Walk into Vault 22 for the first time and you’ll notice the smell. Or, well, your character would. Even through the screen, the green, suffocating atmosphere of the "Jungle Vault" feels heavy. It’s a stark contrast to the scorched, brown dirt of the Mojave Wasteland. There stands the grass New Vegas players often remember as a simple fetch quest that spirals into a genuine horror movie. You go in looking for some research data to help the NCR with their food shortage, and you come out wondering if humanity even deserves to survive if this is what "progress" looks like.
Honestly, it's one of those quests that perfectly encapsulates why Fallout: New Vegas remains a masterpiece of environmental storytelling. You aren't just shooting things. You're uncovering a tragedy.
The Setup: Thomas Hildern and the NCR's Desperation
The quest usually starts at Camp McCarran. You meet Dr. Thomas Hildern, a man who is the literal embodiment of "the ends justify the means." He’s arrogant. He’s dismissive. He wants you to go to Vault 22 to recover data on "high-yield" plants. The NCR is starving, and Hildern thinks this ancient Pre-War tech is the silver bullet.
But here’s the thing. Hildern isn't telling you the whole story. He’s already sent someone else—Angela Williams' friend, Keely. She hasn't come back. If you talk to Angela first, you get a much more personal reason to head into the greenery. It's a classic New Vegas setup: a bureaucratic necessity masking a human disaster.
Entering the Green Hell
Vault 22 is located west of Nellis Air Force Base, tucked into the hills. You’ll know you’re there when the desert starts looking... lush. It’s weird. It’s wrong.
Once you step inside, the music shifts. The ambient track "Resonating Sunbeam" (or the localized vault industrial drone) kicks in, and the lighting turns a sickly, jaundiced green. This isn't the clean, sterile vault you see in the opening of Fallout 3. This is a tomb. The doors are broken, the elevators are offline, and the walls are literally covered in parasitic growth.
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The Spore Carriers
The enemies here aren't your standard Raiders or Geckos. You’re fighting Spore Carriers. These used to be people—scientists and dwellers who inhaled Beauveria mordicana, a fungal spore designed to kill pests. Instead, it colonized their lungs, killed them, and reanimated their bodies into shambling, plant-like husks.
They hide in the tall grass. You'll be walking down a corridor, thinking it's empty, and then the "bushes" stand up. It’s jump-scare territory. If you’re playing on Hardcore mode, these things are a nightmare because they’re deceptively fast. They represent the central irony of the quest: a project meant to feed the world ended up turning humans into fertilizer.
Navigating the Levels: A Layout Designed to Confuse
The vault has five levels. Each one has a name, like "Oxygen Production" or "Data Recovery." Navigating it is a pain if you don't have a high Repair skill to fix the elevator immediately. If you're stuck taking the stairs, you're going to get turned around.
- Entrance: Mostly empty, just setting the mood.
- Oxygen Production: Where you start seeing the real overgrowth.
- Food Production: This is where the horror ramps up. You see the labs where they were "innovating."
- Common Areas: Quarters for the residents. Check the terminals here. They tell the story of the initial infection—the coughing, the quarantine, the eventual collapse.
- Pest Control: The heart of the problem.
Most players miss the small details. If you read the terminal entries, you find out the scientists knew the spores were dangerous. They just thought they could control it. "We're making progress," they wrote, even as their colleagues were dying in the infirmary. It’s a chilling parallel to real-world scientific hubris.
Finding Keely and the Big Decision
Deep in the lower levels, you finally find Keely. She’s a ghoul, which makes her immune to the fungal infection, and she’s a lot smarter than Hildern. She doesn't want the data saved. She wants it burned.
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She realizes that if this spore gets out into the Mojave, it’s game over. The "high-yield" plants come with a parasitic stowaway that would turn the entire wasteland into a silent, green graveyard. This is where there stands the grass New Vegas forces you to make a choice that defines your character’s morality.
Do you side with Hildern? He argues that the NCR needs this food or thousands will starve now. It’s a pragmatic, if cold, perspective. Or do you side with Keely and destroy the data to prevent a potential global extinction event?
The Hidden Third Option
If you have a high enough Science skill (usually 60 or above), you can actually download the data and then help Keely burn the spores. This allows you to satisfy Hildern's greed while technically doing what Keely wants, though she won't be happy if she catches you keeping a copy.
To "burn" the spores, you have to ignite the gas on the fifth level. This is a famous "don't die" moment. You pump gas into the vents, stand behind a heavy blast door, and throw a grenade or fire a laser pistol. If you're standing in the wrong spot? You're toast. Literally. The explosion is massive, and it clears out the infestation, at least temporarily.
Why This Quest Matters for the NCR Ending
If you give the data to Hildern, it actually has an impact on the end-game slides. The NCR manages to adapt the research to improve their crop yields, which stabilizes the region. However, there’s a dark hint that the "accidents" that happened in Vault 22 might eventually repeat themselves.
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If you destroy it, the NCR continues to struggle with food shortages, but the Mojave is safe from the fungal plague. It’s one of those "lesser of two evils" scenarios that New Vegas is famous for. There is no perfect "happy" ending here.
Pro-Tips for Surviving Vault 22
If you're heading in there right now, don't go in under-leveled. The Spore Carriers hit hard, and the Spore Brutes are even worse.
- Bring Fire: Seriously. Flamers, Incendiary Grenades, or the Shishkebab. The enemies here are plants. They burn well. It’s the most efficient way to clear the "bushes" before they jump you.
- The Aerotech Connection: Don't forget to visit Aerotech Office Park afterward. You can find survivors (or at least find out what happened to some of the dwellers) there. It adds a layer of closure to the Vault 22 story.
- Check the Lockpicks: There are some great rewards hidden behind locked doors, including the unique Laser Rifle, the AER14 prototype. It fires green lasers (fittingly) and deals significantly more damage than the standard version. It’s located in the common area, near a skeleton on a staircase.
- Crouch Constantly: Since Spore Carriers are scripted to "ambush" you, using the [HIDDEN] indicator is a literal lifesaver. If it turns to [CAUTION], start shooting at the floor.
The Legacy of the Grass
What’s wild is how much this quest influenced later games. You can see echoes of Vault 22 in The Last of Us or even Fallout 4’s more overgrown areas. But those games usually treat the "nature taking over" trope as a beautiful aesthetic. In there stands the grass New Vegas, nature isn't beautiful. It's a predator.
It reminds us that the Pre-War world wasn't just destroyed by bombs. It was destroyed by the same arrogance that the NCR is trying to rebuild. When you hand that data to Hildern, you aren't just completing a quest. You're potentially handing him the match that starts the next fire.
Actionable Next Steps for Players
If you're currently stuck or planning your run, do these three things:
- Grab the AER14 Prototype: It's one of the best energy weapons in the game and is easily missed if you're just rushing to find Keely. It's on the 5th level (Pest Control) but accessed through a specific stairwell on the 4th.
- Boost Science to 60: Don't go in without it if you want the "best" outcome where you get the reward from Hildern and the approval of Keely.
- Watch the Vents: When you go to ignite the gas, use a Long Fuse Dynamite or a C4 charge with a remote detonator. It’s much safer than trying to throw a grenade and run before the physics engine decides you're in the blast radius.
Vault 22 is a grim reminder that in the Mojave, even the plants are trying to kill you. Don't go in without a plan, and definitely don't go in without a flamer.