Fallout: New Vegas – Guide to Lucky Shades & Legion Assault

How to obtain the Lucky shades and/or the Legion Assault Unarmed Technique as early as possible & on Non-Legion characters!

Lucky Shades & Legion Assault

Please note: all credit goes to Ropes ★!

Intro

I’ve included various methods to assist others in obtaining the Lucky Shades and/or Legion Assault as early as possible without losing reputation (Powder Gang excluded if Method 3 is chosen); the first method involves using a speech check exploit, whereas the others do not. This can be done no matter your reputation with the Legion. Caesar will forgive any offenses upon exiting the Tops and speaking with his emissary after dealing with Benny during “Ring-a-ding baby!”. ALL methods require the Mark of Caesar , which is given by Caesar’s emissary during the aforementioned encounter upon exiting the Tops. Once you’ve dealt with Benny and have obtained the Mark of Caesar, choose an option listed below.

Method 1 – Decanus Severus Speech Exploit

50 Explosives skill is required for this method as it involves exploiting a speech check loop in Severus’ dialogue.

  • Step 1: After obtaining the Mark of Caesar, travel to Cottonwood Cove and find the NPC named Decanus Severus.
  • Step 2: Speak with Decanus Severus and tell him how to defuse NCR Landmines.
  • Step 3: Then ask him “Do you see much action against the NCR?”
  • Step 4: Once he responds to your question, say “That is all for now.” Upon ending dialogue with Severus, the option to do the speech check will become available again. If done properly, you will be able to show him how to defuse the Landmines repeatedly for XP & Fame by repeating Steps 2-4 until satisfied or minimum of “Liked”.

Ways to increase Explosives Skill

There are a few different ways to boost your Explosives skill listed below. The first two directly boost your Explosives, while the remaining options indirectly increase it by raising your Perception.

  • Patriot’s Cookbook
  • Raider Blastmaster Helmet
  • Absinthe
  • Mentats
  • Coyote Tobacco Chew

Method 2 – Pickpocket NCR Soldiers

Pick-pocket 22 NCR Dog-tags for Decanus Severus after initiating unmarked quest “Arizona Scavenger”. Be sure to select the option to exchange Dogtags for FOOD , and then trade them in stacks of 5 (5 tags = 12 Fame per interaction) until you only have 2 left, then turn them in individually for +1 Fame per tag. The reason it’s 5 at a time is because math and it just works. If done properly you will be “Liked” by the Legion.

On Pick-pocketing

After covering everything mentioned above, it’s time to talk about pick-pocketing the tags. Due to their value and weight, Dog-tags are one of the easiest items in the game to pickpocket, however; the success chance of Pick-pocketing maxes at 85% , meaning there can’t be a 100% chance to pickpocket anything in the game regardless of value, weight, sneak, visibility, and NPC Perception. With that being said, make sure you save your game after every successfully stolen tag and if you fail an attempt, just load your last saved game. Stealth Boi’s are somewhat needed to get this done quickly, there are two available right at the beginning of the game. Joe Cobb carries one, and there’s another inside the safe within the Goodsprings Schoolhouse.

Note: I’ve had bad experiences with FNV saves as frequently overwriting existing saved games can lead to corrupted files. To avoid this, don’t overwrite your saves; just make new ones.

Ways to Increase Sneak

There are a few different options when it comes to increasing your Sneak skill if you’d like to raise your success rate. Listed below are a few of the more common ways, but Stealth Armor can also be obtained depending on progress. The first two directly boost Sneak, while the remaining indirectly increase Sneak by raising Agility.

  • Stealth Boi
  • iLa Fantoma!
  • Fire Ant Nectar
  • Coyote Tobacco Chew
  • Various Wasteland outfits
  • Most variants of Pre-War outfits

Where to Pick-pocket NCR

  • Camp Mccaran
  • The Strip
  • Las Vegas Boulevard Station
  • Camp Golf
  • Mojave Outpost

Method 3 – Loot Tags from Corpses

If Pickpocketing NPC’s or using exploits isn’t your idea of fun, then Method 3 has got you covered. Much like Method 2, we must first start the unmarked quest “Arizona Scavenger” provided by Decanus Severus. When turning in the tags, it’s very important to exchange them for FOOD in stacks of 5. This provides the largest fame gain per exchange. (+12)

Where to find corpses

There’s a few places i know of that will have NCR corpses with Dog-tags.

  • Nipton Hotel, 4 Soldier corpses
  • Camp Guardian Caves, 11 Soldier corpses

Total: 15/22

… that’s not enough… we need more corpses.

Supply & Demand – How to make corpses

Soooo, we don’t have enough tags, and tags come from corpses. Time for some troubleshooting.

  • Step 1: Obtain Dynamite, other explosives like frag grenades won’t work. Powder Gangers frequently drop Dynamite, and a good place to find Powder Gangers is the NCR Correctional Facility.
  • Step 2: Turn the Game Difficulty down to Very Easy to insure NPC’s do not survive the next step, as they will become hostile towards you and complicate the process.
  • Step 3: Drop the Dynamite beside the NPC and shoot it. Do NOT Throw the Dynamite , simply drop it from your inventory. The Dynamite will explode upon being shot and kill the NPC without Karma or Reputation loss, allowing you to loot them free of consequence.

Where to make some corpses

Any area with a sufficient amount of unnamed NCR Soldiers, a few suggestions are listed below.

  • Camp McCarran
  • Mojave Outpost
  • Camp Golf

Final Steps

Now that you have the Reputation, we need to obtain the key to the safehouse from Caesar and possibly speak with Lucius for the Legion Assault. Find Cursor Lucullus on the dock in Cottonwood Cove and request transport to The Fort. Once you’ve entered The Fort, walk in to Caesar’s Tent and speak with him to receive the key. Also, if you’re interested in the Legion Assault Unarmed technique and have 50 Unarmed skill, speak with Lucius to be taught the Legion Assault. Last step is to claim your Lucky Shades by visiting Caesar’s Legion Safehouse!

Ways to increase Unarmed

The first two options directly increase your Unarmed skill, while the remaining boost it indirectly by raising your Endurance.

  • Hocky Mask
  • Boxing Times
  • Various Wasteland outfits
  • Buffout
Egor Opleuha
About Egor Opleuha 8075 Articles
Egor Opleuha, also known as Juzzzie, is the Editor-in-Chief of Gameplay Tips. He is a writer with more than 12 years of experience in writing and editing online content. His favorite game was and still is the third part of the legendary Heroes of Might and Magic saga. He prefers to spend all his free time playing retro games and new indie games.

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