Forum:Fallout 3 Power Leveling

"Power Leveling" is the search for the fastest ways to gain experience.

General
"Power Leveling" is possible in nearly all games with RPG elements. This activity can range from finding specific in-game areas with large numbers of enemies, to using cheats, exploits and glitches to level-up your character in as little time as possible.

In Fallout 3 there are opponents of every shape and size and they can be found in nearly every office building, shack, shelter, and dilapidated ruin. Frightening creatures with a taste for human flesh abound in the vast emptiness of the wastes; Deathclaws, YaoGuai and Giant Radscorpions can be found (or will find you!) as they prowl for their next meal. Raiders wait to ambush travelers around every bend in the road. And of course, everyone's favorite, evil, man-eating Super Mutants which roam freely throughout the wasteland, especially numerous in downtown D.C., plaguing everyone trying to scratch a living in what's left of the old capital.

Random encounters

 * Despite near constant hostile random encounters, players desperate to level-up may have some trouble trying to find big groups of opponents, as most indoor locations never respawn bad-guys.


 * This is not the case with out-door locations, sleeping in a bed or traveling for a total of 72 hours (waiting will only work if you are out of the area and only if you wait 3 days and at least 4 hours) will replenish many Monster, Mutant, and Raider camps. Note: restocks merchant inventories as well.


 * If you're going to fast-travel to any of these locations, its best to draw your firearm and hide (crouch), so you don't get instantly mauled upon arrival.

Respawning Brotherhood outcast Camps

 * Reclining Groves Resort Homes
 * Clifftop Shacks
 * Camp located west of Fort Independence, on the main road up the hill
 * Camp located in a rusty corrugated steel shack southwest of SatCom Array NN-03d
 * Camp located west of Vault 92
 * Camp located near Smith Casey's Garage
 * Camp located 1 square south of MDPL-16 Power Station just left of 4 corners, strangely 2 Enclave were naked, unarmed, with only 2 bars of health, whereas 3 raiders nearby did not engage but 1 put on Tesla armor.
 * Patrol at National Guard Depot
 * Patrol south of Shalebridge at broken tower
 * Patrol on road west south west of Charnel House
 * Patrol on road south of Vault 101
 * Patrol located south west of Vault 92 on western road loop (next to Enclave camp and 2 Deathclaws)
 * Patrol located at Relay Tower KX-B8-11 1 with a Gatling Laser (Fallout 3)

Respawning Deathclaw Hives

 * Deathclaw Sanctuary
 * Old Olney
 * F. Scott Key Trail & Compound
 * Broadcast Tower KT8
 * Patrolling near Enclave Camp located south west of Vault 92 on western road loop near patrolling Brotherhood Outcasts

Respawning Enclave Camps
Only available after finishing the quest, The Waters of Life
 * Camp located south west of Vault 92 at north east corner of road loop
 * Patrol landed by Vertiberd on interstate west of Temple of the Union
 * Patrol located north entrance to Wheaton Armory assaulting Raiders
 * Camp (3 armored enclave, 1 officer, 3 Talon squad, some Brahmin, and a random Deathclaw) located on horizontal straight road just over 1 square west of Robot Repair Center
 * Camp located northwest of Vault 108, south of the Robot Repair Center
 * Camp on interstate north west of Northwest Seneca Station
 * Camp located west of Springvale School, north of Vault 101
 * Camp located east of Springvale, northwest of the Super-Duper Mart
 * Dukov's place
 * Camp located north east corner of The Capitol Building
 * Alexandria Arms parking-lot across from Arlington Library
 * Camp located north of Nuka-Cola Plant on road
 * Camp located north west of Fairfax Ruins on squiggly road
 * Patrol located on squiggly road north of the Camp north west of Fairfax Ruins
 * Camp located east of Jury Street Metro Station
 * Camp located east south east from 1 and half square from Vault 106
 * Patrol located on interstate west of Vault 101 fighting with Raiders
 * Rockbreaker's Last Gas
 * Patrol between Rockbreaker's Last Gas and Broadcast Tower KT8
 * Broadcast Tower KT8
 * Camp located northwest of the Abandoned Car Fort on the highway
 * SatCom Array NW-07c
 * Outside of Raven Rock (2-3 enclave troops anywhere within a hundred feet of the entrance)
 * Camp located west south west of SatCom Array NW-05a
 * Deathclaw Sanctuary
 * Patrol located just across bridge from Clifftop Shacks engaged in shoot out with Talon Company
 * Lone patrol west of Oasis

Respawning Raider Camps

 * MDPL Mass Relay Station
 * Bethesda Ruins (Inside East Office building too)
 * Evergreen Mills
 * Springvale School
 * Five Axles Rest Stop
 * Fairfax Ruins
 * Kaelyn's Bed & Breakfast
 * Wheaton Armory
 * The Charnel House
 * Montgomery County Reservoir
 * Everglow National Campground
 * Grisly Diner
 * Camp Located south of WKML Broadcast Station
 * Camp Located east of Flooded Metro
 * Camp Located south of Flooded Metro and Arlington Library
 * Camp Located south of Dukov's Place
 * Camp Located on road south west of Broadcast Tower KB5
 * Camp located west of Vault 92
 * Camp located north east of Jury Street Metro Station
 * Enclave patrol located on interstate west of Vault 101 fighting with Raiders
 * Enclave camp located on interstate west of Temple of the Union fighting with Raiders
 * Camp located west of SatCom Array NW-05a on docks (Raider Wharf).
 * Camp located north of Citadel at base of Potomac Bridge.
 * Patrol located west of Red Racer Factory

Respawning Super Mutant Camps

 * Mason Dixon Salvage
 * Roosevelt Academy
 * Vernon Square
 * Shalebridge
 * Clifftop Shacks
 * Falls Church
 * Hallowed Moors Cemetery
 * Germantown police HQ
 * The Capitol Building
 * Broadcast Tower KT8
 * Rockbreaker's Last Gas
 * Camp located on road north west of Rivet City
 * South just outside of Citadel walls
 * Outcast Outpost - needs Operation: Anchorage (add-on)

Respawning Talon Company Camps

 * Fort Bannister
 * Reclining Groves Resort Homes
 * Camp located south of Arlington Library and west of Riverboat Landing (Talon Company Outpost).
 * Camp located southwest of the Sewer Waystation, west of Grayditch (Talon Company Camp).
 * 3 Talon squad assaulting enclave camp (3 armored enclave, 1 officer,some Brahmin, and a random Deathclaw) located on horizontal straight road just over 1 square west of Robot Repair Center
 * SatCom Array NW-05a
 * Patrol located on road south west of Corvega Factory
 * Patrol located west across bridge from Clifftop Shacks fighting Enclave soldiers

Exploits

 * Since enemies respawn every 72hrs at the exact location where their corpses were, players can avoid having to map-hop to multiple locations. Drag a large number of bodies to the same spot and attack them all at once.
 * This can be further exploited by putting mines near enemy corpses. Given that you placed enough mines, this can kill groups of 20 or more opponents instantly when you travel near them after the respawn timer has expired.


 * In Fairfax ruins, you can drag all dead raiders into the Falltrap with the entrance to the tunnels. Just come back 3 Days later and toss a grenade into the hole.


 * The level 10 Mister Sandman perk is the most well known way to exploit the game for large amounts of XP. (No longer works on Xbox due to patch)


 * When used on the sleeping guards of Rivet City, level 20 can be reached rapidly because Rivet City never runs out of guards. This is also an excellent way to gain caps and items.


 * After completing Broken Steel, Paladin Tristan will task you with gathering Super Mutant Blood Samples. You can take advantage of this by going to Super Mutant gatherings, such as the Outcast Outpost (Operation Anchorage Needed), and killing all of the mutants there. This will give you the XP for killing the Mutants and the Blood Samples will also give you XP when you turn them in to Paladin Tristan. Becoming well-rested beforehand helps. You can do this indefinitely as the Mutants respawn.

Cheats & Glitches
The following may not work for all versions across all platforms.
 * The fastest way to get to level 30 is the scrap metal glitch.


 * When used on a child, the Mister Sandman perk can be repeatedly used/abused for infinite XP as it is impossible to kill a child in Fallout 3. This no longer works in the 1.1 patch.


 * On the PC one could just open the console and type "rewardxp amount" where amount is replaced by the number of exp points to get.


 * With a lockpick skill of 100, you could lockpick the Craterside Supply in Megaton every night for some quick XP, if you have an abundant supply of bobby pins and patience.


 * While in Craterside Supply you can drop a frag mine behind wall the mercenary guarding the place is leaning against, his proximity will trigger the mine and you can disarm it quickly for 5 exp, this can be exploited forever.

Quick Tips

 * Change the game's difficulty to Very Hard to gain the most EXP.


 * You can change the difficulty to very easy to get rid of most of the enemies health, then simply change the setting to very hard and finish them off.