At the time of its release, one of the worst
parts about the Fallout 3 computer game was
how you couldn’t play after the ending.
But Bethesda, in a fitting love letter to
fans of the genre, wrapped an entire DLC around
that beautiful little update.
Can You Beat Fallout 3’s Broken Steel DLC
Without Taking Any Damage?
This DLC is different from all the other Fallout
3 and even New Vegas DLCs in the way that
it’s accessed.
There are no level requirements, but you can’t
start it until you complete the main quest
line.
Normally I’d start in Vault 101, escape
as quickly as possible, and head straight
for the DLCs starting location.
Can’t really do that this time and, children
cover your ears, I’m sure as HECK not playing
through all of Fallout 3 again just for this
video.
I reloaded a save from a prior playthrough,
and because my Fallout 3 is so destroyed that
I haven’t been able to press Load on the
main menu without crashing the entire game
since early last year, I just went with whatever
the most recent save was.
In this case, Player Name from that Fallout
3 New Vegas Same Time video.
The build for that character was based around
speed and being able to take a lot of damage,
not really the best SPECIAL stats for a no
damage run, but I worked with what required
the least effort at that particular moment.
I had to content with Autumn again, settled
things were settled diplomatically as I’d
already set my max health to 1 so that any
damage killed me, Sarah Lyons was sent into
the Purifier on my behalf and died.
I’d have done it but I had no way to heal
radiation damage and the second the door was
sealed with me on the bad side, I’d have
collapsed.
With Lyons finally dead, the Wasteland was
saved, my mind pondered all the nothing, and
I woke up back in the Citadel to none other
than the father of the woman I just convinced
to sacrifice herself for water, the most unappealing
of all beverages.
Elder Lyons explained what transpired while
I was failing at being dead.
The Enclave were beaten back a good bit more
than expected thanks to Doctor Madison Lame
being productive and contributing to society.
Sarah Lyons is still dead.
Whether she’s as dead or more dead than
my dog is up for debate.
Long story short, the Enclave haven’t been
defeated yet and it falls on me to maybe help
if I feel like it.
I decided to be a good Samaritan and help
them to balance out all the bad things I’ve
never done ever in my life.
After figuring out where Scribe Rothschild
was, wandering through the darkness, and acquiring
some ammo from Durga, I spoke to Rothschild
about our next move.
The Enclave’s Main Headquarters was destroyed
a few weeks back by someone who was playing
two games at once.
They’re running scared, but we have the
upper hand.
We have Democracy.
We have…
Liberty Prime.
I left the Citadel to meet up with Paladin
Tristian at the Rockland Car Tunnel.
Now because Broken Steel raises the level
cap from 20 to 30 and it can only be accessed
after beating the game, I think it’s assumed
that you’ll have been all over the Capital
Wasteland by the time you start it.
I discovered about as few locations as you
possibly can, which is rather annoying as
this DLC sends you to the far reaches of the
Capital Wasteland.
I checked out a few locations to see how they’d
changed after the war, they didn’t really,
and I was on my way to the car tunnel.
I got a pretty good idea of what I was in
for when my first taste of combat was a Protectron
in front of me and a robotic something else
behind me.
Laser weapons firing from two opposite directions
with a quick save right in the middle is the
recipe for a bad time.
A bit closer to the tunnel, but still a good
distance away, I put a bullet in a Raider’s
heart with a rifle and it barely left a mark.
Inside the tunnel, I spoke to Tristian about
the job, and spent the next 77 years walking
behind him.
We’re accompanying Liberty Prime as he assaults
another Enclave hideaway hole.
The abundance of dead Enclave Soldiers still
clutching their rifles even in death made
me think that I should’ve put more points
into Energy Weapons.
I didn’t really do all that much here.
I was about as useful as a comatose toddler
with a nerf gun at Pearl Harbor.
Then the Enclave pulled a trick out of an
old wartime strategy guide published by Prima
Games many years ago and bombarded their own
base with an orbital strike, taking Liberty
Prime out of commission permanently.
And of course, it fell on me to be a one man
army and work my way through the Base.
Now you might be thinking that I wasn’t
alone because there were Brotherhood Soldiers
with me, but being alone is mental.
You can be surrounded by friends, families,
laughs and love on Christmas morning and still
be all alone in your head.
Getting through the Enclave base was no fun.
My weapons were a slight annoyance to the
Enclave at best.
My Small Guns skill was maxed out or close
to it, but a Hunting Rifle against some of
the best armor the Enclave has to offer can
only do so much.
Even 2 dozen shots with an Assault Rifle wasn’t
enough to bring down one plain old solider.
Not a good time.
Thankfully, the Paladins following me were
far more capable fighters than I could ever
hope to be and would engage the enemy in combat
as soon as I opened fire.
The gatling laser I’d picked up off one
of the bodies did big damage and made relatively
quick work of the remaining Soldiers guarding
the last door.
Once we got the intel we needed, I left their
base, returned to the Citadel in the cover
of darkness, bartered with Durga again, and
operation cheese began.
I wanted the items locked in her armory, but
I had no key, so what is a moron to do in
a situation like that?
Easy.
You VATS yourself inside, punch her in the
hepatitis, steal all the everything that even
remotely resembles a weapon, then quick-save
quick-load yourself through the wall to escape
the armory along with all the stuff you didn’t
steal.
From there I spoke to the Elder about how
the loss of Liberty Prime will affect moral,
leveled up, put all the points in Explosives
because I’d recently bought a missile launcher
from the scholastic book fair, and got my
next assignment from Tristian.
I’m going to Olney Powerworks to secure
some technological nonsense for the Brotherhood.
Tristian said to speak to Scribe Vallincourt
about some gadget to help me complete my task.
She mentioned that the Enclave had smart Deathclaws,
I bought the nicest bleach Walmart had to
prepare myself for what’s to come, and set
off for Olney Powerworks.
Just like Rockland Car Tunnel, Olney was terribly
far away from me, only it’s on the opposite
side of the map.
I wasted some ammo on Enclave soldiers who
spawn-killed me in Springvale earlier in my
life, and pressed North.
I was rather shocked at all the Enclave forces
out and about in the wasteland.
Seemed like every 100 feet I was running into
a group of soldiers or sentry bots or giant
radscoprions that had no doubt been paid off
my the Enclave to do things to my f*nny.
The radscorpions took far too much ammo to
kill, so I just ignored them and bunny hopped
to the safety of a rock they couldn’t climb.
I also paused the game to satisfy a curiosity
of mine regarding the birds in the sky that
don’t real because bird aren’t exist.
A yao guai followed me, so I lured it to a
group of bandits who beat it to death shortly
before I ended them for hurting an innocent
animal.
My form of wasteland justice was not enough
to satisfy all the other yao guai, because
they came from all corners of the known world
to kill me.
Finally, I arrived at Olney Powerworks, or
at least at the fork in the road where I had
to decide whether to take control of the deathclaws
or brute force my way inside.
I chose to dive into the sewer system head
first.
Inside, I explored a bit, found a .44 Revolver,
tripped on a skeleton and died, discovered
a deathclaw tucked away in the punishment
room, and ignored it to go about my business.
Quarry Junction ain’t got nothing on these
tunnels.
There are deathclaws all over the place and
for a reason I didn’t understand at the
time, the scrambler did nothing.
So I left, cleared out the Enclave camped
out nearby, had a Smart Deathclaw as a companion,
it couldn’t handle the Neutron style, dropped
dead right before my eyes, and I went back
inside the tunnel to die.
There was only one way for me to get through
here.
I lacked the firepower to blow away the Deathclaws
with guns, but I had a bunch of plasma mines.
The problem was getting the deathclaws to
set them off in such a way that they’re
crippled or they die.
Dying means they die but being crippled by
the explosion allowed me to finish them off
with something else while they waddled towards
me.
Deeper into the tunnels, I spoke to a Ghoul
who took advantage of all the death I’d
left behind me, I killed another couple three
deathclaws, and Operation Cheese was once
again a go.
In the Olney Powerworks Underground lie many
Deathclaws, far more than I could handle.
So I… cheated, sort of.
It’s less of a cheat and more of just taking
advantage of the game being broken.
A lot of the time when you clip through a
wall, you fall through the void until the
game places you back at some spot in that
cell’s area.
But this particular area has piles of rubble
that exist beyond the walls of the area, so
if you happen to clip through the wall, you
can maneuver around the boundaries of the
map without falling through the void.
But it gets better, because there’s an air
duct on one of the walls that just barely
sticks out through the side of the wall you’re
not supposed to be on.
You can use that to jump on top of the cell
and ignore all the deathclaws.
Then it’s as simple as finding the door
and opening from the other side.
The next area was payback for what I’d just
done.
Enclave Soldiers were everywhere and these
clowns are as accurate as I am hideous.
In this scenario, death is pretty much guaranteed
if they see you.
And to make matters worse, there’s an Enclave
Hellfire Trooper sporting some of the best
armor in the game.
I had to use traps to my advantage like never
before.
But wait, there’s more.
The time it takes a mine to go off is determined
by the Explosive skill of the person setting
it off.
For Enclave Soldiers found in this DLC, their
Explosive skill could be in the low 60s or
up to 100.
Anything in that range gives them enough time
to shoot you before the mine goes off and
kills them.
So you can’t just plant a mine, sit back,
and wait for the enemy to set it off with
no effort.
And because my weapons are still god-awful,
the only way the weakest Enclave solider is
going down with one shot is with a lot of
luck and a sneak attack.
Then came the Tesla Coil, another jolly romp
through the 69th circle of hell is how I’d
describe it.
Let’s forget about the Sentry Bots and other
assorted robotrons down there in Olney Powerworks
proper.
They sucked and made life frustrating but
could be dealt with with some time and effort.
The real star of the shit show was obtaining
the Tesla Coil itself.
There are a couple different ways to get it,
as I learned the hard way.
Option 1 is to just jump down into the electro-dome
and grab the thing with your bare hands.
It’s electricity coiled up in a ball as
a defense mechanism because it’s startled,
so it’ll hurt to stick in your pocket.
You die.
Option 2 is to use the 3 emergency shutoff
switches to shut off most power to the coil
so you can pick it up guilt free.
It’s weakened and drugged, but still packs
enough of a punch to kill you.
Option 3 is to grab the Tesla Armor off one
of the Troopers you killed, put it on, and
grab the coil.
It will protect you from all harm and I’m
making that up how stupid are you that you
actually thought that would work.
Or, a better question, how stupid am I for
trying that in the first place.
The last remaining option requires a Science
skill of 75 to initiate a complete shutdown
using a terminal in the next room over.
My science skill is far from 75.
I don’t know if it’s even in the double
digits.
There may be an infinite number of universes,
but there is no universe where I left to get
my science skill up to 75.
Best case scenario, I was looking at leveling
up 3 more times to get Science up to where
it needed to be.
I didn’t have time for that.
I didn’t have the patience for that.
I didn’t have the mental fortitude to make
it happen.
I could be done, but I wasn’t going to do
it.
I gave myself enough health to survive picking
up the Tesla Coil in its semi-shutdown state,
and left to return the coil to Paladin Tristian.
Back in the Citadel for the 3nd or 4rd time,
I was told to single-handedly infiltrate Adams
Airforce Base by Paladin Tristian, sold the
excess weapons I’d collected, got my missile
launcher a well-deserved massage, and set
sail for the base.
The only silver lining was that I didn’t
have to trek across the wasteland again.
The entrance to the tepid sewer is across
the sea from the wicked witch of the west.
God gave me a glimmer of hope when a Raider
I killed dropped a combat shotgun.
Pound for pound, the combat shotgun is the
worst shotgun in the game.
I don’t know if that’s true or not, but
what is true is that it’s a great weapon
in Fallout 3, especially in close quarters.
It’s so effective that the Germans tried
to ban shotguns from Call of Duty tournaments
back in the day but it didn’t work out very
well for them.
In the metro station tunnels, I got my hands
on a bunch more frag mines, killed some Raiders
and mole rats, and got smited by the big G.
Talon Company Mercenaries were waiting for
me in Georgetown.
I spent many a minute trying to defeat them,
different tactics, different weapons, different
times of day, but I never got through to them
that violence is never the answer.
A certain invisible alphabet letter in the
sky realized his or her punishment was too
severe, and the last time I emerged from the
tunnels, the Mercs were preoccupied with the
nearby Super Mutants, who ultimately killed
them.
With the monsters of mice and men down for
the count, I sold stuff to a Scavenger, took
back my items and his caps, somehow managed
to take down a Super Mutant Master, and entered
the Foggy Bottom Station.
To be frank, this was a cake walk.
A handful of Raiders were down there living
in the darkness, but most of the enemies were
ghouls.
Small guns at 100 and a combat shotgun make
quick work of even the toughest ghouls.
What it doesn’t do, though, is help you
when you enter Heck.
Remember what I said about those robots in
front of me and behind me at the beginning
of the video?
That was foreshadowing.
I faced that type of situation again here.
Only instead of robots there were 5 or 6 Super
Mutants all around me.
Several in front of the staircase, the rest
behind me overlooking the entrance to the
station I’d just emerged from.
With the weapons at my disposal, a brute force
assault was simply not an option.
Enough bullets fly your way from the enemies
behind you that you’ll die every time.
What you want to do is get their attention,
crouch on the staircase with a shotgun, and
turn whatever walks in front of you into swiss
cheese.
Had it not been for the combat shotgun, this
would’ve been a nightmare.
The Brotherhood were already at White House
Plaza, I entered the Presidential Metro, and
got to work.
The Robobrains down there are pretty tough.
Even at point blank range, they take at least
3 combat shotgun shots to die.
Still, they aren’t the greatest killing
machines in the world.
You’ve got a pretty wide window of time
to attack them before they attack you back.
After speaking to MARGOT, I told her I was
with the US Army and asked about how to get
the station’s ride back online.
All I had to do was clear out the rabble rousers
infesting the tunnels.
Had I not gotten the machine to flag me as
a friendly, that would’ve been an unpleasant
ordeal.
Instead, it wasn’t.
There were loads of friendly robots down there
who did most of the work.
The intruders were only ghouls anyway and
I’ve already told you how good the combat
shotgun is against them.
With the ghouls gone, I rode the train, and
continued my search for the exit to Adams
Airforce Base.
The combination of an Enclave Trooper and
a Mark 7 turret really got my toes in a twist.
The turret opened fire with incredible accuracy
the second I emerged from around the corner,
as did the trooper.
I had to blast the wall near them with a missile
launcher to eliminate the threat and finally
emerge out into Adams Airforce Base.
My last remaining task was to infiltrate the
Enclave Mobile Platform to gain control of
their Orbital Missile Satellite.
To do that, I’d have to get intro a control
tower to lower a ramp.
The only things working to my advantage are
that I was given a Tesla Cannon and the Brotherhood
of Steel are beginning their assault to cover
my entry into the tower.
You’re given the Tesla Cannon for a very
specific reason.
There are giant turrets all over the place
that are unfathomably destructive.
They can see all, are all over the place,
and fire with impossible accuracy.
Maybe if your sneak skill was at 100 and you
had a stealth boy, you could sneak past them.
I could not do that.
The only way past them is to destroy them
all.
One at a time.
Popping out from behind cover at a snail’s
pace, lining up your shot, popping the turret
in the mouth, then retreating.
Do it a lot and maybe you’ll find some success.
Once the turrets are gone, you can begin the
actual assault on the base which is, of course,
filled with Enclave Soldiers fitted with the
best the Enclave has to offer.
Hellfire Troopers are common and even the
Tesla Cannon can’t kill them in one shot.
It probably has the potential to, but I can’t
do it at present moment.
Because every Enclave Solider is incapable
of missing a shot, you’re gonna be dying
many times as you push deeper into the airbase.
Waiting for them to come to you is generally
advised.
But even then the game might just spit on
you and make your shot go right through them.
After about 15 minutes of relentless unending
combat, I got inside the control tower, lowered
the ramp, and headed for the mobile platform
which is guarded even more heavily than the
control tower.
But because the defenses have been lowered,
the Brotherhood’s Assault is in full effect.
It still wasn’t easy to get inside, but
time mends all wounds, and I got inside.
You know what happens now?
I lose.
There’s an energy barrier blocking the path
to the rest of the Enclave’s Portable Tent.
You can either smash it, hack it, or rig it
to explode.
Smashing it creates an explosion, killing
you.
Hacking it requires a Science skill of 75,
so that’s not an option.
And blowing up the control panel leaves the
barrier partially in place.
You can walk through it, but it does damage.
Not a great situation to be in.
You might think I could just clip through
the wall.
No.
Falling through the void places you before
the barrier and in my experience the wall
is too flat to clip through.
So, once again, I’ve been beaten by a lack
of preparedness.
I wasn’t gonna stop there, so I became God,
walked through, and became a mortal once more
before continuing through the facility.
There were 2 markers on my compass.
I had no idea where to go despite being told
exactly where to go.
I just sorta looked around for a bit and ended
anyone and everyone I came across.
A Deathclaw with a special hat followed me
around for a little while and helped me out.
With the Tesla Cannon, nothing posed much
of a threat.
Sure, anyone was technically a threat because
they could kill me with a mean look, but the
Tesla Cannon can one-shot all but the toughest
of enemies, things like Sentry Bots or Hellfire
Troopers.
The last obstacle in my path was the rooftop.
Enclave Soldiers and Sentry bots called that
place home.
I found out fairly quickly that the Tesla
Cannon can down a Vertibird with one shot,
which was helpful in eliminating Enclave reinforcements
before they have a chance to do anything.
Inside the Satellite Control Tower was more
of the same.
Enemies killing me instantly, trial and error,
lots of failures, but it didn’t matter.
I found the Satellite Uplink Terminal, picked
a target, retreated to the roof for my ride,
and rode with the Brotherhood of Steel back
to the Citadel that I just destroyed.
Of all the people to give the order to execute
me, a measly Brotherhood Knight was the one
to do it.
I died, of course, they ambushed me, I never
stood a chance.
So I went back to the Terminal, set the Enclave
Mobile Station as the target, left with the
Brotherhood, spoke to Elder Lyons, and did
not beat Fallout 3’s Broken Steel DLC without
taking any damage.
Oh and if you were wondering, neither Megaton,
Rivet City, or Project Purity are in the proper
orbit path.
Trust me I wanted to annihilate Moira with
this thing more than anyone else, but it can’t
be done.
If you enjoyed the video or learned anything,
leave a Like.
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video or didn’t learn anything.
Thanks to the Champion Tier supporters as
well as other channel members for making videos
like this one possible.
Join the Mitten Squad Discord Server through
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My name is Eric of Mitten Squad.
Have a wonderful day.
