Morning Star Cavern¶

When you’re ready to go, fast travel to the Mojave Outpost and head downhill to the east to find Morning Star Cavern, outside of which you may encounter some Night Stalkers. What are Night Stalkers? Well, Coyote-snake hybrids, apparently. Some “mutations” found in Fallout due to radiation are dubious enough, but cross-species blending? That’s just silly. They’re not too strong, damage-wise, but they can poison you, and attack in packs. Engage them with ranged weapons, keep moving, and you should be fine. Inside the cavern are more Night Stalkers - mostly young ones, but they are led by a Den Mother. Your reward for clearing these pests out includes the loot on a dead Mercenary and in his Duffle Bag, both of which are at the end of the cavern.

Crescent Canyon West/Crescent Canyon East¶

South of the Morning Star Cavern you’ll find a… well, crescent-shaped chasm in the ground running south-east. Be wary as you explore it, however, as it’s occupied by Golden Geckos, which are significantly stronger than normal Geckos. Still nothing that backing up and shooting them in the head can’t fix, though. There’s also plenty of radiation down here, although not so much you can’t just run through it all. In this case, returning to Doc Mitchell is probably cheaper than using any precious Rad-X or RadAway. Aside from Golden Geckos and RADS, there are a few things of interest in the canyon. First is a Radiation Suit Case near an over-turned truck, inside of which is an Advanced Radiation Suit, which may come in handy shortly. East of here you can find two ruined cars, between which is an Armor Case containing some Combat Armor. There’s also a First Aid Box nearby with some random chems inside.

Mojave Drive-In¶

You’ll exit the canyon along its eastern end, at the aptly named Crescent Canyon East map marker, which is south-west of Nipton. In the desert to the north you may run afoul of more Golden Geckos, Giant Radscorpions and Mole Rats, to tread cautiously. Make your way north-east, cross some train tracks, and shortly you should find the Mojave Drive-in, which is just south of Nipton. Aside from the Crashed Satellite on the ground (which you should not investigate unless you want to start Old World Blues) there are only Mole Rats and a few Garbage Cans to loot.

Bradleys Shack¶

South-east of the Mojave Drive-in you’ll find Bradley’s Shack, outside of which is a group of Jackal Gang Members. Kill them and head into the shack and immediately inside disarm a tripwire rigged to a shotgun. The rest of the shack is safer; search it to find two Sacks you can loot, a BB Gun, BBs, a First Aid Box [Very Easy], two Ammo Boxes, three Frag Grenades and a Sunset Sarsaparilla Star Bottle Cap.

Old Nuclear Test Site¶

East and slightly north of Bradley’s Shack you can find Caesar’s Legion Safehouse, which you cannot access yet. Still, it’s worth discovering. In the hills north of here you can find some Bighorners to pick on. To the south-east you’ll find a small observation booth overlooking a fenced-in shack to the south, south-east. Before you go charging over there like the slayer you may well be, know that the area around the shack is heavily irradiated, and like most heavily irradiated areas, crawling with Ghouls. Namely Glowing Ones and Feral Ghoul Reavers. They’re not too tough to handle, but you’ll have an easier time if you sneak onto the ledge overlooking the flat-lands to the south-east and snipe at a Ghoul. Don’t expect much magic out of a Cowboy Repeater, but with any luck you can pick off a few Ghouls, or at least lure them to you in manageable groups. Failing that, there’s a truck near the fence you can climb on, which will keep you safe from the Ghouls. Feral Ghoul Reavers don’t have ranged attacks in New Vegas, after all… just don’t expect them to stand around while you shoot them to death. If you stand on the end of the truck, however, you can lure the Ghouls back to you, where you can take turns shooting them in the head in VATS when the approach (after backing up, of course). You don’t have to out-muscle them… as long as you can out-think them.

Once the Ghouls are dead, turn your attention to the shack behind the fence. Before you run off, be sure to protect yourself from radiation, as you can catch around 7 RADS near the shack. Putting on the Advanced Radiation Suit you found will help out considerably, as will popping a Rad-X. Once you’re protected, head to the Nuclear Test Shack. Inside you can find a Hunting Shotgun near some tables to the south-east, and on said tables rests a copy of Nikola Tesla and You , which is hiding under the book Entry Two in the Die-ary of Trash, which will give you a note of the same name. There’s also a Sunset Sarsaparilla Star Bottle Cap on the otherwise less interesting table to the north-east. Further north-east are some metal shelves, on which you can find some chems and the book Entry One in the Die-ary of Trash. On the bed you’ll find Trash, our prolific reader who dreamed of becoming a Ghoul. She should have spent more time reading about radiation, and less time being emo. Loot her body for some Leather Armor, Reinforced and the Entry Three in the Die-ary of Trash.

Before you catch too much heat, leave the shack and get out of the radiation. Stash or sell your loot, then fast-travel to the Powder Ganger Camp South. Time to explore the rail road running east of Primm and Nipton, which you may have already ran down during the New Vegas Medical Center run. Back then, however, it was ideal to avoid discovering (much less exploring) areas. Now, however, it’s time to go explore the area more completely.

Powder Ganger Camp East¶

First, however, veer off the tracks and head east into the wastes to find Powder Ganger Camp East. For some reason these Powder Gangers are more hostile than others, so tread cautiously - with a “Mixed” reputation or better, they should leave you alone. Disarm some Powder Charges outside of the camp, then head inside and loot two Ammo Boxes. There’s also some goodies in a ruined Refrigerator. If you follow the mountain south-east of this camp you should eventually find Primm Pass, which is still guarded by a Blind Deathclaw. You can discover the area easily enough, just… don’t try going through the pass. Not only do you not need to get turned into Deathclaw food, but you don’t really need to get to the other side just yet, either.

Emergency Service Railyard¶

Return to Powder Ganger Camp South and follow the tracks south to find the Emergency Service Railyard, another relatively uninteresting place. Search the eastern landing to find a pair of Sunset Sarsaparilla Star Bottle Caps near some beds, along with some other caps. There’s also a First Aid Box on a metal shelf, and off the landing to the south you can find a Metal Box [Easy].

Coyote Den¶

Continue south along the tracks, pass The Prospector’s Den until you find the somewhat more humble Coyote Den. Kill the Coyotes nearby (including some Coyote Pups and a Coyote Den Mother) and explore the humble cave to find a dead Bright Follower, which can be looted for an energy weapon and some ammo.