
          Solving the game "Wasteland", by Electronic Arts.

                 OK, I know this is an old game, but is still my
          favorite, despite the more graphic adventures that have been
          produced since. It is the only adventure I feel gives a true
          multi solution game. If you haven't tried it, borrow a copy
          from someone who has it. As far as I know, it is and has been
          out of production for a couple of years.


                 Wasteland is one of the most comprehensive and
          enjoyable adventure games I have played. I have played it on
          both the C64 and IBM (the versions are practically identical),
          and have solved most of the mysteries, including the small
          ones. The only confusing difference is in the spelling of the
          password into the black market. Spelled "CRETIN" on the C64
          but not on the IBM. I don't remember the IBM spelling, because
          I prefer to kill and loot the guards anyway. While there is an
          overall solution, it is the smaller mysteries that give you
          skills and clues to solve the final problem. There are also
          quite a few false leads.
                 I have seen the official clue book, after solving the
          game of course, and found that many of the clues I discovered
          were not covered in it. So I have decided to present them
          here. My primary game team has been through the game countless
          times, with my lead character holding most skills, having a
          maximum constitution of over 330 and a rank over Imperial
          Scarscalp. (The next promotion, puts you back to the rank of
          General Argent.) All this was done without "cheating". I won't
          tell you how to cheat, but those who have worked it out will
          know what I mean.
                 Well since I wrote the last paragraph, I have cheated a
          little, to see how far the ranks would go. The character has a
          constitution of 400 and a rank of, would you believe, "Supreme
          Jerk"!! I don't think they expected anyone to get that far...
          and that is the end of the line too. No more character points
          are awarded.

                 Characters

                 The first step is to "roll your own" set of characters.
          You will need at least one with maximum IQ, high luck and
          dexterity. Sex, the book suggests, only limits access to
          bathrooms. I have found that ladies do have access to the
          mens', but men don't have access to the ladies'. There is a
          clue for one of the local mysteries in the ladies' at Quartz,
          some make sure there are some girls in the party. The only
          other difference it makes is with a certain three legged lady,
          who really should be avoided anyway.

                 Attributes.













                 Some of the attributes are more important than others.
          A high IQ is important, as is a high luck. (luck is the best
          armor I have found!). All characters need a good level in
          both. Charisma, on the other hand is fairly useless. There are
          a couple of places where you can use it to "charm" someone.
          Just use the best one you get. Don't re-roll a character just
          because the charisma is low.
                 Some one will need a high dexterity as mentioned
          before. It helps with bomb disarming and lock picking. The
          other three attributes are all combat related. The better they
          are, the better the hand to hand combat skill is. Strength is
          needed to open one important "door" later in the game. A high
          strength is as good as TNT on a lot of doors as well (and I
          mean High. 30 or over.)

                 Skills

                 Some skills are vital, others have no use at all. Some
          can be used somewhere in the game, but are not necessary.

          Brawling.  Essential. Give them all two levels to start with.

          Climb. Essential. One level will suffice. A trick can be used
          to boost it later.

          Clip pistol.  A waste of time. Give it to one person.

          Knife Fighting.  Give it to someone else.

          Pugilism. About as useful as Knife Fight.

          Riffle. Forget it. There are better guns to be found.

          Swim. It is used in a few places. But except for one occasion,
          if you do need it, you are doing something wrong. If decide
          not to use it, just don't fall in the creek.

          Knife throw. Helps with spears too! Forget it.

          Perception. Essential. Consider giving someone two levels.

          Assault Rifle. Essential. Best weapon in the first half if the
          game. One level for every body.

          AT weapon. Give one or two character two levels each. Pick the
          more combat oriented characters.

          SMG. Better than clip pistols. Easy enough to find. A level to
          each character.

          Acrobat. Can be used. Not really needed. Similar to climb.

          Gamble. Forget it. The tables are rigged.













          Picklock. Give this to person with high luck and dexterity.
          Perhaps two levels.

          Silent Movement. Use it in the courthouse. Once in the entire
          game! and then it doesn't always work anyway.

          Confidence. Use your charisma instead.

          Slight of hand. Seems to be a red herring.

          Demolition. Another red herring.

          Forgery. And yet another waste of skill points.

          Alarm Disarm. Forget it. Just look for the on/off switch.

          Bureaucracy. Does it help politicians? Won't help you either.

          Bomb Disarm. Give it to the person with high luck and
          dexterity. It is a good idea to disband this person from the
          party before tackling a bomb. Saves blowing everybody up when
          the person blunders. Two levels can't hurt.

          Medic. Give it to one person, in case... Better to wait for
          the Doctor skill that shows up when your IQ gets higher.

          Safecrack. Someone will need it. Give it to the second
          luckiest.

          Cryptology. Waste of time. It can be used, right after you
          blow away what could have been the most useful clue in the
          game.

          Metallurgy. Helps you mine for silver. If you have to resort
          to this, you are really off track. There is plenty of loot to
          be stolen, so forget about digging holes in some dark corner
          of the mine.

          And now for some that show up later.

          Doctor. Give it to at least two people. Everyone if you can.
          The @#$% enemies always seem to target the only doctor in the
          party first.

          Energy weapon. Vital. Only give one level. Boost it with a
          trick I will reveal later.

          Clone tech. Make back-up copies of your characters! Save it
          till later. You'll know when you need it.

          Cyborg tech. Only one person will need it. The game will let
          you know when you need it, if you can't work it out for
          yourself, even then, it isn't essential.













          Electronics. Can be used, but in the wrong place it's likely
          to give you a radioactive bath.

          Toaster Repair. Fix all those broken toasters. Save it for
          later in the game. It provides a "second door" if you miss one
          of the items essential to finishing the game. I find it is the
          easier of the two "doors" to use.

          There is one more. It is not essential, but it is fun and can
          help. I'll let you find it. (It isn't in a library.)

          Don't be afraid to delete a character you have already rolled
          if you feel you could do a better job on another.

                 General Tips and Skill Boosters

                 Now, you won't find these tricks in any clue book. You
          have to be ready for them to work, though. This means you
          should have solved the minor mysteries. So first here's a
          couple of clues.
                 When you kill something/someone in hand to hand combat,
          you receive twice the points that you would for the same kill
          with a gun. Therefore you are better off if you equip your
          team with knifes and crowbars. Later on, chainsaws become
          available. The best weapon in the game is the proton axe.
          There are two to be found.
                 Highpool. There is a list on the wall near the shop
          counter in one of the buildings. Solve the problems on the
          list, and you'll be presented with your first set of armor.
          Don't kill anyone if you don't have to. It is a kiddies
          holiday camp. Three clues here. Talk to the little boy about
          the things on the list. The water purifier is in the lowest
          building on the left. Use perception to find it. An engine is
          available at the rail nomad's camp. Sell those useless clip
          pistols in Quartz to raise the money.
                 Rail Nomad camp. Deliver the Visa card for the
          brakeman. Note that this is the only time in a game that a
          Visa card is of any use. Drop any others you pick up. While
          you are in Quartz to deliver the card, chat to the others in
          the bar. It you are stuck for something to say, try reading
          the graffiti. Wander into the toilets, as this is where you
          get your clues for the Quartz mystery.
                 Find Ugly's hideout, and you get your first Uzi and a
          load of loot. Don't be afraid to investigate "small beat up
          buildings". His safe is behind the wall chart. You can only
          find it by accident, and only after you have taken the three
          pieces of jewellery of Huey, Duey and Louie at the courthouse.
          Keep walking up and down past the chart to find it, or hold
          your finger on the escape button while standing next to it.
                 Have a poke around in the cemetery.
                 Needles. More guns! Go into the police station (enter
          from the top right). Have a chat to the detective. Don't kill
          anyone (yet). The alarm can be turned off from the leftmost
          room along the bottom. This will let you at the guns. There












          two Rad suits and assault rifles to be gained by braking into
          the waste pit in the lower corner of Needles. Take a load of
          TNT. You'll need it. Watch out for radiation, too. There is a
          lot of it lying around the east side of Needles. Radiation is
          not a hazard if you don't step on one of the yellow markers.
          The problem is they can't always be seen (They only show at
          night. Keep your eyes on the 24 hour clock). Blow away the
          nuisance in the waste pit with your three SMG's. Don't tread
          on the busted canister. There is another Uzi and rad suit to
          be had. Christine has them. She's in the alley beside the
          exclusive club. Hire her. Keep her in the team if you like. I
          usually just grab her stuff then get rid of her again. It is
          possible to gain AT skill levels by playing with the howitzer.
          If your aim is good, you cam blow up the hobo dog stand. Now
          go up to the Darwin Village black market and buy some kevlar
          suits. These are good enough to keep you intact while you
          solve the bloodstaff murders. You will also gain more assault
          rifles.
                 Savage village. Leave the Junkmaster alone, but blow
          away everyone else. This place is full of assault rifles. it
          is also good for a LAW rocket or two.
                 Vegas. Clean out the casino. Two laser pistol. Save
          these for later. Now here are the first of the skill boosters.
          On the second floor of the casino, there is a squeaky floor
          board. Walk back and forward across this until everyone's
          perception is up to level three. Now break into the cellar
          below Al's room. Climb the pile of rubble in the corner until
          everyone's climb skill is up to level four. Use a shovel to
          get out through the right side wall. There is a shovel in the
          cellar behind the bar. A tip for cheats and veterans here: it
          is possible to boost your picklock skill from level six to
          level ten on the sound proof aluminium doors.
                 Now head over to the Mushroom cloud temple. Enter Vegas
          from the centre right and head up between the buildings to
          avoid the wariods. Blow up the door to the temple. This will
          bring out loads of angry guards. Lay into them with the
          assault rifles. This will achieve two things. It will give
          some boost to assault rifle skill, and it will give you a load
          of experience points. There more guards in the temple itself.
          Charmaine also has a laser pistol. She can be of some
          assistance in solving the big mystery, but she is not vital.
          Now blow away the gundriods outside the temple. They have the
          key you need to bust into the sewer (via the temple). Go learn
          how to fire a laser weapon in the library at the bottom right
          corner of Vegas. Now take your laser pistols and assault
          rifles down to the Citadel.
                 Using the assault rifles blow away anyone who
          challenges you EXCEPT FOR BROTHER GOLIATH. Note that they will
          be tough to kill, and you may need to step out to lick your
          wounds. Now, with weapons prepared but NOT equipped, Approach
          Goliath. When you are twenty feet from him, use encounter to
          equip your team with their rifles. Beware the Nuns that jump
          out if you missed them before. Now, just stand there and shoot
          at the Brother one bullet at a time. You will be able to build












          your gun skills up to level seven this way. When your assault
          rifle skills are there, switch to laser pistol. If you can't
          seem to hit, try firing bursts at first. Just remember that
          these pistols have a range of just thirty feet. When your
          characters are all at level seven in energy weapon, leave the
          citadel and sell the pistols, they are of no use in combat. If
          your skills won't go above about level four, go and kill more
          enemies. You need the extra promotions. (A note about laser
          pistols: a character with luck in the 80 to 100 area can kill
          the nastiest things the game throws up at a distance of 100
          feet!!)
                 For really adventurous people, try an assault on the
          citadel now. It can be done but don't be surprised if you have
          to reload because you get killed. Blow a hole through the wall
          near the brother as this brings out seven less tough guys than
          using the door, not to mention the At weapon it takes to kill
          the brother himself. The armory is to the left. When what is
          left of you manages to get to it, you will find some pretty
          big guns. Leave one power pack behind or you will be blown to
          bits.
                 Now, in the main hall, head north, keeping up against
          the left wall. Use the Meson cannon and other laser rifles on
          full auto against the two groups you encounter. Reload
          immediately after each battle. The best armor on the game is
          up the stairs. The way to open the "door" is in the small room
          behind the steps. Won't open? Keep trying, using the strongest
          person you have. The code for the final safe is "Rosebud". The
          code itself is easy to find, but telling you here will save
          you the trouble of wandering into some big guns while
          searching for it.

                 Of Broken toasters and other things.

          Ok, a couple of final clues. The grazer bat fetish ??? is for
          the junk master. He likes it, whatever it is.

          There are three toaster to be found and fixed, at a table in
          the citadel. They produce some useful and some not so useful
          items.
                 A note for cheats. Fix a fourth toaster here, and watch
          the response. It seems and ENGINE BLOCK has somehow got jammed
          in this toaster. It also renders the table useless, covered
          with too many crumbs!!  It would seem the game writers were
          well aware of the ability of players to cheat. In fact I have
          walked my players (IBM version) right off one set of maps and
          onto a fresh set, complete with all their equipment. I wont
          say how, but it ain't hard...

          Go for it.

