[Fairly] Exhaustive Wasteland Walkthrough
by Ben Morgan
v3.8 (Last edited 10/29/2018)
Please send any questions to ad1066 AT gmail DOT com
Note: Attempts have been made to proofread this document, but I am not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, so I may have missed some things here and there. I take no responsibility for any loss of life, limb, or property as a result of reading this document. So there.
Introduction
Okay, Wasteland is simply one of the greatest CRPGs ever written. It takes place some time after WWIII, and you are part of the intrepid Desert Rangers, a para-military group that has set up operations in an abandoned federal prison located in northwestern Arizona. Most of the action takes place along the AZ-NV border. You’ve recently been sent out with the wonderfully vague mission of “investigating some strange disturbances” up north around the area of Las Vegas.
Note: This walkthrough was written with the IBM PC version in mind. I actually have never had an opportunity to play any of the other versions for more than about 5-10 minutes or so.
What’s New
v3.8 Update email address and sequel information. Finally formatted for HTML.
v3.7 Updated information about the sequel.
v3.6 Added some new stuff, mining in the abandoned mine, ladies’ room in Scott’s Bar, and a possible super-loot bag opportunity at the Stagecoach Inn.
v3.5 Added some very interesting tidbits of information I learned from the Wasteland 2 forums, including the sex change thing in Quartz, and the purpose of the gas masks.
v3.0: Fairly complete rewrite from the ground up. Any similarities between this version and earlier ones are merely coincidental.
Anything earlier than 3.0: pretty much irrelevant now.
On The Subject Of Sequels
Wasteland has always been a game that screams out for a sequel. The richness of the world begs to be fleshed out more. There were several games made that are mistakenly called sequels. Escape From Hell and Fountain of Dreams were both written with the intention of looking and operating in a similar fashion, but they do not, strictly speaking, utilize the same engine, and only FoD shares any thematic elements (ie: post nuclear war) in common with Wasteland. A game called Mean Time was in development for some time, but was dropped due to the waning popularity of the Apple ][ platform, and was not deemed important enough to port over to IBM PC or start over from scratch, and even that was not really a sequel, but was reported to have something to do with time travel.
The Fallout series has been absolutely fantastic, but its ties to Wasteland have been limited to a few Easter Eggs. The spirit is there, though.
For a long time it seemed unlikely that there would ever be a true sequel. However, Brian Fargo, having left the sinking ship was was Interplay and starting his own company InXile, acquired the rights to the Wasteland back in 2003. In March 2012, InXile set up a Kickstarter to help finance the development of a proper Wasteland sequel, and more than fulfilled its financing in 2 days. The game came out some time later, and allowed us to revisit a lot of the locations from the original game, while giving us a great new story, as well we some context for events from the first game.
InXile is currently developing Wasteland 3, ostensibly set in Colorado.
Acknowledgements
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who emailed me with questions and comments for their enthusiasm, without which this new version would never have been written. Thanks to the people who helped me with the superloot cheat.
InXile’s Wasteland pages are here: http://wasteland.inxile-entertainment.com/
Ranger HQ is the best Wasteland fan site around. Go check them out at http://wasteland.rockdud.net/wasteland.html
Thanks also to Rebecca Wigandt for the bit about the Power of the Force just outside of the Stagecoach Inn in Quartz. You hoser. 🙂
Special thanks also to John Dispirito for getting me hooked on the game to begin with.
General Survival Info
Generally, if any of your characters die, quit and restore. DON’T GO ANYWHERE!! The game will autosave, and you’ll be screwed.
Always save *after* leaving a shop (on any other square, that is). Due to the nature of the autosave, if you leave a shop and then get attacked right away and die (or even just leave the shop and quit out of the game right away), the saved game location will be in the shop. When it loads up again, it kills the shop. I learned this one the hard way in Highpool, but it could happen anywhere, and if it happens in a place like Darwin or Needles, you’re screwed.
Macros can be useful and aggravation-preventing. I usually have one set to like 50 to 100 ESCs. This makes resting a lot faster. Note: As far as macros go, you have 2 options. If you play the game it a regular command prompt window, you’ll have access to all 10 Fkeys, but you have to put up with the PC honker sound effects probably not working properly. Alternately, the game runs nicely in DOSBox, and you can turn down the sound if you’re tired of it, but you’ll only be able to use a couple of the Fkeys for macros (F2 and F3, in my experience).
Always give everyone a canteen each. Then you can walk anywhere in the desert. You can also rest safely in the deep desert, but it takes longer due to the constant “It’s REALLY HOT!!” messages.
The Paragraph Book is absolutely necessary for playing this game. I can’t give you all the info.
Character Creation
You start with four prefab chars. These guys suck dirt. First thing you wanna do is drop everything except the guns, trade them all to the first guy, then delete the last three.
Create your first three characters using the guidelines listed below, and trade all the guns to your first guy. Then delete the other prefab dude.
Don’t create your 4th character yet (see the Great Desert Ranger Surplus Scam below for why).
Things To Keep In Mind When Creating Chars
Keep rerolling the stats until you get an 18 in IQ. This will get you the most possible starting Skill Points. Other important attributes are Dexterity and Maxcon, so if you come up with an IQ of 17 and these other two are high, you can opt for those stats.
Important skills for at least one character:
- Climb
- Bomb Disarm
- Swim
- Perception
- Picklock
- Safecrack
- Silent Move
- Cryptology
Nifty extra skills:
- Combat Shooting (only available during CC)
- Acrobat
Important Skills for all characters:
- Medic
Combat: Choose Your Flavor
You’ll notice that there are no weapons skills on the list above. The reason is that you have a couple of options for how to want to hurt people.
Most people will opt for guns. For this, I highly recommend Assault Rifle and SMG skills. Don’t bother with clip pistol or rifle, as you’ll want to get your hands on automatic weapons as quickly as possible.
The other option is to get up close and personal. This is not as difficult as it sounds, as you get double experience for melee combat. Just look for high Strength when creating your characters, and you should be good to go.
The Great Desert Ranger Surplus Scam
This borders on cheating (okay, it is cheating), but it’s a good way to get a head start. Create three characters using the above rules. Go to their inventories, and drop everything except the guns, a canteen each, a couple of ropes, and a crowbar (whoever has the highest Strength). Yes, even drop the ammo. Why? Because the guns come loaded.
Then set up a macro (CTRL-Fkey):
- Create a 4th char. Hit Enter no matter what the stats.
- Name it anything.
- Hit Enter on the Skills list.
- Keep the char.
- Bring up the inventory, and trade the gun to the first char.
- delete the dummy char.
End the macro, and fill up the first guy’s inventory with guns. Repeat with the second and third characters, until they are all filled up with guns.
In Quartz, go to the shop in the bottom left corner, and sell them off. You should get around $6000.
If you really wanted to, you could repeat the process for more cash, but it’s not really worth it at this point.
Create your last character as above. Equip each char with a VP91Z (more shots per clip) or M1911A1 (more damage per shot, but not really worth it) for now (if your last char came with a VP9, rejoice, and hold onto the ammo for use with an Uzi later. Otherwise, just drop everything except for a canteen and grab a VP9 from someone else), and head back to Quartz.
Now, equip your dudes with M17s (more shots per clip) or M19s (more damage per shot) for now, and Bullet-proof shirts. If you’re doing the melee thing, give everyone crowbars, or cheat some more and go to Darwin (watch out for radiation) and buy chainsaws.
The Desert
This is the main map, covering the junction of Nevada and Arizona. Resting here is not recommended in general, as there are random encounters everywhere except in the deep desert.
Highpool
Camp Highpool should be the first stop on your trek through the Nevada desert.
The Rundown: Not a lot happening here. A lost kid, a lost dog, and a broken water cooler. You can rest anywhere here.
Search around, and you’ll find the shop. Open the office door with a crowbar, and kill the juvies that come to stop you, and you’ll get a Mangler for your trouble. Check the table, and you’ll find some clues about what’s going on here.
At the bottom right of the map, there is a building with some junk on the floor. Check under the bed, and grab some stuff.
To the right of this is the most inexpensive doctor in the whole game.
Talk to Bobby in the bottom left corner. Ask him about his dog, the cave, and Jackie. Use Perception to find the cave on the left side, between two trees. You’ll need a rope to get in (use it on the square you’re standing on).
Cave
There’s not a lot here. Just a dog, a crap NPC and a lot of smegging rocks. Bobby’s dog has rabies so put it out of its misery. You can use Jackie to carry things for a while, but you’re better off just getting rid of her.
By the way, Bobby isn’t happy about you killing his dog. When you come out of the cave and head back north, give him a one way ticket to mutie-kid heaven.
Killing the Kiddies
Fall into the river repeatedly, and the kids will come out of the woodwork to laugh at you. Kill them if you want, but be careful. If you kill them in the right combination, Red Ryder will come after you (and he doesn’t even drop the rifle, only a lousy 7.62mm clip). If you kill him, then the lake dries up, the place becomes a ghost town, and you’ll lose the services of a really cheap doctor.
The Abandoned Mine
Don’t go wandering around here until you have decent armor. After that, it’s good for target practice. In the little room in the corner, there’s some gas masks in a crate (they’re only good for one situation later in Las Vegas).
If you have a character with the Metallurgy skill, There are a couple of silver veins that you can mine for some cash. The NW corner is probably the best. You might want to avoid the one in the eastern area, as mining it will cause the level of encounters to rise to a level that will interfere with getting around.
Rail Nomads
The Rundown: The remains of the old railroad lines have merged with several Native American tribes. There are three of them camped here. As far as I know, You can rest here.
Talk to the Brakeman when you enter, he’ll tell you to go see the Headcrusher at Scott’s Bar in Quartz. He’ll give you a Visa Card. Take it to Headcrusher (use it on the square you’re sitting on), and he’ll tell you a password.
Go to the leftmost tent and give the password. You’ll get a shovel, and some instructions on where to dig. When you grab the stuff, you’ll get attacked by some ugly guys with crowbars.
The guys in the rightmost tent won’t understand a word you say.
If you’re feeling evil, give the password to the middle tent, and you can wipe out the Topeka clan. Hey, they tried luring you into a trap.
Guardian Citadel
Don’t even THINK about going in here yet. You can however use it as a shortcut to Quartz. Just stay outside the little flags. And you can rest here.
Ag Center
The Rundown: The Agricultural Center is plagued by all kinds of vermin. Evidence seems to indicate that they are being directed by a more intelligent entity. You can rest in the front area, but not in the fields, and if you travel down the main corridor, you’ll get attacked by catapults.
Go to the front desk, and offer to help. Kill Harry the Bunnymaster, and check out the old man’s root cellar. Try the cave if you’re in need of target practice.
Quartz
Quartz is the remains of present-day Quartsite, AZ.
The Rundown: There’s something of a small coup going on here. Local gang leader Ugly John has kidnapped the mayor and his wife, and has taken over the courthouse. Resting on the streets can be hazardous to your health. You can rest in the abandoned buildings (but I’ve heard rumors of diseases). You can use the manholes for quick access around town. Most everything happens on the southeast side of town.
Little known fact: There’s a reference to the 1983 SCTV movie Strange Brew here. If you walk north and stand on the tree just outside the entrance to the Stagecoach Inn and walk into the wall of the building directly north of you, it gives you a message: “The power of the Force stopped you from that one, you hoser.” Just an interesting side note, doesn’t have anything to do with the rest of the game.
Scott’s Bar
To start with, head for Scott’s Bar, bottom right. The front door is easier, as you’ll get into a fight if you go in the back. Talk to the riddle dude at the top left (You can get a clue from the guy in the bathroom). Then talk to Ellen over at the bar. Resting here will get you into fights, and if you get on the stage, you’ll have to do a little dance before they’ll let you go.
If you have a female character in your party, you can disband them and head into the ladies’ room. A successful Confidence or Charisma check will net you some additional information.
Stagecoach Inn
You can rest here safely, except for the dining room.
Go to room 18, and talk to Laurie. Grab the stuff, and head back to the shop. While you’re there, grab a couple Snake Squeezins.
In the northwest corner, break into housekeeping. Grab the stuff from the shelves and the cabinet. Kill the housekeepers, and bribe the bums to get out of the way. Some interesting encounters in some of the other rooms, but nothing really lucrative. I think Mulefoot the cook has mistaken you for someone else who seems to have insulted him enough that he’s violent.
Courthouse
Resting here is NOT recommended.
Pretty straightforward. Kill [mostly] everyone. Go up to the second floor. Use the password and go to the right. Make sure your first character has Silent Move, and go into the door. Pick up Dan Citrine, and head back to the third floor.
Head to the right, kill the guard, get the sonic key. Open the cells on the right, and pick up Mayor Pedros and get Dan’s father’s money (you can drop Dan now). Check out the paper on the desk on the left side of the building. One of the cells on the left reveals a password that will be useful later. Fight your way out and sell off any extra stuff.
There is a rumor that strange things happen later in the game if you keep Dan Citrine around. I’ll investigate further and report my findings in a later version of this walkthrough.
Hideout
Give the correct password in order to be allowed to move around freely here. Interesting note: If you give the wrong password, the game reverses the sex of all your characters. Still some debate as to whether this is just a bug, or actually punishment for reading fake entries in the paragraph book.
Do yourself a favor. Kill off the pistoleros one at a time on your way in, before you pick up Ace, and save yourself some aggravation later.
Ugly John is waiting for you in the main room, at the bottom right. Don’t make any deals with him, and you’ll get an Uzi when you kill him. Use bomb disarm twice, pick up Felicia, then use the plastic explosive to open the vault.
Examine the map on the wall, and wait for it to dawn on you. The combo to the safe is written on Huey, Dewey, and Louie’s (the thugs that were torturing Dan Citrine in the courthouse) bracelets. Grab all the stuff you can carry, and Ace is in the basement.
The Mayor and his wife can be let go once you’ve saved them.
Graveyard
Break into the cemetery with a crowbar, and search the graves, you’ll get a broken toaster. Hold on to it for later.
Jeep
Ace can fix the jeep, but it’s not really much use. It breaks down once you get to Needles.
Needles
The Rundown: This is the remains of Needles, AZ. There’s a holy war going on here, between the fairly benign Church of The Mushroom Cloud and the fanatical Temple of Blood.
Needles is a little more complicated than Quartz, so we’ll go through it one section at a time.
Nearly everywhere in Needles is rampant with random encounters, so resting isn’t really an option except in certain places.
NE Needles
There are several thing here. The ammo dump, the police station, the library, and a doctor. The first two are most important, though the other two are useful.
Ammo Dump
Grab everything you can. Be sure to get the Ruby Ring from the corpse. Be careful with the stuff on the shelves. The bloodstaff is fake.
Police Station
I believe you can rest here. Go south past the desk, and talk to the detective about the Bloodstaff. Turn off the security system in the room on the south side, and then grab the ammo from the armory. Don’t go into any of the training rooms, unless you want target practice. You can pick up an NPC called Mort in one of the cells, but don’t bother, he’s useless.
Library & Doctor
Duh.
SE Needles
Take the ruby ring to the priest at the mushroom church. He’ll talk to you about the Bloodstaff, and ask you to get it back from the Temple of Blood.
SW Needles
Garbage Dump. Go down and search the third level. You’ll get attacked by the Pit Ghoul. Unload full auto until he’s dead. There are a couple of NATO assault rifles and rad suits in one of the rooms.
The train doesn’t do much of anything useful.
Downtown Needles
This is where most of the stuff happens.
Downtown West
On the north side is a building with 2 guards. Inside is a Bloodstaff Verification Device. Watch out for the cinderblock trap. Next to this place is an old howitzer.
South of here is Hobo Dog. Be sure to pick up a Howitzer shell at the ammo dump and use it on the howitzer, SW, Long range. Then hightail it back over to Hobo Dog. Can you tell I used to work at McD’s?
East of Hobo Dog are a couple of shops, none of which are very interesting.
There’s a Bard’s Tale reference in the occult shop. And give up trying to kill the roaming violinist in the restaurant, it’s impossible. I’ve tried.
Downtown East
On the north side is a three-legged prostitute. Don’t have anything to do with her, she’s diseased. Near here, you can break down a wall and walk in on a street gang meeting.
On the south side is Leroy’s, the most important place in Needles. Yes, this is the gun shop. Plus, you can rest safely in here. You’ll be camped out here for the duration of your stay in Needles, trust me.
East of Leroy’s is the Acapulco club, where you can gamble away your money, if you’re so inclined. There is also a superloot bag here, if you really want to cheat beyond absurdity (see the section on superloot bags at the end).
Pick up Christina in the alley between Leroy’s and Acapulco. Watch out, she’s a bit trigger-happy (seriously, every single time I’ve played the game, she fires full auto more often than any other NPC).
NW Needles
Don’t wander around here, there’s lots of radiation. Along the road there’s a gas station, which is where you’ll start out if you took the jeep. But the main attraction here is:
The Temple of Blood
Approach this place by night, so you can see the radiation. The garage on the east side is useless. Go in via the south entrance instead.
Ground Level
Do not rest anywhere on this level. Watch out for robots, head west, and free the hobo from the torture table. His name is Ralf, and he’s good for carrying stuff, but not much else. There is a launch code written in an empty chair in the sanctuary.
Head for the Holy Game room, and play the game. The best way through this is by trial and error, but I’ll tell you this much, the answer to the question at the end is 30.
Lower Level
Rest up on the dock, then swim across to the island. If you continue to swim against the northern walls there is a message that is a reference the song “Balls to the Wall” by Accept (not by Krokus, this is a misconception that stems from when the video for the song was aired on an episode of Beavis and Butthead, and Butthead says “Hey, check it out, it’s Krokus coming to kick their ass!”). Kill the snipers in the corners. By now, all your characters should have automatic weapons. NATOs are the best. Blow open the door.
JUMP OVER THE PLATE!!!!!!!!!!!! If you do not, then you will be in a world of shit, because Desert Rangers are not allowed to die without permission! When you first get inside, have each char fire full auto at an odd-numbered group (excess Full auto damage spills over to the next adjacent group). With luck, you’ll take out everything in two or three rounds. No other special strategy here, just plow through everything, and finish off everything in the outer section before going into the inner room.
The Blood Priest will be inside with a bunch of guards and the real Bloodstaff. Keep it safe. Grab as much loot as you can, and head back to the dock.
Missile Interior
You’re inside a giant hollowed-out ICBM. Give the launch code to the guy at the control panel. Hint: it’s NOT Mortar. Exit through the now-open top.
Mushroom Church
Give the priest the Bloodstaff, and get lots of stuff. You can use the engine to fix the water cooler back in Highpool, but it’s not worth it anymore. The alternative is to use it to get the jeep fixed, but don’t bother, it’s a rip and it’ll just get stolen when you get to Vegas.
Congrats. Needles is finito.
Las Vegas
The Rundown: This is the remains of Las Vegas, NV (duh). There are a couple of things going on here. First of all, there’s a war going on between rival casino bosses Faran Brygo and Fat Freddy. Also, the Mushroomers are here in full force, with their temple located on the east side. And of course, the place is being overrun with robot invaders (this would seem to be the source of the “strange disturbances” you were sent out here to investigate in the first place).
Las Vegas General Notes
Robots are a bitch. In general, slicerdicers and chopters are easy, Warroids are annoying, Cyborg Commandoes are dangerous, and Scorpitron is absolutely unfair. Random attacks can get on your nerves after a while.
There’s no shop in Vegas, so you’ll have to hoof it back to Needles every once in a while. At least you can rest in the abandoned buildings.
First thing you see when you get to Vegas is the library (if you entered through the bottom right corner of the icon on the Desert map). About three buildings west on this street is an abandoned building with a bum in it. Give him some money, and he’ll tell you the password to Fat Freddy’s Casino.
There’s a proton axe in a building near the center of town. You’ll know you’re in the right place if you get attacked by insects. Also, the interior walls spell out programmer Alan Pavlish’s initials.
Fat Freddy’s
Freddy’s casino is in the southwest. You have several choices here. If you decide to talk to him, he’ll ask you to kill rival casino owner Faran Brygo. If you refuse, he’ll attempt to gas you and you’ll wake up in the prison, unless you kept those gas masks, in which you’ll have to fight him. If you accept, he’ll wait for you to return with Brygo’s Onyx Ring as proof.
Spade’s Casino
Spade’s is Brygo’s place, and it’s on the west side of town. Talk to Crumb, and he’ll give you the password to Brygo’s place. If you’re feeling especially evil, you can slaughter everyone in the place.
By now, everyone should have a NATO Assault Rifle. Sell off all your other guns, now you can operate with 7.62mm exclusively for a long stretch of the game.
Faran Brygo
Brygo’s compound is east of the center of town, where the Scorpitron has taken up residence. Killing it is a bitch and half. Load up on rockets, split the party into two groups, and attack it from two sides at once.
Inside Brygo’s place, give the passwords, and talk to Brygo. Here you have a choice. You can talk to Brygo, in which case he sends you to see Charmaine at the mushroom temple (not to be confused with the mushroom church in Needles).
Or, you can attack him (in which case you can plow through his place, killing everyone that crosses your path), but it’s probably not what was intended for the “official” storyline, since Brygo is painted as the good guy. Check the computer (it’s a laugh, isn’t it?) On your way to kill Brygo, stop off at the sauna. Check the walls around. Use Cryptology, and open his vault. Grab tons of loot. Kill Brygo, grab the ring.
If you choose not to kill Brygo, you can get an onyx ring in the Guardian Citadel later on (by that time, you won’t need reward money by then).
Fat Freddy’s
If you have acquired an onyx ring (one way or another), head back to Fat Freddy’s place. He’ll double-cross you, so kill him and everyone else around. No Witnesses.
Prison
The prison is in the extreme NE corner of Vegas. Free Covenant, he’s a good fighter. Grab loot in the vault.
Note: If you got knocked out and wake up here, Covenant can open the cell from the inside.
The Temple of the Mushroom Cloud
Answer the questions to get in (there’s a couple of different ways to answer), and head for the vaults, just inside the entrance, to the left and right. Open doors with TNTs, grab loot. Talk to Charmaine. She’ll ask you to get the Bloodstaff back from the priest in Needles. Bring it back, and she’ll open the door to the sewers for you.
OR…… You could kill her and everyone else in the place, and use a sonic key to open the secret doors. Whichever you prefer.
Btw, it is not recommended that you sabotage the reactor. It’s good for a laugh, but it makes it a bitch to get around the central room later on. In fact, almost the entire east side of the place is useless, except for the library, and the doctor. Additionally, you can pick up Dr. Mike Scott, but he’s a lousy fighter, and you should have been able to stock up on Doctor skills by now.
The Sewers
The entrance to the sewers is in the top left corner of the Temple. If you didn’t get Charmaine to open it for you, look for the wall that says it has a funny slot on it, and use the sonic key. Go north through the dusty hallway, and down you go.
The Rundown: Here’s where the advance invasion force is coming from. If you thought that the robots up top were tough, wait till you see what’s waiting for you down here.
Use a rope to cross the river (and the chasm if you want). Don’t fall into the river, or you’ll get sucked along and dumped outside the city, and everyone will end up diseased. Don’t fall into the chasm unless everyone has decent Climb skill, or it will take you forever to get out. In fact, you shouldn’t even need to bother with the chasm at all.
There will be several fights that will be totally frustating. Among these are Tronosaurs, and Centron Deluxe Models. Save often.
There are sections where the walls sound hollow. Use a shovel to dig through. Macros are useful here.
You can rest safely while in a tunnel, or on a rope, as long as you’re not adjacent to an open space.
Clear out the sewers, and collect hardware. By the time you get to the lab in the second section, you should have at least:
- 1 Android Head
- 1 Fusion Cell
- 1 Power Converter
- 2 ROM Boards
- 4 Servo Motors
Put Max back together following the instructions, and find out where the Sleeper Base is.
Sleeper One
The whole purpose of the Vegas Sewers is to trigger the entrance to the Sleeper Base. It’s up in the corner, north of Darwin.
The Rundown: The Sleeper Base seems to have been one of several research facilities, this one specializing in cloning technology and heavy weapons research. It’s long since been abandoned, but there are still several automated defense systems still in place.
Sleeper Base, Level 1
Look for Secpass 1 in the room to the left (open the door with a crowbar). Secpass 3 in one of the cubicles in the middle. In the room on the right, have someone with a high Agility retrieve the power pack stuck in the crevice.
Sleeper Base, Level 2
Learn skills at the library. Have at least one PC learn Cyborg Tech. Look for a room with a desk. Search the desk for Secpass A. There are two vaults here, the left one is the heavy weapons vault, it only opens with Secpass B (more on that later). The one on the right is the main vault, use Secpass 7 (See Level 3) to get all the goodies.
Now would be a good time to organize a little. Give all the Secpasses to one PC, and re-order their inventory and put them all at the top. Set macros for each one, and stop recording before you hit a direction.
Sleeper Base, Level 3
Search another desk to find Secpass 7. In this same room, you’ll find a secret door. Disband someone (if possible, someone not so necessary, like an NPC), and send them up NE, into the power room. Switch back and forth so you can get the party past the electrified floor. The power has to be on for the doors to work, and off if you want to keep your dudes from getting fried on the flor plates. At the end, kill the robots and use Safecracking to open the safe. Grab the plasma coupler.
Try out the helicopter simulator. The door needs a ROM Board. If no one can learn it yet, try again later. I honestly have no idea what the requirements are to pass the test, it seems random to me.
Optional Subplot: Cloning For Dummies
The first step is to learn Clone Tech. Then locate the clone fluid machine (just south of the heavy weapons vault on level 2). If the machine doesn’t work, try fixing the Power Controller (needs a new power converter) in the room in the NE corner of this level. Use Clone Tech to balance the chemicals, then use a jug to get the clone fluid. Take it to the clone pods, use it on the pods, and clone characters one at a time. Let them bake for a while, and come back later to pop them out and add them to your party, if there are slots available.
Darwin Village
The Rundown: This small settlement sprung up around Project Darwin. You can rest inside any of the buildings, but not outside on the streets.
You can give the password for the weapons shop (get it from the bartender), but it’s easier in the long run to just kill the guards. Metal Maniac and Mad Dog Fargo are sick, and lying in a back room in the tavern. Go to the lab, just west of the tavern. Mix chemicals with fruits to make antitoxins, and cure them. You can get chemicals in Ugly’s hideout in Quartz, and the Housekeeping shelves in the Stagecoach Inn. These guys are better fighters than Ace and Christina.
Project Darwin
The entrance is located at the south side of Darwin Village.
The Rundown: This was apparently a genetic engineering research facility once upon a time. The original occupants are long since gone, but someone is still conducting experiments here.
Open doors with Secpass 7. There’s nothing on the first level. Stay away from the Mars test area (unless you want target practice), the mutants are tough. Go to the lower level, and free the prisoners. Then go to the upper level, and kill Finster. Turns out he’s a cyborg. Take his head, use it on the Cyborg Interface machine, and dive in.
Finster’s Mind Maze
Just keep going through the tests. I’m told that the Nightmare can be killed, but I’ve never had the patience to pound on it enough, so I say don’t waste your ammo. For the one with the arrows, wander around until you’re in the top left corner. Then use INT on the square you’re sitting on, and eventually you’ll hit the bottom left corner, head right. Kill the Lie Spider, and smash through walls with rockets. For the baseball one, use Luck. Kill Finster again and again, and again. For Damned if you Do, Damned if you Don’t, it doesn’t matter which one you pick. Use INT on yourself to get out of it. Kill the Giant Finster, and grab Secpass B.
Sleeper Base, Level 2 again
Now you can get into the heavy weapons vault on level 2. You’ll need a couple of rockets to break through the glass. Equip yourself with Laser weapons and Pseudo-Chitin Armor. Yum yum.
Guardian Citadel
The Rundown: The Guardians of the Old Order are a xenophobic bunch that have styled themselves after a fanatical religious order, and holed themselves up inside a fortres built into the side of a mountain. It’s supposed to be impregnable… But then again, they haven’t met you yet, have they?
You can rest anywhere in the entire complex.
Ground Floor
The strategy here is pretty simple. KILL EVERYONE.
Brother Goliath has a Pulsar Key. The Quasar Key is in the museum. After killing Brother Austin and safecracking the armory, you should all have laser rifles or better. In the armory, take everything EXCEPT one power pack. You’ll thank me in the morning.
Outer Sanctum
Pretty straightforward. Kill everyone, except Redhawk, who is in the prison up in the top right. (you can get a second proton axe here also). Don’t give anything to him, he won’t ever trade anything back. Not ever. The only way to get something off of him is to sell it and then have someone else buy it back. Get the Nova Key from a bed on the left side. The Blackstar Key is hidden in the altar on the right side. Open the portcullis to get to the next level.
Inner Sanctum
Kill everyone (see a pattern here?), and raid the vault. Power armor is very nice. You’ll find that second Onyx ring in the room on the left side. Break down the fence to the helicopter with the proton axe. In this same room is a table where you can fix those broken toasters you’ve been lugging around. Someone has had too much time on their hands to be stuffing all those things into toasters.
Savage Village
The Rundown: Not a lot going on here, just a bunch of local yahoos, but the village elder (the Junk Master) knows where Base Cochise is located.
Pick up Redhawk and take him to the Savage Village (to the west of the lake). Return him to his father, and they’ll tell you how to get to Base Cochise. Alternately, you can also give him the Grazer Bat Fetish to get the info. Drop Redhawk at this point. While you’re there, if you want you can slaughter everyone, lots of helpless women and children.
Guardian Citadel, Inner Sanctum again
Get in the helicopter when you’re ready to leave (any carry-on luggage, sirs?). Make sure you take at least one Rad Suit with you, you’ll need it. Using the helicopter to go anywhere other than Base Cochise is a complete waste, as the trip is one way only (apparently the simulator didn’t teach you how to actually land the thing). Note: The last time I played, I skipped the Savage Village completely, and was still able to get to the base (but that may be a bug).
Sleeper Two
The Rundown: Base Cochise is the nickname given to the second Sleeper Base. This one seems to have specialized in AI and robotics. At some point, the main computer achieved sentience, and decided to wipe out humanity.
It *is* possible to approach Base Cochise on foot, but I wouldn’t recommend it, at least not the first time. The helicopter takes out most of the outside defenses automatically. There are two ways in: Rocket one of the weapons pods on the roof, and a use rope to drop down inside, or you can go through the front door. Hint: if you open the doors on the way in, you don’t have to worry about them on the way out.
Don’t rest anywhere outside or on the main level.
Once inside, you can talk to the giant computer if you want to, but it doesn’t really do anything. Whatever you do, don’t type BREAK, it’s a trap. Find the loose panel on either the left or right side, and rocket your way to the next level.
Base Cochise, Level 2
There’s only 2 useful things on this level: the Armory, and an NPC named VAX.
After the bridge, you’ll find the cyborg factory. One terminal works, type RUN, then select Admin. Pick up VAX, he’s a great NPC. Best of all, he comes equipped. Raid the armory at the NE corner of this level, then head back and find the ladder to level 3.
Base Cochise, Level 3
Pretty simple. Just go through the tests. Note: You should be able to rest in the first three test rooms, but not the last one, and not in the hallway.
- One: Walk across the pipes.
- Two: Avoid the landmines (decent Perception should pick them up automatically).
- Three: Cross the electrified floors and fans (Rest in between).
- Four: Kill Everything.
Base Cochise, Level 4
Kill the guns in the four corners. Here’s where you’re going to start splitting up. It doesn’t matter who goes where, but it’s best to only send 1 person to the Reactor Core (with a rad suit), as there is radiation all over.
The Reactor Core (NW Room)
Equip one of your PCs with the Blackstar Key, plasma coupler, and a Rad Suit and send them off to the room in the NW. Smash the glass wall, and use the plasma coupler to fix the failsafe mechanism. Go to the cubicle in the corner.
Security Center (SE Room)
Find the Security Interval control, and use Electronics to lower the interval a couple times (not sure what this actually does, but supposedly it reduces the chances of random attacks). Leave one of your PCs in the cubicle here with the Pulsar Key.
Robot Maintenance (NE Room)
Watch for the conveyor belt. At the top is some delicate equipment. Smash it, and leave one of your PCs in the cubicle here with the Nova Key.
OSHA Room (SW Room)
Kill the Fusion Powered Octoron. Silver Stranglers are wimpy. Leave one of your PCs in the cubicle here with the Quasar Key.
Self-Destruct Sequence
So it begins.
- Start by using the Blackstar Key on the console in the Reactor Core room.
- Then use the Nova key in Robot Maintenance.
- Then use the Pulsar key in the Security Center.
- Then use the Quasar key in the OSHA room.
The cubicles will close. Hit Enter to start the self-destruct sequence.
Hit the buttons in the following order, switching back and forth between the appropriate rooms:
- NW: Red
- SE: Yellow
- SW: Green
- NE: Blue
Note: If you get it wrong, just start over with the sequence. What’s it gonna do, blow up on ya?
NOW GET THE HELL OUTTA THERE!!!! Join up with everyone, get into the escape pod, just north of where you arrived on this level. Head out the front door, and Full Auto anything that gets in your way, and watch the fireworks from far, far away.
Aftermath
If anyone survives, radio back to base. You’ll get a truckload of experience. Not sure what it’s good for though, besides starting the game over with the same dudes, but they lose their money and items. Have fun…
Appendix A: Misc stuff
Here’s all the stuff that doesn’t fit anywhere else.
Passwords
Highpool
- Bobby: DOG, CAVE, JACKIE
Rail Nomads
- Treasure: CATERPILLAR
Quartz
- Ellen: URABUTLN
- Laurie: URABUTLN or URAQT2
- Hideout: KAPUT (AZRAEL triggers sex change bug)
- Courthouse: MUERTE
- Ugly’s Safe: 11-16-27
- Dude in bathroom at Scott’s: UGLY
- Headcrusher: DANCER, CHAT (?)
Needles
- Temple of Blood: 30 steps
- Mushroom Priest: DIPSTICK
- Acapulco Club: ACAPULCO
Vegas
- Fat Freddy: BIRD
- Faran Brygo: KESTREL, then CRUMB
- Mushroom Temple: EINSTEIN, OPPENHEIMER, or NRC (then BLOODSTAFF)
- Charmaine: BRYGO
Darwin
- Weapon Shop: CRETIAN (*not* CRETIN)
- Project Darwin Elevator: PROTEUS
- Mind Maze: 32, 512, 20, FINSTER, NOTHING, ICEBERG
Guardian Citadel
- Vault: ROSEBUD
Savage Village
- Gate: REDHAWK
- Junkmaster: REDHAWK
I may have missed a couple, I’ll check someday.
Required stuff
Here’s a quick rundown of what you have to do to finish the game:
| Location | Priority |
| Highpool | 3 |
| Quartz | 2 |
| Ag Center | 3 |
| Abandoned Mine | 3 |
| Needles | 2 |
| Las Vegas | 2 |
| Vegas Sewers | 1 |
| Sleeper Base | 1 |
| Darwin Village | 2 |
| Project Darwin | 1 |
| Guardian Citadel | 1 |
| Savage Village | 1 |
| Base Cochise | 1 |
Key:
- 1 Required
- 2 Not required, but useful
- 3 Not required
Super loot bags
The only place I’ve tested this is at the Acapulco club in Needles, and Fat Freddy’s casino in Vegas, but I’ve in one of the rooms at the Stagecoach Inn as well (currently unconfirmed). Make sure your gambling skill is decent. Play a hand at one of the chairs, and when you win, don’t take the loot. Then go play a hand at the other chair. Take the loot, then immediately drop an item. Go back to the first bag, and hit PGDN a couple of times.
Now since this is a program error (it truly is a bug, it’s not an Easter Egg), some of the things listed are not real items (ie: there’s no real items called “Name AC”, etc.), they’re just the contents of some memory address that was plugged into a pointer at random. As such, the list tends to be somewhat random. However, you can usually find Sabot rockets, Proton Axes, and Red Ryders somewhere on the list.
Printing Stats
If you’ve ever wanted to print your Ranger statuses straight from the game to your printer, just hit the “p” key on your keyboard while in the game. Out from your printer will spew all your Rangers’ vital stats, including skills, attributes, weapons and rank. I think this is a debug command that the programmers left in by accident.
Appendix B: Wasteland in real life
I spent some time cross-referencing the Wasteland map with a real map of AZ & NV in order to determine where things are actually located. Assuming that the map is even remotely to scale, it’s still hard to pinpoint the location of Ranger HQ, because according to the introduction in the manual, it was a “newly constructed federal prison”, so it doesn’t seem to be any of the 3 current federal prisons in Arizona, but if it was one of those, it would be in Phoenix (Tuscon is too far south, and Safford is too far east).
The river would of course be the Colorado River, which at some point seems to have been diverted into a large lake (which might possibly be the Salton Sea), rather than continuing on down to Mexico as it does today.
Quartz seems to be located where present-day Quartzsite, AZ is, and the bridge to the left of it would be the remains of Interstate 10.
The bridge next to Needles would be the remains of Interstate 40, and the bridge next to Las Vegas would be the remains of Nevada State Highway 93.
Darwin Village seems to be located near Flagstaff, AZ, and the Sleeper Base looks like it’s located somewhere north of the Grand Canyon.
The Savage Village seems to be somewhere around Mexicali, while the Salton Sea seems to have drifted eastward (see above).
Base Cochise seems to be located in the mountains somewhere between Reno and Yosemite National Park, possibly near Carson City.