Off-site Screenshot test poster

Chapter 80: Sun Vulture and the Courier’s Mile

Last we left off, Sun Vulture had launched nukes at two territories belonging to both the NCR and the Legion. A reminder to both that she means business.

It isn’t without its consequences, though. While we have received positive reputation with both the Boomers and Powder Gangers (get it? Because explosions), our rep with the NCR and Legion have gone down. We were already Vilified by the Legion, but how do the NCR see us now, you may wonder?

Yup. Still kinda buds with them, but now they have their suspicions about us. As expected of the NCR at this point, huh?

We also receive a free point to put into any of our SPECIAL stats. We pick Luck because why not?

As with all the DLCs so far, Lonesome Road rewards us with a footlocker of goodies at our feet upon completion. First up is the Courier Duster, which grants a whopping +25 carry weight and a point of Endurance. It’s similar to the vest Ulysses wears, but with the Two-Headed Bear on the back. Possibly due to it being worn during the time we had no control over our character before the events of the game.

There’s the flag stand that Ulysses was using last update, Old Glory. A baseball bat type weapon that hits pretty well.

Then we have his own duster, with the Old World Flag on the back. Would not call him charismatic, but he IS definitely critical of others.

We also have his breathing mask, which gives the highest radiation resistance for a single piece of gear in the entire game. Definitely using that for the next three zones we’re gonna explore.

But first, let’s listen to his “final” message.

This message, and all that lies with it – it is for you, Courier. If you want to know the… why of things.

This world, I’ve walked a good part of it… I stopped only because of you. What you did – gave me pause.

Long ago, I crossed the Colorado, the first among the Legion to see Hoover Dam in all its glory… an Old World wall, yet bridging two sides.

And beyond it, a symbol of a two-headed Bear, an idea great enough to challenge Caesar himself.

Might kill him, taking it, whether he won or lost. The Bull needs to fight, needs the challenge, without it… it falters, dies in the dust.

Might be a lesson there, in you and me. Leave the thought behind the message to you.

My message is this – the destruction that has been wrought, at the Divide – or elsewhere, if you couldn’t stop me…

It can happen again. It will keep happening.

If war doesn’t change, men must change, and so must their symbols. Even if it is nothing at all, know what you follow, Courier…

...just as I followed you, to the end. Whatever your symbol…

...carry it on your back, and wear it proudly when you stand at Hoover Dam.

Neato. But before we take on the Hoover Dam and the end of the game, we have some new areas to look at. Starting with Dry Wells, where the Legion (used to) have a settlement in.

There’s a boat in Cottonwood Cove that’s sole purpose of existence is to take us to the new location.

As expected, it’s very… green. Also, no one can prove it didn’t look this shitty BEFORE the nukes, so there!

For all we know, all nukes do is change the color of biomes! Ha-ha!

Anyway, the enemies you face here are just renamed Marked Men, now going by “Irradiated Legionaries”. There’s no real difference.

Except for the fact that some of the Legionaries use Stealth Boys, which is most likely forbidden in the Legion but who’s really keeping track of all their contradictions?

The only real enemy of note is the boss of Dry Wells, this minigun-wielding motherfucker right here.

His name is Gaius Magnus, which is an amalgamation of two powerful and historically influential Roman generals who lived during the late Roman Republic, Gaius Julius Caesar and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus.

Being an irradiated enemy and a high-level variant, he regenerates health in this area at a ludicrous speed. Like, I have as many attack speed buffs as possible and I can barely out-damage his regen.

Soon enough, we defeat him and can get a good look at his loot.

The only unique gear on his person is the armor, which provides a good amount of Action Points, Crit Chance, and Charisma.

Good for… snipers? I dunno, it’s an odd combo.

Looks pretty dope, though. Can’t get a good look at the front because of the green tone of the area, but there’s a golden bull on it.

Since Dry Wells (and the other two areas we will be looking at today) are considered end-game locations, they have some damn good loot in the containers and cases, like this one with an Anti-Material Rifle and a Tesla Cannon.

I should note that all these containers are randomized, too. A Tesla Cannon as a random drop is incredible (for Energy Weapons users, that is).

The other unique piece of loot is in this destroyed home that was totally like this before the nukes.

The Red Victory Grenade Rifle is a slightly lighter variant of the regular grenade rifle, boasting a higher attack speed as well (which is meaningless, seeing as how it’s a single shot weapon and the reload speed is the same).

Even though this note states otherwise, the wiki often doesn’t lie. Also it kinda spoils the OTHER grenade rifle we’ll find later.

At the end of the area is the crater made from the nukes (this one is totally on us, not gonna lie), which will cause instant death if we walk inside.

There’s not much else to talk about, other than this nuclear shadow found on this wall which is actually an inaccurate representation of the real thing. In reality, the nuclear blast bleaches the area around the victim, leaving it whitened. Cuz, you know, nukes give off shitloads of UV radiation. So, in other words, it should be the opposite of what you see here.

On to the next area, the Long 15, which is accessible via the gate at the end of the Mojave Outpost. Even though the explosion at the beginning of the update showed it landing pretty much right here.

Yeah, where the nukes actually landed is very inconsistent. Oh well.

Again, for all we know, it looked like this before our big decision. Completely innocent until proven a monster.

MAYBE we’re responsible for that truck getting flipped over, but c’mon, that happens every day.

Anyway, we run into Glowing Troopers, since making a Glowing Marked Man model would’ve taken more work or something.

Actually, this raises a question.

If the nukes from the Divide are different enough to create a semi-sentient mutation like the Marked Men, why are we even seeing ghouls here?

For instance, these guys ARE Marked Men, just wearing power armor. It’s an odd decision that I’m probably overthinking.

Then again, maybe the devs were just UNDERthinking.

Ever thought about that?

...okay, how were we supposed to know there was a relief camp here?!

At the relief camp is the boss of the Long 15, Colonel Royez, armed with a Plasma Caster.

He takes a while to go down thanks to the high health regen, but we whittle him down all the same.

He’s wearing a variant of the NCR power armor, which grants an absurd +40 carry weight, fire resistance, Strength boost, and health regen of 2 hitpoints per second. Pretty damn good.

It also has a taxidermied bear head on the side of it, giving it addition cool points.

We find the Great Bear Grenade Rifle here, sporting a higher damage output and durability.

All that aside, the Long 15 has a couple things going for it, besides the destruction we may or may not be guilty of. Can’t get to the crater the nukes made here, so no surprise instant deaths. Just the normal ones.

Rounding it out is the Courier’s Mile, created by the Ashton missile we detonated earlier.

It can only be accessed by the car wall at the beginning of Hopeville, where we previously couldn’t go past.

...man, maybe I should have had this update ready by St. Patrick’s Day, huh?

The unique weapon here is called Blood-Nap, found stuck to this street light right at the beginning of the map.

It’s a stronger variant of the Bowie Knife, granting +10 Sneak to the wielder.

It’s VATS attack is, well, “Blood-Nap,” where it deals 80% of its damage but at a lower AP cost than a normal attack. The normal Bowie Knife’s attack is called “Dirt Nap,” which is the same thing but costs 1 AP more.

Also, it’s supposed to have blood stains on it but it’s hard to make out and just looks like dirt or rust in the green overlay.

The Courier’s Mile is actually split into two halves.

The first half, the north side of the road, is considered Marked Man territory.

And the second half, the south side of the road, belongs to another foe. One guess as to who it i-

It’s deathclaws. Irradiated deathclaws at that. Which basically means they deal radiation damage on top of everything else. So that’s fun.

You CAN try and position them in front of the warheads dotted around the map, but good luck making them stay there long enough to detonate them.

Now, one at a time is no problem. We can take a hit or two (with all our buffs) and land a Super Slam! proc to get them on their asses...

But two is a crowd. And there’s way more than just two of them here.

So, let’s see what the Marked Men side of the map is looking?

A little bit more bearable...

But still bullshit.

Now, you may be thinking, “oh, a deathclaw! It can do all the work for me and rip them to shreds while I run away!,” right?

WRONG. While both the Marked Men and the deathclaws will eventually meet each other at the middle of the map and fight each other, they will relentlessly go after you if any one of them see you at first.

While that may have made things easier for me, I needed a bit of a challenge, so this is all on me. The melee dudes would be the first targets on the chopping block...

But they can block pretty often and leave you stunned. VATS also doesn’t let us attack fast enough to offset their health regen, so you’re SOL there.

Not to mention that they have ranged dudes with Gatling Lasers, Brush Guns, Incendiary Grenades, and other sorts of annoyances.

I’m not gonna lie; I died a LOT here.

And I mean...

A FUCKING LOT.

So, how do we deal with them? Well, first go after the one-shotters, since they are faster than the Marked Men and will lead the pack to give you a deadly hug.

Once the deathclaws are dealt with, kite the conga line around until you circle to their backline and take out the ones with the guns. Particularly, the heavies.

Although, the Brush Guns hurt worse, so if you have the opportunity, go for their gaping jugulars.

As for the melee dudes… sometimes, they take care of themselves.

I should also mention I was popping EVERY consumable I could carry when tackling these zones. Slasher, Med-X, Beer, Buffout, Battle Brew, Turbo, Fixer, RadAway/X, and tons of health regen food just to keep up with the damage thrown my way.

Still, that’s the Courier’s Mile. Not as bad as the Deathclaw Promontory, but still difficult, especially for impatient players.

With all three nuclear sites cleared, Sun dons her Courier Duster and finds Ulysses at the edge of the cliff overlooking the Divide.

Something else in you needing an answer?

What are you doing here?

A question one could have asked you not long ago, before walking the road West into the storms.

Maybe that’s why you’ve come, too – need to see where the missile from Ashton touched ground down below, in Hopeville… the Courier’s Mile.

What’s the Courier’s Mile? Is that where the Ashton missile hit?

My name for it. If you have a better one, you grant it – my choice in names won’t carry past you and I.

Speaking of which...

Have you been to Hopeville since the Ashton missile hit?

Occasionally sift through the dust, the buildings… see if I can find some history. Marks of America.

If you want them, keep them… you’ve earned it. Nothing to be gained by me holding them, and more will surface in time.

What about the Marked Men?

That’s part of why I’m here. Watch them – if they attack me, try to enter the Mojave, I answer. Not looking to kill them… save them, if I can.

There might be something saving in them. If not, then what I do is mercy, not murder.

The Divide’s irradiated… are you sure you want to stay here?

Not my way. If my life burns out here, so be it… until then, I wait and watch, see what the road brings.

Thought you should know, Dry Wells is destroyed – that was your birthplace?

No, opposite of that. It’s where my tribe was taken. Where another history was put to the blade, lesson taught.

Now it belongs to Legion… and all the death there now belongs to them as well. Not revenge… just the way of things when you own them.

Oh, and the Long 15 is no more. The main supply line into NCR is cut.

Only delays the end for the Bull, a new wall for them to scale and cross… once they’re done with the Mojave. And Hoover Dam.

Yeah, well, they ain’t gonna make it any further West. Not on my watch.

So... is this where you’re making camp?

Not a camp – vigil, maybe. Never claimed it as mine. If anyone owns the Divide… your claim is stronger than mine.

Any recipes you can teach?

Depends what history has to say about them. There’s a lot the land can provide… if you know the road that let to it.

Mojave’s got ways of healing most ills – if not, some tribe’s usually found a way you didn’t expect.

Like Healing Powders. Tribes back West only use Xander and Broc flower. There’s a way the Twin Mothers in the East used to brew it, though.

What’s the history of it?

History? Cures a wound, leaves the bitterness that caused it. The Twin Mothers were always about lessons.

Wouldn’t have made it through Crimson River Trail a few years back without it – losing so much blood early on, was a Cazador feast.

Enough Xander root and Broc flower along the trail though, the Legion was able to keep pace and get where they were going.

Can you share the recipe with me?

Can do that and one better… just enough around to mix some. Here – might make the Twin Mothers’ history live a little longer, you carrying it. <gives Bitter Drink, and its recipe>

Oh! Almost forgot. Caesar is dead, I killed him.

Not really bragging, just wanted to let you know.

Too soon to tell what will happen, let history weigh what you’ve done, if it gets that far.

I wasn’t sure how you’d take it.

If he was too weak to stop you, too weak to defend himself, then he needed to die with his beliefs.

Unless you do the same for the Legate that comes, you’ll get no thanks from me. When that Monster arrives, he’s not going to have a leash.

Caesar could command him. Not now. The Bear’s going to burn, and burn slow.

Hmm. I’ll keep that in mind.

In other news, I reached Vegas, and I dealt with House.

Wonder what happens to Vegas now. The tribes – families. We’ll see.

Well, I’m kinda in control of two of them, and the other is allowed to continue its controversial cuisine for my… palette. So, there you go.

Thought you might be glad House was dealt with.

…it is a dangerous belief. Needs to be silenced before their belief spreads.

(Probably shouldn’t mention the robot army… might set him off.)

Oh, and the NCR’s president is dead.

They will find another.

...that it?

The president did not rule the Bear, like Caesar did the Bull. When nations choose their leaders, they will choose another. And another. And ano-

Cool. I wanted to hear more about Hoover Dam.

That place and I have a past, owe it a debt – and it owes me. If your path takes you there, know you’re not the only one.

It’s the wall by which this age will be measured, the gravestone of the Mojave. Old World never meant it as such.

Anything else on your mind?

Yeah... I got your final message.

Nice of you to leave it in a footlocker right outside the Divide’s gate, though.

Had to speak of it, in case the words got lost in paper, ink, or other’s voices. Maybe even yours, in time.

Still, meant for you. Courier to Courier. Belongs to you now, or history. Doesn’t matter.

...I’m, uh. I’m heading back to the Mojave to settle some things.

Bear and Bull shed too much blood there to let it go. Can’t stop you from going, wouldn’t.

A warning, though – the Legate, Lanius. Whether Caesar stands or not, Lanius will come.

What can you tell me about him?

Not even his slaves have seen his face – struck them blind so they can’t. Wears a mask, don’t even know if it’s the same man.

Maybe he’s just that ugly?

He’s just one general. I can handle him.

Lanius carries all the terrors of the East with him. He’s the myth, the weapon the Legion needs.

When he arrives, he’ll fall on Hoover Dam like a hammer, break the Bear in two.

He crosses me, I’ll break him.

His strength lies in his title – and it is his weakness. He will not fight a losing battle and destroy what he represents.

Put the idea of loss in him. Convince him the Bear will not be the twentieth tribe beneath his hell, it will make him pause like nothing on earth.

You need not convince him alone. Draw upon history. The past of other Legates are not filled with victories. Remind Lanius of this.

Other Legates? You mean Graham.

Yes. Graham was broken on the wall of the Dam.

Somehow Joshua walked away from that, went beyond Caesar’s gaze. His footsteps trailing fire, walking from one hell – maybe to another.

When one is ruined like Graham was… sometimes home is the only place left. If so, he went to New Canaan, Caesar’s anger written on him like a book.

Graham earned his life, and his nature… it’ll kill him more surely than any blade of the Legion.

So if you’ve heard word of it or seen sign of him, let it keep. Let his history keep.

Met him. Nice guy. Little murder-crazy, but who isn’t these days?

…

Ahem.

We’ll leave it to history then.

Mind if I pop a squat? My dogs are barkin’.

Could feel the blaze of your trails from miles away. Roost here. Cool them on the winds of the invisible fire.

Sweet.

Next time… Sun sets her vulturous sights on the Hoover Dam.