How to Get the Ratslayer in Fallout: New Vegas

Find Broc Flower Cave north of Camp Searchlight and reach the makeshift laboratory on the upper level. The Ratslayer is beside the desk. It is a unique varmint rifle you can pick up directly. You do not need to finish a quest, buy it from a vendor, or defeat a particular boss to make it appear.

1. Find the cave in the southern Mojave

Look north of Camp Searchlight and east of Nipton for Broc Flower Cave. If the marker is already discovered, select it in the Pip-Boy map. If it is undiscovered, use those two settlements as landmarks and check the cave entrance when you get close. The target is Broc Flower Cave, so verify the name before going inside.

Make a save near the entrance if you are traveling there early. Bring healing and a weapon you can use in tight spaces. The cave is home to rats, and the rifle is farther inside than the entrance. If you do not want to fight every creature, move slowly enough to see the next safe stretch before continuing.

2. Reach the upper laboratory

1. Enter Broc Flower Cave and follow the cave passages inward.
2. Look for the route that climbs to the upper part of the cavern.
3. Continue to the makeshift laboratory overlooking the cave below.
4. Find the desk and look along the ground beside it.
5. Pick up Ratslayer and confirm its name in the Pip-Boy.

If you reach a lower area and cannot see a desk, look up and check the passages for a way to the upper level. The rifle is in the furnished lab, not simply sitting in the main cavern. Watch the change in terrain as you climb. Reaching a room with a desk and supplies tells you that you have found the right part of the cave.

3. Look at the floor before leaving the room

The rifle can be easy to overlook if you only check containers and the desktop. Look down beside the desk and move the crosshair slowly over the area until the pickup label appears. The unique rifle is a loose object. Opening the nearby supplies does not add it to your inventory automatically.

If the room is dark, reposition until you can see the shape of the rifle and read the pickup prompt. The Ratslayer label is the confirmation you want. Check your inventory after picking it up, particularly if you already carry a regular varmint rifle. The two items appear separately.

4. Check what the rifle adds to your loadout

Ratslayer is a unique variant of the varmint rifle. It comes with a scope and suppressor already attached, so it is worth trying if you want to take careful shots from concealment. Review its ammunition and condition in the Pip-Boy before you head into another fight. If your current weapon uses a different round, make sure you have enough of the rifle's ammunition to use it regularly.

Test the scope in an open area where you can judge how it feels at distance. The cave itself gives you little room to compare a scoped rifle with your normal close-range weapon. Keep both available if they cover different situations for your character.

5. Diagnose an empty desk or a wrong turn

If you do not see the rifle, confirm that you are in the upper laboratory of Broc Flower Cave. Check the floor on either side of the desk before searching the rest of the cavern. If you previously explored this location, check your current inventory or wherever you store weapons. You may have picked up the unique rifle on an earlier visit.

If you are lost on the way back, retrace the passage from the lab toward the cave entrance instead of jumping into the cavern below. Check your health before heading past any rats you left behind. Once you are outside, verify the weapon and ammunition in your Pip-Boy before moving on.

If you are using the rifle for a stealth character, test it with a clear line of sight and compare how enemies respond to your first shot. The suppressor helps with noise, but position and visibility still matter. Move to a different angle if your target survives and starts looking for you.