~Wasteland 

Solution, Written in ASCII format by Jc 2


Alright, kiddies, here's a modern solution file to that three 
year-old adventure game called Wasteland.  This game is one of 
the best games EVER created.  The great variety of skills you 
can put into your characters, the smooth interface and the 
rock-solid (well, almost) plot is reason enough to put this 
among the classics.  And if you haven't bought the game, yet, 
do. 

This solve covers many of the main points to the Wasteland 
scenario, but I hope I didn't miss too many nuances.  There are 
many parts to this file:  the basic solution, an essay on 
character creation and a list of all the armor, weapons and 
equipment you'll find in the game.  There's also a section on 
general hints and some unknowns. 

Oh, by the way, if you really want to thank me, send me the 
solution put out by Origin.  I never managed to get a copy of 
that. 

If you have any other problems or updates, you can reach me at 
Caesar's Palace: (213) 398-1224, node @4 for most WWIV nets. 



~SOLUTION:

You start out at Ranger Center in the southern part of the 
Wasteland.  Go west to the kids' camp of Highpool.  Try and 
enter all the various buildings. Complete the dog quest.  (There 
is no way to avoid killing Rex.) Rescue Jackie in the hidden 
cave on the west side (by talking to the boy; use Perceptionto 
find the cave).  Find the building with the bed and junk.  
You'll find a secret cache under the bed.  Use perception on the 
pump beside the bed. Your first quest will be to find an engine. 

Go to Quartz, a four-square city to the northwest.  There is an 
ammo shop at the southwestern end.  Pawn some items/sell excess 
equipment until you have $500.  (Re-supply whenever needed.)  
Travel to the Nomads' Camp, which is a square with tents to the 
east, on the north side of the desert.  Buy an engine. See the 
brakeman. 

Return to Highpool.  Fix the pump by U)sing the Engine on the 
pump.  Wow... dinero and some armor. 

Travel to the Agriculture town to the west to earn some 
easily-acquired experience.  The final quest will be to kill 
Harry the Bunnymaster, who lies in the southern section of the 
farm, in the northwestern fields.  You also might want to 
venture into a cave in the southwest part of the fields. 

Head on over to Quartz.  Take the back entrance to Scott's Bar 
in the southeast section of town.  Enter the Men's Room around 
the corner and question the boy. Hmm...another quest?  Find the 
Head Crusher and give him the Visa card.  (You can go get the 
stuff later on.)  You can also "CHAT" with him about the Muty 
Cuties.  Go to the riddler in the northwestern section of the 
bar.  The answers are "TOAST" and "R."  The last answer you can 
find yourself.  Cute, huh?  Ellen can be reached on one of the 
central bar seats on the west end of the bar. 

The Stagecoach Inn is in the center of town.  Find Room #18 and 
get what you need.  Explore if you want.  Enter the Courthouse 
via the secret entrance on the northeastern end.  Climb the 
vines up each level.  Blow up hard to open doors with TNT if you 
can't pick them.  The rest is up to you...go in the front door 
if you want.  Password is "MUERTE." 

Little known fact #1:  Dan Citrin is the key to $1000.  He's on 
the second floor.  Once you rescue him, he'll tell you about how 
he and his father hid money right under Ugly's nose.  His father 
is on the third floor, in the same cell block as the mayor.  
Rescue him and you get the cash. 

Once you have rescued Mayor Pedros (and Dan Citrin, if you did), 
then you can hit the Hideout in the northeast part of town.  You 
can enter by a secret entrance on the space directly to the 
southwest of the Hideout.  Use rope to climb up the wall.  The 
glass wall is a good place to raise Perception levels; just walk 
along the wall.  Break the glass with a crowbar, get down and 
party. There is a safe behind the map of Quartz in Ugly's 
office.  Crack it, or use the combo:  27-11-16.  Ugly is to the 
east.  Rescue Felicia. 

You can drop Felicia, Mayor Pedros or Dan Citrin.  They are not 
crucial to the game.  Find Ace via a secret passageway in the 
officer's lounge. You need him for the game. 

Go to the jeep north of Quartz.  Ace will fix it.  He's the only 
useful character; he drives you around.  (Be like me:  use extra 
characters as slave-burdens and decoys.) 

Now you're in Needles.  It's on a real map, if you want to 
check.  Explore the town, being careful of the radioactive dump 
site on the northwest section of the town.  Look through 
Downtown.  You'll find things ranging from yummy hobo dogs to 
three-legged prostitutes.  Important places:  the gang meeting 
behind some rubble, the bloodstaff tester, the ammo shop, the 
howitzer. There is also a locked room for gambling; the password 
in is "ACAPULCO."  Use the howitzer to load up shells (found 
later in the game) to increase your Demolitions and AT Weapons 
skill.  You can also find Christina, an Uzi-packing 
soldier-ette. 

Remember that you'll find lots of bloodstaffs, but there is only 
one real one. 

To the southwest of Downtown, you'll find a toxic waste dump 
(actually a missile silo).  Bring plenty of TNT. 

To the northeast of Downtown, you can find an ammo dump, a 
police building and a library.  Go down the ammo dump to find a 
ruby ring.  Get some equipment, too.  Enter the police building 
and explore.  Get the ruby ring to the priest in southeastern 
Needles.  Drop the ruby ring after he sees it. 

There are a bunch of sand dunes on the southern end of Needles.  
Use them to improve Climbing skill.  On top of one dune is a 
note. 

Now you should be ready for the Temple of Blood, which is in 
northwest Needles. There is a radioactive field to the 
southeast, so I suggest walking along the edges.  Once inside, 
explore around until you find the chess game.  Here are the 
keys:  
U-L-L-L-L-U-U-R-R-R-R-R-D-R-R-U-U-U-U-L-L-D-L-L-L-L-U-U-R-R. 
That's thirty steps. 

Swim north across the moat and get the one, true bloodstaff.  Be 
careful about the pressure pad.  Now, here is where you want to 
get the power packs and the LAW rockets; you'll need them later 
in the game.  Try and make sure you get two LAWs or five power 
packs whenever you can.  If not, just restore and try again. 
(Read the Miscellaneous section for more info.) 

After you get the bloodstaff, head back south into the rocket.  
The launch code is "MOTEKIM."  Return to the priest in 
southeastern Needles and give him the real bloodstaff.  Use the 
engine to fix the jeep.  You're off to Las Vegas! 

There's no way to avoid losing the jeep.  You won't need it 
anyway.  Important sites in Las Vegas:  the library in the 
southeast corner, casinos on the west strip (Spade's Casino and 
Fat Freddy's Place), a scorpitron (an almost invicible enemy) in 
the center and a jail in the northeast.  Las Vegas is also a 
hotbed of killer robots, so be careful.  You'll also find many 
rockets from these robots.  Collect as many LAWs and RPG-7s as 
you can; you're going to blow Guardian Citadel soon.  By the 
way, there is a secret stash of equipment on the northern part 
of the golf course.  It's between four flags.  Make sure you 
pick up the sonic key with it. You can also find a sonic key 
from 10 cyborg commandos in the northeast. 

First off, step to the library and see if you can find any new 
skills.  Second, find a building with a beggar in it.  It's just 
west of the library.  You'll learn about Covenant, Max, Fat 
Freddy and Faran Brygo.  Rescue Covenant at the Jail. 

Third, you should see Fat Freddy.  The password is "BIRD."  
He'll ask you to kill Faran Brygo and bring back his onyx ring.  
However, there are TWO rings in the game.  One is held by Faran, 
the other is in the Guardian Citadel.  In other words, you don't 
have to kill Faran to get the $10K reward. 

Fourth, you should go to Spade's Casino.  Explore, but make sure 
you step up to the bar.  You'll also notice that there's a path 
to the basement from the 2nd floor of the casino.  Use a rope, 
and you'll find a rock and pebble hill to the northwest.  This 
is a good place to improve your Climbing skill. Faran Brygo's 
place is in the center of town, just east of the scorpitron.  
There's no way to get to Faran Brygo without getting past the 
scorpitron, and there's no getting past the scorpitron without 
getting blown to bits.  So, hold off on that task for now. 

Finally, you should head over to the Temple of the Servants of 
the Mushroom Cloud.  It's on the east side of Las Vegas, a 
building with a little nuclear explosion on it.  Get in with 
"OPPENHEIMER" or "EINSTEIN," and explore. There's a doctor in 
there that will join you.  You can also find a library and a 
hospital.  There's a secret door on the west side of the temple 
that you use to get to the sewers.  You can either use the sonic 
key to open it, or talk to Charmaine, who'll give you an 
alternate solution.  Tell her "FARAN BRYGO" sent you. 

Before you head into the sewers, you have one monumental task 
ahead of you: beseiging the Guardian Citadel.  By now, you 
should have collected about 15 LAW rockets and 10 RPG-7s.  Arm 
your best shots with rockets and raid the Guardian Citadel.  The 
Guardian Citadel is filled with fanatical xenophobics, which is 
not at all harmless; however, these guys are armed with energy 
weapons and power armor (rating 14), which make these monks 
lethal. 

First thing you should do is enter, and then SAVE.  Scout around 
a bit, trying not to use too many restores; get to know the 
positions of each enemy.  Brother Goliath blocks the only 
entrance to the Citadel.  He only has a melee weapon, and he 
won't move, so he won't be a problem.  The two bunkers on the 
left and the right are inaccessible, so don't bother with them.  
First target:  Brother David, who is just east of Goliath.  Take 
him out with one rocket.  (Don't waste rockets!)  Next, are the 
two sisters to the left of Goliath.  You might have to take a 
few steps up, but don't get within range of Goliath.  Last, you 
can waste Goliath.  Approach him at 20', and execute him in 
whatever style you prefer.  Pick up his pulsar key.  There are 
four keys you can get from this place; you'll need all of them 
to end of the game. 

Enter the Guardian Citadel by way of the brick wall just before 
the big gate. Blow up the brick wall with some TNT and take the 
side door in.  Notice that there are some rooms to the 
northwest, one of which is a vault.  That is your first 
objective.  Blow away anything that gets in front of you up to 
the vault. Crack the vault--you better be able to--and take 
everything BUT one power pack. Trust me.  (Well, go ahead if you 
want.)  You'll pick up the meson canon, one of the most powerful 
weapons in the game.  From then on, you can just autofire 
anything that gets in your way.  Watch your ammo, though. 

Finish through the rest of the northwestern rooms.  Your next 
objective will be the power armor buried deep within the 
Guardian Citadel.  Go east and then north through the main 
chamber.  You'll enter the Outer Sanctum. Blow away everything 
(using some strategy) until you get to the steps on the northern 
side of the chamber.  Enter the side door to the west (since the 
gate will be locked) and turn the winch.  Now, you can exit the 
winch room and climb up to the Inner Sanctum of the Citadel.  
First thing you see is a locked vault. Password is "ROSEBUD."  
Take EVERYTHING.  Try and get six power packs from each stack. 

Everything is pretty simple once you have power armor.  Clean 
up.  Important sites:  a library, a helicopter, a place to fix 
broken toasters, cells.  Make sure you find all four keys.  You 
should also have found secpass B.  Pick up the grazer bat fetish 
and make sure to give that to the Junk Master in Savage Village.  
The password for the village is "REDHAWK."  You can also bring 
Redhawk instead of the fetish if you want.  The Junk Master will 
put Base Cochise on the map, which you'll get to later.  Pick up 
the onyx ring and give that to Fat Freddy. Kill the scorpitron 
and talk to Faran Brigo. Enter the sewers through the Temple of 
the Servants of the Mushroom Cloud. 

The object of the sewers is to find and repair Max.  You'll find 
plenty of parts, e.g., rom boards, fusion cells, servo motors 
and power converters, strewn about the locale.  Don't lose them.  
Use ropes to get across the rivers and chasms.  Dig (with a 
shovel) through the weak walls and passageways. Finally, find 
the assembly room and unlock the door with your sonic key.  
Stick Max together again, and get out.  You should have some 
extra parts; don't drop them. 

Since you have rescued Max, you'll now be able to access Sleeper 
Base, which is in the northeastern part of the Wasteland map.  
Go there.  The next three bases where you'll be exploring will 
be operated by security passes, or SecPasses. You'll find them 
in this order:  1, 3, A, 7, B.  Secpass 1 is in the northwestern 
room; secpass 3 is somewhere in the center.  Secpass A is on the 
second floor.  Secpass 7 will be on the third.  There are two 
secpass Bs, you only need one.  You should have one from the 
Guardian Citadel.  Secpass B is used to open the armory on the 
second floor.  To get past the glass wall, use TNT or plastic 
explosives. 

There is a chopper simulator on the third floor.  This is where 
you can learn how to fly the chopper at the Guardian Citadel.  
Use one of the extra ROM boards you got from the sewers to fix 
it.  Also, there is a secret door in the same room where you got 
secpass 7.  The problem is, the secret passage has an electric 
current going through it.  Disband one character to the 
northeastern room, where the power is controlled.  Switch views 
to turn on the power to open each door, and to turn off the 
power to walk across the passageways.  At the end of the secret 
passage, you should find some parts you'll need for the last 
stage of the game. 

You can also have some fun creating clones.  All you need is 
Clone Tech skill and a jug.  You can create an interesting party 
that way...at least you don't get any of their stubborness when 
you trade items. 

That's about it for Sleeper Base.  Next stop is Darwin Base to 
the south.  Go there.  You'll find some sick characters in the 
bar.  You'll need to make some antitoxin in the town lab.  You 
need some fruit, and some chemicals (which you found at Ugly's 
hideout in Quartz, right?).  Hire them and see what they're 
like. 

From there, head south to the actual research center.  You need 
secpass 7 that you got from Sleeper Base to get through all the 
doors.  You'll eventually need to use the elevator to get 
anywhere.  Go to the Upper Level and meet Finster. Note where 
the one-person cyborg room is.  Go back down to Ground Level. 
(Don't go to the Lower Level.)  Exit to the southwest into the 
primaeval scene. Your objective here is to get to an opening on 
the far east side of the field. You can have some fun with the 
animals if you want; it's good experience.  Once you get to the 
east room, open up the door and someone'll tell you Finster's a 
robot.  Take the elevator back to the Upper Level, meet Finster, 
blow him away and take his head.  Use the head and Cyborg Tech 
skill in the cyborg room. Make sure you bring plenty of TNT. 

You are now in Finster's electronic brain.  The answers to the 
first three questions are 32, 512 and 20.  The fourth test is 
kind of tricky.  Walk around until you get stuck in the 
upper-left corner. Then, use your IQ on that space (Use, IQ, 
space bar) several times until you can walk freely to the 
testing space.  The answer is "FINSTER."  The next box will have 
"Walls of Deceit." Use IQ or some other attribute to destroy 
them.  The answer for the testing space is "NOTHING."  Save the 
game, and try and score on the bases.  Silent Movement skill 
will be used when stealing.  If you get caught, then try using 
luck or charisma to get you out of the showers.  If none of this 
works, just restore and try again. 

The fifth test is real hard.  You are held back by two web-like 
walls; you can only use strength or explosives to get through.  
Kill the two fake Finsters.  The second will have a jug; picking 
it up will open up the next test.  Go north.  Kill three more 
Finsters and solve another riddle with "ICEBERG."  For the next 
test, take the left path.  Use your IQ to fool the android.  
Head southwest to kill the final Finster, Finster Leviathon.  
Take secpass B (and open up that armory in Sleeper Base if you 
haven't already). 

Now you can stock up on all those power packs that you want to 
use, 'cause you only have one more base to go before you win the 
game.  Stock up on your equipment and head for the Guardian 
Citadel.  Take the chopper and head for Base Cochise.  (You can 
go on foot to Base Cochise, but I don't advise it.) Make sure 
you bring some rope and some rockets with you. 

When you land on the roof, the computer should have destroyed 
all the ground-based robots around you.  Pick up any equipment 
lying around on the roof, and blow open one of the gun turrets 
with TNT.  Use rope to slide down. 

Go north and talk to the computer if you want.  (Don't say 
"BREAK!") Afterwards, head east and discover a secret door in 
the wall.  Use TNT to open it up.  Enter the chute. 

North of you is a ladder down and an energy field to get 
outside.  Disregard those for now.  To the southwest should be a 
radioactive pool and a retracted bridge.  Three xenon laser 
cannons should be guarding it.  They are very tough, so autofire 
those meson cannons to dispense of them.  Extend the bridge, 
cross it, and you should find yourself filled in a room with 
computer consoles.  Go to an active one on the left, and enter 
"RUN."  Choose an administration robot, which will cough up VAX.  
He's an excellent NPC, so take him.  You can continue southeast, 
following the passage (which will eventually lead up to a stash 
of rockets and power packs), but I recommend against it, as it 
is heavily guarded. 

Instead, go back to the starting point and take the ladder going 
down.  The level is divided into a number of compartments, each 
with its own vault door and testing site.  (You have to finish 
the testing site to open up the next vault door.)  For the first 
one, just disband a character across the oily pipes and open the 
door.  The second one should be just as easy.  Your Perception 
should bring out all the land mines to the open.  The fourth 
test involves a set of tumultous weather conditions.  Send in 
your luckiest character (who should be VAX) to open up the next 
vault.  The fifth test is a bit trickier. You are put in a 
combat simulator, guarded by xenon laser cannons mounted on the 
wall.  I suggest taking a southern route, but it doesn't really 
matter. After you open the last vault door, climb down the next 
ladder. 

Open up the sealed room with secpass B, and blow away the 
gatlin' guns.  This level is composed of four rooms, one in the 
NW, NE, SE and SW.  Each room also has a little compartment with 
a self-destruct mechanism, a cylinder.  Head for the NW room, 
first.  You have to blow away the doors with a rocket; none of 
the cards will work.  (Will Visa cards work?  I don't know.)  
Equip one guy with a RAD suit, a rocket, a power coupler and the 
blackstar key.  Send him to the lower-right corner first to 
breach the glass wall and fix the machine with the power 
coupler.  Have him or her use the blackstar key in the 
northwestern cylinder 

Head toward the NE room, next.  You'll have to break a machine 
on the upper-left to stop the conveyor belt.  Use the nova key 
on the cylinder. 

For the SE room, fiddle around with the gadgets with Electronics 
skill.  Make sure you fix the southernmost computer, as it 
controls the cylinder closing system.  The correct key is the 
pulsar key. 

For the SW room, just stroll through all the wrestlers and enter 
the final compartment.  The quasar key is the correct key. 

The program will then ask you if you want to start the destruct 
sequence by pressing a buttong.  Press escape.  First, disband 
three characters to the other cylinder compartments.  Select the 
NW character and start the sequence with red, then SE with 
yellow, then SW with green, then NE with blue. 

You now have one hour before the place blows.  The escape pod is 
just north of where you started from in this level.  Group your 
characters in the most efficient time-saving method and enter 
the pod as a group.  You emerge where the main computer WAS.  
You can't escape from the same way you came in, so head south to 
the left escalator.  Exit the building and use secpass B to get 
through the first door.  Picklock the second door and run like 
hell. 

Congrats...you've solved Wasteland.


Nope, that's not it.  Another little known fact:  radio HQ and 
they'll tell you some more. 



~CREATING CHARACTERS:

This is the most important part of the game, as the attributes 
you have in the beginning will either make you or break you in 
both the beginning and climax of the game.  Here are some 
guidelines: 

Have high intelligence (14-18).  IQ translates into skill 
points.  In the future, every character MUST have Energy Weapons 
skill, which has a minimum 23 IQ rating.  Starting out with high 
IQ early will also allow you to buff up some of your combat 
abilities. 

Start with high dexterity (15-18).  This is a must have.  95% of 
the time you'll be fighting with some type of projectile weapon.  
Your "thieves" should start out with very high dexterity. 

For the rest of the abilities, there is not that much 
importance.  Strength and agility are good for close-in 
fighting.  You can bash up lotsa people with multiple attacks if 
you have Brawling skill.  You can really whip the 
armored-enemies when you find chainsaws and the Proton Axe.  
Luck is supposed to be good for hand-to-hand, according to the 
rule book, but I've seen no great effect from it.  Luck is good 
also for lock-picking and disarming bombs. Charisma...neah...you 
can be as ugly as hell and still kick the sh*t out of enemies.  
Speed is also pretty much useless. 
                   
Generally, you should have at least two characters with starting 
Medic skills. All should be skilled in the various arts of 
weaponry (including hand-to-hand and projectile).  You NEED a 
lock-picker and a bomb specialist. 



~SKILLS:

Generally, you need only level 1 abilities when you start out.  
Using the abilities will actually increase your skill level 
occassionally WITHOUT subtracting from your available skill 
points.  I've found that using a skill against an especially 
tough problem (like shooting an armored Cyborg with an AK-97) 
and then succeeding (by scoring really heavily on the robot) has 
a very good chance of getting a skill upgrade.  However, if 
you're up against an impossible problem (like hitting an xenon 
laser cannon with a crowbar), you don't have much chance at all 
at raising your skill.  Here are the skills according to IQ 
level: 

(Those preceded by a "*" indicate all characters should have 
this.  Those preceded by a "#" indicate at least one should.) 

*Brawling (IQ 3):  For any type of hand-to-hand combat.  (All 
melee skills correlate with damage and number of attacks.) 

#Climb (IQ 3):  Climb ropes, ravines, etc.

*Clip Pistol (IQ 3):  For M1911A1 .45 caliber and VP91Z 9mm 
handguns.  (All projectile weapon skill levels are correlated 
with shot penetration, damage and maximum effective range.) 

Knife Fighting (IQ 3):  For melee knife combat.  (I suggest just 
getting Brawling.) 

Pugilism (IQ 3):  For bare-hand combat.  (Again, Brawling is 
enough.) 

*Rifle (IQ 3):  For M17 and M19 rifles.

Swim (IQ 3):  Swimming in water (or blood, for those 
accident-prone).  (There is only one part in the game where you 
HAVE to swim, so I don't recommend this.) 

Knife Throwing (IQ 6):  For knife-throwing. 

*Perception (IQ 6):  For spotting concealed items, traps, etc.  
Acts both passively and actively. 

*Assault Rifle (IQ 9):  For that AK-97 and M1989A1 assault 
rifles.  A must-have. 

*AT Weapon (IQ 9):  For those extremely cheap Sabot, LAW and 
RPG-7 anti-tank rockets. 

*SMG (IQ 9):  For Mac 17s or the ever-present Uzi.

Acrobat (IQ 10):  (I have hardly any idea what this does.  The 
only thing I can think of is dodging melee blows.) 

Gamble (IQ 10):  For those games of chance.  (I don't recommend 
this.  You can earn more money by killing people.) 

#Picklock (IQ 10):  For getting past locked doors, boxes, etc.  
(Why is everybody so secretive?) 

#Silent Movement (IQ 10):  For moving stealthily in dangerous 
places.  (You don't really need this if you have heavy 
firepower.  Just blow the enemies away.) 

Confidence (IQ 11):  For empathizing with sad characters.  
(Actually, a good charisma will suffice.) 

Sleight of Hand (IQ 12):  For card tricks.  (Stupid!)

Demolition (IQ 13):  For explosive charges.  (You only use this 
once.) 

Forgery (IQ 13):  For creating false passes.  (Most enemies will 
just let you pass if you are well-equipped and/or experienced.) 

Alarm Disarm (IQ 14):  For disarming alarms.  (You never need 
this.) 

Bureaucracy (IQ 14):  For dealing with serious people.  (You 
also never need this.) 

#Bomb Disarm (IQ 15):  For disarming bombs.  (Occurs quite a 
while in the game.) 

#Medic (IQ 15):  For reviving characters who are UNConscious, 
SERious, CRTical, MRTally wounded or COMatose.  Doesn't help 
dead people, though. Skill level dictates how far into death a 
medic can operate.  Level 1=SER, Level 2=CRT, etc.  Can't bring 
back hit points in the traditional spell casting way, though. 

#Safecrack (IQ 15):  For opening sealed containers.

Cryptology (IQ 16):  For deciphering weird writing.

Metallurgy (IQ 17):  For discerning what's valuable mineral and 
what's worthless rock. 

#Helicopter Pilot (IQ 19):  For flying that one helicopter in 
the game. 

Toaster Repair (IQ 20):  For fixing broken toasters.

#Electronics (IQ 20):  For numerous electrical fix-ups late in 
the game. 

#Doctor (IQ 21):  Like Medic, but considerably more efficient. 

Clone Tech (IQ 22):  For adjusting cloning equipment.

*Energy Weapon (IQ 23):  For laser weapons, the Ion Beamer and 
the Meson Cannon. 

#Cyborg Tech (IQ 24):  For delving into cyborg brains 
(especially evil ones named Finster). 



~WEAPONS:

Ammo is limited!  There comes a point when trading stations run 
out of 7.62mm, 9mm and .45 caliber ammo.  Conserve it wisely.  
Here is a list of all acquireable weapons according to damage 
effect. 

Club:  Melee weapon.

Knife:  Melee weapon.

Throwing knife:  Projectile weapon best used at close range.

Crowbar:  Melee weapon.

Sledge hammer:  Melee weapon.

Axe/Pick axe:  Melee Weapon.  Good all-around hand-to-hand weapon.

VP91Z 9mm pistol:  General purpose handgun with a big clip and 
smaller bullets. Has 18 bullets per clip and a maximum range of 
29'. 

1911A1 .45 pistol:  General purpose handgun with better 
penetrating power than the VP91Z.  Has 7 bullets per clip and a 
maximum range of 29'. 

Spear:  Projectile weapon with maximum range of 59'.  (Strange 
that the computer treats this as a rocket.) 

M17 carbine:  Short-barreled rifle which uses 7.62mm ammo.  
Easier to score with at short range than with the M19, though 
harder to score at longer ranges. Has 10 bullets per clip.  
Maximum range at 79', though designed for medium range. 

M19 rifle:  Standard rifle which uses 7.62mm ammo.  Effective at 
long range only if the user is sufficiently skilled.  Has 8 
bullets per clip.  Hits at any visible range. 

Chainsaw:  Self-powered melee weapon.

Grenade/TNT/Plastic explosives:  Can be tossed in combat for 
area effect. Best used at close range. 

Flame thrower:  Liquid-fueled fire weapon.  Has 40 shots per 
package.  Best used at short range.  Not reloadable.  (I don't 
recommend this.) 

Laser pistol:  Weakest and smallest energy weapon with very low 
penetrating power.  Hits at any visible range.  Has 40 shots per 
clip.  (All energy weapons use power clips.) 

Uzi 27 SMG:  Simple and efficient automatic weapon which uses 
9mm ammo.  (The FBI likes to use these.)  Has 40 bullets per 
clip.  Hits at any visible range, though designed for medium 
range. 

MAC 17 SMG:  Sturdy automatic weapon which uses .45 ammo.  Has 
30 bullets per clip.  Hits at any visible range, though designed 
for medium range. 

Mangler:  Primitive rocket weapon used to score on 
lightly-armored enemies. Maximum range of 79'. 

Laser carbine:  Bigger energy weapon with fair penetrating 
power.  Hits at any visible range.  Has 30 shots per clip. 

Sabot rocket:  Small anti-tank missile for medium-armored 
enemies.  Can be used at any visible range. 

M1989A1 NATO assault rifle:  Standard assault rifle which uses 
7.62mm ammo. Fires as a semi or full automatic.  Can score at 
any visible range.  Has 35 bullets per clip. 

AK-97 assault rifle:  Standard Russian assault rifle which uses 
7.62mm ammo. Has higher penetrating power than the M1989A1, but 
has five fewer bullets. Fires as a semi or full automatic.  Can 
score at any visible range.  Has 30 bullets per clip. 

Laser rifle:  Standard energy weapon with good penetrating 
power.  Hits at any visible range.  Has 20 shots per clip.  (I 
recommend this.) 

LAW rocket:  Small, armor-piercing explosive rocket good for 
those alloy-skinned enemies.  Hits at any visible range.  
(Expensive!  You better be sure you don't miss.) 

RPG-7 rocket:  Best AT rocket available.  Hits at any visible 
range. 

Ion beamer:  Heavy energy weapon with very good penetrating 
power.  Hits at any visible range.  Has 20 shots per clip. 

Meson cannon:  Heaviest energy weapon with annihilation 
penetrating power. Hits at any visible range.  Has 10 shots per 
clip.  Not to be used against rodentia (or leeches). 

Proton axe:  Self-powered melee weapon.  Heavy penetration and 
damage effect. (Awesome with level 7 Brawling.) 

                        

~ARMOR:

Armor varies from plain clothing (rating 0) to power armor 
(rating 14).  There is no way your armor can be damaged or 
destroyed.  Here is a list, with armor ratings in parentheses: 

Nothing (0):  For sex and rodentia. 

Leather jacket (1):  For those a tier higher on the evolutionary 
ladder. 

Robe (1):  As above.  (Used probably as a disguise to travel 
unnoticed in the Temple of Blood.) 

Bullet-proof shirt (2):  For canines and handguns. 

Kevlar vest (4):  For rifles.

RAD suit (5):  For small automatic weapons.  Also protects 
against radiation. 

Kevlar suit (6):  For automatic weapons.

Pseudo-Chitin armor (10):  For most automatic weapons and weak 
energy weapons. 

Power armor (14):  For rockets and heavy energy weapons.  (I 
wish I had one of these!  Actually, in the last level of the 
game power armor won't help you much.  Be sure you have a good 
doctor.) 



~ITEMS:

Some items are useless, some not.  You should either drop or 
sell anything useless.  Here is a list in alphabetical order: 

Android head:  There are two in the game:  one to fix Max and 
the other to "hook" yourself up with Finster's electronic brain 
at Darwin Base. 

Antitoxin:  For curing radiation sickness.

Blackstar/Nova/Pulsar/Quasar keys:  For the final part of 
Wasteland.  Used only once. 

Bloodstaff:  Many fake copies of this lying around.  The real 
one is held BELOW Needles.  Give this to the priest in 
southeastern Needles.  You also will receive it later to give to 
Charmaine in Las Vegas. 

Book:  Useless.

Broken toaster:  Use Toaster Repair skill at the workstation in 
the Guardian Citadel to pop up some extra power packs and a 
plasma coupler (in case you lost or can't find the other one). 

Canteen:  Needed to survive in the desert.  Prevents heat 
exhaustion for each character that has one. 

Chemical:  For making antitoxin around Darwin Base.

Clay pot:  Useless.

Club/Crowbar/Sledge Hammer:  Used to break through glass.

Engine:  Used to fix the water purifier at Highpool and the 
jeep. 

Fruit:  Useless.

Fusion cell:  Used to fix Max, the robot.

Gas mask:  For poisonous and sleeping gases.  You only use it 
once in Vegas. 

Geiger counter:  Detects nearby radiation by two methods.  Stop 
for a while and you will hear clicking.  Or, look at the 
graduated bar on the right. 

Hand mirror:  Useless.

Howitzer shell:  For loading and firing in Downtown Needles.  
Loading will sometimes upgrade Demolitions and AT Weapons skill. 

Jewelry:  Useless.

Jug:  For cloning fluid at Sleeper Base--otherwise useless.

Map:  Useless.

Match:  Useless.

Pick Axe:  Used to pick minerals at specific areas in the mine 
south of Quartz. 

Plasma coupler:  Used to fix many things late in the game, 
including the force field mechanism in the northwestern key room 
under Base Cochise. 

Plastic explosives/TNT:  In non-combat purposes, used to clear 
debris.  Both do the same job; plastic explosives are just more 
expensive. 

Power converter:  Used to fix Max.

ROM board:  Used to fix many things late in the game, including 
the helicopter simulator at Sleeper Base and Max, the friendly 
robot. 

Rope:  For those hard-to-reach places.  Keep four handy.

Ruby ring:  Give this to the priest in southeastern Needles.  
Once recognized, get rid of it. 

Secpasses 1,3,7,A,B:  Used to unlock numerous power doors in 
Sleeper Base, Darwin Base, and Base Cochise. 

Servo motor:  Used to fix Max, the friendly robot.

Shovel:  For digging.  Be sure to keep one handy.

Snake Squeezins [sic]:  The standard Wasteland alcoholic 
beverage.  Give this to bums and they'll move their *ss.  Keep 
some handy. 

Visa card:  For the Head Crusher at the Quartz bar.



~MISCELLANEOUS:

Here is some general information:

Sell any equipment you don't need at ONE location.  That way, 
you don't have to wonder which shop your ammo is in.  I 
recommend selling power packs early in the game; you can always 
buy them back later. 

Attack the largest groups or the most dangerous groups first.  
Damage can "spill over" onto others in a large group.  When you 
attack a group with only one enemy, and you kill him 
prematurely, you still have many other attackers without a 
target. 

When U)sing an item, ability or attribute, many people don't 
know that you can press the space bar to use it on the space 
your party is standing on.  Without this knowledge, they 
wouldn't be able to pass Finster's brain. 

Whenever you enter or leave a place, make sure you save it 
before quitting. Strange things can happen, i.e., after entering 
an ammo shop and qutting without saving, the ammo shop can no 
longer be entered. 

If you want to upgrade your Medic or Doctor skill fast, then let 
someone who is in SER condition fall into deeper shades of 
death.  When you feel like it, try the Medic or Doctor skill.  
The more difficult the problem, the better chance you have at 
increasing your skill level.  Make sure you save the game before 
you do this. 

When acquiring some items, the computer randomly rolls for the 
amount of cash, equipment, etc.  I think it is dependent on the 
total luck or the highest personal luck of the party.  Anyhow, 
if the equipment is important, like LAW rockets or power packs, 
be sure to save it just before you step on the loot space. That 
way, if you don't get what you want, you can just restore and 
try again. 

Develop your Brawling skill once you have the power armor.  
Almost nothing can hurt you after that, so you won't have to 
worry about first shots.  Just arm an axe, chainsaw or proton 
axe and you're set to waste some people. Conserves a lot of 
ammo. 

The IBM version has macro capability.  You should know this if 
you bought the game. 



~WHAT IF'S:

Here are a few things you could try:  (Remember to save the game!)

Kill everything and anything in sight.

Kill all the "Juvies" in Highpool.  The programmers did quite 
some designing for this scenario. 

Go on stage at Scott's Bar in Quartz.

Go in the front door of the Courthouse and the Hideout in 
Quartz.  Lotsa fun. 

Use Perception on the crystal ball in Crowley's shop at Needles.

Look through the poster room in Downtown Needles.

Shell the hobo dob stand with the howitzer in Downtown Needles.

Blow away all the police robots in Needles.

Torture yourself in the Temple of Blood.

Try launch code "MORTAR" below the Temple of Blood.  (Actually, 
use any of the false passwords given in the fake journal 
entries.) 

Blow up the front gate at Savage Village.

Kill everyone in Spade's Casino.  There's a trapdoor behind the bar.

Jump in the sewer water or the river.

Clone several versions of you at Sleeper Base.

Enter "BREAK" at the main computer in Base Cochise.

Get killed at Base Cochise.



~UNKNOWNS:

I have no idea what these things do, but I have a feeling they 
do do SOMETHING. If you find out about them, tell me: 

Combat Shooting skill
Crowley's Occult Shop in Needles
Ralf, the hobo, in the Temple of Blood



("So this is why we lost AcaDec!")
