Vault 34

"Industrial Junk"
Vault 34 is a location in the Mojave Wasteland .
==Background==
One of five vaults constructed in the broader Mojave region assigned to house a civilian population, along with Vault 3, Vault 11, Vault 19, and Vault 21, like the majority of vaults, Vault 34 was incorporated with a social experiment; in its case, the armory was overstocked with firearms and ammunition,Chris Haversam: "I was human once, you know. Grew up in Vault 34, northeast of here. Nice upbringing, if you like assault rifles and target practice. But oh, you prefer machines that don't shoot people? Not so nice then."(Chris Haversam's dialogue) and the residents had access to a great number of recreational facilities, including a full-sized swimming pool, at the cost of little to no living space.
===Downfall===
According to various information sources within the Vault, at some point they reached the threshold of overpopulation. Foreseeing problems, the overseer had a remote link to the armory lock installed on their terminal, denying access. A group of residents demanded access to the armory, stating the right to defend themselves, which the overseer denied. The dissidents then turned to rioting, grabbing as many weapons as they could take, storming the exit and leaving the Vault sometime around 2231,The Courier: "Tell me about the Boomers."Robert House: "They occupied Nellis Air Force Base a little over 50 years ago. One of my Securitrons got some video of their arrival - and then... exploded. Odds are they were Vault dwellers. That's everything I know about them, really."(Robert House's dialogue) while another group took advantage of Vault security being sent to guard the exit to ambush the armory.Overseer's journal fragments, Page 66 The former group eventually become known as the Boomers, and they chronicled their departure from Vault 34 in a mural after finding and occupying Nellis Air Force Base as their new "homeland."
After the would-be Boomers' exodus from the Vault, the main exit was sealed and guards posted to prevent anyone else from leaving. This proved counterintuitive to the Vault's overpopulation problem, and tensions boiled to a head years later, when the overseer proposed population control measures. This resulted in a portion attempting to overthrow the overseer, after which they unsuccessfully stormed the armory, damaging areas of the Vault in the process, such as the reactor cooling vents, the main computer systems, and other infrastructure. Consequently, the damage they inflicted caused the reactor to begin leaking radiation throughout the Vault, with subsequent attempts to repair the reactor by the engineering team including Chris Haversam failing, creating a new wave of panic. However, whether by accident or design, the main exit could not be opened again, trapping the residents inside, their only hope being an automated unsealing of the Vault in the near future or external intervention before dying of radiation poisoning.
By 2281, the Vault still has people living in it,Fallout: New Vegas developer diary 4: Factions including Horowitz, although most of its residents have degenerated into feral ghouls and glowing ones from the pervasive radiation that covers the entire vault, of which has even begun to seep into the ground surrounding the subterranean structure, causing problems for local farming operations of the New California Republic.
==Layout==
Situated southwest of Nellis Air Force Base and east of the NCR sharecropper farms, just outside the cave entrance is a U.S. Army truck with radioactive barrels in the back and several golden geckos will spawn. The interior itself is unique among the Vaults of the Mojave, having a much longer access tunnel appearing to be a natural cave, as well as a radically different layout. Moreover, the Vault interior is highly irradiated. Precautions should be made to address rads accumulated while exploring, as the player character will start to become irradiated immediately upon entering Vault 34. The radiation alongside enemies approaching from all directions will additionally threaten the Courier.
===First floor===
The first floor of the Vault consists of a long entrance tunnel, blast door, atrium, clinic, as well as a few apartments. Although this Vault can feel a little like a labyrinth, it is mostly symmetrical in layout, although some halls have collapsed or been barricaded, forcing alternative routes to be taken. A flooded area along the western side contains the corpse of a Vault technician glowing one under a desk. The corpse holds the Vault 34 security terminal password. 
The entry room is completely devoid of items, but an overseer's journal fragment can be found in the control booth. Most of the loot found in this section is located in lockers or dressers, although first aid boxes are scattered around, as well as 10mm pistols and 10mm submachine guns. Several doors in this Vault move up and down indefinitely due to rubble blocking the entryways. The doors cannot be interacted with. All doors in the Vault feature a gold stripe instead of the number "34."
A medical center includes a broken Mark III Auto-Doc. It cannot be repaired by the player character, but its diagnostic module can be used as one of the solutions for the quest Et Tumor, Brute?.
There is a terminal (Science 100) on this level, located in the utility room, through the clinic, which can pump water out of one of the flooded areas. To activate the terminal without hacking, backtrack a small amount to the flooded area which will be on the right when facing the armory door. Straight down at the bottom of the pool is another dead glowing Vault technician under a desk with the Vault 34 utility terminal password. This can be used on the terminal in the utility room in order to drain the water from that same flooded area and gain access to the security room. Opposite of the utility room is another overseer's journal fragment in a room with three ghouls and a gas leak. This level also provides access to the armory and the overseer's office.
===Reactor===
This section has higher radiation than the rest, excluding the armory, as it contains the damaged reactor of the Vault. At the end of the main hallway is a door to the flooded areas of the Vault, which are inaccessible, and a small room containing a few security guards and a True Police Stories on the floor. One of the overseer's journal fragments is also found in this room. Be warned that upon entering, more ghouls will break through the inaccessible door labeled "operations" and attack. Under the stairs is the less flooded engineering level, ending in the reactor chamber itself. The terminal next to the door is used to open it, and the terminal inside the reactor itself is required for the quest Hard Luck Blues. The overseer's window overlooks an inaccessible part of the armory.
===Armory===
This is a small area that begins at a staircase and ends in a hallway. One way goes to a small common room with a reloading bench and a copy of Guns and Bullets by a couch. The other way goes to the armory through a door that needs to be unlocked with the overseer's terminal before it can be entered. To access the armory, two passwords from two ghoul engineers that are in submerged areas must be found. Then a terminal must be used to pump water out of a flooded area and a second terminal will be used to unlock the overseer's door. The overseer is a feral ghoul reaver, who is directly assisted in defense by two turrets. 
Once neutralized, the armory password is gleaned from the corpse, which allows the terminal to be hacked and armory accessed by progressing through the clinic. The armory is a small, two-level room, with weapons and ammunition scattered around on the floor, tables, and shelves. The unique weapon All-American is found on an overturned table to the right side of the armory, and in a Very Hard locked footlocker, is the pulse gun. Most of the weapons in the armory are in very poor condition. The upper gantry is inaccessible. 
===Security station A===
The door to this small area is underwater, but can easily be accessed once the water is pumped out. It contains security guards and a set of security armor. An overseer's journal fragment is found on the desk, next to the terminal which unlocks the overseer's quarters.
==Notable loot==
* All-American - a unique variant of the marksman carbine, found on an overturned table in the armory.
* Large amounts of ammunition and weapons, including two sniper rifles, a missile launcher, a minigun, three blocks of C-4, two assault carbines, two grenade launchers, one marksman carbine and a riot shotgun - Found in the armory.
* Pulse gun - In a Very Hard-locked gun case on the floor next to a table in the armory. Can also be opened with Col. Blackwell's key found in Pearl's barracks at Nellis Air Force Base. Relevant as a quest item for a certain part of I Could Make You Care.
* Detonator - Found in the armory.
* A copy of Guns and Bullets - On the small metal table between the sofas by the pool table, in the armory common room.
* Seven Vault 34 security armors and seven helmets - Five sets can be found lying in the armory. One is also found in the room on the left, right after the 2nd flooded staircase, lying on a chair in a pile of rubble. Another one is located in security station A.
* Four overseer's journal fragments can be found throughout the Vault.
* Vault 34 utility terminal password and Vault 34 security terminal password - On Vault 34 technicians in the flooded sections of the first floor.
==Related quests==
* Hard Luck Blues
* I Could Make You Care
* Et Tumor, Brute?
* All Fired Up!
* Suits You, Sarah
==Notes==
* The background music that plays in the Vault is "Industrial Junk," which was previously used for Junktown in Fallout and Gecko in Fallout 2.
* The majority of the ghoulified Vault dwellers do not wear Vault 34 jumpsuits. Instead, they wear the normal clothing of a feral ghoul. The exceptions are Vault security, who appear to wear the remains of security armor. They do, however, occasionally carry the item.
* When in the overseer's office, the armory is visible through the window. However, it is a separate area from the actual armory the player character can access. There are feral ghouls within, the only door into it leads nowhere, and if the player character enters the room with console commands, the ammunition crates cannot be interacted with. However, the weapons on the tables can be looted.
* There is an alternate entrance to the Vault 34 cavern to the northwest of the usual entryway, on top of the rocky hill. The opening is near some radioactive waste barrels, and a golden gecko may be present. Jumping into the pit doesn't result in access to the cave, instead falling a few feet on top of a black void with dialogue to enter if looking down. The pit cannot be escaped by normal means, requiring fast travel to exit.
* The exterior Vault blast door is so close to the wall it is actually out of its track and clipping through the floor grating, making it inoperable.
* If the overseer is somehow knocked off of the pedestal (with Ranger Takedown, Miss Fortune, etc.), they may be flung back to their original position when getting back up. 
* Due to the use of scripted sequences that spawn more ghouls, companions are more vulnerable in this Vault than they are elsewhere. Since companions can see (but not kill) the hostile ghouls, they are treated as still being in combat, and thus won't autoheal until all the ghouls are dead. This can be remedied by going into a vacant section to allow them to recover.
* 34 is one of the few Vaults that has no visible control panel to operate the Vault door, despite being stated in-universe that it was opened manually before.
* When the player talks to Boone while in the Vault, he will say "Let's get out of this first" but will still open up the normal conversation menu.
* ED-E may have trouble following the player character throughout the Vault, due to the door frames being slightly lower than his flying height.
* The door to "operations" will not open upon arrival to the overseer's office if the two Vault 34 terminal passwords have not yet been found. Collecting the passwords will result in the door's immediate opening upon approach.
* Using console commands to clip through the wall to see the Vault door will reveal the door does not feature the number 34. Instead, it is blank.
==Appearances==
Vault 34 appears only .
==Behind the scenes==
* Vault 34 was first mentioned in Fallout Bible 0 which mentioned the armory was overstocked with weapons and ammo and not provided with a lock, which was expanded upon in Fallout: New Vegas.
* The in-game Vault 34 is geographically situated in the same real-world location as Frenchman Mountain, which contained a municipal fallout shelter in real life.Clark County Nevada Fallout Shelters 
* Sydney Wolfram was responsible for the concept and implementation of Vault 34.Joshua Sawyer: I wrote the basic concepts for F:NV's vaults but individual designers fully fleshed the concepts out and implemented them. Vault 3: Akil Hooper, Vault 11: Eric Fenstermaker, Vault 19: Sydney Wolfram. Vault 21: Jorge Salgado. Vault 22: Jesse Farrell, Vault 34: Sydney Wolfram.(Joshua Sawyer on Formspring)
* On the way into Vault 34 there is a suit-clad skeleton with a 10mm pistol and ammunition - a reference to Ed from Fallout and Fallout 2.
* The Vault 34 utility terminal passwords are "Thunderbird" and "Bonneville," both names of Triumph motorcycles. These are also the names of popular U.S. cars, the Ford Thunderbird and Pontiac Bonneville.
==Bugs==
* Just outside of the Vault's entrance, the golden geckos may become stuck inside of the U.S. Army truck.
* Upon discovery of Vault 34, the related challenge of discovering the Vault is shown as "Find Vault 34 0/0".
* Saving anywhere inside the overseer's office or the armory may result in a corrupted game save.
* While in the armory, Great Khans may appear and can make the camera zoom in and freeze or slow down the game considerably. Two of the Great Khans will appear at the door to the armory and one at the top of the stairs toward the armory.
* Occasionally exiting through doors on lower levels may cause the player character to return to the cave entrance after a loading screen.
* Some clipping issues that may stick the player character while swimming in the room with the glowing one with the Vault 34 security terminal password. Directly above the roll-top desk, the player character may become stuck in the ceiling and will become unable to continue onward. Switching camera perspective repetitively may result in a fix.
* Upon leaving the Vault, some companions may have vanished and/or their markers moved outside of the map.
* If companions are told to wait at the top of flooded stairs in this area, they can become permanently stuck between doorways once the pump system is activated. A potential solution involves going into the third person and rotating until the option to talk to them and dismiss them comes up.
* Sometimes the entrance will show as Vault 34, cloning cells.
* Upon entering the armory, any companions that had disappeared without a trace may suddenly join the party (confirmed Rex, ED-E, Veronica and Lily).
* There is an inaccessible room containing three ghouls. Companions may somehow enter this room and become trapped.
* In the overseer's office next to the monitor there is a chance to "fall in" the water and become stuck "in limbo" off the map or between floors in the water. A save must be reloaded.
==Gallery==
guns and bullets vault 34.jpg|Guns and Bullets located on the small metal table, in the armory common room
vault 34 interior.jpg|Vault 34 first floor
Broken ceiling in Vault 34.jpeg|The broken ceiling in the systems room is evidence of past violence
Vault 34 damaged interior.jpeg|Broken walls and pipes
Exterior of a flooded room.jpeg|A flooded room ready to explode under the water pressure
Vault 34 door.png|Vault gear door room
Broken Vault 34 door.jpeg|The Vault's gear door problem
Outside the vault34 blast.jpg|Outside the gear door
The_Vault_34_entrance_cave.jpeg|The cave outside the Vault
vault34 alternate entrance exterior.jpg|Vault 34 alternate entrance
Vault 34 cave.png
Pool tables Vault 34.jpg|Armory pool table
Allamericanlocation.jpg|The All-American inside the armory
Marksman carbine Vault 34 armory.jpg|Minigun and Marksman carbine
FNV_pulse_gun.jpg|Pulse gun
Sniper rifles Vault 34 armory.jpg|Sniper rifles
Overseers office vault 34.png|The overseer's office
Vault 34 corridor.png
FO-NV Vault 34 door.jpg|The Vault's door (only viewable with noclip), notice how the door lacks the number
FNV Admin sign.png|Admin sign
Boomer Museum Mural.jpg|Vault 34 as depicted on the left side of the mural at the Nellis Boomer museum
FNV Wallpaper 12.jpg|Vault 34 wallpaper from the Fallout website 
Fallout magic Overflowing Basin.png|Magic: The Gathering card
Fallout magic Overflowing Basin Extended Art.png|Extended Art
Fallout magic Overflowing Basin art.jpg|Card art
==References==
Non-game
 
de:Vault 34
es:Refugio 34
fi:Vault 34
fr:Abri 34
it:Vault 34
pl:Krypta 34
pt:Vault 34
ru:Убежище 34
uk:Сховище 34
zh:34号避难所
ru:Восстание в Убежище 34
uk:Повстання в Сховищі 34