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Fallout 3 Hints
Exploration Tips
1 of 8: Whenever you're thinking of going out on an exploring and looting expedition, there are several important things to keep in mind.
2 of 8: Before you head out, be well-rested for the 10% XP bonus (by sleeping an hour in your house's bed or a rented bed), be well-stocked in ammo and healing items, and have your best armor and skill-enhancing apparel with you.
3 of 8: Other than that, your inventory should be cleared out so that you can carry more of the stuff that you find during your exploring. Also, return to Megaton (which should be your starting "base camp") frequently to store and sell off excess items, resupply, and rest.
4 of 8: If you're exploring around far from Megaton, try to find a location where you can rest and store items temporarily until you're ready to go all the way back to Megaton.
5 of 8: Other towns and settlements are good to use as far-from-Megaton bases since they usually have merchants to sell items to, and some few have rentable beds you can get the 10% XP bonus from. Also, most containers in the game won't respawn unless they're empty, so you can store items long-term in just about any of them. (If you do this in several areas, make a written list of exactly where all of your stashes are so you can return to them later.)
6 of 8: Remember that an exploratory mission isn't wasted if you discover a new fast-travel location right before returning to your current base, since you can always fast-travel right back to the newly discovered location when you're ready to loot it or explore on past it. This fact usually makes really long expeditions unnecessary.
7 of 8: The main danger is in a new location you're trying to discover being full of powerful hostiles, like heavily-armed raiders or super mutants. In those cases, it may be tough to get close enough to be counted as discovering the place, and then to defeat all the enemies or run away without getting killed. Always save before going for a new location, just in case. (If you're well-stocked in ammo and healing items, try drawing enemies away a few at a time and finishing them off, then healing up and repeating. Hopefully, you won't have to return to base before you can finish them all off.)
