Monuments are the loot engine
Open-world nodes give basics, but monuments give the crates that move you up a tier. Learn them and you stop starving for parts.
Radiation tiers
Monuments carry different radiation levels. Each tier asks for more protection and pays better loot.
- Low radiation — little gear needed, basic crates
- Medium radiation — needs protection, mid tier loot
- High radiation — full protection, the best crates
Card-gated rooms
Red, blue, and green keycards open locked rooms. The card tier maps to the loot tier, so bring the right card.
Puzzle rooms
Some monuments lock loot behind a fuse or a switch. Bring the fuse and the card, or the room stays shut.
Recycle on site
Most monuments have a recycler. Break junk down before you walk, so you carry value instead of weight. See the scrap guide.
Pick by need, not habit
Go where the loot you need lives. Running the same monument forever leaves you short on the parts it does not drop.
Go early, leave early
Fresh monuments have untouched crates but also fresh competition. Loot the key rooms, then leave before the fight finds you.
Travel light going in
Bring only the gear the monument needs. Dying in a monument with a full kit sets you back further than skipping it.
Learn one at a time
Master one monument’s layout before adding the next. A known route beats a guess in a new building.
Learn the puzzle
Monuments — the dome, train yard, and harbor — hold good loot but kill the unprepared with lasers and puzzles. Run one until the route is reflex, then take the next. A clean monument run pays more than a greedy dash that leaves you irradiated.