Out of Time is the first of the main quests, where the main character is plopped 210 years into the future.
Prologue[edit]
The prologue begins with the Sole Survivor facing the bathroom mirror, where you can adjust the character's appearance and choose the character's gender.
A minute later, a Vault-Tec representative will arrive, and you will get to name the character along with assigning 21 points among the SPECIAL attributes.
After checking Shaun, spinning the mobile, and speaking with your spouse, there is an alert on the television that will announce that a nuclear war has reached America, and the country is under attack. You will need to reach the vault if you wish to stay alive. Head outside, and follow the directions of the guards. Speak with the officer to get through, and go to the middle of the elevator.
When you enter the vault, advance and head to the table ahead. Collect the vault suit, and continue forward to the decontamination chamber.
After the pre-war section, you will want to make and backup a saved game, if only to skip this long sequence. If playing on the PC, this can also be skipped using console commands setstage mq101tvstation 200,
setstage mq101 900, removemusic 1a8676 and showspecialmenu.
Vault 111[edit]
After you awaken from your cryosleep, you can open the cryopod ahead of you to pick up the wedding ring from your spouse, but the task is simply to leave the vault.
The main exit door is locked, thus you will have to go through the side passage instead. While there are plenty of items you can find, the most important is a security baton on the table, and a few 10mm pistols scattered around.
When you reach the overseer's terminal, unlock the exit by choosing the final option. You can head to the exit, retrieve the Pip-Boy, and use the Pip-Boy to unlock the vault exit.
Sanctuary Hills[edit]
When you return to Sanctuary, you will find Codsworth trying to tend what's left of the front garden. When you speak with him, you can start a basic search of the city to find Shaun.
The first searched house simply has a few bloatflies. Nothing special in this house. The second searched house has more bloatflies. However, there is a safe underneath a baby crib, which contains a few useful items. After searching two houses, Codsworth gives up and suggests checking Concord to see if there are other people around.
While in sanctuary, you can search the other houses. There are at least two other safes and a workshop that faces your own. One of the safes (in one of the western buildings) is booby-trapped with an explosive, which you can trivially disarm.
While you can use the settlement right away, you likely lack the items needed to attract settlers, thus you will need to wait until later for this task.
Red Rocket Truck Stop[edit]
If you continue with this quest rather than wandering off elsewhere, you are likely to find the Red Rocket Truck Stop. This is also a work area and you can also find your first companion, a single dog.
Concord[edit]
The city is mostly empty when you reach Concord, except for the ongoing combat near the Museum of Freedom. Eliminate all raiders, and Preston will call on you to start When Freedom Calls.
Collectables[edit]
- In the cafeteria, there's a minigame in the recreation terminal.
- There's a cryolator found in the overseer's office, which you will have to obtain at a higher level (or if you have a companion that can pick said lock.)
- In Sanctuary, you can re-enter your home:
- For the "You're S.P.E.C.I.A.L." book. Gives a permanent +1 to an ability of your choice.
- For the Grognak the Barbarian, giving +5% damage to critical hits with unarmed and melee attacks.