Capital Wasteland super mutant conflict Following the Great War , the inhabitants of the Capital Wasteland as well as the organizations in the region , and the Vault 87 super mutants fought in a number of conflicts from 2078 to the present day . The Capital Wasteland Brotherhood of Steel have fought the super mutants since 2255 onwards . By 2277 , the other factions fighting the super mutants are Talon Company , who lead a full on war with them , Reilly ' s Rangers , a mercenary group who are contracted with sweeping them from the ruins , the Brotherhood Outcasts from 2276 and finally the native raider gangs , settlements and citizens . Prelude . Vault 87 ' s project was to partake in the Evolutionary Experimentation Program , subjecting inhabitants to the Forced Evolutionary Virus . These particular experiments resulted in their mental faculties diminishing . They were generally less intelligent and more aggressive than their West Coast counterparts . More unlike their distant cousins , they retained less of their humanity after transformation , and no distinguishing features from their former lives could be found . Despite their apparent lack of intelligence , the mutants were somehow able to organize themselves into a coordinated army ( as evident from numerous raids ) . They had also procured large amounts of advanced weapons , ammunition and equipment and maintained the FEV infrastructure necessary to transform humans to increase their numbers . In 2078 , the super mutants set out to capture human captives in order to expand their army , as well as find a new source of FEV . War . The super mutants terrorized the denizens of the Capital Wasteland for the next two centuries , and were widespread and rampant throughout the entirety of the wilderness . When the Brotherhood arrived in 2255 , they fought a long crusade against them , and managed to almost entirely restrict them to the ruins of Washington , D . C . . The Brotherhood have endlessly fought them since then , setting the front line around the borders of D . C . Operations of 2277 . Offensives . By 2277 , the super mutants ' territory consists of the near entirety of the D . C . ruins , and the mountains and hills within the midwestern and northwestern areas of the wasteland . They also held a small amount of operating sites outside the confines of these regions . The only stronghold the Brotherhood held within the D . C . ruins was the southern portion of Arlington and Chevy Chase , however they held small outposts for skirmishes and patrol squads within Falls Church , the Mall and Pennsylvania Avenue , although these three districts were nowhere near cleared out or secured . Talon Company became engaged in several large sieges between them and the super mutants within the Mall , Seward Square and Takoma Park , after they were recently driven out of Takoma by the mutants . The Brotherhood Outcasts were also locked in a siege between the mutants within the Bailey ' s Crossroads district . In Chevy Chase , the mutants are undertaking an on / off siege with the Brotherhood , attempting to take over the district in skirmishes with the intent of putting an end to the Brotherhood ' s Galaxy News Radio garrison . During one attack , a behemoth was sent , and Initiate Reddin and Paladin Jennings were killed . In Falls Church , the mutants are also in an on / off battle with them , with the Brotherhood previously taking the area and presuming it to be permanently clear , using the region for training exercises . However , the mutants attacked the area by surprise once again , taking one of Paladin Hoss ' soldiers , Initiate Pek , hostage , and killing one of his soldiers . Two Brotherhood soldiers were also killed at an unknown point inside of an office building . Whether this act was committed by super mutants in unknown . In the Mall , the super mutants are in offensives by wasteland groups from all directions . They entirely own the Museum of Technology , the National Archives and the Capitol Hill trench network . The mutants repeatedly send fireteams to ransack the Lincoln Memorial , currently held by slavers . The ghouls of Underworld have a silent peace with the mutants , due to the FEV conversion not working on their kind . Talon Company are engaged in a large - scale battle with the mutants in an attempt to occupy the Capitol building , with the mutants placing a behemoth into the building for defense , and the Brotherhood occasionally launch attacks on the trenches and the Museum of Technology . The Brotherhood hold the Washington Monument and the roads encircling it , and have a small tactical shack stocked with medical supplies and ammunition . There are two teams running the outpost , with the second division being led by Paladin Berrings . Three Brotherhood soldiers are known to have been killed while fighting in the trenches . In Pennsylvania Avenue ' s White House Plaza , the Brotherhood hold a similar outpost to the one at the Mall , complete with another tactical shack , checkpoint barriers and an old abandoned hotel building . In addition , Talon Company are known to have sent mercenaries to the district to set explosives and thin out the mutants ' numbers . In Seward Square , Talon Company are in a large - scale siege that is part of their plans to occupy the Capitol building , using artillery in their efforts . Bailey ' s Crossroads , owned by the Brotherhood Outcasts , has been known to be attacked by large teams of super mutants . Finally , in Takoma Park , the mutants once took the district from the residing Talon Company , and they are now defending against a reclamation effort . Talon Company have employed the use of artillery and robotic backup . The mutants have also placed a behemoth into the area to bolster their defenses . In 2277 , the Lone Wanderer raided their headquarters at Vault 87 , and dealt decisive blows to their military strength and organization , with the Enclave also discovering and raiding the base afterwards . The Lone Wanderer could have informed Elder Owyn Lyons of Vault 87 , with him setting out plans to eradicate the super mutants once and for all by attacking the vault . The mutants have also never been able to conquer the Lamplight Caverns , with the residents locking them out of the main settlement , with only the Murder Pass caverns being accessible to the mutants . The mutants previously launched occasional attacks on the gate to Murder Pass , but never breached the gates , and have since gave up on the idea . Reilly ' s Rangers , a mercenary company based in Seward Square , regularly comb the ruins of D . C . and thin out the mutants ' numbers . An unknown contractor , named Smith , pays the Rangers for these efforts . The Rangers became involved in a lengthy battle with the mutants in the Vernon Square district , resulting in the Rangers making a final stand on the roof of the Statesman Hotel . The mutants are also attempting to scour the old Vault - Tec headquarters for information and any possible leads on a new source of the Forced Evolutionary Virus to replenish their dangerously decreasing stocks . However , the robot security has so far stopped them from making it past the reception area . Conversion . Captives are mostly taken from the countryside and wilderness , although scavengers and travelers in the Washington , D . C . ruins are often detained as well . The settlement of Big Town is often attempted to be ransacked by the mutants , with residents being taken to the nearby Germantown police HQ for temporary containment before they are sent to Vault 87 . All other known captive sites are the clifftop shacks , Mason Dixon Salvage , Roosevelt Academy , the Mason District , the super mutant bonfire outside of Rivet City , the Anchorage Memorial riverside , Germantown , the Hallowed Moors Cemetery , the Farragut district , the surrounding countryside of Vault 87 and Calverton . Calverton is often used as an ambush point by the mutants , and is currently under surveillance by mercenary organizations . A behemoth is used to assist and defend in any way possible . The Farragut district is often ventured into by super mutants seeking human captives , with Megaton occasionally assaulted by the mutants , and captives being held at sites in Farragut West . Aftermath . After the conclusion of " Broken Steel " , the super mutants are extremely fractured , and have almost been driven extinct . They are running out of FEV , and have lost their headquarters and breeding ground of Vault 87 . The Brotherhood of Steel has began further closing in on D . C . , backing them into a corner . In 2282 , a super mutant named Shephard who led efforts to reorganize the mutants was killed by Arthur Maxson . Appearances . The Capital Wasteland super mutant conflict appears in " Fallout 3 " and its add - on " Broken Steel " , and is mentioned in " Fallout 4 " .