How to Solve Fallout 76 Nuke Launch Codes
How it Works
- Fallout 76 uses a Keyword Cipher to encrypt the Launch Codes
- There are three Launch Codes to solve, one for each Silo: Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie
- The Launch Codes are reset every week on Monday at 5 PM PST / 8 PM EST / Midnight GMT
- The Launch Codes are reset every week on Tuesday at 5 PM PST / 8 PM EST / Midnight GMT (day of week changed as of Sep. 17, 2019)
- The Keywords on the Command boards from the previous week will be cleared
- Any Code Pieces you're carrying from the previous week will be removed from your inventory
- Any Secure Printer pages you picked up from inside Command will be removed from your inventory
- 48 hours after the reset, the first letters for the new Keywords start appearing on the Command boards inside the Whitespring Bunker
- To solve the Launch Codes before any Keyword letters are known, a "brute force" method of testing all possible Launch Codes is used
The Process
1) Collect Nuclear Keycards
- Go to Command inside the Whitespring Bunker
- Use either of the two red Surveillance System Terminals and choose "Initiate Search - Nuclear Keycard Escort" to initiate the repeatable "Hide and Seek and Destroy" Quest
- Destroy the Cargobot and pick the lock of the Secure Transport Container that it drops (it's a Skill Level 0 lock, so anyone can pick it)
- Once the container is open, anyone on the server can take a Keycard, so by hunting Cargobots with a group, everyone can collect a Keycard for the team
- Once opened, there is a 5 minute countdown before the container explodes
- Collect Keycards as a team and have one person stay as an anchor with all other team members swapping characters to collect as many as possible before the container explodes
- Repeat the above steps to collect as many Keycards as you can
- You need Keycards because every time you try a possible Launch Code, you use up 1 Keycard
- Keycards weigh 1 each
- Keycards aren't removed from your inventory with the weekly reset, so ideally you want to stock up in advance before the weekly reset
- Go to Command inside the Whitespring Bunker
- Use either of the two red Surveillance System Terminals and choose "Initiate Search - Silo [Alpha, Bravo, Charlie] Code Piece" to initiate the repeatable "Hide and Seek and Destroy" Quest for the Silo of your choice
- Code Pieces are carried by Scorched or Feral Ghoul Officers. Find and kill the Officer, and take the Code Piece.
- There are 8 unique Code Pieces per Silo, so repeat the Quest 8 times until you have them all
- Repeat all the steps above for each Silo
- You'll find the Code Pieces you've collected in the Notes section of your Pip-Boy
- We are solving for one Missile Silo at a time
- Write all the letters from the 8 Code Pieces into one string
- Write all the numbers from the 8 Code Pieces into another string
- Since we start solving immediately after the reset, there are no known Keyword Letters on the Command boards yet
- On NukaCrypt.com, input a single ?, then the letters string, then the numbers string
- Use 6 Letters as the Minimum and press "Solve"
- If you are solving later in the week and there are keyword letters on the board, use a ? for each blank space up until the last letter when inputting them into NukaCrypt.com
- Now you need that large pile of Nuclear Keycards you've been hoarding
- Try the list of codes one by one, in order from the top of the list
Team Ideas
Basic Requirements for all Participants
- Have your character ready to go ahead of time. You should have your character supplied with food, ammo, armor and weapons repaired, etc.
- Having as many locations as possible unlocked on the map is ideal for both Code Piece hunting and Keycard hunting
- Be prepared to spend up to 500 Caps in travel costs to collect all the Code Pieces for each Silo, although that's a worse case scenario and it should be less
- Have at least 50 carry weight available for collecting Keycards. If you are going to run Silos, have at least 100 carry weight available for carrying Keycards.
- If you have an open "Hide and Seek and Destroy" Quest leftover from the previous week, make sure to complete it before the reset happens, or your first attempt to get a Code Piece can be bugged. (Same quest name for both Code Pieces and Nuclear Keycards. Also, you cannot start a new quest if you have one open, and you can't have both a Keycard and a Code Piece quest open, only one of them.)
- Know how to get to Command inside the Military Wing inside the Whitespring Bunker, entering through the Whitespring Service Entrance.
Keycards Team - This team collects Keycards. A Keycard is used up every time a Launch Code is tried, so it's important to have as many as possible. The Keycards collected by this team are what make this whole thing possible.
Runner - This person is familiar with the Missile Silos and can solo them efficiently, and will deliver Keycards from the Keycards Team to the Solving Team if the Solving Team runs out of Keycards. When they aren't delivering Keycards, the Runner is part of the Keycards Team.
Solving Team - This person is familiar with the Missile Silos and can solo them efficiently, and will be inputting the possible codes to test them. To keep track of the codes that have been tried, it's recommended to print the list and cross off each one after you try it, so that in the excitement of solving the code, you're certain which one you just typed in. This person should be ready in the Silo so that they can start as soon as the list is ready. If you have a lot of team members, you can have 3 people ready, one in each Silo.
Confirm Team - This person is familiar with the Missile Silos and can solo them efficiently, and will try the same Launch Code after it has been solved and posted by the Solving Team so that it can be confirmed. This step is necessary because we don't want to make a mistake by publishing an incorrect code. If you have a lot of team members, you can have 3 people ready, one in each Silo.
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