You’re wandering through the Commonwealth, dodging Bloodbugs and trying to figure out why everyone is so obsessed with adhesive, when you see it. That giant, gear-shaped yellow door. It’s the universal symbol of safety in the wasteland, right? Wrong. If you’ve spent more than five minutes digging into the lore, you know the vaults of Fallout 4 weren't actually designed to save anyone. They were petri dishes. Cruel, expensive, and often hilarious petri dishes funded by the taxpayers and run by a bunch of sociopaths at Vault-Tec.
Most players just breeze through these locations to grab a Bobblehead or some Overseer’s Guardian loot. But if you actually stop to read the terminals, the story gets dark. Fast. We’re talking about social engineering experiments that make Stanford’s prison experiment look like a summer camp.
The Great Lie of Vault-Tec
Basically, the whole "Project Safehouse" thing was a sham. The United States government—or the Enclave, if we’re being technical—knew they couldn't save everyone. They didn't even want to. They wanted data. They needed to know how humans would react to extreme stress, isolation, and weird social variables so they could eventually colonize other planets. Or just because they were bored and had a massive budget. Who knows?
Take Vault 111. That's where you start. On the surface, it’s a cryogenic facility designed to keep people "on ice" until the radiation clears. But look at the logs. The staff were never supposed to stay there forever. They were given a short-term contract, and when the supplies ran out and Vault-Tec didn't send word to evacuate, things turned into a mutiny. The scientists were just as much prisoners as the people in the tubes. You were a "Specimen," not a citizen.
Vault 81: The One That Actually (Mostly) Works
It’s rare to find a vault that isn't a graveyard. Vault 81 is the outlier. When you first stumble upon it near Chestnut Reservoir, it feels like a fever dream. People are clean. There’s a school. They have a cat named Ashes. It’s arguably the most successful of the vaults of Fallout 4, but even this place has a skeleton in the closet. Literally.
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The original plan for 81 was horrific. It was supposed to be a medical research lab where the residents were secretly infected with every known disease to develop a "universal cure." The Overseer at the time, Olive Willett, actually had a conscience. She sabotaged the equipment and sealed off the scientists in a secret wing, letting the residents live in peace while the researchers withered away. That’s why you find Curie there. If Willett hadn't intervened, 81 would have been a mass grave by 2080.
Why Vault 114 is a Psychological Masterpiece
Sometimes the experiments weren't about killing people. Sometimes they were just about being annoying. Vault 114, located right under Park Street Station, is my personal favorite because it’s so petty.
Vault-Tec recruited high-society elites—CEOs, politicians, the "one percent"—and then crammed them into tiny, one-room apartments with shared bathrooms. The amenities were intentionally trash. The beds were uncomfortable. But the kicker? They hired a guy named Soup Can Harry to be the Overseer. Harry was a literal drifter with zero qualifications and a deep-seated resentment for the rich.
The goal was to see how these powerful people would handle being led by someone they considered "beneath" them in a cramped, miserable environment. Sadly, the vault was never finished, so we never got to see the full meltdown. But the recruitment holotapes are gold. You can hear the recruiters lying through their teeth to these socialites, promising them "state-of-the-art" luxury that didn't exist.
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The Horror of Vault 75 and Vault 95
If 114 was a comedy, Vault 75 and 95 are straight-up horror movies. You’ll find 75 under Malden Middle School. It’s one of the most depressing spots in the game. Parents were separated from their kids immediately after the bombs fell. The parents were executed, and the kids were put through "physical and mental refinement."
Basically, Vault-Tec was trying to breed super-soldiers.
- If a kid was smart or strong enough, they were "harvested" (killed) for their organs or genetic material.
- If they were exceptional, they were recruited into the research staff.
- Everyone else was just... disposed of at age 18.
Then there’s Vault 95. This was the "rehab" vault. They took people struggling with chem addiction and promised them a way out. For five years, it worked. They had group therapy and a supportive community. Then, a "plant" from Vault-Tec opened a hidden stash of drugs just to see what would happen. Within hours, the entire population had torn itself apart. It wasn't an experiment in recovery; it was an experiment in relapse and cruelty.
Building Your Own: Vault 88
With the Vault-Tec Workshop DLC, you get to be the monster. Or the hero. Mostly the monster. Vault 88 gives you Overseer Barstow, a ghoul who has been waiting 200 years to run her experiments. You get to decide if you want to give your settlers soda machines that spike their caffeine levels or eye-exam chairs that perform subtle brainwashing.
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It’s a weird meta-commentary on the player's role. We spend the whole game judging Vault-Tec, then the second we get the building tools, we're wondering if a little bit of mind control might help with settlement happiness.
How to Survive the Commonwealth's Basements
If you're planning a tour of the vaults of Fallout 4, you need to be prepared. These aren't just lore dumps; they are high-level combat zones.
- Bring a Hazmat Suit: Places like Vault 88 and the secret sections of 81 are radiation magnets.
- Hack Everything: The best stories are buried in the terminals. If your hacking skill is low, you’re missing 90% of the content. Bring Nick Valentine if you’re lazy.
- Check the Crates: Vault-Tec loot is unique. You’ll find clean versions of items (like folders and fans) that are worth more or provide better scrap than the junk found in the ruins above.
- Charisma Matters: In Vault 81, you can talk your way out of a lot of trouble and even get a room of your own. Don't go in guns blazing.
The vaults are the heart of Fallout's identity. They represent the hubris of the old world—the idea that you can control human nature with enough concrete and a clipboard. Every time you step into one, you're stepping into a crime scene. Next time you're in Vault 111, don't just look for your spouse's ring. Look at the monitors. Look at the empty desks. The real story isn't about the hero; it's about the people who never made it out of the experiment.
Your Next Steps in the Wasteland
To truly master the vault lore, head to the Malden Middle School basement and clear out Vault 75 first. It’s an intense combat gauntlet, but the Combat Intelligence data you find there is some of the most revealing writing in the game. After that, track down the "Vault-Tec Regional HQ" in downtown Boston to find the master list of locations. It makes navigating the Commonwealth's underground significantly easier than just stumbling around in the dark.