Wild Card: Side Bets is a main quest in Fallout: New Vegas, given by Yes Man.
Synopsis[]
In order to gain support for an Independent Vegas and efforts at the Second Battle of Hoover Dam, the Courier must make contact with the various tribes of the Mojave.
Quick walkthrough[]
Main Quest: Wild card: Side Bets | |||||
Determine the fate of the Boomers in the quest Volare! | |||||
Determine the fate of the Brotherhood of Steel in the quest Still in the Dark | |||||
Determine the fate of the Great Khans in the quest Oh My Papa | |||||
Uncover the Omerta's secret in the quest How Little We Know | |||||
Determine the fate of the White Glove Society in the quest Beyond the Beef | |||||
Reward: Legion infamy | |||||
Leads to: Wild Card: Finishing Touches | |||||
Detailed walkthrough[]
The factions the Courier needs to talk to are:
- The Boomers at Nellis Air Force Base
- The Brotherhood of Steel at Hidden Valley
- The Great Khans at Red Rock Canyon
- The Omertas at Gomorrah casino
- The White Glove Society at the Ultra-Luxe casino
Each of these factions can be met in any order, and all have a quest associated with them. Upon successfully completing the associated quest, one will have the option to tell Yes Man what they have done. Alternatively, one can simply tell Yes Man to ignore the faction, thereby skipping the need to deal with them. Even if one has told Yes Man to ignore a faction, the player character can go back once they've earned their assistance and change their opinion of them through dialogue.
Essentially, this quest is just a guidepost quest that points the player character to the other factions, actually earning their aid or solving their problems requires the completion of their side quests, which usually rewards the Courier with reputation (reputation with the Strip for the casinos, or with the Boomers, Brotherhood, or Khans) and sometimes special benefits.
Brotherhood of Steel[]
Hidden Valley is a fenced-in area that has an odd phenomenon during the night of dust storms concealing its bunkers. A few underground bunkers are scattered around the area. The Brotherhood bunker is on the west side of Hidden Valley toward the north end and will be indicated by a tree stump on it. Upon entering the correct bunker, the Courier will be interrupted by two Brotherhood paladins. They will ask the Courier to strip down to their underwear, wear an explosive collar, and to enter and meet their leader if one wants to side with them (this section of the quest will not occur if the player character has Veronica Santangelo as a companion).
Although the Brotherhood of Steel will not side with the Courier and Yes Man, one has three solutions:
- Destroy Hidden Valley. Hack the self-destruction terminal on second floor (Very Hard), or pickpocket 3 keycards (from Elder McNamara, Head Paladin Hardin and Head Scribe Taggart) in order to generate the password for self-destruction. Once the player character has activated the self-destruct protocol, the whole base will turn hostile. Hacking the turret control console (Hard) in Paladin Ramos' room or dressing up in a Brotherhood disguise might be helpful in the escape. Alternately, killing all the bunker's inhabitants also works.
- Convince the Brotherhood of Steel to support the NCR. Follow the NCR quest line until one reaches For the Republic, Part 2. Colonel Moore will ask the Courier to eradicate the Brotherhood, and one can negotiate with the Brotherhood Elder. Elder McNamara will, after some convincing, support the NCR to avoid conflict with them. This option will not be available if the player character helped Head Paladin Hardin to become Elder; he will not ally the Brotherhood with the NCR under any circumstances. One can report to Yes Man before or after telling Colonel Moore.
- One can also choose to ignore the Brotherhood, provided they have met the condition of knowing enough about the faction. Letting Veronica take the Courier into the bunker allows this. Upon returning to Yes Man, he will react passive-aggressively about the player character's choice, but will allow them to continue the questline.
Boomers[]
To solve the Boomers' problems, the quest Volare! must be completed. This will earn their assistance in the Battle of Hoover Dam (by way of a pre-War heavy bomber) and the ability to come and go freely from Nellis. Thump-Thump, a unique grenade rifle, and ample 25mm grenade ammunition and all types of grenades can be found in the Ant Misbehavin' side quest at Nellis AFB. If one wishes to pick up the rebreather, they can acquire it from Jack and Loyal after earning Pearl's trust.
Great Khans[]
The Great Khans can either be convinced to help (by completing the quest Oh My Papa,) or to leave the Mojave for more fruitful areas. They can also be exterminated completely, or ignored. It is also possible to get the Khans to attack Hoover Dam on their own during the final battle through a Speech check (75) with Papa Khan after the Courier has gotten him to break the alliance with Caesar's Legion by telling him that the Great Khans have no legacy.
If the Courier does not speak to Papa Khan before killing him, they will not be able to complete the quest part with Yes Man.
White Glove Society[]
By dealing with the White Glove Society's problems with cannibalism during the quest Beyond the Beef, one can tell Yes Man that they fixed their problem, solving their portion of the quest.
Omertas[]
At the Gomorrah, one can pick up the quest How Little We Know. If the Courier chooses to aid Cachino in breaking up what the bosses have planned, then they can inform Yes Man of this fact. If one elects to help the bosses in their plan to attack the Strip, they can also tell Yes Man of this, completing that portion of Wild Card: Side Bets. Be aware that this will lower one's reputation with the Strip.
Completion[]
Once all the factions have either been ignored, wiped out or their side quests completed, the Courier must simply talk to Yes Man again to complete the quest.
This quest is probably the longest in the game, simply for the fact that it has five components, each of which is a quest chain with between 2 and 7 parts.
Quest stages[]
Notes[]
The Courier has the option of telling Yes Man to ignore the factions. Minimum things that must be done are
- Omertas - Talking to the greeter
- White Gloves - Talking to Mortimer
- Boomers - Talking to Pearl
- Great Khans - Discovering Red Rock Canyon
- Brotherhood of Steel - Attacking Brotherhood of Steel paladins at the entrance (the Hidden Valley bunker key can be pickpocketed for a quick retreat) or entering the bunker with Veronica and receiving a brief scripted talk from Ramos about outsiders.
Completing both this quest and Wild Card: Change in Management is considered a point of no return. Completing the latter fails The House Has Gone Bust!, closing the Mr. House quest line, while completing both fails both Don't Tread on the Bear! and Beware the Wrath of Caesar!, closing the NCR and Legion quest lines, respectively. From this point forward, the only ending possible is No Gods, No Masters (the Independent ending).
Bugs[]
- Mortimer before beginning this quest and Beyond the Beef, the optional part about asking him for information regarding the White Glove Society will keep showing on-screen until the quest is fulfilled.[verified] If the Courier killed
- Yes Man may not realize one has told him all the tribes are dealt with, which will prevent the player from finishing the quest.[verified]
- Typing Setstage 00157322 104 in the console then speaking with Yes Man about the tribes should solve the problem.
- One can also reset the quest by typing resetquest 00157322 in the console. the progress in this quest is stored separately so one will only need to tell Yes Man that they have dealt with each tribe.