Even two centuries after a nuclear war, people are still living and thriving and making some healthy profits in Fallout 3. The Capital Wasteland may be dangerous, yet there are still riches to be gained for the most daring of wanderers.
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Making a bit of money with a wise investment here and there isn’t too tricky. Making a fortune, though, is a completely different story and quite a time-consuming task. What any Lone Wanderer could do with are some shortcuts and any other bits of helpful information to ensure that, with a bit of effort and elbow grease, those caps will be flying into their wallet in no time.
Updated on May 16, 2024, by Benjamin Joe: Thanks to the release of the Fallout TV series, Fallout 3 is seeing new players take to the Capital Wasteland for the very first time. Because of this increase in popularity, it seems like a good time to update this article. While not much has changed, there are lots of ways that players can make extra caps in Fallout 3. While it can be tricky in the beginning to make caps, it really doesn't take long to start loading up on caps by taking advantage of some of the suggestions in this article.
1 Flog Useless Junk In Vast Quantities
Even Random Items In Bulk Can Sell For A Decent Amount
Even junk items will sell for at least some kind of profit. Of course, things like tin cans, empty bottles, and burnt books will fill up one’s inventory considerably, but it’s still possible to make a small bit of cash that way, regardless.
Raiding the Super Duper Mart can get players a collection of useless tin cans, and a collection of those can go for just under 100 caps. Meanwhile, random loot may contain boxes and cartons of cigarettes, which are useless to the player but can sell for a generous amount in large quantities. Plus, if it gets too cumbersome, they can be dumped into a rusting shopping cart and dragged to the nearest settlement.
2 Hoard Weapons And Armor To Sell
Some Weapons And Armor Pieces Sell For A Pretty Penny
Much like the previous entry, players will come across large quantities of weapons and armor as they travel around the Wasteland. As the player takes down enemies and loots their bodies, they will find lots of weapons and armor pieces that are ripe for the taking.
While it can be a bit of a pain having to head to Megaton or River City to sell weapons and armor pieces pretty regularly, it's a good way to make some extra caps. To make collecting weapons and armor pieces easier, feel free to offload some of the heavy items to any companions that the player may have following them. Using a companion as a pack mule is a great way to maximize carry weight.
3 Sell Books And Dog Tags To The Brotherhood of Steel
100 Caps Per Delivery Is A Nice Payout That Adds Up
Providing players are on good terms with the Brotherhood of Steel; they can make a lovely profit from collecting books and dog tags from fallen allies - even if they didn’t kill any themselves - to sell back to them.
West of the Jefferson Memorial is the Brotherhood-owned Arlington Library, and inside is an informant who will collect Pre-War Books - an otherwise useless commodity - for 100 caps each (10 are in the library itself, Minefield has 9 in their homes, and the National Guard depot has 6). Meanwhile, once The Citadel is available in the main quest, there will be a scribe to sell dog tags, too, for another 100 caps each.
4 Hand Over Alien Power Charges To The Brotherhood Outcasts
Though The Ammo Is Rare, There's More To Collect From The Mothership Zeta DLC
An Alien crash site can be found north of the MDPL-13 power station. Among the wreckage is an alien corpse and a rare Alien Blaster, along with 120 Alien Power Cells for the weapon. Now, this ammo is rare in the base game, but there’s a lot more to collect from the Mothership Zeta DLC.
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Protector Casdin can be persuaded to let the Lone Wanderer scavenge technology for caps at Fort Independence. Most of the time, the exchange rate isn’t worth it, but he will offer 20 Stimpacks (which are weightless, on top of their base price of 25 caps each) for 12 of those Alien Power Cells. That’s 5,000 caps for that entire number of cells!
5 Explore Locations For Reilly’s Rangers
Uncovering New Locations For Cash Is Easy Enough For Making A Few Caps On The Side
After speaking to Reiley in Underworld (hidden within the Museum of History in Washington D.C.), players can start the ‘Reilly's Rangers’ quest. Getting them home safely is paramount for this next unmarked quest, which is a decent way to scrape some pocket money together by simply walking around.
Basically, Reiley will ask for help with exploring locations in the Capital Wasteland. Whatever locations are marked on the Pip-Boy can be scanned for their database entry. It may not pay much - 30 caps per location - but it will bring in a maximum of just under 5,000 caps. Even if one has idly wandered around the maps before tackling this task, even a handful of locations uncovered should pay a few hundred caps or more.
6 Exchange Scrap Metal With Walter
The Repairman In Megaton Will Offer 10 Caps For Each Portion Of Scrap Metal
One more reason to keep Megaton standing is to fix some pipes for Walter. To achieve this quest, find and repair all leaky pipes in town with a Repair skill of 30 or higher (pop some Mentats or wear a jumpsuit to bolster the skill if need be), and speak to Walker. He’s usually found either inside or chilling near the door of the Water Purification Plant.
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He’ll offer a proposition: 10 caps per portion of scrap metal. These are found on turrets, robots, and junk throughout the game. Places like the RobCo facility factory floor, Meresti Metro Station, and the Robot Repair Center have a bunch of them to collect. It’s not much, but it’s a far better deal than what the Ghoul mechanic in Underworld would offer.
7 Become A Lawbringer Or Contract Killer (Or Both)
Two Perks Offer The Chance To Deliver Body Parts Of Good And Bad Characters To Companies For Money
Hunting down good or evil people with either/both the ‘Lawbringer’ or ‘Contract Killer’ perk(s) is a handy way of reeling in some easy cash, simply by killing good or bad people and collecting either fingers or ears from one’s victims. Both Perks can be acquired at level 14 or higher. Collecting either perk will result in a note appearing on the Pip-Boy to show who to speak with in order to get to work and deliver the mutilated body parts.
Selling people off to the Slavers will result in Abolitionists hunting the Lone Wanderer down, and they’re a good source of ears to sell. Meanwhile, Talon Company mercenaries will chase down the hero endlessly after the bomb in Megaton is defused, often appearing after exiting a building, and each of them will drop a finger on death.
8 Take The ‘Scrounger’ And ‘Fortune Finder’ Perks
Spare Cash And Extra Ammo That Can Be Sold For Money Will Bloat Up A Waller Over Time
A pair of perks are available for those with no less than 5 points in Luck, both of which can help garner a small fortune. At level 6, ‘Fortune Finder’ is self-explanatory: extra caps are found in containers, ranging from 20 to 80 additional caps. It’s a small chance, but it’s worth the extra spare change.
At level 8, ‘Scrounger’ is even better. There’s a 75% chance of finding double the ammo, and this includes grenades, missiles, and mini-nukes from ammo containers. These, sold in bulk, will rake in a mint. Consider raiding the downtown D.C. area and looking around for Super Mutant territory, as they often have ammo boxes stashed around.
