Forum:Are the merchants vital to any quest? Or can I just slaughter them and take their stuff?

I know there's one part where you invest in them and they might give you things like a Mini-Nuke or the Eyebot Helmet, but I don't really plan on doing that. Are there any other ways that they'd be helpful, that wouldn't otherwise be accomplished by killing them (including the Brahmin, which is one of only three creatures I've encountered that can survive a Fat Man blast) and looting their corpses? -AlmostMegan, xBox360


 * If the merchants are alive, they respawn their inventory giving you an unlimited source of items and caps. If you kill them, you can only loot them once and their stuff is gone. They are also the only place you can have some items repaired, too. --MadDawg2552 20:14, April 17, 2010 (UTC)

It's been my experience that the continued service of all the traders is vital to the game. Once the mini-quest Merchant Empire has been done, they become almost invaluable. I had a playthrough where I lost Crow to something (be it glitch or raider) and was not able to use his services, which you may think, well i can get by without the clothing guy, but he can be the best repairer in the game (pre-DLC). Portfan 14:49, April 18, 2010 (UTC)