“I guess this is it. Not much air left now. Minutes, maybe. And this is what I have to show for it. I guess the joke's (gasps air) on me. Probably shouldn't have killed... (gasp for air) all those people, (gasp for air) Prolly shoulda stayed at home... (gasp for air) and taken care of my ma. She... always used to say people who... (gasp for air) murder and steal... die bad in the end. Said they... (gasp for air)”— Allen Marks on holotape
A Valuable Lesson is a side quest in Fallout: New Vegas.
Quick walkthrough
Detailed walkthrough
After finding at least 50 Sunset Sarsaparilla Star Bottle Caps, the Courier can approach Festus to receive the prize, which is the "honor" of listening to the supposedly real story of how Sunset Sarsaparilla came to be. At this point, any number of star caps exceeding 50 are simply converted into bottle caps and returned. This course of action fails the preliminary quest, The Legend of the Star.
If asked about the real prize, Festus says that, due to complaints about the story being the main prize, an additional prize was being offered that should suffice. This triggers the next and final quest, which instructs the Courier to go to the Sunset Sarsaparilla prize vault to collect the prize.
The destination is marked inside the factory. To get there, follow these instructions:
- Starting from Festus, head through the north door and carry on across the hall to the room with the hole in the roof.
- Walk up the wreckage to the 2nd floor.
- Take the first left and then right. Ahead should be a very long corridor.
- Walk straight to the end of that corridor to the room with a hole in the floor.
- The hole then leads to the prize room.
The real prize turns out to be around 1500 bottle caps, found in thirteen Sunset Sarsaparilla crates, each averaging roughly 115 caps. There are also 319 Sunset Sarsaparilla deputy badges, which are weightless and monetarily worthless (finding them all may require pulling crates off the top shelves). Also, in the corner, lies the body of Allen Marks, a holotape, and Pew Pew, a unique laser pistol. Marks is "wearing" one of the deputy badges, which is actually just lying atop his body, taking the badge carefully will avoid moving the body that would cause the badge to fall to the floor. The holotape (which ends the quest when picked up) reveals that he was a murderer and a thief, and a computer found in the bottling area of the building seems to reveal the moment Marks broke into the factory. There are indications that several robots were damaged in the incident, but also that the intruder had been wounded in the process. According to Marks' holotape, the sealed vault was completely airtight, explaining his eventual death.
Quest stages
| Stage | Status | Description |
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| 10 |  | Go to the Sunset Sarsaparilla Prize Vault to collect your prize. |
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| | Act 1 | | Ain't That a Kick in the Head · Back in the Saddle · By a Campfire on the Trail · They Went That-a-Way · Ring-a-Ding-Ding! | | | Act 2 | | Wild Card (Wild Card: Ace in the Hole, Change in Management, You and What Army?, Side Bets, Finishing Touches) · The House Always Wins (I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII) · Render Unto Caesar · Et Tumor, Brute? · Things That Go Boom · Kings' Gambit · For the Republic, Part 2 · You'll Know It When It Happens/Arizona Killer | | | Act 3 | | No Gods, No Masters · All or Nothing · Veni, Vidi, Vici · Eureka! |
| Other | | Come Fly With Me · Crazy, Crazy, Crazy · Ghost Town Gunfight · Guess Who I Saw Today · Left My Heart · My Kind of Town · The Legend of the Star and A Valuable Lesson · Unfriendly Persuasion · Wheel of Fortune | | | Companion quests | | ED-E My Love · For Auld Lang Syne · Heartache by the Number · I Could Make You Care · I Forgot to Remember to Forget · Nothin' But a Hound Dog · One for My Baby | | | Unmarked quests | | A Bit of Slap and Tickle · A Final Plan for Esteban · Access Powers · All Fired Up! · An Ear to the Ground · Andy and Charlie · Arachnophobia · Arizona Scavenger · Barton the Fink · Bear Necessities · Big Winner (Atomic Wrangler, The Gomorrah, The Tops, Ultra-Luxe, Vikki & Vance) · Bounty Killer (I, II) · Brotherhood Bond (I, II) · Caching in at the Cove · Cajoling a Cudgel · Claws Mended · Claws Out · Dealing with Contreras · Defacing the Humble Stone · Democracy Inaction · Don't Poke at the Bear! · Eddie's Emissary · Exhumin' Nature · Fight Night · Flogging a Dead Corpse · Friend of the Followers · Gland for Some Home Cooking · Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger · Hat's Entertainment · Help for Halford · Hidden Valley computer virus · Highway to the Danger Zone (I, II) · Honorary Rocketeer · I Love Bananas · Iron and Stealing · Keith's Caravan Charade · Laurifer Gladiator · Lenk's Bad Debts · Lily and Leo · Long-Term Care · Malleable Mini Boomer Minds · Maud's Muggers · Meeting an Equal · Missing a Few Missiles · Most Wanted · Not Worth a Hill of Corn and Beans · Old School Ghoul · A Pair of Dead Desperados (I, II) · Papers, Please · Pistol Packing · Playing on the Old Joana · Poor Meat Never Makes Good Soup · Powder to the People · Power to the People · Razzle Dazzle! · Reach for the Sky, Mister! · Rest and Resupply · Ringo's Caravan Rules · Rotface's Loose Lips · Saving (or Savaging) Sergeant Teddy · The Screams of Brahmin · Silus Treatment · Short-Term Treatment · Smooth-Talking Criminal · The Star Showdown · Strategic Nuclear Moose · Straus Calls · Strip Search · Suits You, Sarah · Tags of Our Fallen · A Team of Moronic Mercenaries · Thought for the Day · Tourist Traipse · Trudy's Radio Repair · A Trusted Aide · Useless Baubles or Fancy Trinkets? · We Must Stop Beating Like This · We Must Stop Meeting Like This · Wind-Brahmin Wrangler · You Gotta Break Out a Few Eggs · You Make Me Feel Like a Woman |
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