Highlights
- Quarry Junction in Fallout: New Vegas is a dangerous location that players should approach with caution due to the presence of deadly deathclaws.
- The challenging nature of Quarry Junction makes it a significant accomplishment for players who manage to clear it, despite offering little in terms of unique rewards.
- Fallout 5 should consider incorporating a similar location to Quarry Junction to provide players with a tough challenge and offer more screen time to iconic enemies like deathclaws.
In Fallout: New Vegas, Quarry Junction is a secluded location that poses an extreme hazard to players. A pack of deathclaws has taken refuge in the area, including a mother deathclaw, an alpha male, and several other adult deathclaws who guard the nest with extreme vigilance. The threat these creatures pose is so well known among the inhabitants of Fallout: New Vegas wasteland, that NPCs have posted warning signs and refuse to go near the location themselves.
Quarry Junction serves as a barrier that forces players to explore in the opposite direction, until returning much later (if at all) with top-tier gear, perks, and companions in Fallout: New Vegas. The location is filled with some of the toughest enemies in the Fallout franchise, which makes it a praiseworthy accomplishment for anyone who can clear it out. As the next game in the franchise, Fallout 5 should consider having a location similar to the Quarry Junction from Fallout: New Vegas.
Quarry Junction Is One of Fallout: New Vegas’ Most Memorable Locations
Since this location is available so early on in the game, it can be extremely enticing and deceptive to many players, only to offer a challenge that is immensely difficult. Daring players can try to sneak their way beyond Quarry Junction to get to the New Vegas Strip early, but getting detected by a single deathclaw in the process can be fatal, so it’s safer to take the intended detour. Not to mention, Quarry Junction isn’t involved in any of the main storylines in Fallout: New Vegas, so players can complete the game without ever discovering the location.
Quarry Junction isn’t the only barrier separating the tutorial area from the New Vegas Strip, and it isn’t the most rewarding location either, but it still has its redeeming qualities. While it generally lacks any kind of unique reward, the accomplishment of clearing Quarry Junction is its own reward since it’s entirely optional and extremely difficult. Otherwise, anyone looking to steal the loot from Quarry Junction or find quick passage to the New Vegas Strip can complete these tasks by avoiding the deathclaws with a proper stealth build in Fallout: New Vegas. Ultimately though, defeating all the deathclaws is the real treasure of Quarry Junction.
Fallout’s Deathclaws Deserve More Screen Time
Deathclaws are an iconic enemy in the Fallout games, yet they are becoming increasingly rare in the franchise, which should change for the next entry. Fallout 4 has a decent amount of deathclaws, and even the mobile game Fallout Shelter includes frequent encounters with these mutated creatures, but Fallout 76 includes only a handful of deathclaws in comparison. Fallout 5 having its own version of Quarry Junction could be a perfect chance to kill two birds with one stone to give deathclaws more well-deserved screen time in the franchise. At the same time, Fallout 5 having its own Quarry Junction isn’t exclusive to only deathclaws, as long as it features tough enemies that offer a similar challenge.
The lore of Fallout’s deathclaws is already fairly extensive, but these creatures shouldn’t be out of the count just yet. By now, Fallout’s super mutants have played a large role in most of the games, including deep dives into their origins and even the chance to recruit some of the less feral super mutants as companions. At the very least, it’s time that deathclaws get the same treatment as the franchise’s super mutants.
Quarry Junction puts combat builds to the ultimate test with a trial by fire against the franchise’s iconic deathclaws. It truly takes a well-planned build to clear this landmark, which is why it’s become an unwritten rule for Fallout: New Vegas to take on the challenge. Given how memorable the location is in Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 5 would do well to have its own Quarry Junction, possibly giving deathclaws more time in the sun.
Fallout: New Vegas is available now for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.
