Fort Strong

Fort Strong, or Fort Strong U.S. Army Depot, is a location in the Commonwealth in 2287.
==Background==
Dating back to the American Civil War and Revolutionary War, the fort was used as a gun battery in the past.Fallout 4 Vault Dweller's Survival Guide Collector's Edition: "[4.29] FORT STRONGFort Strong is an old military base. The island it sits on was used as a gun battery as far back as the Revolutionary War, and the fort itself dates to the Civil War. It had been abandoned for almost a century when the military quietly reoccupied it in the 2050s for use as a top-secret weapons research facility. The fort’s exterior and outbuildings were left intact, but its interior was retrofitted and a basement level was dug to house the new laboratories and a sizable armory. Live weapons testing began on the island in the early 2070s, with the fort’s long-abandoned outbuildings used as targets. Among other weapons, the Fat Man and its Mini Nukes were invented here and first tested on the artillery range. But in October 2077, the island was hastily sealed up and its scientists evacuated. "(Fallout 4 Vault Dweller's Survival Guide Map) The fort was repurposed in the 2050s by the US military as a weapons research facility, with the interior renovated and a new basement research level constructed.Fallout 4 - Madeleine Rabil
General Brock took command of the facility in 2075 and prepared the location for weapon and power armor testing by leveling the old barracks and constructing a simulated town.Fort Strong terminal entries; General Brock's terminal, General Brock's Report - June 2075 It was at this location that Brock devised two teams - Alpha working on T-51b power armor and Bravo working on M42 "Fat Man" Launchers.Fort Strong terminal entries; General Brock's terminal, General Brock's Report - February 2076Fallout 4 loading screens: "Before the war, Fort Strong was a U.S. Army base and proving ground for experimental weapons, like the Fat Man nuclear catapult. It has since been overrun by Super Mutants." 
In June 2076, Alpha Team shipped the first line of T-51B power armor units to the front in China, and reports indicated performance above what was anticipated.Fort Strong terminal entries; General Brock's terminal, General Brock's Report - June 2076 Although Bravo Team struggled at first to perfect the firing mechanism of the M42 Launcher, testing resulted in perfecting the calibrations.Fort Strong terminal entries; General Brock's terminal, General Brock's Report - December 2076 In September 2077, the base had already shipped the launchers to a supply yard in Mississippi, but were waiting for authorization to transport the stored warheads to their intended destination.Fort Strong terminal entries; General Brock's terminal, General Brock's Report - September 2077
==Layout==
===Exterior===
From the north end of the bridge leading to the fort, there is a guardhouse on the east side containing leveled power armor and an ammunition box in the southeast corner. Across the bridge to the south is a collapsed building which was previously sealed off by a fence, with a couple of radioactive barrels inside.
Continuing along the road leads to the main complex, where three super mutants can be found patrolling. If the quest Show No Mercy is active, a super mutant behemoth will also be present. The road forks to the left, with a cemetery immediately east of the building on the north side of the road. Two teal vases and a toy car can be found here, while wild tato blossoms and wild corn can be found by the entrance and in the buildings on either side of the road. The buildings themselves hold radioactive barrels, desks, filing cabinets, and scattered junk items. Behind the easternmost building is a partially collapsed wooden dock with a sandbag wall built upon it.
Turning south at the bend in the northeast leads to another fork in the road. Turning east leads to the pier, which has a caps stash behind the wooden crate on the northeast corner. The west road loops back to the entrance. Heading directly south leads to the path up to the armory.
At the top of the path leading to the armory, just north of the building are two short sets of stairs. The near stairs lead up to the flagpole, where three more vases and a wild tato blossom can be found. The far stair lead up to two cannons, where five cannonballs can be found (four in a pile in the center, and one farther to the right). Three more cannons are on the south side of the building, with another pile of four cannonballs to the side of the central cannon and a final cannonball next to the cannon on the right. Another ammunition box is in a nearby alcove in the south wall of the building.
===Armory===
====Main floors====
The armory is the main administration and storage building of Fort Strong. From the main entrance, the second-floor walkway has collapsed, creating a ramp. At the top of the ramp are an ammo box, six desks, a filing cabinet, and a bank of filing cabinets. The door on the north side is blocked, but a Fat Man can be seen beyond it, through the broken door panel; this area of the building cannot be accessed but is fully furnished with no missing geometry, and is related to Fort Strong's cut content (see below). The inaccessible area consists of a barracks with bunk beds, the room with the Fat Man, and a restroom with a Jangles toy positioning on a small ladder as if peeing into a toilet. There is a minor bug involving several locker doors lying on the ground. These are functional doors, so they can be activated to open and close despite not being attached to anything, although they will never be accessible in regular gameplay.
Returning to the first floor, there are two doors: the door to the south has a Novice lock which can be opened with the Fort Strong key, and the door to the north leads into a hallway that loops around the building back to the door to the south.
Heading north, the doorway on the west side of the hallway is guarded by a lone super mutant. The west room features several junk items and Private Murnahan's holotape on the desks lining the walls. Turning east at the end of the room, a collapsed wall leads into the kitchen. East past the kitchen is the mess hall, guarded by two more super mutants. Turning south after the mess hall counter and going through the door on the west side will lead back into the hallway.
Looking directly west from the mess hall door, there is a baseball display on the left wall containing a poster and two baseballs on small wooden pedestals. Turning south from the door will enable one to continue through the hallway. Directly to the east is the elevator to the sublevel, which is blocked until the quest Show No Mercy has been started. Looking through the collapsed ceiling to the west, one can see the main entrance.
Continuing to the south, there is a small restroom through the door to the west containing a first aid box. Just beyond this door on the east side is the entrance to the auditorium; behind the collapsed floor in the northeast corner of the auditorium is a cooler.
Scaling the collapsed floor up to the barracks on the second floor above the auditorium will provide access to the usable bunk beds, a footlocker in the southeast, and a door in the south corner of the west wall. Passing through the door will lead to a hallway lined with lockers and another barracks on the opposite side; this second barracks contains three more footlockers, two sets of lockers (one of which hides a caps stash), two cabinets, a metal box, and more assorted junk items to loot. From here, one must return to the first floor via the collapsed floor of the first barracks and out the auditorium door to continue.
Looking west from the auditorium door, two ammunition boxes are on a desk to the left. Turning right at the end of the corridor, one will see the locked door back to the main entrance. Facing west, one can see a desk and another Novice-locked door on the south wall. Picking this lock will lead into General Brock's office, containing General Brock's terminal, a U.S. Covert Operations Manual, a trunk to the west, a mini nuke in the southwest display case, and a Master-locked safe in the southeast corner. Inside Brock's desk is the Fort Strong key, which will open both the safe and the door to the north back to the entrance.
====Sublevel====
Upon exiting the elevator, there is a small office on the west side of the room, while turning east will lead to the corridor to the generator room. The door on the north side of the corridor leads into an office with an armor workbench and another door on the east side leading out to the generator room. On the south side of the corridor is the restroom, which features two purified waters in the toilet bowl in the stall farthest from the entrance.
From the entrance to the generator room, one can turn south and follow the stairs down to the lower floor. Immediately on the right is a door leading into a corridor to a room filled with consoles. The northeast door in the room leads directly into another room, where a mutant hound can be found sleeping by the west exit back into the generator room. Northwest of the generator is another corridor.
On the east side halfway down the corridor is a lab, which contains the Bravo Team testing terminal by the window in the south. The room across the corridor to the west has a Novice-locked floor safe in the southeast corner.
Continuing through to the end of the corridor and turning right will reveal a small room. In this room is a floor trolley with an open crate of mini nuke parts and two mini nukes on the shelves to the north. On the south side of the room is a security cage with the door missing, inside of which is an ammo box and a first aid kit.
Heading through the east doorway will lead into the mini nuke storeroom, but the only way down from here is to jump off the gantry to the floor or onto the forklift immediately in front and climb down. The door in the northeast corner of the storeroom connects to the corridor that leads back to the small prior room.
==Notable loot==
===Exterior===
* Power armor frame - In the small guardhouse at the north end of the bridge to Fort Strong. The frame will have leveled components all the way up to X-01 models.
* Charge card - In an open dumpster in the ruined house just east of the first fork in the road and between the two roads. The dumpster is somewhat hidden behind a broken wall and a tilted shelf with nothing on it.
* Ten cannonballs - Five are next to the two cannons just to the north of the armory building. Five more are next to the three cannons just to the south of the building.
===Armory===
* Private Murnahan's holotape - On the first floor, on a desk by the window on the west side of the northwest room. Look for a telephone and a set of handcuffs to find the correct desk.
* U.S. Covert Operations Manual issue #5 - On the first floor, on General Brock's desk in the southwest corner behind a Novice-locked door.
* Fort Strong key - On the first floor, in General Brock's desk.
* Three Mini nukes - One is on the first floor, in the corner display case in General Brock's office. Two more are in the sublevel, on a shelf in the small room leading to the mini nuke storeroom.
* Fat Man - On the second floor, in the hidden inaccessible room. It can be seen through the edge of the door to the north caved in by debris.
* Whiskey - In General Brock's office, beside a normal bottle of consumable whiskey. This is not the consumable item; rather, it is a junk item which uses the same item model and name as regular whiskey.
==Notes==
* If Fort Strong is approached before Show No Mercy, the super mutant behemoth may not appear.
* If Fort Strong is cleared before Show No Mercy, the super mutants and all items will respawn upon starting the quest.
* If Fort Strong is explored before Show No Mercy, the elevator to the sublevel will be obstructed.
* Despite Elder Maxson saying the Brotherhood will occupy the fort once it is cleared, no such Brotherhood force will ever appear. However, looking at Fort Strong in the Creation Kit reveals that this was once planned to occur and was cut and/or left unfinished; see below for more details.
* The inaccessible room can be accessed by using a power armor glitch.
===Companion comments===
* When at this location companions make comments, which are activated in the sublevel, specifically in the room before the main mini nuke storeroom.
Location comments	Location comments
Character 	Comment
Cait 	""
Codsworth 	""
Curie 	"All this ordinance lying around. Very dangerous."
Danse 	""
Deacon 	"The lair of the Fat Man. Nice. Who we going to blow up?"
John Hancock 	""
Nick Valentine 	""
Piper Wright 	""
Preston Garvey 	""
Robert MacCready 	""
X6-88 	""
==Appearances==
Fort Strong appears only .
==Behind the scenes==
===Cut content===
Fort Strong's interiors (mainly the armory) have several unused scripted states as part of its location control quest, DN046, presumably intended to be tied to main quest progression. This would add or remove various props and debris inside the armory. In the final game, the only use of this quest is to remove the rubble blocking the sublevel elevator. These are accompanied by some script notes revealing differences from the implemented product:
* State 1 - Default state. Fort Strong would have been infested with feral ghouls rather than super mutants.
* State 2 - Removes rubble from the staircase and the upper floor doorways, making it possible to reach the currently inaccessible north wing of the building. Also cleans up and adds furnishings to the presentation room in the southeast corner of the building (as well as functional doors in place of the destroyed doorways). During this state, the Brotherhood (and/or the player) would have been actively fighting the ghouls, presumably during the main quest.
** In the console on PC, typing will clear the rubble, and typing will clean up the presentation room.
* State 3 - Removes the wooden rubble between the entrance and the back hallway. This is unfinished and will leave behind several floating super mutant gore decals and wooden rubble pieces. Typing in the console will recreate this in-game. During this state, the Brotherhood would have fully occupied and fortified the Fort Strong armory and sublevel (as Elder Maxson says would happen at the end of Show No Mercy), but none of these fortifications or characters were ever set up in the game files.
FO4 Fort Strong armory state 2 1.png|State 2 - press room cleaned up
FO4 Fort Strong armory state 2 2.png|State 2 - stairs unblocked
FO4 Fort Strong armory state 3.png|State 3 - entrance unblocked; note floating rubble pieces
===Meta===
* Fort Strong is based on the real-world location of the same name.
* The Fort Strong sign was created by world art intern Madeleine Rabil.
==Gallery==
Fo4 Fort Strong TV 1.png|Overview
FortStrong-Sign-Fallout4.jpg|Entrance sign
FO4 US Army Ft Strong.png|Entrance sign
Fo4 Fort Strong paframe.png|Guardhouse with power armor frame
Fort Strong dumpster with charge card.jpg|Charge card inside the dumpster
FO4 Fort Strong caps stash.png|Caps stash at the end of the pier on the east coastline
FortStrong-Bear-Fallout4.jpg|Teddy bear drinking rum on the south coastline
Fo4fortstrong.png|Exterior
FO4 Location 310721 25.jpg|Exterior placard
FO4 Fort Strong Entrance.png|Armory entrance
Fort Strong armory interior.jpg|Armory interior
FO4 Location 310721 27.jpg|Armory interior
FO4 Fort Strong holotape.png|Private Murnahan's holotape
Private_Murnahan_Holotape.png|Private Murnahan's holotape
FO4 Location 310721 28.jpg|Mess hall
FO4 Location 310721 29.jpg|Baseball display
FO4 Location 310721 30.jpg|Propaganda display
FO4 Fort Strong Brocks office.png|General Brock's office
US COM Who Goes There Fort Strong.jpg|U.S. Covert Operations Manual and Fort Strong key
FO4 Fort Strong armory stage room.png|Collapsed stage room, armory southeast corner
FO4 inaccessible Fat Man.png|Inaccessible room containing the Fat Man
FO4 Fort Strong inaccessible barracks.png|Inaccessible barracks north of the Fat Man
Fort strong inaccessible showers1.png|Inaccessible shower room south of the Fat Man
FO4 Fort Strong innacessible showers2.png|Inaccessible shower room, looking back to the room containing the Fat Man
Inaccessible showers3.png|Inaccessible shower room, viewed from the room containing the Fat Man
FO4 Fort Strong inaccessible Jangles.png|Inaccessible shower room, scene with Jangles the Moon Monkey
FO4 Fort Strong water.png|Stall holding purified water in the sublevel
FO4 Fort Strong Generator.jpg|Generator in the sublevel
FO4 Fort Strong (Bravo Team Terminal).jpg|Bravo Team terminal in the sublevel
FS sublevel mini nukes.jpg|Mini nukes in the sublevel
FO4 Fort strong storeroom.png|Mini nuke storeroom in the sublevel
Armor workbench Fort Strong sublevel.jpg|Armor workbench
==References==
Non-game
Category:Fallout 4 locations
Category:United States Armed Forces locations
Category:Fallout 4 military and research facilities
de:Fort Strong
de:Fort Strong: Waffenkammer
es:Fort Strong
fr:Fort Strong
pt:Forte Strong
ru:Форт-Стронг
uk:Форт-Стронг
zh:史特朗堡