For the life of me I cannot escape the vault in Dead Money without using tcl and thus not getting the achievement. So I’ve got to find a non console command way out. I’ve spent a couple hours just trying to get out with all the gold but Elijah always re-enables the security fields blocking the exit doors as soon as he walks past the door and before he comes down the steps. I’ve seen walkthrough videos where the security fields stay down for quite a while but the security fields are always up for me. I have set the game to “very easy” just for this part and still not luck.

I missed the snowglobe and before I leave the Sierra Madre I’m going to have to make sure and explore for it. This has been a frustrating DLC and at this point I may just see if it’s possible to escape the vault without all the gold using stealth boys to sneak past Elijah when he drops the force field and that split second before he re-enables them.

It is impossible to escape with all the gold bars. :/

No it isn't. There are tons of different strategies to do this. Hold on, I'll find the strategy that worked for me.

EDIT: Here it is, found on the Vault:


By far the most elegant and easy technique I have seen yet. It worked for me and was confirmed by 3 others on the Vault, but sometimes it takes a few attempts to perfect. Good luck! :wink_smile:

Thanks for the detailed notes. Does it matter which circumstance under which Elijah comes down? I’ve tried “let’s cooperate” and “I’ll steal it for myself” both of which get him hustling on down to the vault. I’ve tried crouching by the generator thing at the base of the stairs Elijah comes down, with it between me and him, but he ~always~ stops on the stairs and “sees” me crouched there and starts talking, with or without stealthboy active and with or without the assassin suit on, and then Elijah doesn’t move off the steps to get to the console part.

I’m assuming that when he walks past you and activates the console by the vault door that is when the shields blocking the doorways will go off/down and let me through. When Elijah is at the computer I guess he doesn’t notice you standing up and leaving and instead must be fixated on going in the vault. I’ll try that strategy a few more times (I’ve seen it done on walkthrough videos without using stealthboys) so I know it’s doable. I may as well grab everything in the vault of value as once you’re over encumbered it doesn’t seem to matter if its just 1 pound or 10000 pounds over the weight capacity.

I would start walking as soon as the conversation ended. Remember, that you don't have to be crouched until he comes into view. When he comes into view, crouch behind that big "generator-looking object". Then you need to rotate behind it so you are out of his view, I suggest using third-person mode to help with this. Make sure that the object is always between you and him while he is walking. When he gets on the terminal stand up and walk out. I used a stealth boy to do it every try, but I don't know if it actually has any bearing on the technique. This actually took me 4 or 5 tries to do, so keep trying and you may get it some time.

Just watched a video that abused Implant GRX and easily got with all 37 gold bars.

Ok, I obviously need to practice this a bit more. I used the conversation response where Elijah leaves the force fields off and comes right down. Then I’ve been hiding behind the generator thing and Elijah ~always~ manages to see me when I make a break for the stairs. Crouched or standing even with a stealthboy it doesn’t matter. He walks a few steps, pauses, looks around, walks a few steps, pauses, looks around all the way up to the vault terminal and by then he says “huh…” and the force fields go up. I’ve played all the Thief games and thought those sneaking skills would help but I never had an NPC so maddeningly hyper alert as Elijah. The stealthboy is essentially useless since Elijah always sees you using it anyway. If this doesn’t work after a while I may try the trick where you drop the gold through the force field and come around the back door and get out with them that way.

i use the same technique as intact garden gnome. i don't use a stealth boy. it's all about timing. if you keep getting spotted, you're either standing up and walking out too soon, or you're not positioned correctly behind the generator type thing. you have to wait for elijah to be under the glass hood type thing over the vault entrance. if you move out from behind the generator before he's in the enclosure, you will always be spotted. elijah also pauses a couple of times which can through off your timing. there's a lot of videos on youtube, it's easier to watch it being done than to describe how to do it. search all gold no stealthboy or something similar. you should find plenty of examples.

edit: i missed the op's question: you have to threaten elijah so he tells you to stay in the vault. when he approaches the vault, the barrier will be down. it won't go up until he realizes you are not in the vault. i typically use the options with the repair skill check (again, a video showing how to escape with all gold will show what dialogue options they chose). if you are going to not try to escape the vault with all the gold, or are going for the trophy for killing elijah, then you have to go the long way out (the way you first entered the vault).

Did it! All 37 bars with no stealthboy. Thank you all for the ideas, youtube links, help, and patience. Took a little break and then did a save just as I crept around the corner of the glass hood enclosure thing and it took 4 tries or so to finally make it. The shields went back up 2 paces just past clearing the doorway threshold. The timing window to make the move to the stairs is barley a second, literally. This video was the most helpful http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2fFsGNcZc0

I stashed the gold in a garbage can so I can move around easier. Before I leave for good I’m going to go after the snowglobe, which I can’t believe I missed with Dean, and then I’ll hunt down the 9 remaining Deans Secret Stashes. This DLC still continues.