This is a walkthrough of the Still in the Dark side quest in Fallout New Vegas (FNV). Read on to learn how to unlock Still in the Dark, where to find Elder McNamara, the quest rewards, and the best dialogue choices for completing the Still in the Dark side quest.

How to Unlock Still in the Dark

Enter the Bunker in the Hidden Valley

To unlock this quest you must find and enter the correct bunker in the Hidden Valley. Inside you will encounter the Brotherhood of Steel, but you will only be able to enter if you have accomplished one of their requirements. The quest will initiate after you get past security by leaving all your weapons (skipped if you have Veronica as a companion).

Ways to Enter Hidden Valley Bunker
・Find a holotape on a dead Brotherhood of Steel paladin. ・Have Veronica as a companion ・Investigate during The House Always Wins, V quest ・Investigate during For the Republic, Part 2 quest ・Investigate during Render Unto Caesar quest ・Investigate during Wild Card: Side Bets quest ・Have Lockpick 100

Interactive Map

Still in the Dark Walkthrough

	Objectives
1	Speak to Elder McNamara
2	Deal with Ranger Dobson ┗ Task is skipped if you have Veronica as a companion
3	Return to Elder McNamara
	Route A	Route B
4	-	Help Hardin Oust McNamara
5		Help Ibsen With The Virus
6		Go Back and Forth Between Paladin Ramos and the Terminals
7	Gather the Holotapes
8	Give Elder McNamara the holotapes	Tell Paladin Hardin about the holotapes Reward: 1000 XP, Brotherhood Safehouse Key, Brotherhood of Steel Fame
9	Meet With The 3 Scouts
10	Go to McNamara Then Lorenzo
11	Get the 3 Parts
12	Return to Lorenzo and McNamara Rewards: 1000 XP, Brotherhood Safehouse Key, Brotherhood of Steel Fame

Speak to Elder McNamara

Speak to Elder McNamara to receive your first task of getting rid of an NCR Ranger in the area. You will not be able to refuse regardless of what you choose to say in the conversation. You will be equipped with an explosive device that will trigger if you leave the general area.

If you have Veronica as a companion, this task will be skipped.

Deal with Ranger Dobson

Ways to Deal With Ranger Dobson
・If your Explosive Skill is high enough, you can rig his radio in his bunker to explode when he's not around (Kills him) ・Destroy his radio in his bunker when he's not around ・Lie to him if you have Speech 50 ・Kill him

If you can't lie to him, the best way to deal with Ranger Dobson is to destroy the radio in his bunker when he's not around as there are no repercussions. He gets scared by the fact he can't contact his people and leaves.

If you destroy the radio when he's in the bunker, he will become hostile and you will be forced to kill him. And if you kill him in any way, you will lose karma.

Return to Elder McNamara

Return to Elder McNamara and agree to the next task. At this point, Paladin Hardin will stop you on your way out to ask for help in ousting and replacing McNamara as their elder.

Help Hardin Oust McNamara

You can do these objectives any time during the quest as you will have the option to side with Hardin until right before the quest ends.

If you have no intention of ousting McNamara, you can ignore this whole line of objectives.

Help Ibsen With The Virus

A virus has infiltrated their database which hinders everyone from accessing information about the brotherhood. After agreeing, as soon as Ibsen says go, you'll have 60 seconds to check all the terminals in the area and isolate the virus. If accessing the database in the terminal will show gibberish, move on the the next.

Go Back and Forth Between Paladin Ramos and the Terminals

Paladin Ramos

Terminal Option

After clearing the database of the virus, you can gain information on how to oust McNamara by asking Paladin Ramos for help and checking the terminals for new data.

Gather the Holotapes

Paladin Corpse Locations
REPCONN Headquarters	3rd Floor by the rubble of the broken wall
Black Mountain	At the bottom of a crater
Nellis Air Base	Among the ruins

Follow your quest markers to find the body of several paladins. Loot them to find the holotapes. There are an assortment of enemies and skill checks in these locations.

Show the Tapes to Either McNamara or Hardin

Depending on who you want to side with, you can show the tapes to either Elder McNamara or Paladin Hardin.

If you show the tapes to Elder McNamara...	The quest will continue as normal with the next task, but you will still have the chance to oust him by telling Hardin about the tapes.
If you show the tapes to Paladin Hardin...	The quest will end, and it will fast forward a couple of days to where Hardin is now the Elder. Next Quest: Tend to Your Business

Meet With The 3 Scouts

The next task from Elder McNamara will require you to ask for a report from 3 scouts. Follow the quest markers on your map and compass to find them perched on top of hills and mountains.

Go to McNamara Then Lorenzo

Return to McNamara to receive your next objective. He will ask you to help Lorenzo repair the air filtration system by collecting 3 parts scattered in the wasteland.

Get the 3 Parts

Part Location	Notes
Vault 11	Found in a locker on the lowest floor of the vault that is flooded. Use the Rebreather from the Volare! side quest to make things easier.
Vault 3	The vault can be found within South Vegas Ruins, an area filled with Fiends. Complete Aba Daba Honeymoon Side Quest and wear a Great Khan outfit to be able to pass through without resistance. The part can be found in a locker within the vault.
Vault 22	The part can be found in a locker on the 2nd floor, but you have to find a different path as the doorway will be blocked. The place will be crawling with enemies as well.

Vault 22 Walkthrough

Vault 22 Walkthrough
1	Head down to the 4th level. You can take the elevator if you have 50 Repair. Otherwise, take the stairs.
2	Go down 1 more floor and look for the doorway that says Quarters. You can go through if your Lockpick skill is high enough, but if not, you can unlock the door from a terminal in the overseer's office on the 4th floor.
3	Open the first door on the left to find the a keycard on a shelf.
4	Head to the 3rd Level (Food Production). From the elevator, go straight and through the first door you bump into to find another locked door. Access the terminal next to it to unlock and proceed forward.
5	Turn right and follow the caves until you reach the door that will lead to the 2nd level where the locker containing the part is.

Return to Lorenzo and McNamara

Return to Lorenzo, then McNamara to complete the quest. You can speak to Elder McNamara again to start the next Brotherhood of Steel quest, Eyesight to the Blind.

Best Choice for Still in the Dark

Do Not Oust McNamara

If you plan to have the Brotherhood around, the best choice is to keep Elder McNamara in power. For one, he provides better rewards in terms of fame and during his succeeding side quest. He is also open to working with NCR which Hardin will not be in case you decide to side with them later.

Recruit Veronica as a Companion

If you don't have a companion yet, it is recommended to recruit Veronica first before proceeding with this quest. She can be easily recruited by talking to her. And having her when you enter the bunker will skip some objectives from this quest.

Still in the Dark Rewards

List of Rewards

Rewards for Completing Still in the Dark
・1000 XP ・1400 Caps ・Brotherhood of Steel Safehouse Key ・Brotherhood of Steel Fame

Still in the Dark Information

Basic Information and Overview

Basic Information
Location	Quest Giver	Coordinates
Hidden Valley	Elder McNamara	5.11
Difficulty	Follower	Reputation
★★★★☆	-	Fame: Brotherhood of Steel

Fallout New Vegas Related Guides

List of All Side Quests

List of Side Quests

NCR Side Quests

Anywhere I Wander	Back in Your Own Backyard	Bitter Springs Infirmary Blues
Boulder City Showdown	Can You Find It in Your Heart?	Climb Ev’ry Mountain
Eye for an Eye	Flags of Our Foul-Ups	Hard Luck Blues
I Don’t Hurt Anymore	I Put a Spell on You	Keep Your Eyes on the Prize
Left My Heart	Medical Mystery	No, Not Much
Pressing Matters	Restoring Hope	Return to Sender
That Lucky Old Sun	There Stands the Grass	Three-Card Bounty
You Can Depend on Me

Legion Side Quests

Cold, Cold Heart	I Hear You Knocking	The Finger of Suspicion
We Are Legion

Freeside and The Strip Side Quests

Beyond the Beef	Birds of a Feather	Bye Bye Love
Classic Inspiration	Debt Collector	G.I. Blues
How Little We Know	Talent Pool	Wang Dang Atomic Tango

Other Faction-Related Side Quests

Ant Misbehavin’ (Boomers)	Sunshine Boogie (Boomers)	Volare! (Boomers)
Young Hearts (Boomers)	Eyesight to the Blind (Brotherhood of Steel)	Still in the Dark (Brotherhood of Steel)
Tend to Your Business (Brotherhood of Steel)	Ghost Town Gunfight (Goodsprings)	Run Goodsprings Run (Goodsprings)
Aba Daba Honeymoon (Great Khans)	Don’t Make a Beggar of Me (Great Khans)	Oh My Papa (Great Khans)
Come Fly With Me (Novac)	Booted (Powder Ganger)	I Fought the Law (Powder Ganger)
Why Can’t We Be Friends? (Powder Ganger)

Companion Unlock Side Quests

ED-E My Love (ED-E)	For Auld Lang Syne (Arcade Gannon)	Heartache by the Number (Cass)
I Could Make You Care (Veronica)	I Forgot to Remember to Forget (Boone)	Nothin’ But a Hound Dog (Rex)
One For My Baby (Boone)

Neutral Side Quests

A Valuable Lesson	Bleed Me Dry	Crazy, Crazy, Crazy
Guess Who I Saw Today	My Kind of Town	Pheeble Will
Someone To Watch Over Me	The Coyotes	The Legend of the Star
The White Wash	Unfriendly Persuasion	We Will All Go Together
Wheel of Fortune