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. The Raiders have barricaded most of the streets leading to the ruins with haste-make structures and derelict vehicles. 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 connecting them. 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.

Bethesda Offices West
Mostly reception and office space, Bethesda Offices West is nevertheless home to a considerable number of Raiders. The cramped confines of the building render most hard-hitting long-range weapons ineffective as they become unwieldy when turning corners and investigating small rooms. Raiders are generally well-armed and -armored, making the Chinese Assault Rifle, 10mm SMG, or Scoped .44 Magnum ideal choices for assault weapons. Players with a high Small Guns skill and criticals-enhancing perks may choose to use either a silenced or standard 10mm Pistol.

Players should also keep a keen eye for traps. At least three shotgun traps as well as two grenade cluster traps are located in this building. Players with sufficient Repair skill can disarm and take the weapons (though the two clusters are in a difficult to reach space between floors). All of these traps can be seen in the same room upstairs. Also as an IMPORTANT note, the three shotgun traps are also on the same trap, and are activated by the same pressure plate. The room has a hole in the floor, so before dashing right in, look to the left and see what might have happened, should you fail to see the trap. You can also listen for the radio, as a radio plays in here. The channel is GNR.

Notable loot
On the Bottom Floor, on the big curved desk in the main lobby there is a Big Book of Science.
 * On the Bottom Floor, a Stealth Boy is hidden in a crate on its side next to a water fountain. In a small room on the east side, next to the stairs that lead upstairs.
 * On the Middle Floor, there are two Pre-War Books on top of some Filing Cabinets. Look for a burning barrel just up a set of stairs.
 * On the Top Floor at the bottom of a wooden crate on a desk under some other stuff there is a Dean's Electronics.
 * On the Top Floor next to the bed, hidden under some crates is a Mini Nuke.
 * On the Top Floor, in the Northeast Corner on some shelves is a Stealth Boy.

Bethesda Offices East
Much of the East building is offices, with more cramped fighting conditions. Extensive damage to the building also includes large gaps and holes in the floor, making fighting on the upper floor treacherous in places. The apparent leader of the Bethesda Raiders is here, armed with a flamethrower and carrying a Big Guns skill book in their inventory.

Notable loot
couple rooms in, on a desk with two missiles.
 * The Bobblehead - Lockpick is located in Bethesda Offices East on a desk next to the Turret Control System Computer on the second level right next to painting that opens up to a average lock.
 * A Chinese Army: Spec. Ops. book on the second floor - after entering from the second floor walkway from Bethesda West, a
 * You can find a Mini Nuke near the exit to the catwalk, to the north between the two filing cabinets (which can't be opened), on a rubble pile that exposes the sky.
 * U.S. Army: 30 Handy Flamethrower Recipes book held by the flamethrower raider. The raider who holds this book respawns every 73 hours, so you can retrieve this book an limitless number of times. Although, they will not return if enslaved with the Mesmetron, as is the case with many other respawning characters.

Buildings

 * Bethesda Offices West
 * Bethesda Offices East
 * Bethesda Underworks
 * Raid Shack

Bugs

 * 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)
 * 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)