Still in the Dark

Still in the Dark is a side quest in Fallout: New Vegas.

Quick Walkthrough

 * Locate the Brotherhood of Steel in Hidden Valley Bunker
 * Speak with Paladin Ramos
 * Speak with Elder McNamara
 * Deal with the NCR Ranger
 * Speak with Elder McNamara
 * Retrieve 3 Holotapes from fallen Brotherhood paladins
 * Return to Elder McNamara, and give him the 3 holodisks
 * Meet with 3 Brotherhood scouts and obtain their reports
 * Give Elder McNamara the 3 scout field reports
 * Retrieve the parts for the air filtration system
 * Return to Hidden Valley and give parts to Lorenzo

Detailed Walkthrough
Still in the Dark is obtained at the Brotherhood of Steel compound at the western Hidden Valley bunker. To gain access to the interior of the bunker, the Courier needs to either have a Lockpick skill of 100 (Very Hard) or perform certain other actions to be able to interact with the intercom, such as:
 * Finding the holotapes on the dead BoS paladins.
 * Getting far enough in any faction's storyline to be asked to find the Brotherhood of Steel.
 * Having Veronica as a companion.
 * After getting two playbacks from ED-E, eventually Senior Knight Lorenzo manages to hack in to ED-E's communication systems, asking you to find a Brotherhood patrol so they can have a look at ED-E's databanks.

If using the password you will be greeted by a BoS squad and required to relinquish your entire inventory. A short scene follows in which you are questioned by Senior Paladin Ramos about the password itself. Afterward you are led to Elder McNamara and assigned your first quest. Note: Once you've regained your gear, all BoS within the bunker will become hostile if you (or your companions) attempt to enter dressed as NCR personnel. Removing the outfit may or may not stop hostility (PC confirmed to stop).


 * Note: You may not receive all of your gear when you check the box the first time. If this is the case, simply double check the box.


 * Note: If entry is gained with Veronica as a companion, you will skip forward in the quest line. Your gear is not confiscated, the exploding collar is not placed on you, and the first quest (Below: NCR ranger) is skipped.

The Elder will explain the secretive nature of the location and the need to test you. You are fitted with an explosive collar, which will detonate if you pass beyond a certain range of the area.


 * Your first task is to remove Ranger Dobson who has set up shop in a nearby bunker. Success is rewarded with removal of the collar, free movement about the BoS bunker, and the next quest.
 * The player can convince him to leave by passing a Speech check (50).
 * The player can also ask about his radio, wait until daylight when he leaves the bunker, select his radio and choose the option to smash it. (Smashing the radio with him in the room will make turn hostile. If The player has a companion with them, they can simply break the radio with the ranger still in the room and let the companion kill him; this will result in negative karma and a reduction of your reputation with the NCR. (Confirmed: PS3)) Note that if you exhaust all dialog options, you find out that the NCR does not know where the ranger is. After finding this out, killing the ranger will not impact your reputation with the NCR.
 * You can also rig the radio to explode. When he returns, he will go fiddle with the radio and meet a quick death. You do not lose karma or NCR fame if you choose this option as long as you remain hidden when the ranger uses the radio. If the ranger is in the room he will notice what you did and will confront you. Passing a Speech check (40) will lead to the ranger blowing himself up the next time he uses the radio.
 * The player can also reveal the location of the Brotherhood of Steel to the NCR Ranger. The Ranger will then remove the collar from the Courier, but will be ambushed by Brotherhood of Steel Paladins. If the player manages to save the ranger, they are rewarded with NCR Fame, but the quest will be failed.
 * The final option is to kill him.


 * The second task is to locate several patrols that have gone missing. The paladins must be brought back, or if found dead, their mission holotapes returned.

The moment you exit the Elder's chamber, you are confronted by Head Paladin Hardin who tells you that he believes the Elder's policy of keeping them isolated from the outside world will be their doom, and wants you to help him oust Elder McNamara. He asks you to find out more about what leads to an Elder being replaced and tells you to update him on all the quests the Elder gives you. These are all marked as optional parts of the same quest.

REPCONN Headquarters

 * Note: If you wish to loot the BoS power armor, it is suggested to bring Veronica since she's the only companion capable of carrying Brotherhood armor.

Once finished with the tour, enter the door to the left in the Planetarium and up the stairs to get the keycard. Go back to the first room and through the locked door using the card. Find the door to the second floor and take the first door on the left. Hack the terminal (Very Easy), beside a Nikola Tesla and You, and select the first option which gives you unlimited access to the second floor. Find the door heading to the third floor and enter. A waiting security bot will question you. If you cannot pass a Luck check (Luck 7) or an Intelligence check (Intelligence <4), it will tell you that you must leave in 30 seconds. Search the Paladin near the rubble and leave (there is also a 3rd Level Security Pass located on a corpse). Notable Loot: On the second floor there is a room that requires 75 Lockpick or you can find a keycard on the top floor, if you have this it's recommended to open this door. After opening the door look around for a giant hole in the floor, there will be a red light coming from a Protectron case. Right outside the Protectron case will be a Q-35 Matter Modulator which is a unique Plasma Rifle.

Nellis Air Force Base
The location of the paladin can change from game to game because of the artillery the boomers fire at you when you approach Nellis. Here is one probable location: After you get the boomers to stop bombing you, stand at the entrance to Nellis. Head S-SW up the hill and pass between the car and road barricade. You should see a bombed house directly in front of you. Continue S-SW down the road to the house next door. There is a backyard behind that house bordered by a wall with ornamental decorations. In the backyard, there is a crater with a car in it. The paladin should be in or nearby that crater.

To pass the bomber, don't do as the note says. Just run left toward the fence staying as close as possible to the rocks. Then go along by the fence until you got the gate.


 * Another possibility is the indicator points you to the direction where the Paladin should lay, but there's no one there, aim down and scan the ground near you where the indicator tells you to go, you might get the message 'Search Brotherhood of Steel Paladin'. The bombing might've glitched the body into the ground and, although you see nothing, the body and the holotape are just below the ground's texture.

Black Mountain
After exiting the Hidden Valley Bunker, look on your compass and aim directly in between Northeast and East follow this to a hole in the fence and follow the trail to just south of Black Mountain. You can also get into the cage from Black Mountain if you have a Lockpick of at least 75. The gate is just behind the radio station. You will encounter Moe and possibly 5-6 additional centaurs in and around an irradiated crater (+1-11 Rad/sec). The paladin is at the bottom of the crater.

Return to the BoS bunker and hand over the tapes to Elder McNamara, or talk to Head Paladin Hardin who will accept the holotapes and use them as evidence to oust McNamara.

Ousting McNamara
If you choose to help Head Paladin Hardin, you may not be able to oust McNamara until reading the causes of previous dismissals of Elders and the BoS cornerstone, The Chain That Binds. This can be done only after you resolve the problem with a computer virus in the bunker's datastore. Speak with Scribe Ibsen and after resolving the problem and consulting the database, talk to Paladin Ramos. After talking to Ramos about clearance for consulting more advanced topics, return to the database and read about 'The Chain That Binds'. Then return with your findings to Hardin. After that, give the holotapes to McNamara then go back and talk to Hardin, and after talking to him he will tell you to come back in a couple days.

This will effectively conclude the quest, eliminating the need for further steps. Hardin will give you the key to the Brotherhood of Steel safehouse.

You can join the BoS much sooner and use this as a shortcut to Power Armor training - just talk to Hardin after he steps up as Elder and complete the quest Tend to Your Business.

After joining the BoS, Hardin addresses the courier as "brother" not outsider.

Scouts
After you give McNamara the holotapes, he will ask you to find 3 scouts.

Head to each scout and start a conversation; the first option should mention "Are the bears still hunting?". Choose this and you will receive the scouts' reports. Collect all three and give them to McNamara.

The first scout is located on the northeast end of the NCR Correctional Facility, relatively close to the facility and relatively low to the ground. He is just outside the fence bordering the facility. When you ask him if the bears are still hunting, he will report to you that he's been watching the NCRCF for a while now, and is confused on how the NCR has let the Powder Gangers remain loose and in control of the jail for this extended length of time without any attempt of retaking the prison.

The second scout is on the far northeast side of Nipton, quite far off and very high up. You should see the water tower in Nipton far off ahead on the right side of the the town of Nipton, if you are at the right place. Head north by northeast from the water tower and scale the mountain (between and a little north of the Coyote Den and the Hidden Supply Cave), and remember that it is not close to the town, not like the scout over at the NCR facility. When inquired about the hunting bears, he will give his report on the brutal attack on the town of Nipton by Caesar's Legion, and the fact that it happened so deep in NCR territory.

The third scout is easier to find than the second; he is located to the southwest end of the NCR Camp Forlorn Hope. He is up on a rock overlooking the valley on the southern side of the camp, in plain view of the Ranger tower on the far south side of the camp. The rock which the scout is on is not adjacent to the rocks surrounding the camp; there is a large gap in between the rock that the scout is on, and the Ranger tower on the southern side of the camp. The rock is approximately the same elevation as the ranger tower, although slightly higher in elevation. You cannot see him from the Ranger tower; you have to go up the rock to find him. His report is on the town of Nelson, and the NCR defeat there.

NOTE: If you are enemies with the NCR, there is a walkthrough for Camp Forlorn Hope.

Vault 22

 * Note: It is highly recommended you fix the elevator in this vault as it will make traveling much easier (requires 50 repair). (PC players with the ability to use the command line interface can increase their repair ability to fix the elevator if desired, however, you cannot use the "unlock" command as the elevator will still need to be repaired to gain access)
 * Note: Vault 22 is also involved in the side quests There Stands the Grass, which can be obtained at Camp McCarran by speaking to Dr. Thomas Hildern, and Bleed Me Dry, which can be obtained by speaking to Red Lucy. It is recommended to trigger those before entering, in order to save time.

The 6 HEPA 20 Cartridge Filters are in a Locker on the 2nd Level - Oxygen Recycling, in the same area where you rescue Keely in the side quest There Stands the Grass. The filters are only accessible via the caves because debris blocks the doorway to the room they are located in.

Firstly, navigate towards the 4th Floor (Common Areas). Head into the large area and drop down to the level below. From here, go through the door labeled "Quarters." An average lock is on this door, but can be bypassed by using the terminal in the Overseer's Office in the 4th Floor. Be wary of the corridor, as there are several Spore Carrier Savages. A Vault 22 Cave Door Keycard is in the first room on the left (the one with a baby carriage and crib) with a couple spore carrier savages (PC confirmed -- There´s a child spore too on the opposite side of the door, on the left side). Look on the shelves to the right of the room. The Vault 22 Cave Door Keycard is on the third shelf from the bottom.

When you have obtained the keycard, head back up to 3rd Level - Food Production and enter the room with a terminal and the cave door (the door cannot be lockpicked and requires the keycard). Use the terminal on the left to unlock the door. (make sure you head straight up to the 3rd level and not wonder off the quest or you might trigger a possible bug that will make the quest stuck for you)

Once you enter the cave, take your first right and head up that path. You will eventually come to a wooden door labeled Oxygen Recycling; enter this door. You will find 6 HEPA 20 Cartridge Filters in a locker here.

Finally, go back into the cave and retrace your steps to go back to the first level "Entrance Hall", and proceed to the vault exit.

It is advised that you do not use the command console to spawn the required six HEPA 20 Cartridge Filters as this can cause the mission to glitch, rendering the quest unable to be completed. Attempting to pick up the original six filters in the locker after spawning them via the command console will not fix the problem, nor will speaking to the scribe that assigned you the mission. Instead, a dialog option will come up telling the player that not all of the required parts have been found. You can, however, spawn these filters into your companion's inventory and take them by trading equipment.

If you insist on using the console commands, the best option is to enable "tcl" and simply pass through the wall, instead of going the long way around, into the room with the locker.

Vault 3
Upon entering the vault via the control panel next to the door labeled "Vault 3 Recreation center", in the south Vegas ruins, you will encounter a Fiend who asks your business inside the vault: If you choose to free the prisoners, one of them will give you the password to the Overseer's Quarters.
 * Note: It is suggested that you initiate the Aba Daba Honeymoon quest and the unmarked Bounty Killer quest (see Colonel Hsu at Camp McCarran regarding Motor-Runner) prior to entering Vault 3 so that you can clear all Vault 3 related quests at the same time.
 * Note: There can be some confusion regarding "Anders" in regards to Vault 3. The Great Khan drug runner Anders that is crucified by the Legion outside of Cottonwood Cove during the Aba Daba Honeymoon quest (if you chose to speak to Diane) is not the same person as the NCR Ranger Bryce Anders that is the subject of the search with the Bounty Killer quest and is holed up injured in Vault 3. Both quest dialogues refer to simply "Anders" but are referencing different people.
 * Note: The Vault 3 maintenance key can be obtained from Daniel in the Living Quarters. The maintenance key may also be obtained from Ranger Bryce Anders if the Bounty Killer quest has been activated.
 * If you have been given a package to deliver to Motor-Runner by Diane as part of the Aba Daba Honeymoon quest and are wearing a Great Khan outfit the Fiend will assume you are there to deliver the next shipment of drugs from the Khans. After a brief exchange the Vault's inhabitants will become friendly and you will be allowed to pass.
 * If you can pass the Speech check (64), she will be persuaded that you are a Great Khan selling the Fiends' chems. Just follow the main halls and you will end up in the Motor-Runner's room. The Reverse Pulse Cleaner will be in a locker in the same room as Motor-Runner and will not be considered "stolen" if you take it.
 * If you cannot pass the speech check, then the Fiends in the vault will turn hostile. Head to the southern part of the map and look for the door to the Living Quarters. Head left and (after dodging some traps) enter the door titled Recreation Area. After speaking with the ranger either convince him to go help you kill the fiend leader or just kill him for the maintenance room key.

NOTE: If you've already beat Vault 3, or if you simply can't find it, it is in a locker on the left wall of the throne room of Motor-Runner in the Maintenance Wing. Directions: Fast travel to Vault 3, enter Vault 3, turn left, follow the hall down the stairs, take a right, follow to the end, take another right, follow to the end and down the stairs, congratulations you are at the maintenance wing. Go to the far last room where Motor-Runner resides, which is a dead end in the maintenance wing, and the Reverse Pulse Cleaner is in the first of the two lockers on the left.

FASTER WAY: Maintenance wing is far easier to get to. After entering the vault turn right. Follow hallway left and to the end. Turn right again and down the stairs.

Vault 11
You will find the Differential Pressure Controller in a Locker under water in the flooded section of the Lower Level. go towards the overseers office but before you do, take the turn towards the utility room and head down the stairs into the flooded hallway, keep going and take the first room on your right and its in the locker on the right hand side of the room. See the quest Democracy Inaction for a detailed guide.

Here's a quick run down: When you enter the vault open the first door. - Take the first door to your right. - Go right again down the stairs - Walk past the 2 closed doors and go down the stairs - Go straight and follow the stairs downwards into the living quarters. - Follow the stairs down until you get in the big room with 3 routes. - Take the door with ADMIN written on top - At the end of the hall take a right to the Overseer's office - Take the door to the lower levels follow the steps down - Before you enter the Overseers office take a right - Until there is a sign with UTILITY take a right again and follow the it to the end of the hall ignoring the 2 doors. - this is the flooded area, yet it is not completely flooded so you can breath easily by swimming to the top. - However you do take radiation ticks. - Swim down the stairs, take a left and take the first room on your right. In this room you will find the Differential Pressure Controller in a locker to the right of the entrance.

Once you have all three items return to Hidden Valley and tell Lorenzo. You will receive 1000XP and a Brotherhood Safehouse Key in return. Upon re-entering the bunker you will have access to a special footlocker by the entrance that re-stocks energy weapon ammo every time you re-enter the room. (But first a brotherhood scribe will speak to you and tell you, which causes the box to appear there).

Bugs

 * If you give the holotapes to the elder and continue his quest line, then give the tapes to Hardin, you may effectively lock both quest lines. The effect will be that Hardin will say he'll be busy a few days (taking down the elder), and the elder will say he must prepare his defense.  Neither will ever change from this state, no matter how long you wait. To fix this on PC, enter the command prompt (~), then enter the commands:, , . Or if you didn't enter with Victoria's help: , , , ,
 * Then either immediately give the tapes to Hardin and tell him about the second part of the chain, at which point the quest should complete, or never give him the tapes and finish the elder's quest line.


 * After being sent to deal with the NCR ranger you may not be able to move.
 * After the cutscene when you encounter the brotherhood finishes, if you have any followers, they might disappear. If you look at your local map, it will show the followers in the top right corner, but you can't get to them. To fix this, simply go into Vault 22 and take the elevator to level 2 or 3 and they should appear in front of you. Make sure to tell them to follow you because they are in waiting mode.
 * Helping Hardin to take over the chapter and repairing the filtration system are intended to be mutually exclusive quests. However as long as you have spoken to Lorenzo about the filtration system before Hardin takes over you can still turn in the parts to him and he will direct you to the elder, but McNamara will no longer have the completion dialog. You must pick one or the other, with Hardin's route being easier but resulting in less faction rep (the average player ending up at "accepted") and McNamara's being harder but leaving the average player at "liked."  Note also that the quests following their transitions are completely different. This route generates more immediate XP, but leaves the two NPCs in an error state.  They will, for the rest of the game, both only tell the player to come back later.  This prevents you from continuing on to the next part in the chain.
 * Upon completion of Still in the Dark, if started with Veronica, whomever you choose to be Elder may be stuck and you will not be able to start the other quests. Also, Veronica will randomly stop following you, appearing only when you are in combat, and randomly talk to you.  Afterward she will stay wherever she last spoke to you until you are in combat again.
 * If, in the course of completing the quest ED-E My Love, Lorenzo has asked to look at ED-E, he will not accept the filtration system parts when you have ED-E with you. Simply fire ED-E, talk to Lorenzo, and rehire ED-E.
 * The scout near the NCR Correctional Facility might say his second line when the subtitles show the first line. From there on he will repeat the second line again when it shows up in the subtitles, then finish the rest of the conversation completely normal. Note: This is after you tell the scout the pass phrase, and that the Elder had sent you.
 * After dealing with the NCR ranger and returning to McNamara, he could possibly wander into the wall with the first array of turrets, and freeze there. Solution: Enter the console, select Elder McNamara with your mouse or type, then , then . Exit the console and he will proceed to his chair in the command room. Note: If you exit the console after entering "kill" but before entering "resurrect," Elder McNamara will die and you will fail the quest.
 * Sometimes the quest will become impossible to complete due to a glitch that causes all brotherhood npcs to become hostile to you.-note: Most likely due to closing the intial bunker door the brotherhood opens for you when first meeting them. The action for closing the bunker door is highlighted in red, denoting that it is an immorale action.
 * When at the part of the quest to collect the reports once you have all 3 and return to the bunker the game will freeze (black screen) when trying to enter, to get around this if you have companions with you ask them to wait whilst you are outside the bunker, then enter and you will be able to continue, get you next mission then on leaving the bunker just ask your companions to follow you.
 * After ousting McNamara while still in the quest "I Could Make You Care" certain dialog with Veronica will put you in an endless cycle of talking without any way getting out of it other than loading a save.
 * Even if you partition all three viruses when you talk to Scribe Ibsen he will still tell you to look isolate the virus.
 * On completion of the quest, the door back to the Hidden Valley Bunker may become locked, leaving you trapped in the bunker. The door cannot be opened without a key, but a key can be pickpocketed from various members of the Brotherhood within the bunker.
 * When taking the optional mission for finding the Laser Pistol you won't be able to find the person who's lost it. Even if you know where the gun is you won't be able to discover it nor pick it up for that matter. The person who's lost it won't even be in the bunker, he's nowhere to be located
 * If you are doing the quest ED-E My Love and you have been asked to talk to Lorenzo giving him ED-E will make him disappear, leaving you unable to complete Still in the Dark.
 * Sometimes after completing 'Fixing the air filtration system' saves after completion will not load, When continuing straight from menu it will freeze in the loading screen, or if loading from in game it will load then a pop up will come up saying that save relies on downloadable content and it will crash back to the main menu. You will have to start again from a previous save.
 * The Brotherhood of Steel will suddenly become hostile upon dealing with the NCR Ranger.
 * If you talked to Senior Knight Lorenzo about the air filtration before having all the required equipment, he will not accept them when you have them all when you try to talk to him again.

Behind the scenes
"Still in the Dark" is a 1950 blues song by Big Joe Turner.

Dealing with the NCR Ranger
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Obtaining the Holotapes
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Scout Reports
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Fixing the Air Filtration System
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