Hey there, I'm new to the site, so hopefully I post this in the right spot. If not, sorry. Anyways, I started playing fallout 3 a few weeks ago, and I'm on a mission right now and I'm at the point where I'm crossing a bridge with landminds on it. I would much rather not go back and start a new mission because I've been on this one for awhile, however, I ran out of bullets and health and I have no idea how to cross without going into the radioactive water. Any suggestions?
Thanks.

Go slowly, crouching, and deactivate the mines. And if your health is really low, drink some of the water (once on the other side) to regain health (and gain a few rads, but it's better than being dead).

If you are where I think you are; under the bridge, there's a small hide-out with a bed and an ammo crate. You can rest there and regain health. But, if it is where I think it is, there's a landmine right near the entrance, so be careful.

EDIT: And now that I think about it, there was another mine near the ammo crate... IIRC....Oops.

One of those mines are glitched, as in no body, only detonator. You will see it if you look close, and go slow. I see it better during the daytime. Go slow! That one mine will trigger all the others... leaving you limbless.

Swim! Unless you have extremely high rad levels already you'll be fine. It's much safer than trying to cross the bridge.

Keep on the lookout for big crabs....LOL.

Yeah if you swim, you don't want to be mirlurk dinner

Thanks everyone for the help. Right after I posted this topic, I used my very last bullet to shot one mine and it triggered all of them, and I got over. Phewww

Was I right about the hide-out under the bridge? That was months ago when I was last in that area.

i didnt see a hideout, but then again i didnt check thoroughly. sorry. ill probably have to cross it again, ill check then

The hideout you are talking about, is under a bridge closer to the Super Duper Mart, than further down the river. Fyi, that hideout is mined....

Yea, that's right....just been a long time since then. Nice little place, once you remove the mines.

You would have been better off deactivating them. Not only would have you gotten a bunch of XP from doing that, but you would have ended up with a nice stash of Frag Mines. It's not hard to deactivate a mine, there's no need to be afraid of a field like that. The only ones you have to worry about are the ones you don't see. I find it works better if I enter sneak mode when deactivating mines, it's puts me closer to the ground so I can reach them easier.

Pure genius! :celebration:

The only problem with that is if Mandy had a lousy Explosives level. I know that there were a couple of times near the beginning(and the SuperDuper Mart area is pretty close to the start, relatively speaking) that I had issues with mines/traps and had to shoot them to get rid of them. Your suggestion about crouching is a good one, as I believe it adds a little more time for you to defuse the mine.

As far as I'm concerned, Explosives should be one of the main skills people invest in. Not only will get you a house in Megaton, if you want to go that route, but it makes an excellent secondary combat skill. A well placed land mine can make a big difference in a battle. And the higher your skill, the more damage you're going to be able to inflict. So it would be foolish not to invest in it IMO.

To be honest, I don't use any explosive weapons(I think I've thrown 2 or 3 grenades in total). I do like it for the disarming traps aspect, something I neglected at the start of the game(I am not sure why. I must have missed that part of it in the description in the manual.). Until I found out I needed a certain level to get the house I didn't put any points in it at all. Thank goodness I had it at a level that a Mentats enabled me to successfully perform the task(as I needed a place to stay that didn't cost 120 caps/night!).

I don't use grenades much either, but land mines can make a big difference in a battle. I like setting up a trap, going in and firing a shot or two, then having them chase me right through my little mine field. It can be a very effective way to deal with a tough enemy, and quite often a single mine is all it takes to kill your opponent, especially if you're using Bottlecap Mines. Raiders can be taken out with just a single Frag Mine if your Explosives skill is high enough.

I think my main concern with using mines is the potential collateral damage that could occur due to exploding vehicles. I am leey of accidentally setting off a chain reaction when there are neutral or friendly NPCs in the area and them getting caught in the middle of it(and then becoming hostile to me).

This is my first play-through(I am getting the GOTY version on Thursday and will try out the DLC then), and then after that I will be going to Fallout NV(depending on whether I should wait for a patch or not). Either that, or The Witcher or Bioshock 2(too many good games, too little time!).

When I try out Fallout 3 again, I will try to find a Mod or two and try a different type of character(of the evil, mine-laying type).

You just have to be careful where you place your mines. In general, out in the open where there's likely to be a vehicle isn't a good place to use them to begin with. It can be easy for your enemy to go around them and miss them completely. You want to use them in a narrow choke point where your opponent has no choice but to pass in order to get to you. Vehicles generally don't fit in to those kinds of spots so there's very little chance of setting off a chain reaction. Another good approach is to place a mine just around the corner of a building, then wait behind it with your weapon ready to open fire. I sometimes will leave a trail of them down some corridor then keep running back to the next mine position, firing a few shots in the process, until the enemy has been dealt with.

I guess mines would be a good option for the various Metros that are to be found. With very few exceptions, there aren't any friendly/neutral NPCs that one would have to worry about getting caught in the blast.

lol i think i remember that bridge, i set one off heard the beeping so i ran ahead to get away then set off the big chain reaction, lost some important bits in the resulting blast

Yes, they're very good for those areas. Lots of narrow corridors that enemies have to go through in order to get to you. Out in the open you're better off relying on your ranged weapons, and using cover effectively. Far too often I try to set a trap for something outside and they just end up going around it. Unless you lay down so many that it's impossible for them to miss them all, but that's not always possible. In fact it rarely is. Most times you'll only get a chance to lay down one or two before your enemy notices you. They're also a good way of covering exits to an area if you want to explore it, and pick up any loot that's around. It's pretty easy to tell when something has entered the room when you suddenly hear a loud bang. Though it can be really annoying to discover that it was only a stupid Radroach and not a Super Mutant.

I never thought of them used as an early-warning system. That's a pretty good idea, actually.