The RobCo facility is a factory owned by RobCo Industries. It is located slightly northeast of Tenpenny Tower and south west of Fort Independence. The many protectrons scattered across the D.C. area were once manufactured here.
Background
Tinker Joe can be found in the parking lot outside the facility along with his robots, including potential companion Sergeant RL-3. The parking lot is also a random encounter location.
Inhabitants include mole rats, radroaches and protectrons. There are a number of unused protectrons which remain in their charging stations and a few Nuka-Cola vending machines on the various levels.
After installing the mainframe processor, the option to reconfigure the mainframe to stop all the protectrons in the facility from attacking presents itself, as long as the Lone Wanderer has at least 50 Science skill.
Once hacked, the mainframe will have a few options:
- Basic Operation: * Error*
- Pest Extermination: Kill radroaches and mole rats
- Total Liquidation: on/off attack humans
- Stress Testing: Causes robots and turrets to attack each other. This is applied to on top of any other command (i.e. if you did not turn off liquidation, robots will still attack you). However, turrets will be hostile regardless of other settings (Turrets remain non-hostile as long as the "Total Liquidation" function has been ceased).
Layout
RobCo factory floor
The first room has five protectrons on display in various positions. Two of which will be more specialized and in the spotlights; one being a Nuka-Cola protectron and the other will be a military-issued protectron. The other three are standard protectrons. Two rooms on the left are restrooms. To the northwest there's a small room with two storage closets with minor loot and ammunition. To the right of the entrance are two paths. The left path going to a room with a few lockers and shelves that then leads to a larger room which seems to be a small part of the assembly line for the robots. To the right from coming through the entrance is a much smaller room with a workbench. After this room are some stairs that lead to overlooking the previous large room. The right path is simply a winding flight of stairs that also leads to overlooking the large room.
Offices and cafeteria
When entering this room, there will be two pool tables, and the right one having a couch on top of it. There are two Nuka-Cola fridges, and one refrigerator to the right. If heading to the left from this room, there will be a long hallway. Going through the hallway there should be a mannequin, along with three ammunition boxes. A little further down, there's a gate with a leaf blower and two lawn mower blades. Right before the hallway ends there is a room to the left. In there is a first aid box and not much else. Going straight from the first room is a small cafeteria with four tables on the right. Continuing from this room one can go straight or turn left. To the left and another left there is a small room where the first hallway ended and past that there is another room minor caps and loot. Turning left and then going straight leads upstairs. If heading right from the original room, there will be a short hallway with restrooms on either side. Past that there is the office with four office spaces with minor loot. From there there's a hallway with three rooms on the sides. The first looks like an office/storage. The second room is a larger office with four desks and file cabinets. The last room is again an office/storage with several boxes and a first aid box. Now continuing upstairs it makes like a trident pattern. The left path there's a storage closet and past that is a small monitor room with two lockers. The right path is the same but a bit more destroyed. The storage closet is caved in and the monitor room messed up. Lastly, continuing straight from the stairs is the main computer room for the whole building. There's a first aid box, a pre-War book, and a Stealth Boy in there.
Notable loot
Factory floor
- Lying, Congressional Style, on reception desk at the back of the foyer where you enter.
- Big Book of Science, by the protectron pod area to northeast, on the console.
- 2 pre-War book:
- 1 is on the shelves behind the reception desk (may fall behind the shelves)
- 1 is around the computers in the control room (near the Big Book of Science).
- 1 Stealth Boy, in the office ahead of first entering the factory. It is found straight past the reception desk through the door to your left, make a left at the door to the western most wall and go to the right into the supply closet, and it will be on the shelf (alternatively it can be in the cubicle to the left when entering the room past the reception desk, it will be on top of the desk next to minor loot).
Offices and cafeteria
- Nikola Tesla and You - After entering Offices and Cafeteria, go right, head straight (past the washrooms) and look on the desk in the third cubicle on the right.
- D.C. Journal of Internal Medicine - Offices and Cafeteria first floor, southernmost room, left before the stairs going up. On a desk in the most north west cubicle, next to a Jet and a first aid box.
- 1 pre-War book - in the mainframe area, on a desk.
- 3 Stealth Boys:
- 1 on a desk in an office cubicle in the room where the D.C. Journal of Internal Medicine is, next to the protectron Pod, at the back.
- 1 in the mainframe room.
- 1 on a bookshelf in the northwest room where the Nikola Tesla and You is found.
- 52 dinner plates and 47 drinking glasses, the highest amount of both in a single section in the game.
Related quest
Notes
- Inside the restrooms next to the main reception, a broken protectron is seated on a toilet, with scrap metal inside the toilet below. Similar to this, there is also a skeleton with a camera and pre-War money looking underneath a bathroom stall.
- The factory floor and cafeteria/offices have a total of 31 radroaches running about, the highest number in the game.
Appearances
RobCo facility appears only in Fallout 3.
Bugs
Immediately after entering the door to the cafeteria area from the factory floor, you'll notice, in the pod to the left, that the protectron's arms slowly move down to its sides, even though it's supposed to be deactivated. [verified]
