A few things to do along the way might be an under-statement, but this guide is here for people who want to see and do everything, and so it shall be. North of the Gibson Scrap Yard and just west of route 95 you’ll find the HELIOS One plant, which was mentioned by Old Lady Gibson earlier. By now you know your next destination is Boulder City, and this place is right along the way, so… might as well go explore it, right? Bring ED-E along with you and you’ll be able to continue the quest ED-E My Love without doing any more work than HELIOS One normally requires.

Along the southern end of HELIOS One you’ll find some NCR Troopers led by Lt. Haggerty. As you approach she’ll question your presence here, which will require you to have an “Accepted” reputation or higher with the NCR, or alternatively you can make a [Science 30] or [Speech 30] check to get inside. If you make the [NCR] or [Science] check you’ll be told to talk to some “idiot in sunglasses”, a supposed expert in the plant who is doing more harm than good. If you succeeded at the [Speech] check… well, that’s still your goal, but you won’t be given the object just yet, nor will the quest That Lucky Old Sun start, but it’ll proceed the same way.

That Lucky Old Sun¶

Head inside the building and loot the reception room, especially the metal shelves and the Gun Cabinet behind the counter, as they’re lousy with .308 Rounds. The whole building has an abundance of ammo lying around, in fact, and it’s free for the taking. Once done, head through a door to the east and continue down a hallway until you run out of east, at which point turn north and continue to the end of this hallway, too, past a locked door [Very Easy]. Go west through a room with a pool table in it, then head north up another hallway, bypassing a door to the east and instead climbing some stairs to the north. At the top of the stairs continue through a room with a ruined floor, messily patched with boards, and into a bedroom to the west. On the bed you’ll find a D.C. Journal of Internal Medicine , then read a terminal to learn about some ARCHIMEDES project before finally grabbing the note “Eastern Reflector Control Terminal Password” from a nearby desk… or from within a Footlocker at the foot of the bed. By investigating the terminal and reading the entries you’ll get the locations of Hidden Valley and Black Mountain on your map… which is a good thing, since they’ll be places of interest shortly.

Fantastic and the Followers of the Apocalypse¶

For now, however, make your way back down stairs and head through the first doorway to the east and follow the linear path beyond (looting the odd container and bit of ammo along the way) to reach a machinery-filled room. Ignore the metal stairs and instead continue through it to the west, go through a door, down some stairs and through another door to reach the control room. Here the “idiot” named “Fantastic” busily wastes time, and if you talk to him he’ll immediately become concerned that you’re here to replace him. Say that you are, then succeed at a [Speech 25] check to extort 100 Caps off of him.

Once done, ask about his credentials, his work, and his progress to find out that he has absolutely no clue what he’s doing here. He is, in fact, just playing scientist while day-dreaming about “vaults full of naked ladies” and fueling his chem addiction at the expense of the NCR. He does, however, know enough to reveal that the solar plant is working at a measly 1% efficiency, and if the solar panels outside could be calibrated, HELIOS One would become a massive asset for the NCR… as long as the power is sent to the New Vegas Strip and Camp McCarran. Anyways, agree to help him and he’ll give you the “Western Reflector Control Terminal Password”.

Before heading outside to connect the reflector control terminals to the HELIOS One mainframe, head into a smaller room to the north to find Ignacio Rivas. He’s less of a moron than Fantastic (but really, how much is that really saying?), and will freely admit to being a member of the Followers of the Apocalypse who, despite their name, are concerned with improving the lives of others through the preservation and dissemination of beneficial knowledge. They do not, however, always see eye-to-eye with the NCR, so say your interests in HELIOS One are scientific, then succeed at a [Speech 35] check to get him to talk about his own allegiances. Afterwards, avoid saying you’re here for the NCR or to promote war and he’ll help you out by giving you the note “Eastern Reflector Control Terminal Password”. He’ll also tell you about his concerns that the HELIOS One plant isn’t just a power plant, and why its secrets shouldn’t be left for the NCR - or worse, the Legion - to uncover.

Resetting the Reflector Control Terminals¶

From Ignacio’s room head north, down a tunnel and up some stairs to reach a door leading to the fenced-in part of the HELIOS One grounds. Once outside head north past some solar panel arrays until you find some NCR troops camped near a fenced-in terminal. Before messing with it, loot some tents to the north-west of the terminal to find a First Aid Box and two Ammo Boxes, then return to fenced-in terminal. The area beyond the fence has various traps to discourage trespassers, including a pair of Bear Traps and a Tripwire rigged to a shotgun at the entrance to a shack and some Frag Mines on the ground near the terminal. Disarm them, activate “Terminal 1” then select the option “Reset Mainframe Connection”. One down, one to go.

From the first terminal head east through some solar arrays to find another NCR camp around another enclosed terminal. One tent here houses an Ammo Box [Easy], but otherwise there’s little of interest. From the tents go north-east to find the enclosed terminal. No traps this time, but there are three NCR Guard Dogs lurking here. Kill the pooches (you don’t gain any NCR Infamy, so don’t worry) then activate “Terminal 2” and reset this mainframe connection, too.

To the Mainframe¶

Travel south-west from the second terminal and pass through the small NCR camp to find a small building, which promises to lead to the “Solar Collection Tower”. Time to go to the mainframe… make sure your Gobi is ready, though, as there are very powerful robots inside, and this time you won’t be able to snipe them all at a distance.

From the entrance head west down some stairs and sneak your way through a doorway and into a small room. Disarm some Frag Mines lying around, loot an Ammo Box on some metal shelves, then hack a Turret Control Terminal [Easy] to either disable the turrets outside, or reconfigure their targeting parameters to turn them against the other robots… although it probably won’t do too well against the Sentry Bots nearby. Speaking of which, after you’ve caused some mayhem leave the room and turn south to try and spot the Sentry Bots. If you’re lucky, you’ll snipe one with the Gobi before the other notices. Eliminate them both then head across the metal walkway, down some stairs, and into a room to the south. Search a cubby to the west to find two Pulse Grenades on a metal shelf and a Safe [Average].

Return back upstairs and head west to find another room with some mundane loot you can grab. When done, go through a large metal door to the west to find a sewer, which you should descend until it terminates. Loot a small storage closet to the north, then head south into a hallway, dispatching whatever robots get in your way. When the hallway ends turn east and go through a door, then down some metal stairs. Smite a Mister Gutsy then, on the ground floor, head through a door to the east.

You’ll find yourself in a hallway running north-south; head north first and when you reach a “T” intersection you can turn west to find a small room filled with garbage, which isn’t very interesting. Head east and dismantle a Protectron, then go through a door to the south where you’ll find four more Protectrons that need to be reduced to scrap. Loot a First Aid Box on a wall then enter another room to the east. If you continue east you’ll find a door leading to the HELIOS One Observation Level… it’s your destination, but first go through a door to the west [Average] and search the room beyond to find some Poseidon Energy Employee ID Cards lying on the ground… next to their former owners. Once you’re in possession of them, backtrack to the east and head on to the next area.

Let There Be Light¶

Loot the ground floor, then head east to find the “HELIOS One Mainframe Terminal”. Huzzah! Unfortunately, it’s unpowered right now. Bummer. To get it working again you’ll need to either activate the nearby “Auxiliary Generator” by succeeding at a [Repair 35] check and sacrificing a piece of Scrap Metal, or head upstairs and activate a dormant Mister Gutsy named “PYTHON” by using a Poseidon Energy ID Card or by succeeding at a [Science 45] check. In the latter case, the robot will repair the generator. You can also activate the robot, then run over to the generator and repair that… for whatever reason.

However you manage it, once the generator is working again you’ll be able to interact with the terminal. Pick the option “Configure Power Grid” then decide where you want to send the new-found electricity. You’ll get different rewards and make different factions happy depending on what you do with the power. If you pick McCarran and the Las Vegas Strip, you’ll make the NCR happy. If you send it to Fremont and Westside or to the entire region you’ll improve your reputation with the Followers of the Apocalypse and get a reward (a much better reward in the latter case, including a Big Book of Science). If you overload the plant you won’t gain any Fame or Infamy, but Ignacio will give you the same reward that he’d otherwise give for sending the power to Fremont and Westside. Arming ARCHIMEDES won’t give anybody the power, but it’ll allow you to use a very powerful weapon, which you can get shortly. By picking this option you’ll get some Followers of the Apocalypse Fame and a lesser reward from Ignacio, as well.

Finally, after you make your choice on what to do with the power generated by HELIOS One, you can choose to “Arm ARCHIMEDES Plant Defense System”, which will kill all nearby NCR troops, and naturally won’t make you very popular with the NCR, or pro-NCR characters (Boone, for example). Since this is pure Infamy, it’s not recommended… but you can always come back here later and turn the plant against the NCR, if you wish.

Regardless of what you choose, head back upstairs and go north past where the PYTHON Mister Handy was to find a door leading out to the Mojave Wasteland, onto a tower looming above the HELIOS One plant. Head down a ramp to find the “Reflector Control Panel”, which, when activated anytime between 9:00 A.M. and 3:00 P.M. will put your changes into effect. The mirrors realign and, if you activated the ARCHIMEDES Plant Defense System, the NCR will be blasted away. If you sent the power to McCarran an the Las Vegas Strip you’ll need to talk to Fantastic to claim your reward, otherwise you’ll need to talk to Ignacio.

So what should you do? Well, again, turning the plant against the NCR is just a way to earn Infamy, and it’s not really the time to do that yet, so at the very least, postpone it. The best reward and largest reputation gain comes from distributing power across the whole region, which will earn you the “Accepted” reputation amongst the Followers of the Apocalypse and a Big Book of Science from Ignacio. On the other hand… if you weaponize the plant you’ll get a unique gun with impressive - if limited - destructive capabilities. Either of those two options are fine choices.

Euclids C-Finder¶

If you weaponized HELIOS One and want to get your weapon you’ll have to head to New Vegas. In Freeside, near the Freeside East entrance, you’ll find the store Mick and Ralph’s. During the day two kids named Max and Stacey will be running around. Talk to Max and offer to buy his gun off of him and he’ll tell you a silly story about how much the gun cost. Offer up 1000 Caps to get him to part with it, or succeed at a [Barter 45] check to talk him down to a mere 20… or you can just steal it from him at night, when he’s sleeping. However you do it, you’ll end up with Euclid’s C-Finder . It might look silly, but it calls down the power generated by the HELIOS One plant… if you sent the energy to ARCHIMEDES, anyways. Picking up this weapon will also start the quest I Could Make You Care, which relates to the Brotherhood of Steel. Sort of an out-of-order way to start things, but it’s better to score a super-weapon early than wait.