You’re standing in the middle of Galactic Zone, the neon lights of Nuka-World are buzzing in your ears, and that massive mainframe in Star Control is mocking you. It needs 35 Nuka Galaxy star cores to fully reboot. If you want that Quantum X-01 Power Armor—the one glowing like a radioactive popsicle behind the glass—you have to find them. All of them. Honestly, it’s one of the most tedious scavenger hunts in Fallout 4, mostly because the verticality of the Nuka-Galaxy ride is a nightmare to navigate.
Most players stumble through the dark corridors of the ride, missing the one hidden under a console or tucked behind a dummy. It’s frustrating. You’ve probably already found the easy ones near the entrance, but the last five? They’re usually the ones that make people give up and just use console commands. We aren't doing that. We're getting them the legit way.
🔗 Read more: Pixel Art With Dots: Why the Grid Still Rules Digital Design
Why Nuka Galaxy Star Cores are a Completionist’s Nightmare
The problem isn't just the number. It's the layout. Nuka-Galaxy is a literal maze of catwalks, fake planets, and strobe lights. You’re fighting off Sentry Bots and Novatrons while trying to squint at small, glowing circuit boards. If you miss one during your first run-through, backtracking is a total slog.
The game tells you there are 35 cores total across the entire Galactic Zone, but only 7 of them are actually inside the Nuka-Galaxy attraction itself. The rest are scattered. Some are in the RobCo Battlezone, others are in Vault-Tec: Among the Stars, and a few are just sitting out in the dirt of the park grounds. But the Nuka-Galaxy ones? They’re the trickiest because the environment is designed to disorient you.
Tracking Down the Seven Cores Inside the Ride
Don't just run in guns blazing. Well, you can, but keep your eyes peeled.
The first one you’ll likely find is in the loading bay area. Look for the small office off to the side near where the ride vehicles start their journey. It’s sitting right there on a desk. Easy. But then things get vertical. As you move through the ride's "space" scenes, you'll reach a room with a bunch of animatronic aliens. There’s a hidden room behind the scenery here. You have to look for a door that doesn't quite look like a door—it leads to a small maintenance nook where another core is tucked away.
- The Console Room: Near the end of the ride tracks, before you reach the exit, there’s a massive room filled with computer banks. One core is plugged into a console on the lower level.
- The Elevator Secret: This is the one everyone misses. There’s an elevator that takes you up to the exit. Before you leave, check the small terminal area right next to the top landing.
- The Hidden Maintenance Shaft: Halfway through the ride, you'll see a series of catwalks above the main track. You have to jump across a gap—yes, actual platforming in a Fallout game—to reach a chest and a terminal containing a core.
Wait, did you check the very end of the ride? Where the "uphill" climb happens? There's one more tucked under the stairs near the final drop. It’s dark. Use your Pip-Boy light.
The Master Mainframe Trap
Don't make the mistake of plugging them in one by one if you’re low on health. Every time you repair a segment of the Star Control mainframe, you have the option to deactivate certain defenses. If you're struggling with the robots, prioritize the "Defense Protocol" shutdown. It makes life easier.
Expanding the Search: The Galactic Zone Exterior
Once you’ve cleared the ride, you still need 28 more. Yeah, the math sucks.
Start with the Galactic Zone's outdoor areas. There’s one sitting on top of the Star Control building itself. You have to go around the back and find the stairs leading to the roof. It’s right there next to a dead trader. Speaking of dead traders, check the bodies. The developers loved hiding these things on NPCs who didn't survive the robot uprising.
There's another one near the Arcade. If you head toward the back of the zone, near the border fence, you’ll find a small maintenance shed. It’s locked, but if your lockpicking is high enough, it’s a freebie.
Vault-Tec: Among the Stars
This place is a fever dream. It’s a series of "living rooms" meant to show how humans would live on Mars. It’s also crawling with Protectrons. There are 6 cores here.
- Check the "kitchen" display.
- Look behind the "rock" scenery in the final room.
- One is behind a locked door in the central hub—you'll need the Vault-Tec office key or master hacking skills.
RobCo Battlezone
This is a combat arena. You will be swarmed by Sentries and Assaultrons. It’s a bloodbath. There are 6 cores here too, mostly located in the spectator booths and the basement maintenance area. Don't even try to grab them until the arena floor is clear. Honestly, the Novatrons here are faster than they have any right to be.
The Final "Secret" Cores
If you’ve searched everywhere and you’re still at 34/35, don't panic. You haven't glitched the game. The final core is actually unobtainable until you finish the main story of the Nuka-World DLC.
Once you turn the power back on to the entire park—which requires you to either finish the "Power Play" quest or "Open Season" (if you're playing the good guy and killing the raider bosses)—you can take the elevator to the very top of the Starport Nuka. That’s where the final core lives. You literally cannot get it until the lights are back on.
Common Misconceptions
People think you can "farm" these. You can't. They aren't random drops. Each one has a specific, hard-coded coordinate in the game world.
💡 You might also like: Why the FIFA 12 soundtrack playlist is still the goat of sports gaming music
Another weird myth is that you can bypass the Star Control computer with a high enough Science perk. Nope. Bethesda wants you to do the legwork. You either find the cores or you don't get the armor. The armor, by the way, is the Quantum X-01. It has a unique legendary effect that increases your Action Point refresh speed. It’s arguably the best set of Power Armor in the entire game, even better than the T-60 sets the Brotherhood of Steel carries.
Actionable Strategy for Your Hunt
If you’re starting the hunt right now, follow this sequence to avoid wasting time:
- Clear the Exterior First: Grab the easy ones around the Star Control building and the grounds. This gives you enough cores to shut down at least one robot type (start with the Eyebots, they’re annoying).
- Do Nuka-Galaxy Second: It’s the most complex, so get it out of the way while you still have patience.
- The "Respawn" Trick: Interestingly, the core located in the Junkyard (outside the Galactic Zone, to the west) is known to occasionally respawn after a few in-game weeks. If you’re truly stuck at 34 and don't want to finish the main quest yet, try waiting 30 in-game days and checking the Junkyard again. It doesn't always work, but it’s a known exploit for players who want the armor early.
- Bring Nick Valentine: His hacking skills are a lifesaver in Vault-Tec: Among the Stars. There are several Master-level terminals that hide cores behind them.
Once you have all 35, head back to Star Control. Plug them all in. Watch the "Repair Process" bar hit 100%. The display case will slide open, and that blue-glow Power Armor is yours. It’s a long walk, but the literal tank-like protection and the bragging rights make it worth the effort. Now, go turn the power on and finish the job.