Fallout 4: Out of Time quest walkthrough
How to complete the Out of Time quest in Fallout 4, from catching up with Codsworth back home to making it to Concord in one piece.
Out of Time is the first main quest in Fallout 4, and you must complete it to explore the rest of the game. It takes place directly after the opening prologue cutscene, but all is not well in Vault 111.
With a blaring klaxon indicating that something has gone terribly wrong, follow our Out of Time walkthough for Fallout 4 to escape up to the wasteland.
Out of Time walkthrough for Fallout 4
When the cutscene is over, pick yourself up off the ground and head right, moving past the pods toward the door at the end of the room. Next, open the door then step through into the corridor beyond.
Walk along the passage - making a note of the door on your right - and loot the discarded toolbox at the far end of the corridor. Next, backtrack slightly and pass through the sliding door you noted a few moments ago.
On the other side, descend the steps and take a right at the bottom. Up ahead, you'll see another sliding door and a room to the right. Head into the room and loot the area for money, bobby pins, stimpaks and other assorted goods. Finally, access the security terminal and read through the various entries available.
Eventually, by checking the Security Logs, you'll learn that the only way out of the vault is through the Overseer's office. That, of course, is your next destination. Leave the security station and make your way through the sliding door to the right. Next, follow the tunnel along and pass through the door at the end.
Get the baton
On the other side, marvel at the oversized bug roaming the area, then follow the onscreen instructions to learn the intricacies of melee combat. Once you've digested the finer points, grab the baton from the desk to the left, approach the bug and pummel it out of existence. You can grab any Radroach meat it drops when you're done.
Up ahead, you'll spot another sliding door to the left and an open doorway leading into the staff canteen. First, explore the canteen and locate the Recreation Terminal at the far end of the room. If you're up for a spot of Donkey Kong-inspired retro-futuristic gaming, you can select the terminal's 'Play Tape' option and have a game of Red Menace. Eject the tape when you're done and pass through the sliding door back out in the main hallway.
Once through the door, follow the raised walkway around to the opposite side of the room, bypassing the energy-spewing generators in the centre. Batter the bugs that attack then make your way through the door on the left at the end of the walkway. On the other side, deal with any roaches that strike (making use of your power attack, as instructed) then climb the steps ahead. Continue forward then pass through the next doorway.
Get the pistol
When you enter the adjacent room, grab the 10MM pistol, ammo and stimpaks from the reception desk. There's another sliding door in the south-western corner of the room but it's currently locked. To open it, you'll need to interact with the terminal on the reception desk and select the 'Open Evacuation Tunnel' option.
Before leaving through the now-open doorway, look for the small caged area in the corner of the room and grab the additional pistol and rounds from the shelf nearby. You'll see the mysterious Cryolater locked in a case to the left - but you'll need the [Master] level of unlocking to retrieve it. For now, head through the door you just opened.
On the other side, take a left and you'll immediately see a number of bugs lining the tunnel walls. Follow the on-screen instructions to unholster your weapon and fire. You can either let the bullets fly in classic FPS fashion, or you can deploy VATS targeting to do damage to specific limbs on your opponents. You'll find the roaches most susceptible to head shots so use VATS to aim your bullets here. Note that you can target as many bugs and limbs as you like, until all of your available Action Points have been depleted.
Learn how to use stealth and get the Pip-Boy
Once the roaches are down, move along the tunnel and follow it around to the right. Pass through the doorway at the end, take another right and head through the next door in your path. On the other side, you'll spot another bug - this one gnawing on a corpse. You'll immediately be introduced to the game's stealth mechanics, so follow the onscreen prompts to crouch down and enter Hidden mode.
While crouched, your aim improves dramatically - but you'll need to use melee attacks (and move slowly, sticking to the shadows) if you intend to remain undetected. When you're ready to continue, bring up your security baton and take out the bug. Next, make your way forward, passed the half-digested corpse, and grab the Pip-Boy lying on the floor ahead. Finally, look for the red Vault Door Controls button nearby and push it.
Once the vault doors have opened, pass through the gate and onto the walkway. Move toward the light and descend the steps ahead, continuing forward until you reach the elevator. Step into the elevator and you'll be given one last chance to adjust your attributes and appearance. If you're happy with your previous decisions, select 'Finished - Exit the Vault' and prepare for your first breath of fresh-ish air in ages.
Go home and talk to Codsworth
Unsurprisingly, the atomic bomb (and the ensuing 200 years) hasn't been kind to your cosy suburban world - and, once your elevator reaches the surface, it's clear that civilisation as you know it is no more. Before you begin exploring the wilderness, you'll need to visit the remains of your old home. Immediately turn around to the east and make your way down the hillside to the the street below.
Discovered: Sanctuary
Once you reach the road, take a left head and walk along the street until you see your old robot pal Codsworth hovering outside your former abode.
Approach the robot and start a conversation with him. Work your way through the available dialogue choices until you're given the option to tease more information out of Codsworth through persuasion.
Persuasion options come in three different colours, indicating their difficulty - yellow is easiest, red is hardest and orange falls in between. Ask the bot if he's okay (yellow) to uncover more information about his time alone. Finally, inquire about the holotape left by your spouse and agree to explore the neighbourhood with your metal pal.
Search the neighbourhood with Codsworth
To begin your investigation, enter your old house and grab the Grognak the Barbarian comic from the kitchen counter. This permanently adds +5% damage to your Critical Hits with unarmed and melee attacks.
Next, enter the baby's room and grab the 'You're Special!' card from beneath the dresser. This enables you to increase an attribute of your choice by one point. You'll also find a bunch of other miscellaneous junk lying around the house - so scavenge whatever you like then head back out through your front door.
Once you're outside again, take a left and follow the road along toward the roundabout at the end of the street. Explore and loot each house you come across, moving clockwise around the cul-de-sac. Note that there's a safe in the bedroom of the house immediately next to your own if you want to try your hand at lock picking.
Learn how to lockpick
To successfully crack a lock, you need to adjust the angle of your bobby pin then gently turn the screwdriver. If you meet any resistance, you'll need to adjust the angle of the pin again before continuing. If you fail too many times, the pin will break - so be careful!
Eventually, after a spot of exploring, Codsworth will join you and initiate conversation. Ask him 'What now?' and press him for more information on the nearby town of Concord.
Investigate Concord
Once the conversation is over, Concord - your next destination - will be added to your map. You might also experience your first radiation storm. If this happens, your radiation levels will increase, reducing your maximum health. To reverse the effects of radiation, you can visit a doctor or using a RadAway.
Leave Codsworth and walk back down the street, passing by your old house on the right. To reach Concord, continue south-west along the street until you reach the bridge at the very end of the road. Before crossing the bridge, consider exploring the remaining houses in the area, keeping a lookout for useful items such as stimpaks.
Note that there's a computer terminal in the yellow house belonging to the Hawthorne family (you'll find the name on the mailbox outside) on the right-hand side of the road. You can hack the terminal - by selecting a word form the visible computer code and using the letter clues to hone in on the correct password - in order to find out more about the neighbours. Before you leave the building, crack the safe to the right of the terminal in order to secure a whole load of ammo and pre-war money.
Head to Concord
When you're ready to continue, head back outside and approach the bridge at the end of the street. Grab the Fragmentation Grenades from the trash can to the left of the bridge then cross over to the other side of the water.
Next, follow the road toward the illuminated Red Rocket sign. As you near the truck stop to your right, you'll spot a dog roaming around the yard outside. Approach it to continue.
Discovered: Red Rocket Truck Stop
Greet the dog and, shortly, you'll have a new travelling companion. As the on-screen notes explain, your new canine pal will help you out in battle and will bark whenever it finds items of interest during your post-apocalyptic adventures. Additionally, you can talk to the dog to command it to stay put or to move it to specific points around the area.
Next, enter the truck stop and deal with any mole rats that attack. Inside the garage, you'll find a workbench (which can be used to turn your collected junk into useful items), plus a weapons workbench that lets you modify and upgrade your armaments. Lastly, there's a Power Armour Station here too - but you won't have much use for it just yet.
When you're done exploring the garage, head into the adjacent Red Rocket building, loot the area and look for the terminal in the back room. Under Business Entries > Safe Storage, you'll find reference to secret caves beneath the garage - something that might warrant investigation later. For now, leave the truck stop and return to the main road.
Follow the road east and stay with it as it winds down the hillside toward another cluster of buildings below. Watch out for the Bloodbug Hatchlings draining a nearby corpse and deal with them accordingly. When all is clear, continue south down the hill until you reach the first building on the right.
Just before the building, you'll spot a small track leading right, away from the main road. Head west a short way, moving through the bushes to the rear of the house, and look for the glowing barrels at the foot of the hill to the right. There's a small cave entrance behind them so head on inside.
Once you're in the cave, deal with the mole rats burrowing up through the earth and harvest the mysterious brain fungus growing all around you. Next, follow the north-western tunnel to the very end and locate the safe on the ground. Pick the lock to secure a range of tantalising goodies then make your way back outside, returning to the building on the right-hand side of the road from earlier.
Enter Concord
The town of Concord lies immediately ahead, along the street to the south-east. However, before you start exploring the area, glance east and locate the damaged railing. Pass on through the gap and continue east until you reach the playground ahead. Look for the building to the left, just before the broken fence, and take the bobby pins and other assorted loot from the toolbox beneath the steps.
Next, climb the steps and explore the house to the left - you'll find more bobby pins and 15 bottle caps inside, alongside a handy First Aid box on the wall. Finally, pick the floor safe in the bedroom to access a stash of ammo and pre-war money. When you're ready to continue, leave the house, backtrack to the main road and head south-east into town.
Now that you've safely made it to Concord, it's time to investigate your new surroundings. Many of the buildings that you'll pass as you wind along the road are inaccessible - so exploration isn't as daunting a task as it might first seem.
Follow the road forward until you reach the blue car on your left then take a right at the nearby junction, passing beneath the 'Celebrate History' banner hung over the road. Proceed toward the bunting-strewn building at the end of the street, looting the area (and numerous corpses) as you go - you'll find a molotov cocktail, tire iron, raider right leg and road leathers among other useful items. Once you reach the building, the current quest will come to a close, earning you a fine selection of experience points.
- Keep reading for our guide to completing Fallout 4: When Freedom Calls, the next quest in the game.
- Head back to the first page for the rest of our Fallout 4 guide.
You can also read our guides on where to find all of Fallout 4's Bobblehead locations, how to locate and romance all Fallout 4 companions, how to use cheat and console commands to help you out in combat, and how to get started with Fallout 4's base building.
Plus, we've also got a Fallout 4: Far Harbor walkthrough if you're looking for how to complete Fallout 4's main expansion.