What are all the endings in Fallout: New Vegas and how do you get them?
Hello again, my nerdy darlings! I’m back with more Fallout: New Vegas content. This time, we are delving into the various endings of the New Vegas story and how to get them. From the secret ending of the Dead Money DLC to all the possible clips in the final cutscene, read on to learn all about how you can end your trip through the Wasteland.
So, you’ve played your way through New Vegas, finished all the side quests, explored every irradiated corner of the Wasteland, and it’s finally time to turn in that last story quest. But which one of the multiple endings will you get?
“And so, the Courier, who had cheated death in the cemetery outside Goodsprings, cheated death once again, and the Mojave was forever changed.” — Fallout: New Vegas game text
8. Main Game: NCR Ending
Bring law and order to the Mojave in what many consider the “good” Fallout: New Vegas ending.
Going by the canon story, this seems to be the “good” ending. While other places are mentioned, this game focuses on the Mojave, so that is my basis for the best ending. The NCR provides the most stability and overall good for the people of the Mojave Wasteland. While their forces are stretched thin in New Vegas, the bear’s den in California is thriving. With a secure foothold in the Mojave and no threat from the Legion, the expansion would move quickly, and the NCR would bring order everywhere they went.
“The New California Republic celebrated its second victory at Hoover Dam, establishing definitive control over the entire Mojave Wasteland. Soon after, they negotiated terms to annex The Strip, Freeside, and many surrounding communities. The Mojave Wasteland, at long last, had entirely fallen under the NCR’s banner.” — Fallout: New Vegas game text
Final Verdict: Best ending for the Mojave.
Despite the NCR’s corruption, overexpansion, and unforgiving taxes, I do believe they would bring the most positive change to the people in the Mojave. The Legion is all brutality and blood. I don’t think their form of “civilization” is good for anyone. Siding with Yes Man for the Independent ending doesn’t offer much stability to the Wasteland. Instead, it brings anarchy and chaos everywhere but the Strip. Mr. House would use the Securitron army to establish order in the Mojave. Always chasing the glory of the pre-War days, he would either succeed and build the world anew, or repeat history’s mistakes.
How to get this ending:
- Start the questline by visiting the NCR Ambassador in Vegas. Complete his questline and he will refer you to a higher officer at the Hoover Dam.
- Complete the quest Eureka! for the NCR to get this ending. Fight alongside the NCR in the Second Battle of Hoover Dam and hold back the forces of Caesar’s Legion.
7. Main Game: Caesar’s Legion Ending
For those who prefer a bloodier ending to New Vegas, choose Caesar’s Legion.
I am typically not a fan of the Legion. I have a hard time siding with them, but for die-hard fans of the game, you should try it at least once. While the moral code of this game is all shades of grey, I still have difficulties making myself side with Caesar’s Legion.
I do think the Legion’s brutal side was pushed so hard in the game that not many of the long-term benefits were shown. Life in the Wasteland is brutal. Perhaps it takes a brutal regime to make it work. If you choose to let Caesar die, the Legate will be crowned as the new Caesar.
“Caesar entered The Strip as though it was his Triumph. The Legion pushed the NCR out of New Vegas entirely, driving them back to the Mojave Outpost. The Legion occupied all major locations, enslaving much of the population and peacefully lording over the rest. Under the Legion's banner, civilization - unforgiving as it was - finally came to the Mojave Wasteland.”— Fallout: New Vegas game text
Final Verdict: Best ending for no one.
If you fast forward a few years after the Legion wins, you can imagine there is a stark efficiency to the Wasteland. Most of those the Legion would feel the need to punish would be killed in the first few years. The surviving occupants of the Wasteland are now citizens and are cared for by the state. Survivors would say life under the Legion was tough, but people were surviving. I say that long-term sustainability at all costs isn’t the best solution. People need something to live for, a reason to keep struggling.
How to get this ending:
- Kill Caesar or let him live in the Et Tumor, Brute? quest.
- Complete the Arizona Killer quest and assassinate President Kimball.
- Complete the Veni, Vidi, Vici quest for Caesar’s Legion.
6. Main Game: Mr. House Ending
Will Mr. House finally attain a civilization worth of his pre-War glory days?
Choosing to side with Mr. House brings a detached, clinical leadership to the Mojave Wasteland. Under his rule, New Vegas remains as cold and orderly as Mr. House himself, locked away from the rest of the world. The Courier is the tool House uses to win the Wasteland and establish unfettered monopolistic capitalism as the law of the land. House is against being called a dictator, but does it matter what you call him if the result is the same? Whether you force people to work for you or provide the only jobs, is the result any different?
“Mr. House's Securitron army took control of Hoover Dam and the Strip, pushing both the Legion and the exhausted NCR out of New Vegas. Mr. House continued to run New Vegas his way, a despotic vision of pre-War glory. The streets were orderly, efficient, cold. New Vegas continued to be the sole place in the wasteland where fortunes were won and lost in the blink of an eye.”— Fallout: New Vegas game text
Final Verdict: Best ending for humanity–or no one.
I could argue that Mr. House offers the most potential to humanity, given his plans for the colonization of space. But that is only in the long term. In the short term, House would exploit the workers to build a future they will never see. Generations of humans would live and die under the cold, clinical rule of Mr. House, who experiences the world only through the eyes of his Securitron army. House would either attain the pre-War glory days of technology and civilization or history would repeat itself.
How to get this ending:
- Visit Mr. House in the Lucky 38 Casino after receiving his invitation to start The House Always Wins I quest.
- Complete The House Always Wins parts II through VIII.
- Complete the All or Nothing Quest for Mr. House.
5. Main Game: Independent Ending
There is a chaotic value to choosing no leadership and letting the Mojave fend for itself.
This game was designed to satisfy some of your goals while not tying any one ending up in a neat little bow. The independent ending lets the Mojave determine its own fate free of any ruling faction. To really make a difference in the structure of life in the Mojave, the people would need some kind of council to make broad-scope decisions, but I don’t see any reason why they couldn’t send representatives to voice the issues of different groups. This ending doesn’t delve deeply enough to say how it turned out in the end, but in the short term, chaos and anarchy rule outside the Strip. New Vegas is an island in the desert and it can only stand alone for so long.
“The Courier, with the aid of Yes Man, drove both the Legion and the NCR from Hoover Dam, securing New Vegas' independence from both factions. With Mr. House out of the picture, part of the Securitron army was diverted to The Strip to keep order. Any chaos on the streets was ended, quickly. Chaos became uncertainty, then acceptance, with minimal loss of life. New Vegas assumed its position as an independent power in the Mojave.”— Fallout: New Vegas game text
Final Verdict: Best ending for the Courier.
Instead of letting Mr. House use you to do all his dirty work, take control and reap the rewards for yourself. Without any opposition from the Legion or NCR, you can reshape the Mojave any way you want, bringing a benevolent peace or capitalistic dictatorship. The beauty of it is—you are free to decide.
How to get this ending:
- Talk to Yes Man at the rear of Benny’s presidential suite on the 13th floor of the Tops Casino. After all, how can you have an independent Vegas without an army?
- Complete Wild Card: You and What Army? to get an independent New Vegas with or without upgrading the Securitron army.
4. DLC: Honest Hearts Ending
Will Honest Hearts prevail and win the Zion National Park?
This has never been one of my favorite New Vegas DLCs, but it can be fun to meet Joshua Graham and play through his story at least once. Visit northern Utah and the Zion National Park. I generally feel like the player misses out on a lot of the depth found in the base game and other DLCs. But that could just be because I enjoyed the other stories more. This one just doesn’t feel as consequential because there are no big reactions to your final choices. They just seem to go along with it.
“And so it was that the conflict between the New Canaanites and the White Legs was finally resolved. The Courier's involvement had tipped the scale, shifting the fragile balance of power.”— Fallout: New Vegas game text
I prefer to help Joshua Graham, spare Salt-Upon-Wounds, and make sure Daniel lives. Overall, I can’t say this DLC is especially memorable to me, and I could take it or leave it. But the Burned Man is interesting and worth meeting at least one time.
How to get this ending:
- Finish the Honest Hearts DLC content.
- There are Five endings for the White Legs depending on whether Daniel dies; if you help the Sorrows evacuate; if you help Joshua Graham defend Zion Valley and kill the White Legs but spare Salt-Upon-Wounds; if you help Joshua Graham and allow him to execute Salt-Upon-Wounds; and if you help Joshua Graham and kill Salt-Upon-Wounds yourself.
- The Sorrows also have five endings depending on whether you help Daniel evacuate Zion and complete the associated quests; if you evacuate without completing the optional quests; if you help Joshua Graham defend Zion Valley and kill the White Legs but spare Salt-Upon-Wounds; if you help Joshua Graham and allow him to execute Salt-Upon-Wounds; and if you help Joshua Graham and kill Salt-Upon-Wounds yourself.
- The Dead Horses have three possible endings depending on your choices. You can kill Joshua Graham for one, help Daniel evacuate Zion for another, and help Joshua crush the White Legs for another.
- Your choices lead to three options for the Happy Trails Caravan Company depending on whether you complete the Chaos in Zion quest or kill Daniel; if you help the Sorrows evacuate; and if you help Joshua crush the White Legs.
- The choice of whether you tell Follows-Chalk to stay with his tribe or see civilization gives you one of two endings.
- Whether you lie or tell the truth to Walking Cloud about her husband leads to one of two endings.
- Joshua Graham has four endings depending on whether you kill him; and whether you help defend Zion Valley, kill the White Legs, and either spare, allow him to kill, or kill Salt-Upon-Wounds yourself.
- There are three endings for Daniel depending on whether you kill him, lead the Sorrows out of Zion, or exterminate the White Legs with Joshua Graham.
3. DLC: Dead Money Ending
Change your fortune. Begin again.
This is hands-down my favorite New Vegas DLC. I know it tends to be a love-it-or-hate-it situation for most people. I enjoy the story and the various ways your choices influence what happens. Straightforward and helpful or treacherous and quick to betray, the Courier can truly begin again in this DLC. I love that there is a secret ending that lets you take the route of genocide and even a mod that lets you continue that path. The Sierra Madre is a fun diversion that is always on my must-have list.
“You've heard stories of the Sierra Madre Casino. We all have. This story's different than the others. It's all in promise of beginnings. And the ending.” Fallout: New Vegas game text
I prefer to keep everyone alive if I can. Dean tends to give me trouble and I honestly don’t get too upset if I have to kill him. I tend to think they have all suffered enough, though. Father Elijah is a nutjob and I feel absolutely no remorse for robbing the vault and trapping him inside. If you meet the pre-requisites, there is a secret ending that lets you side with Elijah and wipe out the Wasteland. I’ve detailed it at the end of this section.
How to get this ending:
- Finish the Dead Money DLC content with at least one companion dying and Elijah trapped in the Vault, or with all companions surviving.
- There are four possible endings for Dog depending on whether Dog is dead; Dog is alive and God is dead; only Dog is alive; or only God is alive.
- Dean Domino and Christine both have two endings depending only on whether or not they survived.
- There is an alternate ending when the Courier is trapped in the vault after tripping the trap meant for Dean Domino.
Dead Money Secret Ending
In a genocidal twist, the Courier can side with Elijah to take over the Mojave Wasteland with the Cloud, killing everyone and leaving the two alone amid the crimson mists, waiting to let go and begin again.
Some people just want to watch the world burn…or choke in the Cloud.
Before playing Dead Money you MUST:
- Become Vilified by the NCR.
- Recruit Veronica as a companion.
- Ask Veronica about Father Elijah.
During Dead Money:
- Play through to the Sierra Madre vault.
- Talk to Father Elijah about Veronica.
- Tell Father Elijah that you are vilified by the NCR and you don’t mind if he kills them.
- Enjoy the fruits of your evil labor! There is a mod called “Masters of the Madre” that lets you play through the years after siding with Father Elijah.
2. DLC: Old World Blues Ending
What remnants of the old world remain in the Big Empty?
I adore this DLC. Roaming around Big Mountain to explore the remnants of the science labs and pre-War research is a blast for me. The scientists trapped inside their fishbowls ordering me around as I work to regain my brain, heart, and spine is always fun.
“As it had been in the years before the Great War, Big MT... the Big Empty... became home to one of the brightest minds of the 23rd century. The Courier watched over the Big Empty for years to come, caring for it, and keeping its discoveries safe until they were needed to help others. Which had always been Big MT's purpose. Past the laboratories and Science, it had always been intended as a place to build the future of all mankind.”— Fallout: New Vegas game text
Your karma and level of exploration are the biggest factors in the ending here, along with whether or not Dr. Mobius survives. This is a fun DLC and it is not hard to get the full ending. You can easily make a separate save at the beginning and play through with the opposite karma if you want to see the other choices.
How to get this ending:
- Complete the Old World Blues DLC content with either good/neutral karma or bad karma for one of two main endings.
- Your level of exploration in the Crater will give you one of three cutscenes.
- Whether or not Doctor Mobius survives and your ending karma, there are potentially two-and-a-half endings.
- The number of personality modules installed in the Sink gives you one of three endings.
- If you installed the Biological Research Station and whether or not you discovered the X-22 Botanical Gardens gives you one of two endings.
- Installing the Book Chute gives you an additional cutscene slide.
- With both light switches installed, there are two endings depending on whether the Z-38 lightwave dynamics research was discovered.
1. DLC: Lonesome Road Ending
It’s time to face the crimes of a past you can’t remember.
The Courier’s journey comes full circle when the original “Courier Six” contacts you and you walk the Lonesome Road alone—as you have done for so many things. Travel to the Divide for a final showdown with Ulysses, who holds you responsible for something your character did in the past. My issue with this is the Courier who wronged Ulysses was not me. My life started in Goodsprings when I survived being shot in the head. There were other ways around this, and it feels lazy to me.
“The Divide erupted in fire as the flame trail of the two Couriers' last message arced into the sky…” — Fallout: New Vegas game text
I love the setting of the Divide. I particularly enjoy it when the Wasteland looks like a wasteland. The tilted buildings were great and I wish the base game had them, too. Like I said before, I don’t like being blamed for something I have no memory of after spending so long building a reputation and character. Especially when Ulysses has directly wronged the Courier in many ways. I don’t like the lack of NPCs, either. But, it is the Lonesome Road.
How to get this ending:
- Complete the Lonesome Road DLC content.
- Depending on how you launch the missiles—at any one faction, at the Legion, at the NCR, at both factions, and whether or not you have the Wild Wasteland trait, there are multiple endings you can get.
- ED-E has two different endings with variations depending on your actions regarding releasing ED-E from stasis and launching the missiles.
- Ulysses has two endings that rely only on whether he lives or dies.
Other Possible Segments for Final Cutscene:
Details for how to get each of these segments are available here. In the order they appear:
- Karma—This segment will change depending on the Courier’s Karma and chosen alliance for the ending. There are fifteen potential options.
- Black Mountain—Depending on how you dealt with Black Mountain and Tabitha, there are four possible endings.
- Companion: Raul Alfonso Tejada—The Courier’s adventures with potential companion Raul shape this section with four possibilities depending on whether he lives and your choices during the Old School Ghoul quest.
- Boomers—There are nine potential endings with the Boomers tied to a number of quests and the Courier’s choices. Some endings require special steps, follow the link at the top of this section to learn more.
- BoS—Your choices during the game give you five possible endings to the Brotherhood of Steel questlines.
- Companion: Veronica Santangelo—There are eight endings you could get depending on whether you took Veronica as a companion and the choices you made during several quests.
- Fiends—The Fiends also have eight possible endings depending on the Courier’s choices.
- Followers of the Apocalypse—Six potential endings await for the Followers of the Apocalypse.
- Companion: Arcade Gannon—Arcade has eleven possible endings that depend on whether the Courier took him as a companion and how several quests were completed.
- Goodsprings—This tiny Wasteland town faces one of five fates that all hinge on the Courier’s choices.
- Companion: Rose of Sharon Cassidy—Cass is an interesting companion who has four-and-a-half endings waiting for her in part one of her story in relation to the Courier’s choices with the Gun Runners and Van Graffs. In part two, she has four endings that depend on who the Courier sides with at the end.
- Great Khans—The Great Khans story ends one of seven ways in accordance with how the Courier dealt with Papa Khan.
- Jacobstown—The fates of the super mutants and nightkin rest in the Courier’s hands during the Guess Who I Saw Today quest. There are six possible endings for Jacobstown.
- Lily Bowen—This nightkin grandmother faces four possible endings depending on what the Courier advises about her medication during the Lily and Leo quest.
- The Kings—There are thirteen potential endings based on the Courier’s choices in the Wasteland for several quests.
- Companion: Rex—Dogs truly are man’s best friend. Rex has five possible fates depending on whether he survives and how you complete the Nothin’ But A Hound Dog quest.
- The Misfits—The lazy, chem-addicted soldiers at Camp Golf have one of five fates waiting after the Courtier is finished with them.
- Novac—There are six futures awaiting the people of Novac depending on the Courier’s choices in the Come Fly With Me quest.
- Companion: Craig Boone—Boone’s story comes to an end in one of seven ways, largely dependent on the Courier’s final alliance.
- Powder Gangers and NCRCF—If Eddie lives, the Powder Gangers have one of three futures ahead all hinging on the Courier’s final choice.
- Powder Gangers Vault 19—There are four possible endings depending on if Samuel Cooke lives; if you complete Why Can’t We Be Friends; if you destroy only the sulfur deposits below the vault and convince Philip Lem to surrender to the NCR; and if you convince either Samuel or Philip to ally with the Great Khans.
- Primm—Complete the My Kind of Town quest and find one of nine fates for the people of Primm after the Courier makes their final choices.
- Companion: ED-E—This bot’s story ends in one of seven ways hinging on the ED-E My Love quest and choices during the Second Battle of Hoover Dam.
- NCR Rangers—There are eleven possible endings for the NCR Rangers based on whether Chief Hanlon survives; if he is exposed; if he commits suicide; and if you convince him to stop falsifying records, along with the Courier’s endgame choices.
- Remnants—The Remnants have one of four endings based on the For Auld Lang Syne quest and the endgame choice.
“And so the Courier's road came to an end... for now. In the new world of the Mojave Wasteland, fighting continued, blood was spilled, and many lived and died - just as they had in the Old World. Because war... war never changes.” — Fallout: New Vegas game text
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