier.
 * Numerous Vault 22 jumpsuits - are located on 4th floor-common area.

Appearances
Vault 22 appears only in Fallout: New Vegas.

Behind the scenes
Vault 22 was designed by Jesse Farrell.

Bugs
If you have a companion while looking for the AER14 Protoype,The companion might pick the gun up (to get the gun from a companion just go into their inventory).
 * The key card from quarters (needed to enter the cave) can, on rare occasions, never appear and cannot be found.
 * With the PS3 system update 3.60, the "trigger" event to download the data from the terminal on Level 5 doesn't happen, preventing continuation of the storyline.
 * Take caution if you are to take ED-E on to the fifth floor and trigger the flames. Make sure ED-E is in a room where it is protected from the flames as it can be "killed" even if you are not in Hardcore mode and never register as being dead (in fact you will still see a marker indicating that he is at Vault 22) thus robbing you of having a second follower for the rest of the game. If you don't want to have to worry about this, just have him wait at the entrance or at your Lucky 38 suite.
 * When inside the Vault, the door has another texture problem. You can still see the 92 but it also shows a 101 and an overwrite sign from the doors (you need to use the console to see this).
 * Many times while in Vault 22 your companions will sense enemies nearby, when in fact they are on another level of the Vault. This makes them run off to the corners of rooms, stairwells, etc. in search of their foe(s).
 * If entering the Vault for the HEPA 20 cartridge filters and obtaining them after first talking to Keely in the cave she may not appear in her lab and the door to exit the Vault will need her key to unlock it. Exiting the game and restarting from that point seems to fix this problem, however if the problem still persists she may be found stuck in a wall in Oxygen Recycling (indentified by a non-hostile line on your radar). Use explosives on the wall where she is trapped; if she is damaged she will turn hostile and spawn again in the corridor. If you want to persue the quest as usual, go to a different floor and wait and hour. When you return to Oxygen Recycling she will be found non-hostile in her correct place so the quest can be finished. To avoid this bug entirely, get the cartridges before you speak to her for the first time.
 * Sometimes, the giant mantises outside the Vault do not spawn. They are likely to spawn when you exit, though, so be prepared for five or so mantises on top of you if this happens.
 * Leaving companions outside of Vault 22 and then entering the Vault will cause a glitch where your companions disappear. They are noted on your world map as being at Vault 22, but they are not there.
 * If you complete the Quest There Stands the Grass before unlocking the door that leads to where Keely is and then rescue her, she will still attempt to have you do her portion of the quest which includes her locking the front door. Since you've already dealt with the data, you cannot do anything else for her after activating the gas on the 5th floor and remain locked in. (To get the code to unlock the doors, either pickpocket, or kill Keely after being asked to activate the gas. Once you have the password, use the terminal in the same room Keely is in to unlock doors.)  Should you return to Williams, and did not kill Keely to get the password, she'll pay you, and you will also gain XP for saving Keely as well.
 * ED-E appears upon entering level five via the elevator even though he is told to wait elsewhere, even if told to wait outside outside of Vault 22.
 * Saving while inside Vault 22 can sometimes cause data save corruption.