Fallout 3

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The Power of the Atom

The Power of the Atom

Completed "The Power of the Atom"

20

How to unlock the The Power of the Atom achievement in Fallout 3 - Definitive Guide

This mission is first acquired from the Sheriff Lucas Simms of Megaton by speaking about disarming the bomb. It ends when you either disarm the bomb and talk to him again or detonate the bomb with the device given to you by Mister Burke in Moriarty's bar.

If you want to destroy the town, you'll want to make sure you have completed all other quests from Megaton that you are wanting to complete. Obviously setting off a nuclear device will quickly cause you to fail most of those quests.
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29 Oct 2008 14:05

11 Comments
I recommend not blowing up Megaton. Since in the early stages of the game I use it as a base of opperations. You get your first home there and thier is a shop, repairshop and a clinic.
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By Jackso O Gilead on 29 Oct 2008 19:41
If you do blow it up, you get a sweet in Tenpenny Tower instead. Either way, it is the only place you get that you can call home in the entire game.

Personally, I wouldn't blow it up either cause there are a lot of quests that run through here, including several with achievements.
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By Ashen Seraph on 30 Oct 2008 15:40
First run through, Megaton is safe.


But you just wait for my evil run through.
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By Abylities on 01 Nov 2008 00:31
Blowing up Megaton isn't going to hurt you as far as quests go a long as you don't do it early in the game. I went through and did as many of the little side quests as I could, got my evil Sidekick Jericho and then blew it up. The "Survival Guide" quest remains intact with your contact Moira becoming a ghoul... so not a really big deal.
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By CrzyCanuck80 on 18 Nov 2008 14:10
For the record, the explosive skill needed to disarm the bomb is 30, I believe. (35 or 40 if you wanna play it super-safe)
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By ZeroThreshold on 22 Apr 2009 16:47
Actually I would recommend doing this misssion as the very last in the game, because then you can use this to get the evil Karma achievements easily. (Blowing it up every time) Just remember to save first, then you can "rebuild" Megaton.
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By albajos on 11 May 2009 08:39
Talk to either Sheriff Lucas Simms or Mr. Burke (Moriarty's Bar) to initiate quest.

If you are playing as a woman, and have the "black widow" perk, you can charm Mr. Burke instead of either agreeing to or refusing to blow up the bomb (I then chose to disarm the bomb). Funny enough, Burke will even start sending you love letters through Moriarty!
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By OneAngryJawa on 24 Jun 2009 13:30
Oops, Burke killed Simms and then I killed Burke ;-)
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By onnovdw on 12 Dec 2009 05:05
Can this still be gotten if Burke kills Simms?
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By Jorgen714 on 11 Feb 2010 18:14
Yes the achievement can still be unlocked when Simms is dead, his sun takes over the quest (located in Simms' house). When Burke is killed, it is no longer possible to blow up Megaton (the game shows a warning), so only the option to disarm the bomb remains.
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By AbmaOnline on 05 Jun 2010 11:56
Ahhh, I was about to panic because Burke killed Simms, but now I can go find his son and disarm the bomb! Thanks!
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By Radient Star on 16 Mar 2011 03:48
View all 11 comments Show less comments
Start of the quest is by talking to Lucas Simms or Mister Burke

FOR DISARMING THE BOMB
The required skill to disarm the bomb is Explosives 25, for a quick clean disarm without using Mentats, use the level up skill points to boost your 'Explosives' level to 25 after leaving the Vault, than head straight for Megaton and get to work. Mentats are back up, but the stuff and questes in Megaton will get you leveled up quite quickly

Lucas Simms offers 100 caps for disarming it, 500 by speech check, or Good Karma for disarming it for free. And apart from payment/karma he gives you a key to your Megaton house.

DISARM SIDENOTE
Before disarming the bomb, you can get a good Karma bonus for locating and killing Mr. Burke, Killing him in Megaton won't make others hostile to you and you get access to his belongings, including a Silenced 10mm pistol. Do NOT tell Lucas about Burke, for Lucas will get shot by him.
Keeping Megaton on the map and having good karma, the citizens give you free items, like aid, food, ammo and caps once a day
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BLOWING UP MEGATON
*P.S.A: This option can not be done in the Japanese version*
You need the Fusion Pulse Charge and that can be acquired by Mister Burke and a Expolsives level of 25 (Boost by Mentats). After equipment the device, Burke will meet you at the top of Tenpenny Tower. There he and Tenpenny will give you the honour to detonate the bomb and turn Megaton into a big hole in the ground. After which, he gives you 1000 caps and a key to a Tenpenny Suite... Also a major karma drop

BLOWING UP SIDENOTE
Before detonating the bomb, it is recommended to go through Megaton and collect useful loot like books, aid, ammo and weapons. One being very important, the Strength Bobblehead inside Lucas Simms house, Also a Karma drop bonus for killing the citizen's.
Quest-wise: Make sure you know the location of James from Moriarty, for the 'Following in his footsteps' quest. If you have started or about to start the Wasteland survival guide, Moria Brown, the quest giver, survives the explosion, but becomes a ghoul and relocates to Underworld.
A possible companion: Jericho survives unharmed

One drawback to the quest is either the Talon Merc.'s (Disarming) or the Regulators (Detonating) hunting you down
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1 Comment
I never knew Moria comes back as a ghoul. I have blown up megaton once but i reloaded it, i thought it too bigger asset to get rid of so early in the game.
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By GammyGreenGiant on 04 Apr 2011 10:05
Just want to stress the 25 explosives skill level required to complete this achievement,
Your characters skill in explosives is decided by the number of points you place in perception
there are two easy ways to raise your explosive skill
first are "Workman's Coveralls" I believe they give you a plus 5 to explosives while your wearing them
also check the bobblehead achievement for the explosive bobblehead location, it will give you a permenent plus 10 to explosives
as always if you wish to leave badfeedback please leave a comment
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21 Nov 2012 08:10

In Megaton, Lucas Simms will ask you to disarm with the bomb in the middle of the city or Mister Burke will ask you to detonate it. Either way you go, you need a minimum explosives skill of 25, but it is suggested it be closer to 50. If you disarm it, find Simms again to end the quest. If you detonate it, head to Tenpenny Tower to set the bomb off with Burke and watch the explosion. Detonating the bomb will automatically give you the most negative karma possible in the game.

Note: If you choose to blow up the town, make sure to get the bobblehead out of Simms' house before you do so.

See The Power of the Atom for more specific info.

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You will get this Quest by doing one of the following:

  • Talking to either Lucas Simms the town sheriff and agreeing to try and disarm the bomb.
  • Talking to Mister Burke in Moriarty's Saloon and agreeing to rig the bomb so his employer, Allister Tenpenny, can set it off.
  • Disarming the Bomb without talking to anyone.


We strongly recommend you go with options 1 or 3 as the walk to Tenpenny Tower at this early stage of the game would be suicide and the sooner you get a house, the sooner you will have a safe place to recover from any injuries and store your gear. To disarm it you will need an Explosives Skill level of 25 (taking a Mentat may help). Once the bomb is disarmed, talk to the Sheriff and the trophy will unlock shortly afterwards.

Notes: If you have the Japanese version of this game then you will only have the option to defuse the bomb and not detonate it, this is because Mister Burke has been removed from the game along with all the associated references for cultural sensitivity reasons. You also will not be able to unlock the suite in Tenpenny Tower as a usable home.

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You'll need at least 25 in explosives before attempting to touch the bomb.

Once you've got that you can disarm it.

Another quest runs through this too. Once you first enter Megaton at the start of the wasteland part of your adventure. Agree to disarm the bomb with Lucas Simm (you have to ask him about it first). This starts the "Power of the Atom".
Head to Moriarty's Bar, once you've talked to him to advance the main quest. Head to the part of the bar that is to the right of the entrance (assuming you entered through the front door) and talk to the mysterious man and agree to detonate the bomb (WARNING complete Lucy West's Quest and "Wasteland Survival Guide" before doing this.)

Create save file

Now disarm the bomb and gain the trophy.

Load save file

Detonate the bomb. You are now in the position to do "Tenpenny Tower".

Load save file

I've put this last part on because this quest is highly useful for the four (Yes, four) sets of level trophies. (Levels 8,14, 20 and 30) each require you getting to them with Good, Neutral and Bad Karma).
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25 Sep 2019 22:38

In Megaton, Lucas Simms will ask you to disarm with the bomb in the middle of the city or Mister Burke will ask you to detonate it. Either way you go, you need a minimum explosives skill of 25, but it is suggested it be closer to 50. If you disarm it, find Simms again to end the quest. If you detonate it, head to Tenpenny Tower to set the bomb off with Burke and watch the explosion. Detonating the bomb will automatically give you the most negative karma possible in the game.

Note: If you choose to blow up the town, make sure to get the bobblehead out of Simms' house before you do so.

See The Power of the Atom for more specific info.

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You can start the quest by talking to Sheriff Lucas Simms in Megaton. Upon completion of the quest you will receive an achievement.
Attention: If you decide to blow up the city, do not forget to pick up the doll from the house of Sheriff Lucas Simms, since after the destruction of the city you cannot pick it up.
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13 Jul 2011 10:09