Fallout: New Vegas vets are baiting new players into its deadliest location with promises of treasure: "There’s some awesome loot there"

What you need to know

• Thanks to the success of the Fallout TV show, the franchise is going through something of a renaissance right now, with tons of new players checking out all the games in the series.
• This includes Obsidian Entertainment's Fallout: New Vegas, which has an infamously difficult location called Quarry Junction that's full of deadly Deathclaw mutants. It's possible for new players to stumble into it before they're prepared for it since it's located near the game's starting town.
• As a joke, many veteran New Vegas players are baiting newcomers into going to Quarry Junction early with promises of loot and treasure.
• As a result, many of these poor folks are wandering into Quarry Junction extremely underleveled and without good weapons, leading to their quick deaths against all the endgame-level mutant predators.

There are a few different places you can get yourself into deep trouble in the early game of Fallout: New Vegas — take the road directly north from the starting town Goodsprings, for example, and you'll run into several of the RPG's infamous giant cazador insects. One that's arguably deadlier than any other, though, is Quarry Junction, a limestone mining site northeast of Goodsprings overrun by a large pack of Deathclaw mutants.

Deathclaws are giant pushovers in newer Fallout titles like 4 and 76, but back in the older games, they weren't to be trifled with unless you were decently leveled (at least) and had some good weapons and armor. Quarry Junction specifically is also home to the terrifying Mother Deathclaw, a beast that can sprint faster than a car and pretty much oneshot all but the toughest of characters. Naturally, you can understand why a callow Courier fresh out of Doc Mitchell's care would have a bad time wandering into this place — and also why veteran New Vegas players are currently having some fun luring new ones into the meat grinder.

The mischief is happening on X (Twitter), where longtime fans of the game are tricking all the players checking out New Vegas after watching the Fallout TV show by suggesting that they should head directly to the New Vegas Strip (taking them through Quarry Junction) or that there's powerful early game loot to find at the mine. Of course, they "forget" to mention the presence of the Mother Deathclaw and her entourage, so unless new players talk with the nearby NPCs that warn you, they're likely waltzing into the quarry thinking they're about to strike post-apocalyptic gold. Instead, they'll find themselves in the midst of a horde of endgame mutants with nothing but a 9mm Pistol and a Varmint Rifle. Brutal.

Even though this is definitely a prank that'll have the culprits losing Karma, I have to admit that it's pretty hilarious. If you were lucky enough to read this before you fell for it, I definitely recommend giving Quarry Junction a wide berth until you get much stronger — though I do have some tips for you if you're committed to exploring it early.

Firstly, try sneaking around the mine and engaging the Deathclaws one by one. Individually, they're tough, but you'll be able to take them out if you cripple one of their legs and take away their speed advantage. If you aggro them all, though, you'll be screwed. Also, Deathclaws run straight at you once you've been spotted, so you can take advantage of that by laying mines and baiting them into them.

Whatever you do, don't attack or kill any Deathclaw Babies you see. Not only will this instantly enrage the Mother Deathclaw and draw her to your location, but it'll also buff her with tons of extra critical damage and limb damage resistance — the latter makes breaking one of her legs nearly impossible to do before she closes the distance. Honestly, you should do everything you can not to piss the mother off, but if you do, throw down every mine in your inventory and hit her legs with the heaviest, most explosive weapons and grenades you have. It's the only thing that might save you.

To be fair to the tricksters, there is actually some sweet loot here. Specifically, you can find a Fat Man launcher and a mini nuke for it in the water along the quarry's southern edge, which you could then use to severely wound the Mother Deathclaw when you fight her. In her nest, there's also some additional mini nukes, a Light Machine Gun, some magazines for it, and a handful of Deathclaw Eggs you can either sell or use to complete a quest.

New Vegas is just one of the Fallout games spiking in popularity right now; the entire Fallout franchise is experiencing a player count resurgence thanks to the TV show. If you ask me, though, Obsidian's RPG is the best game in the series, and is easily one of the best PC games and best Xbox games of all time. Notably, it can be played through Xbox Game Pass.

Fallout: New Vegas Ultimate Edition | $19.99 $6.59 at GOG

Bethesda let Obsidian Entertainment have a crack at Fallout, which resulted in the creation of 2010's Fallout: New Vegas — an RPG that many still consider the best game in the franchise. It takes players back west to Nevada and the Mojave Wasteland, with the remnants of Las Vegas as its centerpiece. The Ultimate Edition includes all five of its DLCs.

Also at: Xbox

View Deal