“Me... they called me the Flag-Bearer. Glory in my hand, in my staff that still bore the weight of the Old World just as the symbol on my back did.”— Ulysses
Old Glory is a unique weapon in the Fallout: New Vegas add-on Lonesome Road.
Background[]
A flagpole topped with a golden eagle, this staff had been used by Ulysses since his time with the White Legs tribe of the Great Salt Lake, having been sent by Caesar as a frumentarius to turn them against the New Canaanites, promising their assimilation into the Legion contingent on their success. Out of reverence towards Ulysses, the tribe eventually gave him the moniker "Flag Bearer" due to his wielding of Old Glory. Ulysses considers his flagstaff to be a symbol of the Old World just like the flag emblazoned on the back of his jacket.
Characteristics[]
A two-handed blunt melee weapon. It deals moderate damage per strike, has the second-lowest AP cost of all blunt melee weapons along with the 9 iron and X-2 antenna 
, and deals the highest critical hit damage of all blunt melee weapons.
Visually, the weapon consists of a maple-carved flagpole capped with a golden eagle statue.
Special attack[]
Old Glory has a special Grand Slam attack that does 200% damage in V.A.T.S. at the cost of 13 more action points (requires a Melee skill of 50).
| Legend | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | - Type of attack |  | - Skill required | |
 | - Damage per attack in V.A.T.S. |  | - Action point cost | |
 | - Damage per action point |  | - Additional effects | |
| | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | 0 | 90 | 22 | 4.09 |
| Grand Slam | 50 | 180 | 35 | 5.14 |
- Note: Melee weapons do double normal damage in V.A.T.S.
It is possible to execute Grand Slam outside of V.A.T.S. (without the required Melee skill of 50 to perform the move) by initiating a power attack (hold attack button) while moving forward. A critically hitting Grand Slam does the most damage of any melee attack in the game, and a Grand Slam sneak attack can kill any enemy in a single hit with the right perks, except for the X-42 giant robo-scorpion and Gojira.
Durability[]
Old Glory can successfully strike about 1245 times from full condition before breaking.
Variants[]
- When in combat during The Courier, either against or with the player character, Ulysses wields a non-playable version of Old Glory that has higher damage, but lower critical damage and a critical multiplier of 1. It also has a 10% chance of knocking enemies down (unless one has the Stonewall perk). The weapon scales to the player character's level, gaining extra damage and critical damage at levels 25, 35, and 45.
- Pool cue - a common tool used in cue sports.
- Throwing spear - a makeshift projectile weapon.
Comparison[]
| Legend | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | - Weapon name (melee or unarmed) |  | - Attacks in V.A.T.S. | |
 | - Weapon name (gun, energy or explosive) | | - Action point cost | |
| - Damage per attack (damage per projectile) | | - Damage per action point | |
 | - Damage per second |  | - Weapon spread | |
 | - Area of effect damage |  | - Magazine capacity (shots per reload) | |
| - Effect damage & duration |  | - Durability (number of attacks before breaking) | |
 | - Bonus effects |  | - Weight | |
| - Attacks per second |  | - Value in caps | |
 | - Critical chance % multiplier |  | - Value to weight ratio | |
 | - Critical damage | | - Skill required | |
 | - Critical effect damage & duration |  | - Strength required | |
 | - With all mods attached | |||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pool cue | 15 | 22.5 | 1.5 | x0 | 15 | 27 | 1.1 | 245 | 1 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 2 |
| Throwing spear | 50 | 30 | 0.6 | x1 | 50 | 24 | 4.2 | 4995 | 0.5 | 25 | 50 | 25 | 1 |
Old Glory  | 45 | 85.3 | 1.89 | x1.5 | 80 | 22 | 4.1 | 1245 | 8 | 2500 | 312.5 | 50 | 7 |
- Note: Melee damage is doubled in V.A.T.S.
Locations[]
- The weapon is used by Ulysses in his Temple and can be taken from his body if the violent path is chosen during The Courier and he is killed.
- After completing Lonesome Road and returning to the canyon wreckage, a second one can be found in the footlocker also containing the Courier duster, several other items, and Ulysses' final message.
Notes[]
- Old Glory was originally meant to be a weapon in the base game of Fallout: New Vegas, then named the "Eagle Pole". Along with the original version of Ulysses, it was cut during development, but its visual resources remained intact.
- The 3 of Clubs in the Fallout: New Vegas collector's edition card deck depicts Ulysses holding what appears to be a flagpole, likely meant to be Old Glory.
Behind the scenes[]
- The weapon's name "Old Glory" is a reference to the flag of the United States, which has the same nickname.
- During the time of the Roman Republic, every legion in the Roman army had two "Eagles", gold or silver statues on the top of a pole carried into battle. They symbolized the courage of the legion's 4,500 members, and every soldier was taught to never allow an "Eagle" to be captured by an enemy of Rome, which was considered to be the greatest shame for a Roman soldier.
Gallery[]
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