Fallout 4: Mercer Safehouse sidequest walkthrough
How to complete the Mercer Safehouse sidequest in Fallout 4 to acquire a safehouse with a workshop.
Mercer Safehouse is a Railroad Faction sidequest in Fallout 4, and is a vital step in getting yourself a safehouse with a workshop inside it, so you can craft the interceptor you need to finish the main quest The Molecular Level.
You may have access to such a safehouse already, in which case you can simply travel there and craft it. If so, skip forward to The Molecular Level (continued) below. For everyone else, though, follow our Mercer Safehouse walkthrough for Fallout 4 below.
Mercer Safehouse walkthrough for Fallout 4
Leave Railroad HQ, backtrack through the crypt and make your way outside. Your next destination is the Starlight Drive-in, just north of Lexington.
Call up your Pip-Boy map and fast travel to Lexington, following the objective marker north on your arrival. Approach the large blue movie screen then slip through the fence to access the car-strewn parking lot.
Once you reach the drive-in, the Mercer Safehouse quest and the Taking Point: Starlight Drive-in quest (that you received from Preston Garvey earlier in the game) will run in tandem - assuming you haven't completed the latter already.
Head north toward the blue tower in the centre of the parking lot and eliminate the mole rats that attack. Once the area is clear, locate the small blue shack on the north-western edge of the drive-in. Pick the lock, step inside and activate the workbench to continue.
In order to complete the Mercer Safehouse quest, you'll need to fortify the area's defences to 100%, while the Taking Point: Starlight Drive-in quest requires you to build a Recruitment Radio Beacon. Neither step is necessary to progress the story, however.
When you're ready to focus on your main objective, access the workbench, open the Special menu and select the Stabilised Reflector Platform. Find a place to position it outside and build it to complete your first mission-critical construction project.
The Molecular Level (continued)
Once the Reflector Platform is dealt with, return to Tinker Tom. Open your Pip-Boy map and fast travel back to Railroad HQ. Once you've located Tom and engaged him in conversation, tell him the platform is ready.
You'll learn that your next task requires three specialty items:
- A circuit board - found in military sites.
- A sensor module - found in telecom sites.
- A biometric scanner - found in hospitals.
Thank him for his help and three new objectives will be added to your log: Build the Beam Emitter, Build the Relay Dish, and Build the Console.
With any luck, you'll have found the required specialty items already - simply through general play. If not, investigate the three new optional objectives added to your log. Each objective guides you to a different location containing one of the missing parts. These locations - Milton General Hospital, the Coast Guard Pier and the - have been added to your map.
Once you've acquired these items, open your Pip-Boy and fast travel back to the Starlight Drive-in (or wherever you build your Reflector Platform).
Access the workbench and note that the Molecular Beam Emitter, Relay Dish and Control Console have been added to Special menu. If you already have the resources required to make them, build, place and power them up immediately.
If you're still missing components, make your way to each optional location in turn (visiting the hospital for the scanner, the pier for the sensor module and the stockpile for the circuit board), and use the objective marker to quickly locate the parts that you need. Once each part is yours, return to your safehouse workbench then assemble and place the Molecular Beam Emitter, Relay Dish and Control Console.
Power up the Signal Interceptor
Once the Signal Interceptor is complete, you'll need to supply power to each individual component. If you've reached Level 1 of the Science! perk, consider crafting several large generators - each capable of outputting 10 units of power. Alternatively, build numerous smaller generators to drive the machine. If you run out of building materials, remember that you can turn items around the environment into scrap while in workshop mode.
Once the Signal Interceptor is powered, locate Desdemona nearby and engage her in conversation. Ask her about Patriot and she'll reveal that the Railroad needs you to make contact. It seems that Patriot (whoever they may be) has been helping synths escape the Institute. Inquire how you'll make contact then promise to do your best. Agree to be the Railroad's 'agent on the inside' then wrap up the conversation.
Use the Signal Interceptor
When you're ready to continue, step onto the Signal Interceptor and wait for the teleportation device to blast your molecules over to the Institute. Once you've reached your destination, The Molecular Level quest will come to a close and the new Underground Undercover quest will be added to your log. It's time to go find your son!
- The next part of our walkthrough explains how to complete the Fallout 4: Institutionalised quest.
- Return to the index page for more entries in our Fallout 4 guide.
You can also read our guides on where to find all of Fallout 4's Bobblehead locations, how to locate and romance all Fallout 4 companions, how to use cheat and console commands to help you out in combat, and how to get started with Fallout 4's base building.
Plus, we've also got a Fallout 4: Far Harbor walkthrough if you're looking for how to complete Fallout 4's main expansion.