Nuka-Cola vending machine (Fallout 3)

Fallout / Fallout 2 / Fallout 3 / Fallout: New Vegas / Van Buren world object
Nuka-Cola vending machine
Effects	Contains Nuka-Cola Your personal vending machine turns Nuka-Cola into ice cold Nuka-Cola
Base ID	00020525

 

Nuka-Cola vending machines (called vending machine in-game) are large containers that dispense Nuka-Cola.

They appear in Fallout and Fallout 2 as a world object and in Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas as a container. It would have also appeared in Van Buren.

Fallout and Fallout 2

Nuka-Cola machines are commonly found throughout the wasteland, and in Fallout 2 they're usable. Just right click on the machine and use money into it. This will initiate a Luck and a Agility test which will see if:

• Your character catches the bottle.
• If you can't catch it, he/she will be able to dodge it with the bottle flying a few yards away. If you aren't able to dodge it, the player will get hit by the bottle in the groin area. (With the player saying Uff! and a small HP loss)

Each bottle costs only $1 each from a machine, but are worth $3 when sold to a merchant. Since the bottles are weightless, this can be used as a (very slow) way of making money. Each machine holds about 10-20 bottles, and (a bit oddly) restocks every 2–3 weeks.

Fallout 3

In Fallout 3 there are 152 of them located throughout the Capital Wasteland, in Metro stations and various buildings. The contents of a vending machine is randomly set the first time the player enters a map cell and remain that way for the rest of the game. In all other respects, it is a standard container and can be used for long term storage throughout the game.

A fully stocked vending machine contains 9 bottle caps, 3 Nuka-Cola and a Nuka-Cola Quantum but is an extremely rare occurrence. The minimum a vending machine will contain is a single Nuka-Cola with the rest being random. There are two chances (75%) for an additional Nuka-Cola. There is a chance (10%) for bottle caps (probably 11% for 9) and a chance (10%) for a Nuka-Cola Quantum. The odds (based on the above figures) for a fully stocked machine are 1 in 1600 or 0.0625%. That works out to 1 fully stocked machine in 10 1/2 complete games (visiting every machine on the map).

Since the contents of a vending machine are set the first time the player enters a map cell, it is possible to "roll for Quantums (save, enter cell, check for Quantums, reload)" but it can quickly become a tedious and frustrating endeavour. In a map cell containing 2 vending machines, the odds are 1 in 100 of finding a Quantum in all of them. For 3 machines, it is 1 in 1000 and so on.

A pristine Nuka-Cola machine can be bought for your house in Megaton from Moira Brown or suite in Tenpenny Tower from Lydia Montenegro. Putting a regular Nuka-Cola into the pristine vending machine converts it into an ice cold Nuka-Cola, improving the health benefits (+20HP/+1RAD vs. +10HP/+2RAD). Once converted, they are no longer available for the Quantum Chemist perk. As with all other vending machines, the one in the house/suite is a regular container and can be used to store anything else in the game.

Locations

Map Marker	Map Cell	Quantity	Notes
Alexandria Arms		2	Up the main stairs, through the double doors to a large room. They're across the room from each other.
Anacostia Crossing	Metro Station	1	On the south wall, just after entering from the Rivet City entrance.
		1	On the north wall of the upper level, behind the raider barricades.
		1	On the east wall of the lower level, in the southeast corner.
		1	On the north wall, just before leaving the Seward Square exit.
Arlington National Cemetery		1	Exit Arlington/Wasteland Metro and proceed south past the train cars, turn west and cross over to the other platform.
		1	Outside the entrance to Arlington/Falls Church Metro
Arlington Library	Children's Wing	2
	Lobby	2
	Media Archive	4
	Wasteland	1	Directly west of the fast travel spawn point, south southwest of the Alexandria Arms inside a building full of traps, guarded by mines and a single raider. Over a trip wire, through the entrance against the southwest wall, in the corner.
Bethesda Ruins	Underworks	1
Chaste Acres Dairy Farm		2	Head almost due west from the spawn point about 1/3 of the way to Old Olney, there is a Red Rocket with a truck on the road. They are at the very back of the truck.
Chryslus Building	Reception Area	3
Dupont Circle Station		1	Next to the collapsed entrance where the two supermutants patrol. Near the Dupont Circle exit.
Fairfax Ruins	Metro Station	1	Directly after entering, slightly southeast of the spawn point.
Falls Church	Falls Church/Mason Dst Metro	1	After fast-traveling there, it is straight ahead past the traincar in front of you.
Flooded Metro		1	Enter through the Flooded Metro map marker near the Arlington Library, (Mason District South is the very long way around), and turn south, it's directly next to the entrance/exit.
Flooded Metro Arlington/Wasteland Metro		1	West down the ramp, turn south, machine is against the wall (there is a broken machine directly across from it)
Fort Independence		1	At the bottom of the staircase just prior to entering the lower level.
Friendship Heights	Metro Station	1	Head down the western side of the southbound tracks to Tenleytown and turn south into the second service tunnel, machine is on the eastern wall.
		1	From the first machine, continue heading south, then west along the tracks. Climb the escalator and turn east, then north and the machine is on the western wall, a few strides from the exit to Chevy Chase North.
Georgetown East	Penn. Ave/Georgetown Metro	1	Inside the Penn. Ave entrance, all the way across the platform from the Georgetown East entrance.
Georgetown North	Georgetown	2	North of the spawn point and the entrance to the metro.
Hubris Comics	Publishing	1	In the far south east corner of the level, near the entrance to "Beta Testing".
Jocko's Pop Stop		1	Outside the building.
L'Enfant		4	1 behind metro for L'Enfant South, 2 along the main strip leading to Vertibird landing and 1 behind entrance to Hazmat Disposal Site L5
L.O.B. Enterprises		3
Mama Dolce's	Food Distribution	2	Climb the staircase to the third floor. Head east through the doorway, between two filing cabinets in the corner.
			From the top of the staircase head west down the corridor, past the room with the hole in the floor till the corridor turns north. Just prior to the door to the loading yard is a nook on the west side with the machine in it.
Marigold Station		2	Bottom of the ramp at the entrance.
			In the service space between the westbound tracks.
MDPL-13 Power Station	Derelict Power Plant	1
Metro Central		1	At the exit to Pennsylvania Avenue.
Museum of History	Museum Station	1	Around the corner from the Museum of History entrance, it's a long walk from The Mall entrance labeled in game as "Anacostia Crossing" (there's no map marker).
Museum of Technology		1	Near the Delta rocket.
Nuka-Cola Plant	Factory Floor	1
	Wasteland	1	Head north from the spawn point, past the building then turn west.
National Guard Depot		3
Our Lady of Hope Hospital		3
Paradise Falls		1	In the food court.
	Slaver Barracks	1
Red Racer Factory	Factory Floor	4
Rivet City	Marketplace	1	In the far corner from the outside entrance.
	Midship Deck	1	In the Capital Preservation Society.
RobCo Facility	Offices & Cafeteria	2
Robot Repair Center		1	Head west northwest from the entrance, through the door and turn south.
Rockbreaker's Last Gas		2	Inside the fence, next to the Red Rocket.
Roosevelt Academy	Academy Building	1	Use north entrance, 1st floor, follow hall east to alcove.
	Arts and Athletics Hall	3
Seward Square		3	From Anacostia Crossing proceed northwest on Penn. Ave, at the Cornucopia Fresh Groceries, turn north onto 7th street. After travelling most of the block, on the western wall of the buildings is an alley marked "Reilly's Rangers". Proceed east, turn north and turn east into the compound. The machines are on the 4th floor and require a significant amount of effort to access. See the Ranger Compound page for more information.
		2	Back to the Cornucopia Fresh Groceries, head northwest on Penn. Ave till you reach the overpass. Past the truck, in front of the Broadway Cinema on the northern wall (facing south).
		1	From the eastern vending machine in front of the Broadway Cinema turn to the north-northeast, go under the overpass to the western wall of the shops/houses (facing east).
Smith Casey's Garage		1
Springvale		1	Under the Red Rocket east of the spawn point.
Vernon East/Takoma Park		3
Vernon Square		3

Fallout: New Vegas

In Fallout: New Vegas there are 43 located throughout the Mojave Wasteland, in various buildings. The contents of a vending machine is randomly set the first time the player enters a map cell and remain that way for the rest of the game. In all other respects, it is a standard container and can be used for long term storage throughout the game.

A fully stocked vending machine contains 9 bottle caps and 3 Nuka-Cola. The minimum a vending machine will contain is a single Nuka-Cola with the rest being random.

Locations

Map Marker	Map Cell	Quantity	Notes
Allied Technologies offices		2	In the south-west corner of the building, next to each other.
Prison building, Black Mountain		1	Upon entering to the immediate right in the corner, close to Rhonda.
Cap Counterfeiting Shack		1	In the basement of the shack
Mick & Ralph's		1	On the second floor, right in front of the player, after having ascended the stairs.
The Basincreek Building		1	Upon entering to the immediate right, next to a Sunset Sarsaparilla vending machine.
Vault 19		1	Next to a Sarsaparilla machine in the cafeteria on level one.

Van Buren

It would have also appeared in the canceled Van Buren, but whether it would have been usable to the player is unknown.

Gallery

A Nuka-Cola vending machine as seen in Fallout.

A Nuka-Cola vending machine as seen in Van Buren.

A Nuka-Cola vending machine as it appears in Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas

Fallout 3 Nuka-Cola vending machine concept art by Adam Adamowicz.

Fallout 3 Nuka-Cola vending machine concept art by Adam Adamowicz.