Talk:Fallout 3 random encounters

=List complete= The list of special encounters is complete. In other words, there are no encounters which could still be added to this page. Any addition of new special encounters should be reverted. -- Porter21 (talk) 18:26, November 18, 2009 (UTC)

We need a MAP that shows encounter locations, patrol routes, and trigger points. Preferably with or consisting of, local map zooms. Screen shots tend to be subjective and ambiguous. I'm sure the GECK must show the actual coordinates somewhere. Just Sayin'74.77.132.100 19:58, March 26, 2011 (UTC)

=Article discussion=

Prerequisites column
Apologies for posting at the top but I feel this is urgent enough. The one thing that is missing from this list is a 'Prerequisite' column! For those trying to force-spawn some random events, whether for certain loot or just for the even itself it can be frustrating trying to find a random encounter only to discover that it's impossible anyway! Please don't remove this until someone has done this as I'm sure the majority of the community and visitors alike will find this information crucial. Again I apologize for posting at the top but it's an urgent improvement that will take some work! Thank you. ThePog 14:29, January 16, 2010 (UTC)

Cleanup
Finally got round to cleaning this article up. I'm not sure whether the list is 100% complete, but all the repetitions should be gone now. It still needs some fancier formatting though I guess. -- Porter21 (talk) 17:25, September 16, 2009 (UTC)

Table layout
What are people's opinion on converting the article into a tabular layout? Columns would be something like "encounter name" (can be retrieved from Fallout 3 Official Game Guide), "description", "type" (repeatable, unique A, unique B). I think it'd help avoid the article getting cluttered with repetitions again. -- Porter21 (talk) 10:27, September 17, 2009 (UTC)
 * I've revamped the article using a table layout. In the last step, I think we should re-do the whole article structure. The current structure doesn't work out; people keep adding unique encounters to the repeatable encounter sections (despite these unique encounters already being listed further down the page) and adding the same encounter to multiple sections. This tendency already caused a major cleanup to be necessary, and I'm not looking forward to doing another one.


 * The table layout should help with restructuring. Instead of having to divide unique and repeatable encounters, we can now simply order the encounters by type and people can see whether a given encounters is unique or repeatable from the respective field in the tables. I think we should come up with a different grouping scheme though, the current one causes too much potential overlap. For example, an encounter which consists of Enclave fighting Talon Company could logically be in both the "Enclave" and "Talon Company" sections - and there are tons of encounters which could be in two or more sections, which aggrevates aforementioned duplication problem.


 * Any suggestions welcome. -- Porter21 (talk) 18:23, November 18, 2009 (UTC)

Difficult to locate page
Im not sure if i can correctly alter the main page, so i posted here so someone else could. There is no easy way to find the random encounters page. I had to google it to finally find it. Perhaps someone can put in a link on the main fallout 3 page?Timetogo 16:45, September 21, 2009 (UTC)

Found probably a new one - three mines in a strip which CAN be disarmed. Unfortunatley... No proof since I didn't know that it is nott here :/ 79.163.56.70 17:22, October 20, 2009 (UTC)

New one?
Found probably a new one - three mines in a strip which CAN be disarmed. Unfortunatley... No proof since I didn't know that it is nott here :/ 79.163.56.70 17:22, October 20, 2009 (UTC)

I got this one I not seen before or since, two wastelanders talking something about pulling out a massive hunk of metal from the ground but the idiots ran off to try and kill some giant radscorpions before i could find out what they were on about. Anyone else had this one? --82.38.212.27 12:05, November 1, 2009 (UTC)

Yes, they were talking about disarming and looting mines, however when left to do so, they both explode on a mine, or one explodes and the other runs away. This is an official random encounter.

New one (2)?
I saw something freaky today, didn't find it on the random encounters page (i saw talk about a fixed encounter page, but could not find that page):(this is before waters of life.) (No DLC's installed, Between Greener Pastures Disposal and Vault 92.): Enclave officer, 3 enclave soldiers, 1 dead enclave soldiers with giant radscorpion, enclave spybot nearby. a transporting vehicle, with inside 1 dead (non-feral)feral ghoul, 2 wastelanders. Upon visiting, 1 enclave soldier is flaming the wastelanders/ghoul. there are several crates, one antenna thingie, and after the vehicle is a sort of table with a finger (i did not have the contract perk (i'm lvl 19)) and a working terminal. Terminal has 2 entries: 1 report of enclave soldier encountering a non-feral feral ghoul, who has led it into the truck, and second entry relating to the distribution of purified water, if citizens do a testing, and also saying that they need to be flamed if the situation is a problem. 217.112.186.105 00:26, March 1, 2010 (UTC)

I saw the exact same thing in the same spot, just with one burned wastelander instead of 2, and all 4 Enclave soldiers were still alive. It seems like a genetic purity checkpoint, and any ghoul/wastelander who happens across it and is affected by the radiation is executed in a pretty horrible way. Fits with the ideology of the Enclave. I just got to level 30 and am only now encountering it.

I saw something similar to this yesterday around halfway in between Agatha's House and Scrapyard, except there were two enclave soldiers and a Tesla Armor soldier with an Enclave-controlled Deathclaw. A regular Enclave soldier was burning three feral ghoul corpses inside the ruins of a trailer while the others were standing watch. I snuck up on them using Chinese Stealth Armor and took them out with Jingwei's Shocksword. The Deathclaw was a bitch to kill though. I was playing at level 20. MacJase 04:32, March 19, 2010 (UTC)

Enclave Soldier at level 4
Yesterday I encountered a lone enclave soldier fighting giant ants. He was armed with a lazer rifle and Outfitted with Encalve Power Armor. He was hostile, and a bitch to kill. I was playing with all of the DLC, on a fairly fresh install, and no mods. I had not completed "Following in his Footsteps", let alone "The Waters of Life". He was near a destroyed house Northeast of Megaton, the same that contains the Chinese Army Manual.--Hollow Points 13:42, October 30, 2009 (UTC)Hollow Points
 * Just had a similar experience on my fresh install (just upgraded to Win 7). I Re-downloaded all my add-ons and started a new game. On my way to the Super-Duper Mart for the first time, I went to the house remains on the hill to see what my first special encounter would be. To my amazment I saw an Enclave Soldier with a laser rifle having a shoot-out with a slaver. I wonder if this is a glitch from having Broken Steel installed, as that same add-on at one point caused Galaxy News Radio to play the post-ending news reports on fresh games. The14th 09:26, November 15, 2009 (UTC)

Happened to me near the Super-Duper Mart. He was a bitch to kill at Level 2. I also had Broken Steel downloaded. User:Grayjack72

I have had this happen too, after installing Broken Steel. The Enclave Trooper will be at the house by the Super Duper Mart, sometimes fighting raiders, sometimes alone (but have found dead Raiders nearby). But without Broken Steel installed, its just Raiders that are present. My guess would be that there are Raiders here before Broken Steel is installed, and after the same place spawns an Enclave Trooper as well.--Smurf41 22:26, December 23, 2009 (UTC)

Confirmed for XBOX360 with Broken Steel installed. Literally just encountered him. The guard for the caravan outside Megaton started shooting at something close to the road that leads to Springvale in one direction and Super Duper Mart in the other. When things had calmed down I went to investigate and found the Enclave soldier walking along the road by the bombed out house. He was tough, but luckily the cannibal hunters I had met there previously came along and engaged him long enough for me to regroup. He killed them all, but I was able to take him out with a single sniper shot. Grenade works just as well, I leave mines for him as he respawns every 48hrs or so.ShadowSentinel 13:59, January 30, 2010 (UTC)

I confirm the existance of the Enclave Soldier near the destroyed house between Megaton and Super Duper Market and also I confirm that he appeared there after installing the DLC Broken Steel. But he is not fighting always raiders, slaves or giant ants. There is a group B random encounter there which is triggered only if you approach the location from the side of Megaton and following the destroyed road. Any other approach even through the house didn't trigger the encounter.Samufly 16:01, August 15, 2010 (UTC)

Theres also one outside dukov's place where the enclave chopper span usally is, but there is just one and he is fighting radroaches. He respawns too.

I'm level 5 and i've not completed waters of of life yet, and when i spawned to Dukov's place there was an enclave officer fighting a massive deathclaw that had just got out some cage! i let the officer kill the deathclaw, then killed him. I was looting the body and having a look at the cage thing (and repeatedly closing the door so i was inside the cage, and jericho, my companion, was outsidethis amused me alot because he was shouting at me through the doors :D ) when one of the big helicopters came and 3 enclave power armour wearer people hopped out and started attacking us!! so i locked myself in the cage and let jericho kill them :) Didn't have broken steel installed

Yes, it's a minor bug. With Broken steel some enclave soldiers spawn too soon in the game where there is an enclave checkpoint enabled only later in the game. Here are some places where you can encounter them : Near Super Duper Mart, behind Dukov, In front of Arlington Library,Rockbreaker station, south of Union temple, near Jury Street...and others I don't remember just now. They are levelled to appear even when the player is level 1. Without Broken steel installed, it is a different bug, Behind Dukov's it should be an enclave soldier, not an officer and he should fight radroaches, not a deathclaw.Croquignol 16:48, September 16, 2010 (UTC)

Broken Steel DLC random encounter
Just had a new one that would be part of Broken Steel. 5 - 6 Mole Rats protecting the corpse of a wastelander from an Albino Scorpion. The corpse only had basic equipment/weapons on it, nothing special, but it was interesting seeing a crapload of molerats attacking an albino.

Type A, Type B?
The article divided unique encounters into Type A and Type B, but it doesn't seem to explain a difference between the types. Am I missing something? What's the difference?--Gothemasticator 19:14, November 16, 2009 (UTC)
 * "There are 2 sets of unique events, each of which occurs only in a certain set of locations" (under "Types", it's also repeated at the top of "Unique encounters")


 * Basically type A unique encounters can happen in one set of locations, and type B unique encounters in a different set of locations. Each location under "Locations" has a Yes or No in the respective columns to show which type of unique encounter can happen there.


 * Feel free to clarify the explanation, you're not the first one this week who apparently finds the classification unclear :) -- Porter21 (talk) 19:22, November 16, 2009 (UTC)


 * Thanks. I made some changes. Hopefully it's clearer now.--Gothemasticator 19:42, November 16, 2009 (UTC)


 * Seems the repeatable encounters are similarly divided into two groups. I've updated the article. -- Porter21 (talk) 18:23, November 18, 2009 (UTC)


 * The whole thing is much clearer now. Thanks.--Gothemasticator 19:35, November 18, 2009 (UTC)

during the the random Event A Broken Robot you can kill the robot and the scavenger doesn't become hostile and you can still get your reward. tried only once on PS3. Can Someone Confirm? please

Death Claw Gauntlet Schematics
The Death Claw Gauntlet Schematics page says that for locations of the random encounter to get the schematics, check this page under the heading "corpse encounters" but no such category exists. There are no entries on the table for the Death Claw Gauntlet Schematics encounter either.

I assume it is list A, by the way.


 * The name of the Deathclaw Gauntlet encounter is "Wounded Deathclaw", and it's listed under "Lone creatures" (since the wastelander is dead and all you'll encounter is the wounded Deathclaw). This page was recently reorganized and probably nobody noticed the inaccuracy on the Schematics - Deathclaw Gauntlet article yet. I've corrected it. -- Porter21 (talk) 22:03, November 22, 2009 (UTC)

Deathclaw Schematic Encounter
The Wastelander that has the schematic on him doesn't spawn dead. In my game he's alive.-Jet-


 * If the survivor say something along the lines of "Thanks for saving us, that thing would've killed us all!" it's a different event ntirely Pog 16:30, July 11, 2010 (UTC)


 * I believe Jet is correct. I encountered a single Wastelander followed by a lame Deathclaw. They were underneath the elevated highway, following it east, north of the VAPL-84 Power Station. And as for the Wastelander's dialogue, she said something much more along the lines of "F*** off and leave me alone", in fact.
 * I also note that there is a normal listing for VAPL-84 Power Station under group A, and an extremely complex and arcane description for it under group B that involves so much travelling, the player could well end up at Jocko's Pop & Gas Stop or any of the other surrounding locations instead. Surely whirlwinds are random FX? VvAnarchangelvV 08:17, June 23, 2011 (UTC)
 * VvAnarchangelvV 08:05, June 23, 2011 (UTC)

Special encounters?
Also, who's bright-ass idea was it to change the name of my page from "random encounter" to "special encounter"? It sounds retarded and I wish you guys would leave shit alone... —Preceding unsigned comment added by -Jet- (talk • contribs). Please sign your posts with ~ !
 * Insulting other editors is a no-go, so I'd suggest you learn some manners. Primarily refering to your user page. I'd also suggest you read up on page ownership at wikis; there is no such thing. -- Porter21 (talk) 11:15, November 30, 2009 (UTC)

How is it random though, it happans in a specific place and is be a pre-detemined event, it's not like your going though the wasteland and a piano will fall from the sky. - RASICTalk 21:37, November 29, 2009 (UTC)


 * Well, they are quite different from Fallout 1 and 2 special encounters, which were mostly non-canon pop-cultural easter eggs and could happen anywhere in the desert. These are more like regular random encounters in FO1 and 2. Ausir(talk) 21:46, November 29, 2009 (UTC)

It's random in the fact that yes, they happen in specific places, but they're randomized. If it was a special encounter, it would be something like a pop-culture reference. - -Jet-


 * Maybe something like "scripted random encounters" would be better, to distinguish them from random enemy encounters in the wasteland, but also from easter egg special encounters from FO1, 2 and Tactics? There's really nothing special about encounters like "Ants vs Radscorpion". Ausir(talk) 21:53, November 29, 2009 (UTC)

I just did a quick search on the GOTY strategy guide and the author labels the "random encounters" that I've listed under "unique" and "repeating" categories. Here's the page:

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Fallout-3-Game-of-the-Year-Collectors-Edition/David-Hodgson/e/9780307466587

Notice how there's no "Special" category. --Jet-


 * Yeah, I'll move them back to "random encounters". Calling these "special" can only lead to confusion, since especially the repeatable ones are just like random, non-special encounters in previous games. Ausir(talk) 00:01, November 30, 2009 (UTC)


 * "Random encounters" is just as ambiguous. The previous name (and the current again) led to various people adding stuff like the randomly spawned creatures you can encounter everywhere. The guide does not call them random encounters either by the way, it labels them "mini-encounters". -- Porter21 (talk) 01:00, November 30, 2009 (UTC)


 * We can always semi-protect it. And rename the "List of encounters" header to "List of scripted encounters" or something like that, and add a section about randomly spawned creatures etc. Ausir(talk) 01:24, November 30, 2009 (UTC)


 * I don't think making the page yet more complicated is a good idea. Oh well, I'm not going to be the one who does the next massive cleanup for this page. -- Porter21 (talk) 11:15, November 30, 2009 (UTC)


 * As I said, the title was pretty confusing to people like me, who played FO1, 2 and Tactics, since most of these encounters are in no way similar to what has already been established as "special encounters" in these games, while they are what is simply known as "random encounters" there (e.g. a bunch or raiders fighting radscorpions etc.). And even if you ignore previous games, repeatable encounters with fighting enemies are in no way special. Ausir(talk) 12:23, November 30, 2009 (UTC)


 * Well, the argument about not calling them "special" to prevent confusion with FO1/FO2-type encounters goes both ways; the FO3 encounters are not like FO1/FO2 random encounters either, especially the unique ones. -- Porter21 (talk) 12:29, November 30, 2009 (UTC)


 * How so, given that special encounters are a subset of random encounters and that, regardless of the specifics, they are all random? Sure, at least some of the unique ones could be considered special, but certainly not any of the repeatable ones, which are just like regular FO1/2/T random encounters. Anyway, as for cleaning it up, I just semi-protected it. Ausir(talk) 12:33, November 30, 2009 (UTC)


 * Sorry, was a little cranky this morning because I had to fix almost 100 double redirects which were caused by moving the page. The underlying issue is that FO3's "mini-encounters" encompass both "simple" and "special" random encounters if you go by the standards of the previous games and it makes little sense to separate them (since it'd just lead to people adding the repeatable ones to the unique encounters page and vice versa). Which is why I would've preferred an entirely different name which makes clear that the encounters on this page are a bit of both. That said, since I can't come up with a name suggestion which does not cause potential overlap with static encounters I guess we can just keep it at this name. -- Porter21 (talk) 00:48, December 1, 2009 (UTC)

Random encounters is good, as it is very easy to find any with the search box (typing human bomb leads to this page). But it would have been possible to name them just like in the GECK : Freeform encounters Unique/repeatables/condition, because among about 100 possible encounters some are not random at all, only conditioned. Some are triggered only under certain circumstances and some only after certain quests. Uncle Leo is random but Amata and the enclave or Dogmeat are not at all random. In Suzie mack or the survival only the location is random The encounter is triggered by conditions. In fact they are freeform quests. Not that it is important...Croquignol 15:18, January 8, 2010 (UTC)


 * All of them are random, even those with additional conditions, in that it is not predetermined when and at which spot which encounter happens. The condition "quest" is just an additional stage in the triggering process; it does not contain any encounters itself. All it does is requiring certain conditions to be met for a couple unique and repeatable encounters to happen. They are still selected randomly though.


 * I'd also not call them "quests" since only very few of them actually have a quest-like structure (i.e. an actual objective or player interaction other than just killing/observing the spawned entities). -- Porter21 (talk) 18:17, January 8, 2010 (UTC)

Deathclaw Schematic encounter in A AND B?!?
I got this encounter to happen in front of the Super-Duper Mart and in front of Vault 108; the former is in group A and the latter in group B. Could the encounter location at Vault 108 be group A instead of B? —Preceding. Please sign your posts with ~ !
 * The Vault 108 location belongs to group A. -- Porter21 (talk) 09:23, December 3, 2009 (UTC)

Quests/Levels interfering with encounters?
I discovered something weird and I've come to a conclusion that the main storyline and your level affects the triggering of encounters.

I'm remaking my master character and I've been going to places early on that I usually go to when I'm at least level 20. The Yao Guai Tunnels is an example. I made the trip there and the random encounter outside didn't trigger. I even followed the directions on how to trigger it there and it still wouldn't work.

Another example is right now after completing Tranquility Lane. I fast-travel to Megaton and went down the road towards the Super-Duper Mart. The random encounter along the way by the destroyed house was permanently set to a lone Enclave Soldier. This has nothing to do with the Broken Steel bug because I had previously gone down there before that and had the usual random encounters, then reloaded to a previous save.

So after I killed the Soldier, I head on down towards the Super-Duper Mart. To my surprise, the random encounter didn't trigger! There's no way I could've triggered the encounter, at least not to my knowledge. I was in the area previously, but not that close. I traveled from Megaton to the Sewer Waystation, but I was too far away.

The other time I was in the area was going from Springvale, across the river, and around to Farragut West Metro Station. I was too far away to trigger the encounter at the Super-Duper Mart.

Is this an unforeseen bug? - -Jet-

One more encounter spawn I remember is in that corner by the building by the wharf. The triggers are approaching from the wharf and the Super-Duper Mart. The triggers fail, but it seems it changed. I trigger the spawn by going to the building across from the Super-Duper Mart and then going towards the building.

Also, I can never get Laszlo Radford to spawn there anymore. I'm starting to think Luck has something to do with it because this is the first time I've ever encountered these problems when starting the game with 6 Luck. I started my previous profiles with one luck and increased it with the Intense Training perk. - -Jet-


 * Well, the Enclave encounters only trigger after Waters of Life and the quest-related encounters only trigger before starting/after finishing the respective quests. Other than that, neither position in the main questline, level nor luck influence the triggering of encounters (luck does influence how certain encounters play out but it doesn't affect the triggering) as far as I can see in the script, so it seems there's a bug going on in your current game. -- Porter21 (talk) 09:28, December 4, 2009 (UTC)

That's the thing. I made two new characters and went out and the same things happened with the encounter trigger by the wharf and Laszlo not spawning ( after 3 hours of farming ). I think it's the DLC's that screwing the triggers up. I'm gonna delete them and see what happens. - -Jet-

New Enclave Encounter?
While I was exploring northeast of the Springvale School, I saw an Enclave Officer pull out his Plasma Pistol and shoot the two soldiers I saw with him. Has anyone else seen this? Oh, and I saw this after completing Who Dares Wins in Broken Steel. —Preceding. Please sign your posts with ~ !


 * It's most likely a bug. There are mirelurks in the area and one of them might've shot the other on accident, making them hostile to each other. - -Jet-
 * Sorry to interject, but can I just say many time (Including today) members of a faction will accidentally shoot each other, this act does not turn them hostile to one another. Pog 16:33, July 11, 2010 (UTC)

I'm not sure about that. I checked the area around there, and there were no enemies. —Preceding. Please sign your posts with ~ !


 * Broken Steel does not add any random encounters. It does add a few fixed location encounters, but these have a seperate article (Broken Steel encounters). -- Porter21 (talk) 00:40, December 8, 2009 (UTC)

Another thing to note is there's a small Enclave research station in that area, but there's no actual random encounter zone there. -- User:-Jet-t-|-Jet-]]

I found that spot. The soldiers were already dead when I saw the area, but like the mutiny encounter, the soldiers did not have helmets. Probably not a bug(I havnt checked the page for fixed encounters, heading there now) JerichoRCDF 22:46, December 21, 2009 (UTC)

The two Enclave soldiers are friendly to the player, so are hostile to the officer? Seen them do push ups too. Also an Enclave soldier running through springdale armed with a missle launcher and full tesla armour following an eyebot.

77.97.87.93 01:24, January 23, 2010 (UTC)Akula971

Levels/Progress affecting random encounters
This is sort of a continuation. I started another new character a while ago and I farmed 3 hours at the encounter spot near Wilhelm's Wharf and of those 3 hours I spent, I only got a set amount of encounters that can possibly spawn from that group. In fact, I can list off the top of my head the encounters, but I doubt that'll do any good.

I remember on one of my other Level 30 profiles that I encountered Albino Radscorpions fighting with a merchant. Now, it's impossible to fight Albino's at level 2 or 6 or any low level.

I have a few ideas on why Laszlo hasn't been able to spawn yet:

1. I'm not at a high enough level.

2. I haven't progressed in the game far enough.

3. My Karma might have something to do with it. -- -Jet-


 * Most of the creatures in random encounters are leveled, i.e. where you find an Albino Radscorpion at level 30 you will find a normal Radscorpion at level 2. The Radford encounter requires the player to have at least one Schematics - Railway Rifle before it can happen. As I said previously, other than a small number of exceptions neither level nor progress influence which random encounters are triggered. -- Porter21 (talk) 01:29, December 8, 2009 (UTC)

I never knew I had to have a Railway Rifle schematic to get him to spawn. It would be helpful to list these exceptions.

Also, I don't have the pc version but I thought it would be a good idea to take pics of the trigger zones in the GECK and put them with the corresponding encounter on the main article. Here's an example. That random encounter is between Wilhelm's Wharf and the Super-Duper Mart. -- -Jet-


 * Jet, perhaps you could help me support my 'Prerequisites' column? (See top of page) Pog 16:35, July 11, 2010 (UTC)

Adding Trigger Zone Pics
I don't have the pc version, so I'm trying to get some people over at the official forums to help get pics of the trigger zones. So far I have two; the one by Wilhelm's Wharf and the one in front of the Super-Duper Mart. I encourage you to add more pics as it will solve a lot of hassle in trying to trigger these events. Just take a simple pic of the trigger zone in the two examples I added and upload them to photobucket or wherever. -- -Jet-
 * I have the PC version and will get some pics and upload to the wiki, don't bother putting links to other sites. - RASICTalk 10:39, December 9, 2009 (UTC)

Human Bomb bugs
There are two problems with the Human Bomb special encounter (3 raiders trap a wastelander with explosives, player is supposed to disarm the human bomb):

- If you try to disarm the explosives, the game may incorrectly report that you fail to do so, even if your explosives skill is at 100. The problem lies with the TrapCorpseSCRIPT - the player's explosive skill is assigned to a variable in the OnActivate block, however, the first time the wastelander approaches the player, you do not actually activate him/her, rather the wastelander enters conversation automatically and then the disarm menu is automatically displayed, so the OnActivate block isn't even triggered, and because no value is assigned to the variable, the game actually checks the required explosives skill (75) against a 0. And since 75 >0, you fail. In order to succeed, you need to quickly click on the wastelander, this activates her and displays the disarm menu. Now you can successfully disarm her, provided your skill is at 75.

If you are on the PC, you can fix this error by fixing the TrapCorpseSCRIPT - assign the player's explosives skill to the PCExplosivesSkill variable as soon as the player clicks the disarm button, like this:

if (interactAttempt == 1)	 ;attempts to disarm set button to getButtonPressed if (button > -1) set interactAttempt to 0 if (button == 0)

set PCExplosivesSkill to player.getAV explosives ;<--ADD THIS LINE TO THE SCRIPT CODE

if (PCExplosivesSkill >= neededExplosivesSkill)

Even if you manage to save the wastelander, if you kill any of the 3 raiders that attached the explosives to her, she will become hostile and attack you as well! How stupid is that? The problem is that both the raiders and their victim are technically speaking actually members of the same faction, so performing an assault against a member of that faction will make all other members hostile towards the player.

To fix, remove the wastelander from the faction she shares with the raiders and put her in some other faction, that is also friendly with raiders, for example the Brahmin faction (which is btw kind of ironic, not to say cynical, thinking of slaves in terms of brahmin, lol). WRFan 17:03, December 11, 2009 (UTC)

BoS Outcasts not repeatable?
I had this idea that I could go to every b-type location and force-spawn the Outcasts at those locations. I have spawned them in a few places, but I think I can't get them to spawn anymore.

I've farmed in a spot for a couple hours and I've seen every other encounter besides the Outcasts. I can say that the Outcast spawns aren't in the repeatable category. —Preceding. Please sign your posts with ~ !


 * I double-checked unique and repeatable encounters for the last major cleanup of this page, I'm 99% sure all unique/repeatable labels are correct. What you're trying to do won't work; as far as I recall the script first goes through all encounters in the respective set (A/B) which are currently possible (according to additional conditions) before all encounters are reset and become available again. The number of times you managed to spawn an Outcast patrol was 2, wasn't it? -- Porter21 (talk) 00:50, December 15, 2009 (UTC)

I spawned them more than two times. Here are the places and spawn variants I did so far:

1. SE of Megaton: 3 Outcasts vs. group of Raiders

2. Road NE of Megaton: 3 Outcasts vs. group of Raiders

3. Farragut West Metro Station: Deathclaw chasing an Outcast with another 3 Outcasts coming to help.

4. Under the Scavenger's bridge: 2 Outcasts and a Protectron

5. Up the road from Smith Casey's Garage: An Outcast and a Protectron

6. Down the road West of the Chryslus Building: 3 Outcasts

I haven't been able to get any more Outcasts to spawn. -- -Jet-


 * Well, the fact you did manage to spawn them more than once already confirms these are repeatable encounters; unique encounters can only happen exactly once. I'll look into the script a bit more when I get the time. -- Porter21 (talk) 11:54, December 15, 2009 (UTC)

I don't think you can spawn the same patrol more than once. The first two I'm willing to bet that one of them is the unique NPC variant and the other is the default NPC variant. There might be other "requirements" to get more to spawn such as being at a higher level, waiting 76 hours, being far into the main quest, etc... -- -Jet-


 * All Outcast encounters are part of the "FFERepeatB" quest, which is the quest which stores repeatable encounters for trigger zone B. Which encounters are unique and which are repeatable is quite easy to see in the GECK, and the Outcast encounters are all repeatable. None of the Outcast encounters (except for the "vs Enclave" one obviously) have additional requirements.


 * I know you like your theory that somehow main quest position, level or time influence influence the encounters but except for the Enclave encounters (which only happen after The Waters of Life) and the Uncle Leo one (only before Finding the Garden of Eden) none of these factors influence the triggering of encounters.


 * In addition, there are only 4 Outcast encounters (not counting the Enclave one) and you managed to trigger 6 instances. -- Porter21 (talk) 00:13, December 16, 2009 (UTC)

Then how come I didn't get an Outcast spawn after two hours at the Red Rocket across from the Enclave checkpoint East of Fairfax? I even went to the location NW of Arefu to try and get more Outcasts, but no luck. I keep seeing Brahmin, Sam Warrick, Hunters, Uncle Leo, Slavers with slaves, Raiders vs. Wastelanders, Mad Brahmin, Scavengers, a Wastelander with a bomb and Raiders, and Talon Company mercs.

I don't know what's going on here. It seems to me that you can't get multiple encounters of the same Outcast patrol at every B-type location, despite what the GECK says. I've spent hours and hours farming at locations and haven't seen a single Outcast patrol since my last. -- -Jet-


 * After looking into it some more, I'm confident that what I said initially is correct. The script first goes through all encounters in the respective set (A/B) which are currently possible (according to additional conditions) before all encounters in the set are reset and become available again. I don't know how the excess encounters were triggered, but your experience otherwise confirms what I said. See the repeatable encounter part of the trigger script:

else if ( encounterSet == 0 && getStageDone FFERepeatA encounterRoll == 0 ) || ( encounterSet == 1 && getStageDone FFERepeatB encounterRoll == 0 ) ; yes if FFETrigger.debug == 1 ShowMessage FFEDebugMsgRepeatEncounterRoll encounterRoll endif setstage FFERepeatCond encounterRoll ; if the encounter didn't actually happen (due to conditions), keep rolling if ( encounterSet == 0 && getStageDone FFERepeatA encounterRoll == 0 ) || ( encounterSet == 1 && getStageDone FFERepeatB encounterRoll == 0 ) if FFETrigger.debug == 1 ShowMessage FFEDebugMsgInvalid endif ; increment encounter count -- we do this here for repeatable quests because we don't care if we miss a few on each pass through ; (and we want to make sure we don't wait to restart the cycle for encounters which don't pass the conditions) if encounterSet == 0 set FFERepeatACount to FFERepeatACount + 1 elseif encounterSet == 1 set FFERepeatBCount to FFERepeatBCount + 1 endif

; keep rolling, unless... ; if we've already been once through the whole list, we'd better stop (no valid encounters available) if ( encounterSet == 0 && startRolling > FFERepeatAMax ) || ( encounterSet == 1 && startRolling > FFERepeatBMax ) set startRolling to 0 ; reset trigger so encounter location can be used again set triggered to 0 if FFETrigger.debug == 1 ShowMessage FFEDebugMsgNoEncounters endif endif

else ; encounter happened -- done! set startRolling to 0 endif else ; if we've already done ALL the repeatable encounters in this set, reset the quest and repeat if ( encounterSet == 0 && FFERepeatACount >= FFERepeatAMax ) if FFETrigger.debug == 1 ShowMessage FFEDebugMsgRepeatFinishA encounterRoll endif set FFERepeatACount to 0 ResetQuest FFERepeatA setstage FFERepeatCond encounterRoll set startRolling to 0 elseif ( encounterSet == 1 && FFERepeatBCount >= FFERepeatBMax ) if FFETrigger.debug == 1 ShowMessage FFEDebugMsgRepeatFinishB encounterRoll endif set FFERepeatBCount to 0 ResetQuest FFERepeatB setstage FFERepeatCond encounterRoll set startRolling to 0 else ; no -- keep rolling endif endif

if startRolling == 0 ; we found an encounter ; increment encounter count -- we do this here for repeatable quests because we don't care if we miss a few on each pass through ; (and we want to make sure we don't wait to restart the cycle for encounters which don't pass the conditions) if encounterSet == 0 set FFERepeatACount to FFERepeatACount + 1 elseif encounterSet == 1 set FFERepeatBCount to FFERepeatBCount + 1 endif endif

endif -- Porter21 (talk) 08:53, December 16, 2009 (UTC)

So when do encounter location respawn? Is it every 76 hours? That's the time it takes for NPC's to respawn so that's what I'm thinking.

Also, I think I found a faulty spawn location. It's the one SW of the Sewer Waystation right next to the Talon Company Camp. I've uploaded pics that show the trigger zones, but when I pass them the random encounter doesn't spawn. Any idea? -- -Jet-

I'll be damned! I went to the location North of Canterbury Commons and I got another patrol! Also, I force-spawned the other encounters like Leo, Warrick, and some of the others and went back to the location East of Fairfax by the Red Rocket. It took me a few tries, but I finally got another Outcast patrol to spawn there.

I'm guessing some encounters on the list have a higher chance or have a higher priority than the others. One more possibility that hasn't been eliminated from my mind was between the time I went out to spawn the other encounters and the time I got that patrol to spawn at the Red Rocket, I gained a couple levels and I think that might've influenced something. -- -Jet-


 * See Talk:Fallout 3 random encounters/Trigger script, it's the complete script which controls the triggering of random encounters. If you can find anything about levels in there, be my guest; I don't see anything. I also don't see anything which would support the "higher priority" theory. The Vertibird encounter has a slightly higher chance to be triggered than others since there are two identical copies of it in the repeatable encounters quest (probably to offset the fact it cannot occur in all trigger B locations), all others have an equal chance to occur (unless FO3's random number generator is broken). -- Porter21 (talk) 12:57, December 16, 2009 (UTC)

Yeah, the encounter system is probably broken. After eliminating all the unique encounters in that experiment, I got the Oucast patrol in no time. During that experiment, I got those Hunters 4 times in a row. How's that not broken?

I've spent hours and hours farming and when I see everything but the Outcast patrol and then having to eliminate the unique encounters to finally get one, there's something not right there. -- -Jet-

New Enclave Eyebot B-type encounter
I found an encounter not listed. It's just a lone Enclave Eyebot. This happened before I even started the main quest and destroying it has no consequences ( i.e. a Vertibird coming ). -- -Jet-


 * It's already listed as "Enclave Eyebot Early Warning System". Whether a Vertibird appears or not depends on chance and the player's Luck. 93.210.224.227 18:43, December 26, 2009 (UTC)

I'll have to test that out when I get that far in the main quest. -- -Jet-


 * The anon is right, there's only one Eyebot encounter. After Waters of Life, there's a chance it'll call in a Vertibird if attacked. In general, there are no encounters missing from this page. I went over the whole list in the GECK 3-4 times when I cleaned up the page and verified every single encounter. -- Porter21 (talk) 08:11, December 28, 2009 (UTC)

Can anyone give me some help trying to force a Vertibird? I'm blowing up every Eyebot I see but to no avail. I love fighting the Enclave they're my joint first favourite opponent! (The other being Deathclaws!) ThePog 15:35, January 11, 2010 (UTC)

Resetting the list: by time or amount of encounters?
I'm currently trying to force-spawn an Outcast patrol at the area by the Jury Street Metro Station and while doing this I noticed something interesting. I kept getting the Slaver encounters repeatedly and literally nothing else.

So I set off to different b-type spots and went through three or four Slaver encounters. When I got back to the Jury Street Metro location, the list seemingly reset itself. I started seeing Talon Mercs, the merchant guarding the car, Raider fights, and everything else. I finally got an Outcast patrol to spawn, but the weird thing is only one Outcast spawned. I looked around and there were no other Outcasts.

Does the encounter list reset when you've gone through a certain amount of encounters or does it reset after a certain amount of time. That encounter script doesn't really make sense. -- -Jet-


 * Well, the script makes as much sense as all scripts do. Amount of encounters is the determining factor, not time.

if ( encounterSet == 0 && FFERepeatACount >= FFERepeatAMax ) if FFETrigger.debug == 1 ShowMessage FFEDebugMsgRepeatFinishA encounterRoll endif set FFERepeatACount to 0 ResetQuest FFERepeatA setstage FFERepeatCond encounterRoll set startRolling to 0 elseif ( encounterSet == 1 && FFERepeatBCount >= FFERepeatBMax ) if FFETrigger.debug == 1 ShowMessage FFEDebugMsgRepeatFinishB encounterRoll endif set FFERepeatBCount to 0 ResetQuest FFERepeatB setstage FFERepeatCond encounterRoll set startRolling to 0
 * if we've already done ALL the repeatable encounters in this set, reset the quest and repeat
 * "FFERepeatACount" and "FFERepeatBCount" are variables which keep track of the number of type A/B repeatable encounters which have already happened. Once one of them reaches the respective max (the total number of repeatable encounters of that type), it is reset to 0 along with all encounters in that set. -- Porter21 (talk) 08:09, December 28, 2009 (UTC)

That makes sense. I guess I can cheat it by force-spawning four or five Talon Merc encounters every time I wanna spawn more Outcast patrols. -- -Jet-

Random encounter zone not spawning
The encounter spot beside the Talon Company Camp won't spawn anything. I've tried every direction. I remember the place spawning encounters before. I've gone there fresh outta Vault 101 and on other save files I have, but nothing spawns. I think this might be a 360 issue. -- -Jet-

Two of the same location?
I was going through the list of locations and saw that two of them had the same spot. I need someone else to confirm this:

-- -Jet-

Two of the listed "Clifftop Shacks" encounter locations are identical as well. ComaDivine 04:44, January 31, 2010 (UTC)

New encounter location question
I spawned an Outcast patrol up on the cliff North of the Nation Depot. When I came back later, a group of Raiders spawned in the house where the Enclave checkpoint spawns later. I remember on another save file that a group of Talon mercs spawned in that same place. I assume this is another encounter zone so where is the trigger? -- -Jet-

LOL. It was the Outcasts vs. Raiders and I didn't know where the other half of the encounter spawned. There are certain encounters like the food hunters, merchant guarding the car, and these "versus" encounters where one part will spawn on one side of the zone, and the other half will spawn on the other side. -Jet-

This might be a new encounter
I was walking toward the bethesda ruins and when i got there i found some raiders i killed them all and when i looked on one of there bodies i found a firelance pistol i don't know if that is listed or not so if someone could tell me that would be great. PS i have all the DLC downloaded and i was level 20.


 * It's not a new encounter.

This happens when the Crashing UFO encounters and drops a firelance. If a raider finds it first they will pick it up and arm themselves. Dang raiders lol. CrazySuni 01:02, January 28, 2010 (UTC)

Slaves dislike their freedom!
A while ago I encountered the 'Escaping Slaves' outside Super-Duper mart. I killed all the slavers (and a few Raiders) and am 100% sure I didn't hit a slave during combat, yet after the battle they turned hostile to me and assaulted me! I can't remember if I lost Karma for killing them or not but it was very wierd!ThePog 15:24, January 4, 2010 (UTC)

Outcasts vs. Enclave?
I got another Outcast patrol to spawn in the canyon West of Clifftop Shacks, so I followed them. I got a few red marks on my compass and I look over the cliff to see a patrol of Enclave soldiers on a collision course to the Outcasts. Is this just a coincidence? -Jet-
 * Most likely, in a truck north of Grisly Diner I saw Outcasts and Enclave, Outcasts were on the road behind the truck, Enclave on the crest of the hill in front of it, just as they're about to open fire a Deathclaw comes along too! What a great battle! I saved in the truck before the Enclave or Deathclaw spawned so when my companion died in battle I loaded it back up but only the Outcasts were still there. ThePog 15:24, January 11, 2010 (UTC)


 * Got something like that too. Its just random luck. Met Donovan running away from Super mutants and an Overlord who were in a filed of Brahmin near Canterbury Commons. Enclave Outpost was right there so they joined in with a heavy incinerator, along with a Deathclaw and Albino Radscorpion nearby. I was escorting Lucky Harith too so they took potshots at the Enclave too 0_o 96.246.249.15 01:49, January 17, 2010 (UTC)

Is it possible to run out of encounter zones
I Have been looking for uncle Leo now and have started to wonder if it is possible that there are not enough random encounter spots for all the random encounters (taking into account that for quest related random encounters there are more then one as the encounter's scenario has to be relevant to your course of action that you took in your quest).

The counter is reset after some time and the markers used in the encounter are generic. The same are used by all encounters, so there should be no problem with locations except for the restriction of list A or B,but as they are random you are probably just out of luck. Also, it is very possible to "miss" an encounter,if you are facing the wrong direction when you enter the trigger zone. The character is often disabled when the player leaves the cell and the marker can be used again for another encounter ( not always, though). If you want to reset manually the encounter you have to reload a saved game just before an encounter and you'll end with the one you desire. Croquignol 17:39, September 16, 2010 (UTC)

Slaver outside Megaton?
Today I found a slaver standing outside Megaton, coming out of the gate he was to the left standing next to the rocks. He was easily visible by the Caravan Merchants, Deputy Weld and Stockholm but wasn't attacked and he didn't appear hostile either. I killed him for no Karma loss with no risk of hostility from the aforementioned characters. ThePog 14:34, January 16, 2010 (UTC)

How can you identify the Flying Debris event?
Is there like a dramatic exploding UFO flying overhead that's impossible to miss or is it just a few random pieces of metal falling obscurely from the sky?

If the encounter is over the water tower at Minefield a lot of the ammo can fall over the cliff into Minefield and be almost impossible to find.
 * When the event happens, it looks like a mortar/missile ( that looks the same as the missiles which are being shot in Operation  Anchorage when you're going to the pulse field ) flying then exploding. The explosion is kinda large and you can  hear  it too. The firelance is right under the explosion if it hasn't bounced anywhere. The ammunation is scattered all around it. - Saku

VAPL-84 Station
It may be and A location. I Encountered the Deathclaw Schematic Event right there. Or the Event might be a B event.96.246.249.15 02:01, January 17, 2010 (UTC)

Bomb
I met 3 raiders with a slave bomb. After killing them, and during, the slave walked around smoking its cigarette. And the slavers werent lying in wait. They charged me randomly...0_o 96.246.249.15 02:01, January 17, 2010 (UTC)

Friendly enclave soldiers
There is a small enclave camp down by the river near Springdale school. Whilst out wandering I came across an Enclave officer, killed him, but there where also two Enclave soldier, minus helmets, doing push ups! When I tried to talk to them they said they did not have time to talk to my types or something similar. I'd completed the waters of life and the broken steel. Just wandered back from Adams airforce base. Also after visiting that area again to check on them during a later session, the officer had respawned, but no sign of the soldiers. However on my way back to Megaton I encountered an enclave soldier wearing Tesla armour following or chasing an eyebot. He was friendly (green) and I could talk with him, only to say i'd better go. 77.97.87.93 01:11, January 23, 2010 (UTC) Akula971

I met a friendly enclave soldier clad in Enclave Hellfire Armor and equipped with a Plasma Rifle at the top of stairs of the Capitol Building. I talked to him: He would say,"Yeah?" To which my only option of response would be,"I have to go." To which he would respond,"Bye."-James Andrew Walker

This is most likely what you saw. Go down to the Nuka-Cola plant section. As for the friendly tesla soldier, I can't explain that. Tzaro the Outcast 01:16, January 23, 2010 (UTC)

Another encounter
Just outside of Fairfax, on the road, way past the car dealership saw the Tesla Enclave guy following the eyebot. He came up as "Green" ran right past me, until he encountered another "Red" Enclave soldier, both then tried to attack me, but raiders from Fairfax killed them both. The raiders had killed Donovan (From Rielly's) and one was using his minigun!. Both enclave got stuck by the two dumpster near the radioactive barrels, and where killed.

77.97.87.93 14:25, January 24, 2010 (UTC)Akula971

Locations??
Is there a particular reason the locations is a jumbled mess? The encounters are all listed alphabetically, why aren't the locations? If someone were to edit it, I'd suggest alphabetical order (obviously) but I'd also split it into two tables -- A locations and B locations (and drop the extra column). Arisian 22:23, January 28, 2010 (UTC)


 * You can sort the table alphabetically by clicking on the grey icon in the header of the respective column. The reason why it's one table instead of two is simply that you can use the table both to see all encounter zones near a certain location (no matter what type) and to sort them by type.


 * Regarding why the locations are not sorted alphabetically by default, the last rework (changing the encounter lists to tables, cleaning up, merging various location sections) already took me days and I simply couldn't be bothered to sort the table as well considering it's possible with the click of a button. Feel free to do it if you want. -- Porter21 (talk) 22:39, January 28, 2010 (UTC)

Raiders Near Megaton With Extremely Heavy Weapons
My friend rented Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition for PS3 this evening. After leaving Megaton, we encountered some Raiders. One of them had a Flamer as it's wielded weapon. Being level 3 at the time, I killed it before it could get close. The other Raider had a 10mm Pistol as it's in-use weapon. Upon looting, I collected the Flamer and ammo from the first Raider, and from the second, the 10mm Pistol, some ammo, a Gatling Laser, and some Electron Charge Packs for it as well. Looking around, I also found a slaughtered Protectron and, I think, a Wasteland Trader, along with some other dead raiders. The merchant, in addition to a Chinese Assault Rifle, had more Electron Charge Packs. I'm wondering if this might be an encounter, or just a random quirk, since I maxed out our characters luck stat at the start, because it seems, and definitely feels, odd, to be level 3 now and running around with a Gatling Laser as my weapon O_o Anybody have any ideas?

Timmage 07:48, January 31, 2010 (UTC)Timmage


 * Well, it's not an encounter. The article lists all encounters which exist (it's easily verifiable through the G.E.C.K.). -- Porter21 (talk) 08:30, January 31, 2010 (UTC)

Lol, then it must just be pure luck to find such easy enemies carrying such powerful weapons so early in the game. Pity that they don't work too well against Arkansas -.- Timmage 18:54, January 31, 2010 (UTC)

I had a similar encounter outside of the Super Duper Mart. But the Raider had an Alien Blaster. somehow I was able kill him even though I was only level 2. Upon lotting I found 500 Alien Power Cells in his inventory. I found this to be odd because later on when I visited the Alien Crash site the Alien Blaster was still there,I didn't have Mother Ship Zeta installed,and there is no way he could have recovered it from Adams Air Force base because that means I would have to had completed the main storyline (Which I hadn't) --Gwuag 21:55, March 24, 2011 (UTC)

Two encounters
One is on my way to the super duper mart I encountered two 'Talon company mercs'.

Another was at the flooded metro station near arlington library encountered three not hostile waste land wanders arguing about finding Oasis. I did not hear them talking but when I talked to them, you have three options of asking what they were arguing about, help them out, and leave. I picked the first one, and then they told me they were looking for Oasis (but under some other name), and said now thye have to kill me. SO in turn they turn hostile. (two are wearing merc charmer outfits, the other is wearing a another type of merc outfit, not sure which one, possible verteran.)

I also encounter a lone enclave soilder going to super duper mart aswell. I have all add-on content installed. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.6.52.82 (talk • contribs). Please sign your posts with ~ !
 * The Talon Company and Enclave ones are left-overs from any of the patrol encounters, the other one is Oasis Raiders. They are already listed; as I already said above, the article lists all encounters which exist (it's easily verifiable through the G.E.C.K.). -- Porter21 (talk) 19:27, February 16, 2010 (UTC)

Thanks, I did not see the Raider part, as they were not raiders, because raiders attack on site. It was my first time seeing them, aswell as the Talon Mercs. I only seen Talon comapny, Hitman, never the Merc variation. —Preceding unsigned comment added by GodsHand (talk • contribs). Please sign your posts with ~ !


 * "Oasis Raiders" is just the name of the encounter as used in the Fallout 3 Official Game Guide - the description states they're wastelanders ;) -- Porter21 (talk) 17:30, February 17, 2010 (UTC)

human bomb
The human bomb is incorrect, it is not unique as I have encountered it many times when i go outside megaton and walk the perimeter. A person with clothes of a wastelander, probably the face of a raider, with a bomb attached to them, run to u saying there is a bomb attached to them for you to then try to disarm, but run away as soon as they say they have a bomb attached to them making you close to the raiders they are possibly luring you to. Sometimes the bomb doesn't go off if you don't follow them and they just run away and dont stop for a while, but once u get near to where they ran if the bomb doesn't automaticly go off, goes off and hurts you, once it crashed my game when it did this. The person luring could be a man or a woman as I have gotten both male and female atliest once. If you think this is false, just go outside of megaton and walk around the city perimeter. It is not the only random event around megaton so reload a save if you somehow get a different one, long story short, it should be changed to repeatable.Gary 23 04:52, February 25, 2010 (UTC)
 * It's a bug with your game then, it's definitely unique (just double-checked). -- Porter21 (talk) 17:30, February 17, 2010 (UTC)

this encounter always re-spawns after three days when i go back to the spot, happened on every character i made. if the geck says it's unique could it be repeatable due to an over sight? 360 fully patched--Silverfox6000 07:57, October 6, 2010 (UTC)

New one (3)
After entering the empty town near Tenpennys tower, there were 3 BoS walking towards a raider who was sitting by a car (think he was pretending to be a water begger). When the BoS guys got near him he stood up and 3 other raiders ambushed them. Don't know if anyone else is seen this but i couldn't find it on the list 193.195.74.126 12:23, March 2, 2010 (UTC)
 * It's listed on Broken Steel encounters as it's not a random encounter, but a fixed-location one added with Broken Steel. -- Porter21 (talk) 12:31, March 2, 2010 (UTC)

unique?
I am curious, i encountered firelance event and i got the weapon, but is it possible that after an event that is unique could another take its place? --N&#39;thro Notadee 17:36, March 3, 2010 (UTC)

Supermutant Patrol
I am aware that all of the encounters are listed but I keep on running into a patrol of three supermutants complaining about how "there's no green stuff here" and other negative comments to suggest they've been searching for some time. They are usually being led by an overlord (BS), and the dialogue was heard by using CSA.

This is happening at the Jury Street Metro Station and I have reloaded the save multiple times to confirm it. Is this an existing encounter and I'm just arriving too late (possibly the Donovan one) or am I missing something here? --Cartman! 18:44, March 12, 2010 (UTC)

Raider Initiation
That is incorrect. The "Raider Initiation" is repeatable. It happened twice for me at Northwest Seneca Station, north of Arefu. In between the two gates that lead underground, I find that a single grenade thrown among them from above tends to take care of them quite nicely if they don't see you. MacJase 07:41, March 18, 2010 (UTC)


 * Porter's remark isn't incorrect at all: He said all encounters are listed and "Raider Initiation" is listed. It's also a unique encounter according to the G.E.C.K. editor. Going by the comments on this page, it's apparently possible for some unique encounters to occur more than once. No idea whether that's a bug or a part of the encounter mechanics nobody has deciphered yet. 91.32.177.26 09:22, March 18, 2010 (UTC)

Well,as the topic is open...I saw a raider beating the other with a Nail Board.Not that it matters,but it could,maybe help. 201.82.16.62 20:58, April 12, 2010 (UTC)

Just posting to say that I've come across this encounter 3 times over the span of only a few hours. HBS75.69.104.65 09:44, July 23, 2010 (UTC)


 * FO3 Raider initiation GECK.png's still classed as a unique encounter in the GECK. See image on the right. -- Porter21 (talk) 10:02, July 23, 2010 (UTC)

Yeah, I know and I wasn't arguing that fact, just saying that I keep running into this 'unique' encounter. This game has more bugs than a housing project. :/ HBS75.69.104.65 10:58, July 23, 2010 (UTC)

The encounter on the east side of Relay Tower KX-B8-11 seems to be "locked" on the Raider Initiation encounter on my game. I got it one time (raiders weren't actually beating the guy without gear by the time I got there) then did some other stuff. I went to Megaton, slept 3 days, eventually went back to Relay Tower KX-B8-11 (starting from Regulator HQ, trying to do one of it's encounters) and got the same encounter. Again the guys weren't actively beating the initiate guy. So decided to try an experiment. I went west past the highway, waited 3 more days, came back to the tower, and it's the same encounter all over again. (This is the unpatched regular PS3 version with no DLC.)

65.185.130.174 23:52, September 7, 2010 (UTC)

That's normal. You didn't do anything to reset the encounter. Leaving the area for any amount of time won't do that, you have to reload a save from before the random encounter was spawned. -- 01:38, September 8, 2010 (UTC)

So once a specific encounter happens at a specific place, that place will never do any different encounters? That's rather annoying. The Raider Initiation encounter happened the first time I went to that relay tower, back when I was just exploring and was a very long time ago. 65.185.130.174 08:23, September 9, 2010 (UTC)


 * Yep, at least on any given playthrough. Start a new character and go there, and you'll likely find a different encounter. -- 12:45, September 9, 2010 (UTC)

Enclave vs super mutants
If this list is complete why can't I find enclave vs super mutants ? I've even seen seen a super mutant shoot down a Vertibird once. (Near the highly radioactive vault) It looks like this has happened before see 'heard an explosion' on this page here
 * Most likely what you saw is one of the Enclave encounters occurring in a spot where there were some super mutants. The two groups fought.--Gothemasticator 22:14, March 24, 2010 (UTC)

Megaton encounter
After fixing the bomb for free, fixing the pipes, giving Scrap Metal for free, reporting Burke and shooting Burke while saving Simms and giving water to Mickey (the homeless guy) I had a random encounter with one of the Megaton residents giving me a present and thanking me for everything I have done. I do not find this anywhere in the list. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 95.115.94.225 (talk • contribs). Please sign your posts with ~ !
 * This happens regularly and always in Megaton if you have very good karma. It's not a random encounter; those happen in various places around the wasteland. -- Porter21 (talk) 19:28, April 10, 2010 (UTC)
 * I also had this, I heard a vertibird, a loud explosion, big trail of smoke across the sky then eventually enclave fighting supermutants off in the distance, near vault 87 too. I thought this may have been the firelance encounter but I definitely heard a vertibird before the explosion. 86.7.159.215 22:19, April 25, 2010 (UTC)

Type A Enclave Encounter?
I found a landed Vertibird and two Enclave Soldiers with an Enclave Officer just west of Vault 101, the type A spawn. They also had a strange satellite-type antenna, and two Enclave Crates. I have completed all of the DLC. Any guesses?
 * That's one of the scripted Enclave spawn points. Nitty Tok. 21:21, April 20, 2010 (UTC)

wasteland merchant +note
there is another wasteland merchant encounter were he is looking up very strangely and then has some dialog and then dies and leaves the trading caravan log/ or as the pipboy calls it the wasteland merchant note the other lol thing that happened is a robot cam rocketing in. it happend to me wile i was on my way from the power plaint to minefield. -Zesbeer

Is he talking about a place called Oasis? If he is then we already have that listed on here.Tezzla Cannon 09:09, April 22, 2010 (UTC)

i got the two slaves and two wastland settlers fighting over water event today between the temple of the union and daves republic,i put away my weapon,convinced them to share it,and then took it from the frigde,and they didnt turn hostle

i had bad karma and charon as follower

Dracthel33t 13:10, July 29, 2010 (UTC)

i was next to relay tower XX-88-11

Dracthel33t 13:14, July 29, 2010 (UTC)

Wasteland survival guide : Unique or repeatable ?
I noticed the 3 wasteland survival guide encounters are among the repeatable encounters ( FFERepeatA23,24 and 25, so the article is correct) but the NPCs have a disable script on load after the first encounter. As there is only one possible version of the guide, if the NPC is disabled on load, when the encounter occurs for a second time it should just do nothing ? Does anyone had this encounter trigger more than once or is it a "false" repeatable ?Croquignol 17:05, September 16, 2010 (UTC)

--Rengetsu08 06:49, September 20, 2010 (UTC) well there is a video in youtube about random encounter especially with wasteland survival guide... in there u can see he has 6 book from those 6 encounters.. so it is a repeatable quest... however mine is kinda bug right now coz ive finished wasteland survival guide with being a snide and survival guru perk but everytime ive got random encounter about the survival it only have the survival perk encounter with one wastelander attacking a mole rat and just thanking you.. it should be a well equipped wastelander attakcing a mireluk or radscorpion and thanking you with some caps base on ur barter skill... anyone else encounter this problem?? --Rengetsu08 06:49, September 20, 2010 (UTC)

There are two different versions to this encounter that i have seen, if your the guru version then the mole rat is normal he just doesn't pay you only thanked me, the other one is a some what crazy like optimistic person who fights a mirelurk and wins normally the first time they will pay you. i only got 25 caps, after that though when you return 3 days later the mirelurk spawns with full health for some reason and normally kills him. if you save him he or she won't engage in dialogue with you. thats what happens to me every-time GOTY 360 --Silverfox6000 08:04, October 6, 2010 (UTC)

Other encounter
Im not sure if this has been listed, but the other day I was playing on Level 3 and I encountered a friendly Giant Radscorpion which seemed to be guarding the body of a dead Fire Ant Warrior. It was pacing back and forth and attacked a few bloatflies that got close. Then I snuck over and as soon as I got too close it pwned the crap out of me.

Random Scavenger Encounter
While walking out of Rockopolis, (i'm not sure if this is where it always happens, or if it could happen anywhere) i ran into a scavenger who was staring at nothing and rolling his head alot, like he was on some serious chems. I walked up to talk to him and he said something about how "He" will save us all and something like that. (i think it refers to the Oasis). just a few seconds after talking to him, he spasmed and died. I haven't found any wiki on here about this random encounter and was wondering if anyone else has had this happen to them? Fallout trekker 03:46, December 24, 2010 (UTC)fallout_trekker 20:46 pm 12/23/10

Missing encounter
Kaelyn's Bed &amp; Breakfast encounter is not listed here. Kelebmel 23:08, February 26, 2011 (UTC)

It's listed as Fordham Flash Memorial Field entry for some reason, even though Kaelyn's Bed & Breakfast is the actual nearest location. There are actually two spawn points on the road. One on either side of the collapsed bridge. The Fordham Flash Memorial Field Trigger listed is for the one on the east side of the bridge occurring on the north side of the road. Just Sayin'74.77.132.100 21:06, March 24, 2011 (UTC)

Outcast Patrol Clarification
It should probably be noted that one of the Outcast patrols is a very long-range patrol that encompasses a far wider patrol area than normally seen in a random encounter. It circles a very broad area similar to how Ben Canning follows the caravan routes, but with more variations. The pathing followed is heavily dependent on where in the Capitol Wasteland they spawn.

This may account for Outcasts seemingly not re-spawning if they are killed. They probably are re-spawning, just somewhere else along the scripted patrol route. Since creatures and NPCs re-spawn where they are killed, they may be spawning, moving along the scripted route and dying again when they are nearby but unseen by the player. So, unless the player knows the route and finds the Outcast or his/her corpse before it disappears they may simply be missing their occurrence. It may also be that they just permanently disappear from the game when leaving the player's current game cell. Just sayin' 74.77.132.100 17:44, February 27, 2011 (UTC)


 * I've come across some spawn points and patrols that don't correspond to the random encounter table. The trigger mechanic doesn't match either. They also seem to be Outcast specific. No mention of it elsewhere. I think people are assuming that they tripped an random encounter, not something else. Can anyone verify this through the GECK?, I'm console impaired(ie. I play on a console system). The first one I could pin down to a location is on the road south of Arfu, at the intersection leading to Kaelyn's Bed & Breakfast. It's most noticeable when using the wait command at the intersection for 1 to 3 hours(game time not real time). Just sayin'74.77.132.100 23:25, March 26, 2011 (UTC)

Intelligent Super Mutant
I found an Intelligent Super Mutant at Smith Casey's Garage he was fighting two other super mutants after killing both of them (This intelligent super mutant appears to be much stronger them other mutants) I talked to him and he says how after being exposed to the FEV he retained his intelligence and was exiled by the other mutants(suspiciously similar to Fawkes story). However after completing this dialog it disappeared and all i could say to him was good bye. Has any one an encounter similar to this? --Gwuag 22:10, March 24, 2011 (UTC)


 * Uncle Leo. Normally he'll just stand around the area he appears it (it varies) though. Great Mara 22:16, March 24, 2011 (UTC)

Did anyone ever verify this
Has this been debunked? It's from the archive.

Talk:Fallout_3_random_encounters/Archive_1

I didn't see any follow up. Which isn't to say that it hasn't been reviewed, but I seem to recall coming across "two robots talking" and behaving oddly, which is listed in the script as an encounter but isn't listed on the main page. Just Sayin'74.77.132.100 23:12, March 26, 2011 (UTC)

When is the Encounter selected?
At what point does the game choose/roll for/whatever what encounter there will be? The PB3k Map is divided by large squares with 9 smaller squares inside. So, is it when I enter one of the squares or is it when I reach the location of the RE itself? I'm trying to determine where to plant my save file for the least amount of walking with the reload.

--*Insert Brassy Detective Music* Kowalski; Options! 17:33, May 25, 2011 (UTC) I've heard it's determined as soon as you enter the cell, so I'm assuming one of the smaller squares. Great Mara 17:39, May 25, 2011 (UTC)

New one (4)?
I've been traveling from Andale to the Nuka-Cola Plant a couple times trying for a good random to come along. However I come across one of the most worthless of randoms, which I also didn't see up. All it was, was an invisible pool/area of radiation. Only 1 rad/sec but irritating. However worthless I felt it be known.(71.195.114.10 06:03, June 26, 2011 (UTC))

Repeating encounter
Yesterday I spawned the random encounter area beside the Nuka-Cola truck headed for Old Olney. It waas the 'friendly radscorpion' RE, with just one ant. The scorp made quick work of it, and after accidentally making it hostile, I killed it and left. Now today, I went to the same location to trigger another random encounter, and it was the same one. I mean, exactly the same, just one ant. Now, I wasn't quite sure if I had saved my game last night, so perhaps I just caused the random encounter due to it being next in line, technically. But today, after I was certain I saved my game, I went to the same spot and got the friendly radscorp AGAIN. With one ant, too! Should this be happening, or am I missing something, or what? I think I should note that I went to another Re spawn (can't remember where) way earlier today, and it was a different random encounter. This was after the second friendly radscorpion encounter. Automatic Grand Theft 14:13, June 29, 2011 (UTC)

Random encounters Lock when activated and are permanent. Most random encounters respawn, and can also repeat in different locations. However once one happens at a location it will always be the same one, even if it re-spawns. --Xclockwatcher 22:49, July 9, 2011 (UTC)

Raiders vs Enclave
I believe this used to be on the list, an encounter where a bunch of raiders somehow overpowered an Enclave camp, and took their power armor. Happened to me today.

It was here, but I believe it is scripted. Where did it happen?--Xclockwatcher 13:56, November 14, 2011 (UTC)