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Vault 17

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Vault 17 is an inhabited underground complex you can reach from the world map. The medical bay and workshops offer people with quests, trade, and repairs, and Diana Gurieva is your contact for joining the faction of the same name.

What Vault 17 Is

Vault 17 is one of the commercial protective vaults built by the Karma Industries corporation. According to the lore, vaults like these were sold to anyone who could pay for them, and were built far from cities, near natural shelters — cliffs, canyons, mountains — so they could survive even a nuclear strike.

Karma Industries vaults are designed for 50 years of self-sufficient operation. Inside there are automated life-support systems, water and air filtration, a multi-level security system, and advanced medical equipment from the Renascence Inc. corporation. All of it is powered by a compact TEUS-1 atomic mini-reactor, capable of supplying energy to a small city.

In the game, Vault 17 is a territorial faction with its own zone on the global map and its center in the "Vault 17" location. It’s a public vault, accessible from the global map, that the player can enter and walk through its halls — the living quarters, the medical bay, the workshop.

Inhabitants and Way of Life

According to the lore, the vault’s residents are assigned to specialization groups: starter, technical, medical, security, and command. Each group carries its own duties and privileges and wears standard-issue gear — the KS-series jumpsuits (KS-1, KS-1T for technicians, KS-1M for medics, and so on). This is canonical backstory for how the vault is structured, not an in-game rank system.

The Vault 17 faction is led by Diana Gurieva, a Vault technician. It’s through dialogue with her that you join the faction. Vault 17 is friendly with the Traders and New Gambell and, unlike all the other factions, has not a single enemy — which is very much in keeping with a commercial, trade-oriented vault.

Access: A Unique "Clearance" Model

Vault 17 is the only faction that uses a special threshold called "Clearance Confirmed". As long as your reputation is below 21, the guards keep you at arm’s length, and access stays limited ("Access Restricted"). Once your reputation climbs past 20, the vault begins to recognize you and let you in deeper.

The faction’s services open up in stages by reputation:

  • Clinic — available right from first contact (reputation 0 and up);
  • Restricted Archive — requires confirmed clearance (reputation 21 and up);
  • Technical Access — opens at the "Trusted" level (reputation 101 and up).

You can join the faction only after reaching the "Clearance Confirmed" level (reputation 21) — Vault 17 doesn’t use open enrollment like the Traders or the towns. The base joining threshold here has already been passed by the time you gain clearance, so the reputation you’ve earned is kept when you join; and if you decide to leave, it costs you –5 reputation. For their accomplishments, a faction member advances through three ranks: Staff → Senior Specialist → Councilor.

Vault 17 takes attacks noticeably more seriously than the rest: the faction reacts to aggression against its own, and killing one of its members costs –12 reputation.

Repairs, discounts, and storerooms

Lavrentiev in the workshop repairs broken weapons and armor for Coins. The repair service opens at contact standing with Vault 17 (reputation 0 and up); membership is not required. Select an item and check the fee before paying. Repair benches still require materials.

Vault 17 offers discounts on NPC goods and paid repairs: 5% at confirmed clearance, 10% at respected standing, and 15% at trusted standing. The highest unlocked discount applies.

Selected containers in six Vault areas contain materials, tools, household finds, and ammunition. Empty storeroom containers make a new loot roll when opened normally after a four-hour interval. Loot is shared and not guaranteed; restocking never produces Coins.

Connection to the Player’s Start

A new character starts at the snowy outpost beside Josh. After the intro, you choose your next route; Vault 17 is one of the available destinations. Preparation and leaving the outpost are covered in the intro guide.

Within the Vault, a connected chain of medical bay and workshop quests leads through the extra airlock to the surface. It is covered in the quest overview. The game’s intro and this quest chain are separate stages of your journey.