When I first saw Fallout: New Vegas on the shelves of my local GameStop back in 2010, I made the assumption that it was an insignificant detour from the main lineage of games. But the Black Friday price was just ✤too good for me not to give it a chance, and boy oh boy was I so glad that I did.
Although Fallout 3 was my introduction into the highly praised series, New Vegas just felt like a game that pushed the franchise to 🀅the next level; the dialogue was smarter, the quests felt more dynamic, and the tunes jingled and jangled.
Obsidian Entertainment, the studio behind the game, set a new bar for Fallout games and Bethesda-styled RPGs in general. Hopefully, this November, when we finally get to explore Vault 76 and the world of a post-apocalyptic West Virginia, we'll see that bar pushed again; because let's face it, Fallout 4 migh⛄t've been good but it was seriously lacking in ambition.
In the meantime, a list like this gives me a great excuse to revisit one of the series' best entries so that we can talk about the best and most secretive quests that New Vegas has to offer. These include side quests, unmarked objectives, and even some main storylines that are only available if yo☂u complete ce♔rtain criteria or team up with specific sides throughout the game.
Through this list, you'll not only realize that New Vegas has some of the best side quests in any Fallout game, but also some of the strangest. Bizarre run-ins with gr🦄andmas wielding rolling pins are really just the tipꦬ of the iceberg, so let's jump right into it.
25 Wang Dang Atomic Tango 𒀰
Only right to start this list off with a quest that is not only one of the funniest in New Vegas𝄹, but probably one of the weirdest too. “Wang Dang Atomic Tango” can be started at the Atomic Wrangler.
These customers are into some pretty weird things, and I’m talking weird even for Fallout.
You’ll be required to find a suave talker, a ghoul that dresses like a cowboy, and a robot designed for something weird. Yeah, it’s weird, but so unbeliev♕ably funny tha꧂t you just can’t skip it.
24 Alꦦien Ship Encounter 💃
A lot of the quests on this list are only going to be available to those with the “Wild Wasteland” perk offered at the start of the game, so we’re going to recommend you take it as some of the best moments in New Vegas resu𝐆lt from that perk. One of the moments is the 🔯alien ship encounter.
Head north of Horowitz farmstead to encounter the bug-eyed extraterrestrials and pick yourself up one of the best weapons in the game. Unfortunately, the aliens aren’t as fleshed out as in Fallout 3, but we’re happy they’re here anyway.
23 ♊ The Story Of Vault 11
Regarded as one of the best vaults in the series, this is one place I refuse to miss every time I return to New Vegas. As with most vaults, Vault 11 was a part of a sadistic social experiment. Thi🎐s particular 🍬one required dwellers to sacrifice one human every year; fail to do so and they all get put down.
The worst part was it was all a lie, and if the dwellers stopped sacrificing each other a message was to be played. And that message actually commended the dwellers for valuing human life ♐instead of blindly following orders.
22 Red Lucy & The Thorn 🍸
This is an interesting place, as it’s quite hidden yet pretty popular for the reward you receive at the end. The ꧅Thorn is located on the outskirts of Freeside (ღwest of New Vegas) and it’s a place where warriors battle the strongest creatures.
There you’ll meet Red Lucy, and she’ll have you go out and slay some of the strongest creatures in New Vegas.
What do you get for doing all ♛of this, you might wonder? Well, you get a good amount of caps, but my money's on most ga♌mers seeking that extra reward that Red Lucy also gives (no spoilers).
21 Helping 💞Boone Get His Revenge 🥂
Throughout New Vegas, you’ll have opportunities to recruit companions along your journey. One of my favorites in New Vegas is the sniper you’ll meet in Novac.
As you grow closer to any companion, you’ll be able to complete ꩵa side quest revealing more about their character. Boone’s quest is truly one of the sadder ones across the series, as he took his wife with his very rifle to prevent her from being forced into slavery within Caesar's legion. Trust us, it only gets more depressing from there.
20 🍸 "What Is It, Boy?" Finding Little Jimmy
You gotta love the “Wild Wasteland” perk. While its quests may be insignificant to the overall story at hand, the quests themselves offer some of the best fun I had in New Vegas.
Enter the quest “What is it, boy?”, a quest that is only possible to attain if you have Rex as your companion. At some point, Rex will bark at you, and you’ll come to the actualization that a child named Little Jimmy is trapped in a well. I don’t think anyone saw another Lassie reference coming in a Fallout game, but we love it and this quest.
19 𝔍 Becoming Idolized In Goodsprings
The faction/reputation system in New Vegas was one🐟 of the biggest reasons wh🐲y I loved the game. Helping out one group might lead them to love you, but it’ll make their enemies hate you even more.
For every group, it’s possible to be idolized or absolutely hated, and your reputatio﷽n even matters in the town you start in. In order to be completely loved by everyone in Goodsprings, you must help defend against a Powder Gang attack. In turn, you’ll get some great early game rewards.
18 Permanently Taking Care Of Mr. House 🌟
Throughout my first few playthroughs of New Vegas, I had never really liked the ♔Strip’s kingpin, Mr. House. While I respected what he did in protecting and running New Vegas, taking side with him for Hoover Dꦑam never really appealed to me.
So you can imagine my excitement when I found out you could take Mr. House out of the picture.
Go up to his tower and﷽ unlock a terminal on his wall to gain access to the real, 200+ years old Mr. House. Oh, and get ready for a brawl up there.
17 ꦡ Curing Caesar's Illness
Caesar is one of the reasons I love New Vegas, or I really should say the choices you're given on how to handle Caesar. Even if you sto🤪rm his fortress and take care of him and all of his fighters,ཧ you’ll still have to deal with the Legion after and their puppet master the Legate.
But saving Caesar from his terminal sickness is where this plotline gets really interesting. If yo💞u’ve inve♕sted skill points in medicine you can heal him yourself, but you can actually sell one of your companions, Arcade Gannon, into slavery for Caesar’s sake.
16 The White Glove Society And Theꦆ Secret Of The Ultra L🐼uxe
This is the quest where some pretty gross stuff comes into play. The Ultra-Luxe Casino is one of the most bougie on the strip, yet the classy establishment hides the fact that they have a special dining option catered for savages. Now, this quest is real🧜ly long and there are many ways to approach it, so we’ll leave the fun part for you. Just know that it gets messy real quick when you decide to get involved in this one.