NCR Ranger Combat Armor

"If I live to earn the Black Armor, I can die a happy woman."

- An NCR Ranger

The NCR Ranger combat armor and the Ranger helmet are a set of armor in Fallout: New Vegas. They are worn by the New California Republic's Veteran Rangers.

Background
NCR Ranger combat armor and helmet is the outfit featured on the main loading screen and box-art. The distinctive black ranger combat armor consists of the Desert Rangers' traditional duster worn with pre-War LAPD riot armor and a set of rodeo jeans, as seen in some other Ranger Outfits. The helmet that accompanies it is black pre-War military issue, complete with a gas mask and built-in low-light optics.

It is often referred to as the Black Armor and is considered to be one of the most valuable and awe-inspiring items in the entire Republic.

This armour can be found throughout the game in NCR occupied areas (e.g. Camp Golf, Ranger Station Bravo, etc) or if you become hated by the NCR and Rangers will come after you..

Ways to obtain

 * Reverse pickpocket an NCR Ranger Veteran. This is done by sneaking and placing an armour of higher DT than this (21+) into the Ranger's inventory, as long as it isn't an opposing faction. That armour will then be worn by the Ranger and his armour will then appear in his inventory for you to take.


 * During the quest, You'll know It When It Happens, it is possible to get the armor without killing a veteran or losing any armor. Search the vertibird and discover the bomb planted there. Report back to Ranger Grant while the speech is happening and he will tell other rangers to get President Kimball back to the vertibird. The sniper will then fire and kill an NCR Ranger Veteran, and the president.


 * Kill a Ranger Veteran - This method can be very tricky if you are a lower level or lack the ability to shoot people in the face. It is recommended to have a high sneak skill or use a stealth boy to and be [HIDDEN] when you assassinate him so the area doesn't turn hostile towards you. A sneak attack critical can kill a Ranger in one if he is sleeping, which makes Camp Golf an excellent place to obtain this armour.


 * Fight the NCR. If you are hated by the NCR and do not disguise yourself then 3 Rangers will come after you telling you to clean up your act and improve NCR rep. If you ignore this 3 times they will occasionally come after you and attack you (about once a week). If you kill all 3 Rangers one will be carrying the combat armour, and then it is as simple as looting a corpse.


 * if you have the mister sandman perk then at camp golf when the veteran rangers sleep in the house resort they can be killed for and infinite amount of the armour as they respawn in about 1 - 3 days

Bugs

 * There is a clipping problem while wearing the armor with most rifles. While the weapon is holstered, it will appear to partially be in the trench coat. Sniper rifles (Except the Anti-Material Rifle), marksman rifles, and assault carbines do not suffer this problem, although holstering while crouched will still cause clipping issues, simply standing up while holstering will fix this.(The clipping issue occurs due to pistol-grip rifles holstering differently to stock-grip rifles, pistol-grips holster to armor while stock-grip ones holster to the player's body, causing the clipping). Same can go for the Ranger helmet; hair will partially be seen in the back depending on the hairstyle and shape of your character's head.


 * The Ranger Helmet sometimes will not be able to be repaired by any of the NPCs on the map and the only way to repair it is by finding another one and repairing it by yourself.

Appearances
The NCR Ranger combat armor appears in Fallout: New Vegas.

Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgSJ7r3iN28&hd=1