Fallout New Vegas Quests Overview

Bottom Line Up Front

The main questline for Fallout New Vegas has many alternate endings and therefore varying sets of missions to complete depending on which path is chosen. However, these arcs end at the second battle for Hoover Dam.

If you know me, you will know that my favorite game of all time is Fallout New Vegas. Now, this might have something to do with the fact that I got my grubby little hands on the title well before the legal age limit on the box would have preferred.

However, I like to think that it’s not just nostalgia that keeps bringing me back to this title time and time again. I know, I used the word nostalgia talking about a game that came out in 2010; that was 12 years ago; we’re all getting old!

Fallout New Vegas NCR Ending

Instead, I prefer to focus on the myriad magical and personally loved moments this title has given me over the years. The intricately woven storyline and amazing characters in this installment of the franchise are second to none within the Fallout universe.

This, combined with deep and rich lore set against an amazing backdrop and soundtrack creates a wonderful and simply groundbreaking experience. In my eyes anyway.

With all of this in mind, let’s take a look at this storyline and the questline that guides the player through it. Taking our time to appreciate the details and all the best quests any intrepid Courier could hope to experience.

Hopefully, by the end of this article, you will see why I value this game so highly and give some of these Fallout New Vegas Quests a go or replay afterward!

The Main Quest

Like a Kick in the Head

When any Fallout franchise aficionado boots up a new post-apocalyptic role-playing game under the heading of Fallout, they assume that the interior of some random vault will greet them.

Therefore, the developers of New Vegas decided to take this preconception and immediately through it out of the proverbial window, setting the trend, one could say.

Instead, the player character is treated to a cinematic cut scene wherein an incredibly well-dressed man, voiced by none other than Chandler Bing himself, and two goons who subsequently shoot the player in the head over some package you were carrying in the role as a courier for the Mojave Express. Not the best of starts if you ask me. 

Once this cinematic scene ends, the player then wakes up in a strange room, with a strange man next to them. This man, Doc Mitchell, has saved the player from certain death, reconstructing your face and pulling the bullet fragments from your noggin.

Soon after, the basic RPG tutorial and character generation antics leave the player fully formed, gendered, and dressed in a striking Vault-Tec jumpsuit by the time you leave the Doc’s Goodsprings abode. 

Best Served Cold 

Now, like anyone recently resurrected from the dead, the player character has one mission, the tracking down and subsequent punishment of the well-dressed man who just recently placed a metal shard in their brain at terminal velocity. The Courier’s first step on this mission is the quest; They Went That-a-Way.

This quest will lead you through some of the more major settlements dotted throughout the Mojave, including Primm, Nipton, Novac, and Boulder City, on your way to the New Vegas strip, the place our man was supposedly heading.

Boulder city will also be of particular interest to the player as it is here that you will encounter Jessup, one of the goons who helped Benny shoot you in the head mere days prior. He will tell you that the man you’re after is located in the Tops Casino inside the New Vegas Strip. 

Through these travels, the player will also begin to feel for the ongoing political and literal struggles in the area, coming across the major factions, the New California Republic and Caesar’s Legion. These guys will play a huge role later, but the player need only be concerned with their revenge for now. 

Related: Complete Caesar’s Legion Quest Guide.

Eventually, after fending off numerous enemies, the player will hopefully level up a good deal and happen across some interesting characters before finally reaching Freeside, the settlement surrounding the main entrance to the New Vegas strip

At this point, the player character will need to have already acquired at least 2000 caps to gain access to the Strip, passing the numerous robotic guards barring your way. Alternatively, though, the player can head on over to Mick and Ralphs and buy a counterfeit passport for 500 caps, also granting the player access to the Strip and one step closer to your foe.

Upon entering the Strip, the player can either meet with the boss of the New Vegas strip, Mr. Anthony House, inside the Lucky 38 casino or head directly to the Tops to confront Benny.

Either way, the player will ultimately confront the casino chairman in the quest Ring-a-Ding-Ding! From here, the player has many options on how best to deal with the Benny problem standing before them.

The Courier can choose to either let the man live or kill him; either way, the result is mostly the same, the only difference being the point in the main quest when the Platinum Chip, the item shot the player over, is returned to the Courier.

Should the player kill Benny, they can acquire the Chip off of his corpse, whereas if he lives, he will later be captured by the Legion and brought to Caesar, the Legion commander, thus handing over the Chip to the player.

Now, with Benny taken care of, the player will be able to find a securitron hidden away at the back of Benny’s luxurious presidential suite. This securitron has been hacked and manipulated by Benny into Yes Man, a robot no longer under the control of Mr. House.

Instead, the incredibly annoying rolling computers role is now to serve whoever is speaking to it at the time, and it just so happens to be the Courier from this point on. 

In Brief:

  • If Benny is not killed in the Tops Casino, he will be captured by the Legion, thus giving the player the Platinum Chip.
  • Journeying through all of the marked settlements en-route to the Strip will allow the player to witness NCR operations and Legion war crimes, giving the player a feel for the overall vibe of the factions at play here. 

Arcs, So Many Arcs

This is the point in the game where things begin to get interesting. Not only has the player’s thirst for revenge been fully quenched, but you also begin to feel your power in this horrid wasteland as representatives of the main warring factions, the NCR and the Legion, invite the player to come work with them.

These offers, combined with that of Mr. House and the possibility of going it alone with the help of Yes Man, give the player four main directions through which the main quest can be completed and, therefore, four different parties who will end up in control of Hoover Dam and therefore the Mojave by games end. With these many story arcs in mind, let’s take a look at them individually.

Yes Man Quests

This story arc will see the player standing high on the mountain with a wall of securitrons at their back, the full power of their combined arms under your full control. But, before we get there, some quests have to be completed first!

When the player first meets Yes Man, his questline, Wild Card, will already be available in the player Pip-Boy. To complete the first of these quests, Ace in the Hole, the player simply needs to talk to Yes Man and find out how to acquire the New Vegas Strip for themselves.

The ever-helpful robot will tell the player that to have any chance of succeeding, you must replace Mr. House with him, thus giving all of his controls to Yes Man.

Change in Management

To do this, the player simply needs to either re-enter the Lucky 38 casino or accept Mr. Houses standing invitation for a meeting. Once in his apartment, the player must access the terminal at the left-hand side of the room, just beside Mr. House’s monitor screen. This will allow the player to open a secret door at the side of the room, leading to an elevator down to Mr. House himself. 

Of course, the securitrons in the room might not like this action and thus turn hostile immediately on the player. However, don’t worry; these robots put up one hell of a fight no matter the player’s level. Therefore, you are best to just run by them all and jump in the elevator down to Mr. House.

These securities will not follow the player. Upon exiting the elevator in the bowels of the Lucky 38, the player will see that Mr. House is a small, withered man, kept alive by technology long past his natural life span. Accessing another terminal here will give the player the option to either kill or disable the helpless Anthony House, thus making room for Yes Man. 

You and What Army?

The next step in your quest for total dominance of the New Vegas Strip is to get yourself an army, one that can stand against the might of both the Legion and the NCR. Well, isn’t it lucky that Mr. House already had one lined up for you? Yes, that’s right, buried deep in a bunker underneath what is now the Legion’s forward operating base, Fortification Hill, an army of securitrons await a master. 

So, as you might imagine, this next bit of the quest might be a little bit tricky should the player already have journeyed to and annoyed the Legion in some way over at The Fort. However, for most players, this will be their first time inside the Legion’s main base, having already received the Mark of Caesar, granting the player passage and the opportunity to meet with Caesar.

The advisable course of action at this point is, therefore, to go along with the Legion and let them think you are going to side with them, do this long enough and by the end of your conversation with Caesar, he will either give you the Platinum Chip from his prisoner Benny or send you down to Mr. House’s bunker with the Chip already in hand.

Apparently, the great leader does not trust the installation close to his army’s main resting post and thus wants the player to destroy it. Agreeing to this, the player will head down to the bunker and gain entry via the Chip.

Entering this bunker, The Courier will soon see Yes Man there, on a monitor that Mr. House in another story arc would have occupied. Yes, Man will then tell the player to proceed through the bunker and use the Chip to activate the army.

After fighting your way through some defenses left behind by Mr. House, the player will do this, and the subsequent noise created by the army ‘waking up’ will rumble so loud that Caesar will believe it to be an explosion, thus fulfilling your promise to the great leader. Therefore, he will allow the player to leave, assuming you will continue working for him shortly.

Side Bets

At this point in the quest, it begins to become apparent that with this robot army in hand, the goal of conquering the Mojave is not that far away; however, you will need to deal with the other factions first if you don’t want to be overwhelmed at the final battle for the Dam.

This is when Yes Man tells the player that they must either bring these factions on the side or destroy them. The factions include the Boomers, the Brotherhood of Steel, the Great Khans, the Omertas, and the White Glove Society. 

Therefore, each of these factions can either be destroyed or brought on side by the Courier, thus either ensuring their support at the final battle or removing their potential support from the other sides of the conflict once the time arises.

Should the player decide to get these factions on side, a series of side quests will have to be completed per faction in order to raise the Couriers relationship within said faction enough that they wouldn’t think twice about possibly dying for them in a battle which will ultimately not affect any of them whatsoever. 

The Boomers

This faction’s questline is entitled ‘Volare!’ and involves walking around Nellis Air Force Base and meeting with several Boomers to ascertain and thus complete any quests they ask of the Courier. This will eventually culminate in the player helping them raise a sunken B-29 bomber plane from the bottom of Callville Bay, thus earning their support. 

The Brotherhood of Steel

Due to the nature of the Brotherhood of Steel, they will always outright refuse to help install a dictator within the Mojave. Apparently, it disagrees with their moral code or something.

Therefore, the player is left with two options: destroy the faction, ensure they will not support any of the other key players or learn enough about them to recognize they are not a threat and thus dismiss them. One can do this by acquiring Veronica as a companion for long enough to gain entry to the bunker and simply observe them.

Alternatively, however, the player can either summon all of their Jet, Stimpak’s, and whatever other chemicals they have bouncing around in their inventory and take them all out singlehandedly or, they can blow up their bunker via some sneaky pickpocketing.

Now, I am not going to lie to you, there is a fun way and a boring way to complete this quest, the latter option, of course, being the boring way; however, not many players are going to be able to go with this option, especially if running on Hardcore difficulty. So, let’s talk about the less fun option a little with this in mind. 

To blow up the BoS bunker, the player will need to acquire three keycards. One each from Elder McNamara, Head Paladin Hardin, and Head Scribe Taggart. The easiest way of getting said cards is pickpocketing. However, merely acquiring these items will be enough, no matter how the Courier goes about it.

Next, with these cards in hand, go to the main terminal located on the second floor and use the cards to generate and authorize the base’s self-destruction. Alternatively, this terminal can be hacked should the player have a high enough Science skill. 

White-Glove Society

The next faction, the weirdest one the player will come across in New Vegas, is the incredibly well-dressed White Glove Society based out of the Ultra Lux Casino in the Strip. 

There is no actual way to bring this society into the battle with the player; however, Yes Man still ensures the Courier that their involvement could spell trouble, in the long run, should they side with the Legion or the NCR; therefore, something must be done. With this in mind then, the player must complete the quest Beyond the Beef.

This quest will see the player delve into the horrible world of cannibalism over at the Ultra Lux. How the player resolves this issue is not important; however, in the grand scheme of things, so whether you want to save a human being from becoming dinner or wish to help cook the meal yourself, the choice is entirely yours.

This quest is so beautifully typical of New Vegas because it truly does not matter what the player does here; simply engage with the quest and have fun with the wacky and horrid possible outcomes.

The Great Khans 

The next faction on Yes Man’s list is the Great Khans. This outfit might be familiar to the player by now, considering that the two goons from the opening cinematic scene were from this faction. However, you shouldn’t have any hard feelings; I mean, live and let live. With that being said, though, should the player still carry some animosity towards this group of murderers, simply wipe them all out. 

Should the player decide that they don’t want to commit some small-scale genocide, they will have to complete the quest Oh My Papa. This will ensure the clan’s devotion to the player’s character.

Completing this quest for the Yes Man story arc will therefore see the Khans leave the Mojave completely, thus avoiding the battle or having them suicide bomb the Dam during the battle. Why they choose to help in this way, I will never know.

Omertas

Lastly, we must deal with the Omertas over at the Gomorrah hotel and Casino. This Italian mob-inspired family-run Casino is another faction that cannot help the player at the Dam when the time comes but must be squared away before further action is taken.

To do this, the player must head on over to the Gomorrah, opposite the Lucky 38, and pick up the quest How Little We Know. This quest will see the player find out about the goings-on behind closed doors at the Casino, learning that the bosses there have something dastardly in mind. A plan that you can either help out with or foil. 

Once again, whether the player decides to help out Casino or the bosses, the result according to Yes Man and therefore the main questline is the accept same, allowing the player to report their success to their robot helper. Doing this will thus complete the longest set of quests in the entire main game and move the player on to the next stage.

In Brief:

  • The player can only bring the Boomers and the Great Khans along to help on the Dam, and the other factions will simply be forgotten about in the final battle.
  • Should the player destroy the Brotherhood and hen meet Veronica, they may lose her as a possible companion. 
  • To gain access to the Boomers, the player must run through a missile barrage from the isolationist faction; doing so will earn the player their respect.

Finishing Touches

With all of these factions dealt with, the player now needs to ensure Yes Man can control the vast army of securitrons from his position in the Strip all the way over at Hoover Dam. To do this, the player must install an override module within the vicinity of the Dam at El Dorado Substation. 

This quest will also give the player the option to help the NCR save their visiting President’s life should the player have a high enough reputation within the NCR. However, whether the player does this or not, the main quest is not really changed.

No Gods, No Masters

Here we are, the final Yes Man quest. This mission involves the player finally marching on Hoover Dam with their securitron army behind them. Ultimately, the player will fight through waves of NCR and Legion before gaining access to the final tower on the Dam. Inside said tower, the player will activate a switch, allowing Yes Man complete control of the Dam. 

After doing this, the player must finish off the remaining ground forces on the Dam, culminating in a final battle with the Legion battle commander Lanius. Defeating said commander will then result in a meeting with General Oliver of the NCR.

In this dialogue, the General will try and threaten the player; however, once your securitron army rolls in behind him, surrounding his soldiers, he will put up little fight, thus winning the Courier the battle and, therefore, New Vegas, completing the game.

Mr. House Quests

The opening quest for Mr. House’s story arc is similar to Yes Man’s, entitled The House Always Wins; the player will quest to regain control of the securitron army underneath The Fort for Mr. House. Doing so will complete the second part of this main questline.

Controlling the Factions – Again!

As you know by now, each potential side the player picks in New Vegas must deal with the same group of factions throughout their run. As we have already covered these factions and their missions, I will only briefly mention some differences. 

Once sided with Mr. House, the most salient difference is that the BoS must be eliminated with no option to spare them allowed. Also, completing the Boomers questline will activate a great deal of Legion and NCR hate, damaging the player’s reputation with them. 

Same but Different 

The final stages of Mr. Houses questline are very similar to that of Yes Man; the player must once again journey to the substation to control the securitron army at the Dam. Then, they must also march on said landmark with that army.

Once this is done, the player can begin the final quest, All or Nothing, which will see the player march through the Dam again, taking control of it for Mr. House this time and ultimately having to defeat Legate Lanius and talk down General Oliver all over again.

The NCR Questline

The NCR version of New Vegas is much the same as the other two already listed in this guide. However, a couple of quests differ from the norm: Kings’ Gambit and the faction quests regarding the BoS. 

In King’s Gambit, the player must help Ambassador Crocker with his mission to gain the NCR more acceptance within the Strip, ensuring their position is secure for the future. To do this, the player can either talk to the head of the King’s gang, unsurprisingly also named The King after Elvis himself.

This conversation will require skill checks in order to convince the man to cease hostility between his men and the NCR. Alternatively, however, the player can kill his second-in-command Pacer in a manner that does not implicate the NCR. Either way, the result is the successful completion of the quest and the continuation of the main story. 

The next sealant difference is that the player can actually convince the BoS to join up with the NCR at the battle for Hoover Dam. To do this, make sure not to blow them up like the last two times and actually complete their line of quests diligently in order to gain a positive reputation within the faction for when the time comes.

The final quest for the NCR is entitled Eureka! This mission will see the player defending the Dam for once and have them repulse waves of Legion soldiers right up until they reach the Legates camp. The player will then have to defeat with weapons or words this great beast, once again.

The Legion Questline 

This questline, Render Unto Caesar, takes place at The Fort and involves the player heading on down to the bunker at Caesar’s request and actually destroying the securitron army placed underneath the Legion’s main camp in the Mojave. Doing this will subsequently end the possibility of finishing the game with Mr. House and Yes Man. 

Et Tumor, Brute?

At this point, the player will have either removed or acquired the aid of the key factions required throughout the wasteland, and thus the next battle for Hoover Dam will soon be upon the player. However, something is off with the great leader, Caesar.

Apparently, the man had been experiencing great headaches and frequent blackouts, most likely symptoms of a brain tumor. Therefore, in order to further this quest past, the player must find a way to cure Caesar. 

This can be done in a myriad of ways. The first and easiest may be to acquire Arcade Gannon as a companion and bring him to the Fort; once there, the player can sell the doctor into slavery, thus helping save the leader. Alternatively, the player can use the Auto-Doc at Caesar’s bedside to remove the tumor, merely requiring a module from Vault 34 to commence the surgery.

Lastly, should the player have high enough Medicine or Speech skills, the player can use a doctor’s bad and surgical tools to complete the operation. These two options will also require a Luck check of 9 or a Medicine skill of 75. Should the player complete the surgery properly, the quest will advance with Caesar in apparent good health.

Arizona Killer

In a change to the other noted questlines, the Legion requires the player to kill President Kimball instead of either saving him or leaving the whole affair up to fate. In Caesar’s opinion, doing this will both devastate the NCR troops stationed at the Dam and inspire the Legion troops who will soon march upon it. 

The player must first meet with Cate Hostillius, a Legion spy located near the Dam to complete this quest. After meeting this man, the player must find some way to kill the President. Should this be by planting explosives on his Vertibird or simply shooting him in the head, the choice is yours. 

Veni, Vidi, Vici

Now, with the NCR’s President dead, the Legion at full strength, and the player ready and waiting, Caesar finally gives the order for you and your forces to march on and take Hoover Dam. After talking with Caesar’s second in command, Lanius, this quest will begin, formally begins the march.

After fighting your way through the NCR soldiers, the player must make their way to General Oliver and deal with him in whichever way the Courier deems fit. Personally, I always kill him for being too annoying. After this, the battle is over, and Legate Lanius will congratulate you, telling you as much. Thus, completing the storyline once again. 

In Brief:

– The player can possibly continue the Legion questline if Caesar dies should the proper speech checks be passed with Lucius afterward.

– Legate Lanius will not help the player during the final battle, and he will only appear after the events of the battle.

– Should Caesar die, Legate Lanius takes his place. 

Best Side Quests

There are many amazing side quests that not only help to pad out the overall title but actually make the game as enjoyable as it is. These quests break the rather monotonous portions of the main quest into little chunks that can be interspersed with vivid and imaginative happenings all across the wasteland. With this in mind, let’s take a look at some of the best side quests one can find in New Vegas. 

Classic Inspiration

The beauty of this quest lies in its simplicity. After receiving this quest from Michael Angelo (no, not that one), the player must take a camera around some of the more standout locations across the Mojave. Not only does this quest allow the player to explore some of the best locations in the game, but you also get a reward at the end of it. Win, win if you ask me. 

Come Fly with Me

This quest can be picked up at the REPCONN Test Site, located just south of Novac, and involves the player helping out a group of religious ghouls looking to join their deity out in space via” The Great Journey.”

This mission, therefore, requires the player to go along with the clearly delusional ghouls and help them assemble their rockets. This quest stands out to me essentially because of how different it is from the rest, and the completely weird cult of personalities found in this quest also helps. 

Bleed Me Dry

This quest involved the player heading down into the underground fighting ring of The Thorn. The player can pick up the quest from Red Lucy in this location. She will ask the player to head out into the wasteland and acquire some eggs from the deadliest creatures in the Mojave.

Not only will this quest allow the player to test their metal against some harsh enemies, but it will also help you get in Red Lucy’s good books, a useful thing for those looking to compete in the arena.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: How long is the New Vegas main questline?

Answer: The main quest for New Vegas will take the player, on average, 28 hours. 

Question: Will there be a New Vegas two?

Answer: There has been no proper confirmation regarding a second New Vegas title; however, the rumor mill over at Obsidian has recently picked up, indicating a possible new title coming soon.

Question: Is New Vegas still worth playing?

Answer:The title is definitely still worth playing due to its amazing storyline and overall setting. After all, there must be a reason that players have been continuing to play the game for over a decade since its initial release. 

Final Thoughts

So, there you have it, a complete list of the entire Fallout New Vegas main quest as well as some of the best side quests that any Mojave aficionado must check out.

To me, the reason that New Vegas was such a brilliant game was the dynamic nature of the overall world wherein a player’s decisions actually seemed to mean something, a relatively new thing at the time of this game’s release.

With that being said, I hope you enjoyed and found this guide useful; happy hunting!

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