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This page is about the Old World Blues quest. For the main article of the Old World Blues add-on, see Old World Blues (add-on). For the wasteland term, see Old World Blues (term). |
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Old World Blues is a main quest in the Fallout: New Vegas add-on Old World Blues.
Quick walkthrough[]
| Main Quest: Old World Blues | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Complete X-2: Strange Transmissions!, X-8: High School Horror!, & X-13: Attack of the Infiltrator!, then return to Doctor Klein in the Think Tank. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reach the entrance to the Forbidden Zone north of the Think Tank and slightly west of the Big MT north tunnel. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Deal with the X-42 giant robo-scorpion. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fight the robo-scorpion directly and kill it. | Use various terminals in the testing chamber to distract, depower, and then disable the robo-scorpion. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Deal with Doctor Mobius in the Forbidden Zone Dome. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spare and speak with Doctor Mobius. | Attack and kill Doctor Mobius. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Speak with the Brain Tank. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Convince the Courier's brain to return to its body. | Agree to let the Courier's brain remain detached from its body. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Return to the Think Thank and deal with Doctor Klein and the Think Tank. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pass a series of Speech, Medicine and/or Science skill checks (see below) to convince the Think Tank to stand down and obey the Courier. | Complete side quests related to Picking Your Brains beforehand, then choose the option to persuade the other Think Tank members to make Doctor Klein back down. | Attack and kill the Think Thank. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reward: Variable XP Big Mountain Transportalponder! tool Add-on completion Make up Your Mind & Outsmarted achievements/trophies | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Detailed walkthrough[]
This quest will automatically trigger after completing the last of the three previous quests X-2: Strange Transmissions!, X-8: High School Horror!, and X-13: Attack of the Infiltrator!. Return to the Think Tank to speak with Doctor Klein. The Think Tank leader confirms their acquisition of the technologies they need to breach the defenses of Doctor Mobius' Forbidden Zone so the Courier can recover their brain, but he cannot remember exactly how to use them. One can make uneducated guesses in dialogue or pass one of several skill checks to connect relevant details of the technologies to the situation, as follows:
Once Klein comes around to the solution, the doors to the Forbidden Zone are unlocked by the Think Tank and he sends the player character on their way to end the threat to Big MT once and for all.
Near the Forbidden Zone dome entrance north of the Think Tank and slightly west of the Big MT north tunnel, one will encounter multiple robo-scorpions patrolling both the crashed traincars and the area in front of the facility entrance, hostile on sight.
Fighting the Forbidden Zone Guardian[]
Inside the Forbidden Zone, the Courier is immediately thrust into a battle as Dr. Mobius unleashes his most powerful creation, the X-42 giant robo-scorpion.
One of the strongest enemies in the game, the X-42 giant robo-scorpion is armed with a powerful atomic laser capable of dealing heavy damage on top of inflicting radiation damage of about 30 rads per second for one second, as well as having a blast radius of about that of a pulse grenade. It sometimes fires while one is behind cover and still causes radiation damage at about 2–15 rads per second.
Though it is possible to contend with the X-42 GRS in a standup fight, this will require high-level weapons and armor plus significant amounts of Rad-X and RadAway to deal with its radioactive stinger blast. Alternatively, the chamber it resides in contains several terminals that can be activated to hamper the robo-scorpion's advantage; the route to find them is as follows:
- Enter the room to the right of the dome's entrance containing a terminal. This terminal allows for activating four target Protectrons that will distract the X-42 GRS and draw its fire long enough to get to other terminals.
- Enter the room further to the right with stairs that leads to a terminal. This terminal allows for activating the X-42 backup generator, leading it to overload and causing some damage.
- Enter the room to the left and hack the Average-locked terminal to turn four automated turrets on both sides of the room against the X-42 GRS. Although they will not be sufficient to destroy it, they will cause a lot of damage.
- Enter the balcony room on the far left side of the zone from the entrance and hack the Very Hard-locked terminal to get the option to permanently disable the X-42 GRS; choosing the option will still require avoiding its attacks as a countdown leads up to its deactivation. If one lacks the necessary Science skill, the password to the computer can be found on the Protectron platform on the opposite side of the chamber, near the leftmost robot bay.
One additional, temporary solution is if one has the Robotics Expert perk, they can sneak up and disable it. However, the X-42 giant robo-scorpion will restart itself after a set amount of time has passed.
Once the threat of the giant robo-scorpion is dealt with, it is time to confront Doctor Mobius himself. Ascend to the upper-level balcony via the stairs connected to the left-side offices. Before taking the doors into Mobius' dome, it is advisable to investigate the table opposite the door as one can acquire another audio sample for the sonic emitter.
Dealing with Doctor Mobius[]
Inside the Forbidden Zone dome, which physically resembles the layout of the Think Tank, one will find Doctor Mobius hovering about, muttering to himself and will never turn hostile unless provoked or attacked directly. One can take the time to explore the Dome for a few unique pieces of loot before deciding how to deal with him. The following choices for deciding Mobius' fate will affect his ending after completing the Old World Blues add-on:
- Speaking with Doctor Mobius
- If instead of violence, one chooses to learn more about Mobius and his plans, he can be engaged in dialogue. Instead of the super-villainous megalomaniac he has professed to be, Doctor Mobius is more jovial and welcoming, such as asking nicely for them to step into his field of view when straying too far; if one complies, he offers a single Mentats as thanks. One can question the disparity between his on-screen and off-screen personas to which he responds in confusion about what he was "supposed" to be like. Asking about why he took their brain leads to Mobius explaining (in his own eccentric way) that the brain extraction performed on the Courier when they were teleported to Big MT was important for specific "raisins" but he cannot yet remember why.
- Choosing to ask him more questions, one has the option to pass a Repair 75 skill check to crudely but effectively mend some of the hardware damage to Mobius' think tank shell (his appearance will not change, however), for which he is thankful. The two options for discussion topics include the creation of his robo-scorpions which were inspired by him encountering radscorpions, and the reason for sending his broadcasts of terror to the Think Tank which was allegedly caused by a bad Psycho trip.
- However, if one points out that his creation of the robo-scorpions and his broadcasted threats served as a means to keep the Think Thank pre-occupied, Mobius will let slip that he intended to keep them from leaving Big MT. Further prodding over the uniqueness of his name, "Mobius" allows the maddened scientist to connect the dots in his mind and remember that he gave himself that name based on Old World sci-fi productions, similar to the Think Tank's names that were all meant to serve as a means to enforce the recursion loop in their programming. One can then pass a Science 50 check to suggest that Mobius' sabotage was meant to keep them trapped in Big MT on purpose, which he confirms as they would otherwise learn of a way to escape the radar fence.
- A Intelligence 7 attribute check allows one to diagnose the common theme between the Think Thank's changed names, as "Klein," "Dala," "8," etc. are all meant to evoke the idea of an endless loop (a second INT 7 check points out that the derivative "Borous" is misspelled from "Ouro-boros"), and as a result, prevents their cognitive processes from recognizing the world beyond the limits of Big MT, all in order to keep their brand of amoral, unethical, unrestrained SCIENCE! from dissecting and destroying what was left of it after the Great War. He further notes that despite his attempt to lobotomize them, with the Courier's arrival and their brain being successfully extracted combined with the actions of some previous visitors, the Think Tank would have eventually figured out that there was more to the world than Big MT and start trying to find a way to escape the crater.
- Mobius also elaborates on the brain extraction, indicating that it was successful due to possessing a unique kind of scarring from a previous injury as opposed to the many procedures before that created Big MT's hordes of lobotomites (one can pass a Medicine 65, Guns 75, or Perception 7 check to affirm the injury was the headshot dealt by Benny outside Goodsprings); if the Think Tank were to acquire the extraction procedure data stored in the Sink's computers via obtaining the Courier's brain, they could reverse it and place their brains into human shells, allowing them to escape the confines of Big MT unopposed.
- Another Intelligence 7 check has one point out that the mission from Klein to retrieve the three technologies used to break into the Forbidden Zone was only possible from Mobius' broadcasts warning them not to look for them; Mobius confirms that it was a deliberate ploy to allow him to claim the technologies and keep them out of the Think Tank's hands, as their individual applications have a combined potential to complete the brain insertion process. One can then point out Klein had downloaded the schematics after the Courier obtained the tech and could reproduce them at will, rendering Mobius' gambit pointless.
- Finally, one can get around to demanding he return their brain to them. Mobius says that since he has had it in his company, it has developed a will of its own and the Courier would do well to discuss the issue with their brain directly.
- Fighting with Doctor Mobius
- Either avoiding talking to him altogether and attacking or choosing one of several dialogue options to incite violence, Mobius will turn hostile, summoning multiple units of his strongest robo-scorpions to aid him. Compared to the other think tank robots, Mobius is significantly tougher, leveling with the Courier and potentially reaching a maximum HP of 700 (only Klein is closer in comparison, with 500 HP at high levels). Like the other think tanks, his weapons deal 38 damage per hit and 94 damage per second. Defeating him will not remove the robo-scorpions, though Mobius will not summon more after the initial wave is destroyed.
Bartering with Your Brain[]
Once the matter of the "evil" Doctor Mobius is dealt with, approach the back of the Dome chamber behind the staircase. There one will find the Courier's brain (named in-game as "Brain Tank") who speaks through a thought-synthesizing processor, giving it a snobbish masculine voice; a female Courier will have a unique dialogue option to point this out. A Courier with an Intelligence attribute of ≤3 will also have unique dialogue options when talking to the Brain Tank. An optional dialogue choice has the brain explain its self-awareness and increased intelligence as being the result of consuming Old-World literature and bathing in a supply of ground Mentats infused into its tank. Above all, the Courier's brain expresses its disdainful opinion of the trials its body put it through in the past, such as stomping through radioactive grime, traversing ancient collapsing Vaults, crossing a vast unforgiving desert to get petty revenge on their would-be killer hiding in the walls of New Vegas, and especially putting each other in the position to get shot in the head in the first place and buried in a shallow grave.
One can be understanding or flippant towards the brain's grievances, but the end result is its staunch refusal to have anything to do with its former organic shell; one can pass Medicine 55, Science 75 and/or Speech 75 skill checks to remind the brain of the positives of having a body, though this will only soften its position while still remaining uncertain. One dialogue choice between threatening to further harm the body once they are reunited or avoiding that and asking the question directly, has the brain elaborate on how it came to be in Mobius' possession, stating that after the extraction, the Think Tank devolved to bickering and forgot about the disembodied organ which Mobius exploited to arrange for its transport to his stronghold.
The following narrative paths determine the ending for the Courier's brain upon completing the Old World Blues add-on:
- Convince the brain to be reunited with its former body. Continuing to choose respectful dialogue options eventually convinces the brain to return to the Courier, after which the brain appears in the inventory as a miscellaneous item.
- Allow the brain to remain the tank. One can agree with the brain's wish to be left separate, or rebuke and tell it to stay in its tank. Choosing this path does not prevent later access to the Big Brained perk via the Sink Auto-Doc but the ending will remain chosen even if it is replaced later.
Once the matter of their brain's fate is dealt with, it will advise against going directly back to the Think Tank, stating they cannot be trusted with the technology and will either have to be talked down, or put down. When asked about how they intend to deal with the brain-bots, the player character has the option to pass one of several skill checks for Guns, Energy Weapons, Explosives, Melee Weapons, or Unarmed to make a successful pitch for their retribution, though it really only serves to garner additional XP. If he is still alive, one must also talk with Doctor Mobius again and ask him for ways to potentially convince the Think Tank to back down from their plans of escape, or for weaknesses to exploit in order to kill them; Mobius says he prefers the former as the Think Thank were once his friends and suggests trying to appeal to what remains of their humanity by reminding them of who they once were as organics, or if that fails, to weaponize his reputation of terror with the Think Tank to psychologically defeat them.
From the Forbidden Zone, return to the Think Tank. One can optionally enter from the front doors straight to the Dome or, to fulfill the optional objective, fast-travel to the Sink's balcony and enter from there. If one retrieved the personality module for the Sink Auto-Doc during All My Friends Have Off Switches, it will unlock the option to restore the Courier's original heart and spine (this option is available during and after the quest, so it is not a must to do it at this moment).
- Replacing their original heart swaps the Heartless perk with the Cardiac Arrest perk (50% poison resistance instead of full immunity and +50% HP restored from healing items)
- Replacing their original spine swaps the Spineless perk with the Reinforced Spine perk (Torso can be crippled again and STR and DT bonuses are doubled (+2))
Fate of the brains[]
Once the player has handled all their business in Big MT, e.g. discovering all locations, collecting all upgrades for the Sink's appliances, etc., return to the Think Tank's Dome. With their brain either in their inventory or stored within the Sink's laboratory, the Courier is no longer affected by the pacification field and has full ability to draw their weapon. The Think Tank awaits the return of their lobotomite lackey, and the choice they will make to decide the future of Big MT and SCIENCE!
- Subdue the Think Tank
- If one decides to heed Mobius' request to spare the Think Thank's lives, choose the dialogue options to bring Doctor Klein into a discussion about their plans for the Mojave. Against his proclamations of spreading SCIENCE! across the Mojave unchecked, one can push back with the following two options:
- Passing a Speech 75 skill check followed by either a Medicine 85 or Science 100 check to convince the Think Tank that the Courier received Mobius' brain and threaten them into compliance.
- A separate option to lie followed by passing a Speech 85 check for the same result will be available if Mobius was actually killed in the Forbidden Zone.
- If one completed the side quests related to the guiding quest Picking Your Brains with the members of the Think Thank beforehand (Doctor 0's What's in a Name?, Doctor 8's On the Same Wavelength, Doctor Borous's A Brain's Best Friend and Doctor Dala's Coming Out of Her Shell), the Courier can raise the question of Doctor Klein acting outside of the Think Tank's collective interests. If at least 3 of the four above quests were completed, Klein will acquiesce to the demands of the protesting Think Tank members and back down from his plans, whereas if less than 3 of the quests were completed, Klein will disregard the others' outcry, forcing the player to either pass the high skill checks or resort to the violent path.
- Destroy the Think Tank
- At any point after starting dialogue with Doctor Klein, one can select one of the bottom two choices in the HUD menu to engage the Think Tank in a fight. As with fighting Mobius, the five think tank robots can hit hard with their lasers dealing direct damage and DOT, though as mentioned before, Klein is the hardiest of them at high levels while the other four sit at around 150-250 HP even at high levels and will fall relatively quickly if targeted specifically with powerful weapons.
Once the threat of the Think Thank's uncontrolled SCIENCE! is resolved, exit the Dome through the door to the exterior or the Sink, triggering the ending slides and completing the Old World Blues add-on.
Once control is returned to the player, one will be given the Big Mountain Transportalponder! tool. This handheld item allows the player character to travel to and from Big MT and the Mojave Wasteland, appearing on the Sink's balcony or the Mojave Drive-in, respectively. Furthermore, the first time one re-enters the Sink, all currently reactivated appliances will cheer for the Courier's victory, with a particularly drawn-out and rambling congratulations from Blind Diode Jefferson, and give a one-time unique response each.
Quest stages[]
Notes[]
- If one decides to complete this quest through violence and has not yet completed the Think Tank's personal quests, the quests will not be completable but the message saying that the quest has been failed will not be received.
- The Brain Tank mentions Jason Bright, HELIOS One, and Julie Farkas during certain dialogue parts if Come Fly With Me and That Lucky Old Sun were completed and/or the player character spoke with Julie at the Old Mormon Fort at least once before starting the Old World Blues add-on.
Behind the scenes[]
The encounter with the X-42 giant robo-scorpion during this quest was designed by Jeff Husges, based on a concept by Chris Avellone.[Non-game 1]
Bugs[]
After finishing this quest by either killing or talking to the doctors in the Think Tank, the game may crash as the player tries to leave. This bug occurs in hardcore mode when the player has a hunger greater than zero. If this is the case, turning hardcore off temporarily may allow to continue bug free to the end. [verified]- When speaking with Dr. Klein at the end of the add-on, some dialogue may repeat when the other brains are trying to keep the player alive. [verified]
- If the Forbidden Zone is entered without first killing the robo-scorpions outside, upon exiting, all of the robo-scorpions will be gone. [verified]
- While entering the Forbidden Zone, the X-42 giant robo-scorpion may not attack unless it is approached. This will remain the case even when attacking the X-42 giant robo-scorpion. [verified]
- When the brain is asked if it wants to be reunited with the Courier, choosing the compromise option, the second choice, "So, what, you'd rather just stay here? Never leaving that tank of... whatever that stuff is?", will result in a never-ending loop of the brain talking about the quests. This only seems to happen if the player has completed Come Fly With Me and That Lucky Old Sun. If this happens, reload the autosave where the player entered Mobius' room and pick alternate dialogue options. [verified]
- An easy fix on the PC is to open the developer's console and enter closeallmenus. This closes out of the conversation for the player to try again.
- If certain choices are made in dialogue, it is impossible to reason with Mobius and killing him becomes the only option, even if the correct skill checks are completed. [verified]
- A possible fix for this bug involves a repair check to fix Mobius' monitor, which can re-initiate the dialogue path needed to avoid killing Mobius.
- When the Protectrons inside the Forbidden Zone dome are activated, a seemingly unlimited number of them may keep attacking the X-42, creating an effective distraction when attempting to destroy the X-42 giant robo-scorpion. [verified]
Gallery[]
References[]
Non-game
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