Fallout 76 nuclear keycards are a prime step in launching the mass-murdering weapons and once again eradicating what is left on the already nuclear-destroyed West Virginia. With that said, let’s discuss how you can acquire Fallout 76 Nuclear keycard and launch nuclear weapons on any part of the map.
Key Takeaways
- In the rugged Appalachia of West Virginia, players can fire nukes, and there are a number of procedures that are best carried out with other players.
- Players must initially join the Enclave and become an Enclave General before doing anything else. This is an essential step in getting Fallout 76’s nuclear keycard, which will eventually help launch the A-bombs.
- You will need launch codes for the silo from which you wish to fire the nuclear weapon now that you have the keycards.
How to Get Fallout 76 Nuclear Keycard
You can launch the nukes either solo or with the group. However, since the overall process is quite lengthy with different quests, it is highly advised to pursue with a group of players to make the process easy. Before going to discuss the Fallout 76 nuclear keycard, there are a few things that you need to know. Launching nukes as a player is an endgame scenario and is only possible if you are higher level and have higher level perks on the character.
Moreover, nukes are also a one-time event and will be going to change the landscape of that particular area that you are targeting. So be careful while choosing the nuclear weapon and the target. After the detonation of your nuclear warhead, the targeted location will be transformed into the irradiated wasteland. Not just that but that nuclear-hit part will become a thriving place of high-level mutant enemies and monsters. This opens various opportunities for players to enjoy the Player vs. Enemies farms and numerous other activities to enjoy during nuclear fallout. Moreover, vengeance goes a long way in Fallout 76 and you can blow off someone’s home with the nukes. But beware that you are going to cause a massive nuclear fallout which may risk your character too. So before you enter the vicinity that you just blew up with the nuclear weapons, make sure you have enough Stimpaks, Rad Resistance, and most importantly Power armor.
With that said, let’s discuss step-by-step on getting the Nuclear keycard in Fallout 76 and launching the nuclear warheads on any part of the map.
Joining the Enclave
The first thing that players are required to do is to join the Enclave. This is the crucial aspect of acquiring the nuclear keycard in Fallout 76 that will eventually assist in launching the A-bombs. If you are unaware of the Enclave is a state that represents the in-game faction that is available for players to join. The Enclave consists of powerful Government, military, and other higher corporations that monitor the Appalachia and its resources. In fact, their main goals are to rebuild America (Check Fallout 76 Best Builds) in the form of Governmental control. Joining the faction will unlock a series of quests that will assist in pursuing the questlines to launch the nukes. The first thing you need to do is to go to the Abandoned Waste Dump. Remember, players with low or medium levels will have this place undiscovered. Players with a high level will be able to see the landmark of this location on the far right side of the map. Once you have reached the location, you might want to use the Stimpaks or Rad Resistance to protect the radiation in the location. Right across the radiation, you will be able to see a Cavern that will take you to another side of the location.
Before you enter the Cavern, your session may spawn two Deathclaws. So prepare for the battle after entering the Cavern. Once you are done with that pass through the broken structures and empty barrels. Here you will have to pick an item known as a holotape. This is your entry pass to the Enclave. To find the holotape, you will have to search the Deathclaws’ nest. Considering that you have killed both Deathclaw, finding the nest will not be an issue. If you are able to see the elevator in the Cavern, by going to the back left corner from the elevator, you will be able to see a Deathclaw’s nest. Here you will be able to acquire the holotape item with a quest icon.
After confirming the holotape item in your inventory, head back to the elevator and open it to access the Enclave. You will have to play the holotape to access the secure access panel inside the elevator. Once you are into the bunker take the stairs and reach the Enclave bunker. Keep going straight and you will find a laser grid securing the other part of the bunker.
Now the crux of the matter is you are not allowed to go through the laser grid and access the other part of the bunker. But there is certainly a way to disable the laser grid so you can access the complete Enclave bunker. To do that you will have to go to the third floor to hack the terminal in the security room. Hacking the terminal will require level 3 Hacking skills. Or you can use the Override Procedure. But it is worth noting that considering the Override Procedure will require activating other security protocols and gaining access through the laser grid. After that, you will be able to scan the hand to unlock the laser grid and get to the other side of the Enclave bunker. You will have to enter the final room. Here you will have to enter a code on the keypad mounted on the wall. For that, you can get help from the quest markers that point to all the helpful elements available in the room.
All you need to do is to read all the resources to solve the mystery of the code. If you are a completionist, we will not tell the code and allow you to solve the puzzle yourself. Once you have entered the correct code, you will have to interact with the painting on the wall that will grant you an access card to another bunker near the White Springs Resort.
You may enter through the main entrance, but you will have to use the keycard to access through the security door. You are now in the Enclave and will be greeted by the Enclave’s AI known as Modus. The next thing you will have to do is to open the vault beneath the bunker. For that, you will have to use the Vault Access Controls.
This is the moment where you will be receiving the questline for the Enclave by exploring the location. You will also find out that the Enclave is being managed by AI robots. Moreover, you will have access to everything from the Vendors to the Serum recipes. Apart from that, the next step towards getting your hands on Fallout 76 nuclear keycard is to become the Enclave General. To get the nuclear keycards you need authorization from the Modus that monitors the Enclave. Now Modus is a highly detailed AI and needs your details to officially recognize your importance in the Enclave. For that, you will have to go through a series of objectives like going through decontamination arches and registering your photo. Moreover, you will also have to complete an Enclave examination, which is not necessary but definitely worth it for the sake of completionists. After that, you will have to start a quest by going to Camp McClintock.
Here you will find Gutsy which will give you a quest “Back to Basic”, which is a story mode quest. But after that, you will receive the Enclave quest line “Officer on Deck”. You may also be required to complete the “One of Us” quest. Since you are pursuing the Enclave at a higher level you might have completed that earlier in the game. The “Officer on Deck” quest will require players to take charge of the Whitespring Bunker. To do that, first, you will have to complete a total of 10 Commendations to become the General and become the Commander wing of the bunker. To put it simply, you will have to earn respect and prove that you are the worthy one for the Enclave. So the question is: How to get 10 Commendations to become the General of the Enclave? There are a few ways to earn the Commendations for your Enclave Bunker quest.
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- Combat Commendation – Killing any of the Legendary Creature with 1 or 2 stars will grant 1 Commendation each.
- High-Risk Combat Commendation – Killing any of the Legendary Creature with 3 stars will grant 2 Commendations.
- Bunker Support Extermination – Complete an Extermination Mission for Enclave which will grant 2 Commendations.
- Bunker Support Patrol – Completing a Robot Patrol Missions for Enclave will grant 1 Commendation.
- Bunker Support Resource Drop – Complete a Resource drop Mission for Enclave and receive 1 Commendation.
This quest can be started by entering the Military Wing in the Whitespring Bunker after completing the quest from Camp McClintock. Follow the signage on the bunker and you will be able to find the Military Wing. Reaching here start the quest for earning the Commendations. After gaining a total of 10 Commendations you will be directly promoted to the Enclave General. Now that you have a higher rank in Enclave, you will have access to all Silos as well as the terminals in the Enclave bunker. Speaking of Silos, there are a total of 3 Silos in Fallout 76. Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie which you will have to discover on the map.
But that part is not important, as there are numerous other things that you will need to launch nuclear weapons. The most important one is to get the nuclear keycard that is crucial to unlocking other aspects of the nuclear weapon launch. With that said, let’s have a look at how are you going to obtain the Fallout 76 nuclear keycard for Silo activation.
Obtaining the Nuclear Keycard
The first requirement for acquiring the nuclear keycard was to become an Enclave General. Now with that out of the way, you can start the repeatable quest “Hide and Seek and Destroy” that will allow you to get a nuclear keycard. Players can set up this quest in Whitespring Bunker from the main terminal. This red terminal is available in Military Wing in the Command room.
You will have to select the first option that states Initiate Search – Nuclear Keycard Escort. Selecting this option will star the Hide and Seek and Destroy quest. After that, all you need to do is to find the marker pointing to the Nuclear Keycard escort on the map. To do that you can go to the tab of Data, which will be showing the quest details. By selecting the Show on Map option in the bottom right, you will be able to locate the location of the Cargobot escort carrying the nuclear keycard.
Once you reach the location, you will be able to see a Cargobot with three Vertibirds securing it. These are pretty much neutral flying machines, but once attacked they can start to retaliate. To obtain the keycards, you will have to destroy the Cargobot. However, taking the Cargobot down along with the Vertibirds is not going to be an easy feat. For that instance, it is advised to use fast weapons that can easily register the shots without wasting the time and ammunition. Or if you rely on V.A.T.S they can also prove beneficial in easily taking down Cargobot.
One of the best approaches is to take out the Vertibirds first since they will escort the Cargobot away from your location. This way you can fix the location of the Cargobot and easily land the weapon shots to destroy and retrieve the nuclear keycard. To obtain the keycard, you will have to picklock the container. Once unlocked, you will have the nuclear keycard that will be later used to launch the nukes. Although this is the end of the quest, you can start the quest again to farm for the Fallout 76 nuclear keycard. This may require server hopping to start the quest once again from the Command’s Terminal. Now that you have a nuclear keycard, let’s discuss further what you are going to do with the keycard for your nuclear launch protocol.
Finding the Launch Codes
Now that you have the keycards, you will need launch codes for the silo from where you want to launch the nuke. This is going to be the most difficult portion of the overall quest. The main reason behind it involves decrypting the codes with different means and takes a significant portion of the time and in most cases will be wrong if you are using them earlier. Moreover, the game will only show a part of the overall code and will reveal when there are a few days left for the code reset. Speaking of code reset, these launch codes will reset after a week. That means you will have to redo the decryption portion to obtain a new secret launch code. To save you the hassle, you can use the NukaCrypt tool to directly acquire the code. The website is updated with the code every week for each silo. Or if you are a completionist and want to pursue the launch code as the game intended, you can start the side quest from the terminal in the Military command wing. In the command terminal, select “Initiate Search – Silo Alpha/Bravo/Charlie Code Piece” and it will start the quest by sharing the location on the map.
Nuclear Silo Status
After the keycards, the next thing you are going to need is to acknowledge the Nuclear Silo Status. As said earlier, there are 3 silos in Fallout 76 but each of them has a silo cooldown. It is a timer that states the availability of the silo to launch the nuke. To check this, you will have to play the missile silo state holotape. Go into the items and select the holo tab and you will be able to find one after joining the Enclave.
This holotape will share details of the silo cooldown timer, which will require players to wait until the timer is complete. Only after that players can access the silo and perform the next series of activities.
Run Nuclear Silo
After confirming the silo status, travel to any one of the silos where you wish to launch the nuke. Every silo has an elevator which you can use to reach the main office of the silo. As soon as you enter any one of the silos, the game will start another quest Mission: Countdown that will update the objectives of players. Before running the silos there are a few requirements that you will need to make sure of your character. You are going to need explosive weapons, radiation protection, level 3 lock picking, and level 3 hacking skills. These are going to be crucial in your silo running approach. So make sure to have these to avoid any problems in the middle of the quest. Next, you will be entering the Mess Hall in your particular silo. This place is crawling with robot enemies ranging from Protectrons, Laser Turrets, and Assaultrons. Take these enemies down by using the V.A.T.S on their weak points. After that, you will have to search for a blue keycard that has a randomized spawn location in the area.
After acquiring the Old Biometric Keycard(blue card), head towards the scanner to verify the biometric data of the Enclave General. To reach the main location to launch the nukes, you will have to disable a laser grid that requires another biometric keycard. Since you have only one, you will have to duplicate the existing one to get past the laser grid.
You can find the keycard duplicator by going into the opposite hall from the biometric scanner. Here you will see a Biometric System Terminal. Access the terminal and select the “Fabricate Biometric ID” option. This process will rewrite the Biometric ID thus duplicating the keycard. Now you are all set to access the laser grid and reach the next part of the silo.
After that, you will receive the next objective to override the reactor security lockdown. This part will also involve laser turrets taking shots at your character so enter with hot weapons. You will have to sprint all the way through the hallway until you reach the Power House. After going string into the Power House walk through the first door and walk across the large wall structures and you will find a locked door. You will have to lockpick the door with the level 3 lockpicking skills. Here you will have to take down two laser terrets so you can easily interact with the Security Command Terminal in the room. This part will also require level 3 hacking to override the security reactor. The next part is going to be easy as you are going to destroy the mainframe. This is the part where you are going to need explosive weapons to blow up the terminals. After hacking the Security Command Terminal you will have to exit the room and reach other parts of the silo to access the mainframe. Simply shoot these terminals with the red lights to blow them up with explosive weapons. Destroy every terminal you find in the room or hallways. After that, the quest marker will guide you to the next part of the silo which will require you to repair the mainframe cores. Simply take the damaged cores out of the mainframe and go to the backroom to access the Tinker’s Workbench where you can easily repair the cores. You may also find new mainframe cores lying around the room. So make sure to take them with you that will be used later in the mainframe. The more undamaged cores you will find the less damaged cores you will have to repair. In essence, this part of the quest will help the players who do not have materials to repair the cores. You will need a total of 15 cores to make the mainframe fully functional.
After obtaining all 15 cores, insert them in the mainframe core slots. After that, you will be able to access the Facilities Mainframe. Now your particular silo’s mainframe is active and you can head to the Control Room. This is going to be the last phase of the nuclear launch quest. So make sure to kill any enemy like laser turrets to avoid dying. Follow the marker to reach the control room and start the Launch Control Prep. Select the “Initiate Launch Prep” option. This will begin the prep process that will also have a bar so you can know how much longer you will have to wait. The control room will also spawn a Robot Launch Chief. Players may experience some bugs with the Launch Chief will remain stuck and explode during the mainframe repair.
However, you do not have to worry about that and you can spawn another one from the Robot Fabrication Terminal. After the prep is complete, the Mission: Countdown is complete and from here you are on your own to launch the nuke wherever you want.
Launching the Nuke
Now you will have to head to the nuke launch area where you will have to enter the keycard. Moreover, you will also have to enter the launch code that you have for your specific silo. Make sure to enter the correct code on the first try, otherwise, the game will kick you out that will cost you a keycard.
After that, the main system will show an Armed sign that means the nuke is ready to launch. Interacting with it will show a map where you are allowed to fire the nuke. You will also be able to see a safe zone that can not be nuked. After selecting the particular location, the nuclear launch timer will begin. You will have three minutes to evacuate the silo and reach the location to enjoy the final sight before a nuke wreak havoc in the town.
Final Words
Launching the nuke being one of the endgame moments is a real sight to see. The overall quest line is fun to play with friends that allows you to engage with some of the lore behind Fallout games. Moreover, it connects the players with the main aspects of nuclear weapons and the harsh reality they leave behind on a nation. After launching the nuke, you can explore the location to enjoy the exotic events and gather rare loot that the bomb yield after the explosion. Well, that is about it for the overall process of how to find Fallout 76 nuclear keycard to launching the nuke into West Virginia. Do you find this guide helpful in any portion of the overall quest? What is your strategy to acquire the nuclear keycard in Fallout 76? We will love to hear them in the comments section down below.
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