Fallout: New Vegas Steam Achievements Guide for 100%

Welcome, Courier, to the ultimate challenge of the Mojave Wasteland: achieving 100% completion in Fallout: New Vegas on Steam. With 75 achievements spanning the base game and its four major DLCs, this journey demands dedication, strategic planning, and sometimes, a little bit of luck. While the average completion time hovers around 180 hours, a well-structured approach can streamline your path to every unlock. This Fallout: New Vegas Steam achievements guide will walk you through the most efficient ways to earn them all.

Before diving in, consider enjoying a playthrough or two without a guide to fully immerse yourself in the rich narrative and open-world exploration Fallout: New Vegas offers. When you're ready to tackle the achievements, remember that multiple playthroughs or, more practically, strategic save reloads, will be essential, especially for faction-specific endings.

Preparing for Your Mojave Achievement Hunt

Your journey begins in Doc Mitchell's house. After completing "Ain't That a Kick in the Head" by finishing character creation, you'll be prompted to activate Hardcore Mode. For the "Hardcore" achievement, you must activate it here and never turn it off until the final credits roll. While Hardcore Mode adds significant difficulty (managing hunger, thirst, sleep, and limited Stimpak effectiveness), you can mitigate this by playing on the "Very Easy" combat difficulty. This allows you to focus on the survival mechanics without being constantly overwhelmed by combat.

Progress through the main story, tracing Benny's steps to Primm, Nipton, Novac, and eventually Boulder City, completing quests like "They Went That A-Way" and "Ring-a-Ding-Ding." Crucially, before making any major choices that align you with the NCR, Caesar's Legion, Mr. House, or Yes Man, create a dedicated "main save." You'll return to this save repeatedly to pursue different faction endings, saving you countless hours.

Core Skills and Crafting Achievements

Many achievements are tied to your character's skills and actions within the world. Prioritize leveling key skills like Lockpick, Science, and Speech early on, as they unlock dialogue options, new paths, and the following achievements:

• Crafty: Craft 20 items. This is easily done by recycling spent energy cells at a workbench, as each conversion counts as a craft.
• Jury Rigger: Repair 30 items. As your gear degrades, use the Pip-Boy menu to combine duplicate items or utilize Weapon Repair Kits on equipped weapons. Ensure items drop below their maximum durability before repairing to count towards this.
• No Tumbler Fumblers: Pick 25 locks. A high Lockpick skill is vital. Don't use terminal overrides to unlock doors if you can pick them manually instead.
• Hack the Mojave: Hack 25 terminals. Boost your Science skill. The hacking mini-game involves guessing a password from a list; the system tells you how many letters are correct. Look for bracketed sequences of symbols (e.g., (!!!!)) that can either reset your guess count or remove incorrect words.
• Outstanding Orator: Make 50 speech challenges. Maxing your Speech skill opens up many opportunities to pass checks, often providing alternate, peaceful, or advantageous ways to complete quests.
• Artful Pocketer: Pick 50 pockets. This is one of the rarer achievements due to its niche use. Community reports suggest an exploit: in Vault 21, Sarah in the lobby has "crunchy mute fruit" that can be pickpocketed infinitely. Equip a Stealth Boy and repeatedly pickpocket her until the achievement pops, saving every few attempts to avoid reputation loss if caught.

Combat, Exploration, and Economic Milestones

You'll naturally accrue many achievements by simply playing the game, but some require a focused effort:

• Damage Achievements (10,000 damage): There are seven achievements for dealing 10,000 damage with different weapon types: "Lead Dealer" (Guns), "Blast Mastery" (Energy Weapons), "New Vegas Samurai" (Melee), "Old Time Brawler" (Unarmed), "Love the Bomb" (Explosives), "Curios and Relics" (Unique Mojave Wasteland weapons), and "Master of the Arsenal" (Gun Runners' Arsenal weapons). Focus on one or two weapon types per playthrough or save-reload for efficiency.
• You Run Barter Town: Sell 10,000 caps worth of goods. Loot everything valuable, especially items where the value-to-weight ratio is favorable (e.g., value is 5x or more than weight). You'll easily hit this by regularly selling your haul to vendors.
• Location Discovery: "Walker of the Mojave" (50 locations) and "Master of the Mojave" (125 locations) are straightforward. Explore thoroughly, or take the Explorer perk to reveal all map locations and then visit them.
• Caravan Achievements: "Know When to Fold Them" (win 3 games) and "Caravan Master" (win 30 games) can be surprisingly tricky if you don't understand the card game. Many players avoid Caravan, but it's a simple game once you learn the rules. Practice with easy opponents like Ringo in Goodsprings.
• Gambling Achievements: "Double Down" (10 Blackjack hands), "One Armed Bandit" (10 Slots spins), and "Little Wheel" (10 Roulette spins) are simple; just play the required number of games. For "The Courier Who Broke the Bank" (get banned from all Strip casinos), maximize your Luck stat (start with high Luck, wear Naughty Nightwear, get Luck implants) and play Blackjack or Slots until you hit the cap for each casino (15,000 at Ultra-Luxe, 10,000 at The Tops, 9,000 at Gomorrah).
• Healing Achievements: "Desert Survivalist" (heal 10,000 damage with food) is best pursued during your Hardcore playthrough, as food is a primary healing method there. "Stim-ply Amazing" (heal 10,000 damage with Stimpaks) will come naturally through combat.

Main Story and Faction Endings

After progressing through "Ain't That a Kick in the Head," "They Went That A-Way," and "Ring-a-Ding-Ding," you'll reach the point where you must align with one of the four major powers. This is where your "main save" comes into play. You'll need to reload it three times to get all four endings:

1. Yes Man's Route: Complete "Wild Card" (his main questline) and ultimately "No Gods, No Masters" by winning the Hoover Dam battle for him. During this path, you'll also likely get "You'll Know It When It Happens" for protecting President Kimball.
2. Mr. House's Route: Reload your main save. Complete "The House Always Wins" (his main questline) and "All or Nothing" for his Hoover Dam victory. You'll also encounter "You'll Know It When It Happens" here.
3. Caesar's Legion Route: Reload your main save. Complete "Render Unto Caesar" (his main questline). This path will give you "Arizona Killer" for assassinating President Kimball, and finally "Veni, Vidi, Vici" for the Legion's triumph at Hoover Dam.
4. NCR Route: Reload your main save. Complete "For the Republic" (their main questline) and "Eureka!" for the NCR's victory at Hoover Dam. This path also includes "You'll Know It When It Happens."

Side Quests and Collectibles

Interspersed throughout the Mojave are numerous side quests and collectibles that grant achievements:

• Come Fly With Me: Help the ghouls at the REPCONN Test Site.
• That Lucky Old Sun: Redirect power at Helios One.
• GI Blues: Assist The King in Freeside.
• Volare!: Earn the trust of the Boomers at Nellis Air Force Base.
• Return to Sender: Complete this NCR quest involving ranger stations.
• Talent Pool: Recruit new acts for Tommy Torini at The Tops.
• Legend of the Star: Find 50 Sunset Sarsaparilla Star Bottle Caps and complete the follow-up quest "A Valuable Lesson" at the Sunset Sarsaparilla Headquarters. While difficult to find all 50 naturally, drinking Sarsaparilla can occasionally yield them, or you can consult online guides for specific locations.
• Globetrotter: Find all seven snow globes in the base game. None are missable, and they are scattered across various key locations like Goodsprings Cemetery, Hoover Dam, Jacobstown, and Vault 21.

Gun Runners' Arsenal (GRA) Challenges

The Gun Runners' Arsenal DLC introduces unique challenges, often requiring specific weapons to kill certain enemy types or perform particular actions. These are best approached by making a dedicated save, completing the challenges, and then reloading your previous save to avoid disrupting other achievements.

• Up to the Challenge (3x 1-star): These are the easiest. Examples include "A Slave Obeys" (kill Mr. House with a 9-Iron), killing 15 robots with a 5.56mm Pistol (GRA), or crippling five right arms with shotguns.
• Combat Veteran (3x 2-star): A step up in difficulty. Consider "Even a God King Can Bleed" (kill Caesar with a combat knife), "Historical Propriety" (kill Benny with Maria, his own gun), or killing 15 Super Mutants with specific weapons like the 5.56mm Pistol (GRA) or Plasma Defender.
• Pros Only (3x 3-star): This is widely considered the rarest and most difficult achievement in Fallout: New Vegas. It requires careful planning. Examples include killing ten named Legion members with specific cowboy-perk weapons, killing 15 named NCR Rangers/officers with melee/unarmed weapons, or killing five adult Mojave Wasteland Deathclaws with weak weapons like .22 pistols or switchblades. For the Deathclaw challenge, a common player strategy is to weaken a Deathclaw with a powerful weapon and then deliver the killing blow with one of the required weaker weapons.

DLC Achievement Rundown

Each of the four main DLCs adds its own set of achievements, often tied to their main questlines and unique mechanics.

Honest Hearts

This DLC focuses on the Zion Canyon:

• When We Remembered Zion: Arrive in Zion.
• Restore Our Fortunes: Resupply Daniel and the Sorrows.
• In a Foreign Land: Scout Zion Valley for White Legs.
• May My Hand Forget Its Skill: Evacuate Zion (Daniel's path).
• O Daughter of Babylon: Crush the White Legs (Joshua Graham's path). Make a save before the final decision to get both ending achievements.

Dead Money

A survival horror experience in the Sierra Madre:

• Sierra Madre Souvenir Aficionado: Collect 500 Sierra Madre Chips. You can gamble for these or find them in the environment.
• Assemble Your Crew: Recruit Dean Domino, Christine Royce, and Dog/God.
• Having a Ball: Complete the Sierra Madre Gala Event.
• Cash Out: Confront Father Elijah in the vault and kill him.
• Safety Deposit Box: Trap Father Elijah in the vault. This is challenging; you need to convince him to come down, then quickly escape before he can detect you and seal the vault. Make a save before this choice to earn both ending achievements.

Old World Blues

Explore the Big Empty, a bizarre scientific research facility:

• Making Friends: Reactivate all ten of the Sink's robotic assistants. This is a quest-driven collectible hunt.
• Spinal Tapped: Recover the X-8 vertebrae pulse desensitizer frequency.
• Cardiac Arrest: Search your feelings for your heart (recover the X-13 stealth suit).
• Make Up Your Mind: Make up your mind about your brain (complete the discussion with your brain).
• Outsmarted: Complete Old World Blues.

Lonesome Road

A linear, narrative-heavy journey through the Divide:

• ED-Ecated: Find all five of ED-E's upgrades in the Divide. These are often found near destroyed eyebots.
• Rockets Red Glare: Fully upgrade the Divide's signature weapon. You buy the parts from commissary terminals.
• Warhead Hunter: Detonate all 30 warheads in the Divide using the Laser Detonator. This is a significant collectible hunt, often requiring a dedicated guide to find them all.
• Condemned to Repeat It: Decide the fate of the Divide dwellers by launching a nuclear missile.
• Hometown Hero: Complete Lonesome Road by confronting Ulysses.

Earning every achievement in Fallout: New Vegas is a testament to your dedication and mastery of the game. It’s a rewarding experience that showcases the depth and replayability of this beloved title. Good luck, Courier! You can find more details about Fallout: New Vegas and its community on its official Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/22380/fallout_new_vegas/

FAQ

How long does it take to get all Fallout: New Vegas Steam achievements?

On average, completing all 75 Fallout: New Vegas Steam achievements, including all DLCs, takes around 180 hours. This can vary significantly based on playstyle and guide usage.

Do I need multiple playthroughs for 100% completion?

Yes, you will need to experience all four main faction endings (Yes Man, Mr. House, Caesar's Legion, NCR). The most efficient way to do this is to make a strategic save file before committing to a faction and reload it three times.

What is the hardest achievement in Fallout: New Vegas?

"Pros Only," a Gun Runners' Arsenal challenge requiring you to complete three 3-star challenges, is widely considered the rarest and most difficult due to its specific and often counter-intuitive requirements.

Can I play on easy difficulty and still get all achievements?

Yes, you can play Fallout: New Vegas on "Very Easy" difficulty while still earning all achievements, even when playing on Hardcore Mode. This can make the process much smoother, especially for combat-related challenges.