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“I wanted a Vault that wasn't just about preserving the past, but continuing to build a new future. Climate control, increased life expectancy, and the deadliest weapons to ward off would-be survivors of the Apocalypse.”— Hugo Stolz
Vault 63 is a Vault-TecVault located under Dark Hollow Manor in Shenandoah National Park of Appalachia in Fallout 76. Although the door to Vault 63 is located in the Ash Heap, this is not the location of the Vault itself, and is merely the hub for an underground railway transit system that leads to the actual, separate areas of the Vault.
Although present in the live game since its release in 2018, the Vault was inaccessible. It was expanded upon as part of the Skyline Valleyupdate, which added connections to the Vault's interior in the Skyline Valley region.
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This Vault was constructed under the orders of Hugo Stolz, a member of Vault-Tec's board of directors, and his wife Cassidy Stolz. They felt that war was imminent, and wanted a Vault that would give them the greatest amount of power that they could have in a post-apocalyptic society. However, they recognized that the Vault-Tec board would not allow them to build a Vault all for themselves unless it had some greater benefit to the company. As such, Hugo and Cassidy pitched Vault 63 as a research facility for various technologies that could help Vault-Tec establish and defend its own post-War societies. These projects included weather control, using assets and personnel from the government's shuttered ATLAS Program; as well as the creation of special Vault-Tec guardian robots using research stolen from the Department of Defense's own large-scale robotics project.
The Vault's construction was also controversial, as Hugo's business decisions made the community of Dark Hollow Falls resent him as they were driven off the land; Hugo claimed he would allow the community space in his Vault, and they tolerated the construction of Vault 63 under this condition.
As with the other Vaults, Vault 63 was sealed sometime around the Great War in 2077. Hugo also betrayed his deal with the Dark Hollow community, as he did not allow them in. The Vault remains sealed by 2105, as the tunnels leading out were damaged by earthquakes, and the main door in Dark Hollow Manor requires a two-way joint authorization.
The Vault was still in the process of being constructed, and the residents were not immune to radiation. Those who survived the radiation were transformed into ghouls, rendering some of their survival concerns moot. However, they quickly discovered the costs of ghoulification when some dwellers began to go feral, one of the earliest being Hugo's brother August. Symptoms of feralization were so common that practically everybody personally knew someone who was suffering. Already personal for Hugo, the crisis worsened for him when Cassidy began showing signs of turning feral as well. The entire Vault quickly shifted gears to researching ways to reverse, or at least prevent, feralization. However, despite their best efforts, only one path showed any success: by pure chance, it was discovered that exposure to the weather control machine in the Meteorology Sector could briefly alleviate the effects of feralization. Not wishing to lose Cassidy, Hugo secretly activated the Vault's unfinished weather machine in 2095, at full power. While Cassidy was prevented from going feral, she was put into a coma. However, the act still had major consequences: it transformed many of the Vault residents into feral beings known as Lost, who began attacking their former friends and colleagues indiscriminately. Hugo was also turned into a Lost but retained his sanity, having been the one who activated the machine and thus subject to the full mutation. Even with the huge cost, and the limited success at saving Cassidy, Hugo was still devastated and wished for a way to save his wife.
In 2105, Hugo activated the machine again in an attempt to cure her, although he also admits he was aware it could kill him, something he was not entirely against as he felt he was living a solitary life. The second activation ruptured the nearby land and caused a massive electrical storm. The Vault residents who were highly affected were contained in pods in hopes that their condition could be reversed someday by a cure. Cassidy, however, apparently responded to Hugo's will, even following his footsteps and making eye contact. This also made Hugo believe he could act as a vessel to unite the minds of him and anyone who could become Lost. He wishes to activate the weather machine a third time so him, his family (including daughter Audrey and niece Hilda) and all of the other Lost will be mentally linked. Hugo views this linkage as more important than their ability to have free will.
Layout[]
Vault entrance[]
Vault 63's entrance wing is located inside a small cave in the Ash Heap near Mount Blair, the entrance of which was concealed by a one-room shack. Inside the shack were several junk items. The door across from the entrance opened onto a small balcony with additional junk items, while the door to the left of the entrance led into the cave. Outside the Vault door was a functioning terminal that divulged about the Vault's status, saying the vault door was "sealed," and that the status of the Vault itself was "normal."
In 2105, following the second activation of the Vault 63 weather machine, Vault 63 suffered significant damage. A pressure build-up inside the entrance sector caused the door to blast open from the inside with such force that that it flew all the way onto the highway north of Sutton in the Forest. The exterior shack that previously hid the Vault's entrance was also completely destroyed. Much of the sector also caved in, leaving only a few rooms past the Vault doorframe still accessible (and briefly occupied by Lost who had managed to escape because of the destruction). The access control terminal still functioned, although it had been damaged alongside much of the other equipment in the cavern; it now reported emergency messages about what had happened to the Vault.
The Vault's main entrance in the Ash Heap did not lead directly into the Vault itself. Instead, it served as a railway station hub, from which Vault entrants would be able to travel to all of the other sectors of the Vault built, which were built throughout the Skyline Valley region.
The Vault 63 atrium served as the administrative center for the entire Vault, including the offices of the overseer and the chief of security. It is the last remaining sanctuary for the ghoul dwellers who have not turned feral or Lost.
An interior cell exists for the location, but it is unused. The exterior entrance to the engineering sector can still be found in-game, in the basement of the Slumber Mill Motel.
Other facilities[]
Vault 63 maintained a number of other facilities throughout Skyline Valley as a result of Stolz Enterprises having purchased much of the land around Shenandoah National Park. These included the Hawksbill weather station, which housed the Vault 63 meteorology sector underneath but was also home to other projects such as the Storm Goliaths, as well as the three surface research sites Bavaria, Rhineland, and Saxony.
Prior to Skyline Valley, a keycard slider could be found on the Vault console, but there was no keycard that worked with it. It was not possible to open the Vault 63 door or officially access its interior without using glitches.
When the Vault 63 door was sent flying, it landed in an area where player CAMPs could be built. Unfortunately, any such player CAMPs were cleared, effectively having been obliterated by the impact.
There are several brains in jars throughout the Vault. Some are fitted with cybernetics. One has a robotic eye.
Vault 63 was originally planned to be opened alongside Vault 94 and Vault 96 in the summer of 2019 as part of the Vault raids feature.[1] After Vault raids were discontinued, Vaults 94 and 96 were repurposed as locations for Daily Ops, with Vault 94 being released as part of One Wasteland For All (September 2020), and Vault 96 in Locked & Loaded (April 2021).
There was mention in 2021 of plans to implement Vault 63 as a Daily Ops location,[clarification needed] but this never materialized.
Prior to Skyline Valley, Vault 63 was an interior in the Ash Heap consisting of a sealed Vault Door. Behind this, the cell contained an inaccessible standard Vault entry chamber, with walls placed imperfectly over the standard doorways.
In Skyline Valley (June 2024), the Vault was implemented for story content. There is a significant amount of cut content for the Vault, as it has gone through several iterations, in changes only visible in the game's files. Some of the original Vault 63 assets have been removed.[clarification needed]
Bugs[]
PCPlaystation 4Xbox One Previously, fast traveling to an Ash Heap Horde Event that had its map marker not placed in the Ash Heap (instead, in the center of the world map) would teleport the player to a non-playable Vault interior cell and the player would be disconnected from the server upon loading in. When the player resumed playing, their character would be spawned directly outside Vault 63.[patched]
Gallery[]
Entrance (At release)[]
The shack concealing the cave entrance to Vault 63
The interior of the shack; the door on the left leads into the cave
Entrance
Entrance on a cloudy day
Entrance (Skyline Valley)[]
Skyline Valley promotional image, with Vault 63 door on the left
Prior to Skyline Valley, a keycard slider could be found on the Vault console, but there was no keycard that worked with it. It was not possible to open the Vault 63 door or officially access its interior without using glitches.
Previously, fast traveling to an Ash Heap Horde Event that had its map marker not placed in the Ash Heap (instead, in the center of the world map) would teleport the player to a non-playable Vault interior cell and the player would be disconnected from the server upon loading in. When the player resumed playing, their character would be spawned directly outside Vault 63.[patched]
