Wasteland 3: Gary “NaCl” Wolfe’s hunt — All synth locations

While you’re doing the Little Vegas Casino quest in Wasteland 3, you’ll encounter Gary “NaCl” Wolfe (a character from the previous game). He and his squad are lounging around in Ranger HQ’s yard and he has a task for you: Wolfe’s Hunt — tracking down and eliminating various synths all over Colorado. Here’s our guide to help you out.

Note: For more locations or quests, you can head back to our campaign walkthrough main page. Alternatively, you can check our Wasteland 3 guides and features hub.

Wasteland 3 sidequest: Wolfe’s Hunt synth locations

“Somewhere in Colorado Springs”

The synth, October 11, is actually what kicks off the Wolfe’s Hunt sidequest in Wasteland 3. Gary “NaCl” Wolfe tells you that there’s a synth somewhere in Colorado Springs.

You’ll find it in the Patriarch’s Museum. Inside the museum, check the animatronics at the upper left corner. Use Nerd Stuff 4 to stun the synth and converse with it. It’ll tell you about its journey from Arizona to Colorado while being aided by a certain Tourmaline.

You can let it escape or destroy it immediately. If you let it escape, Gary “NaCl” Wolfe will scoff at you for not being able to finish the job. He and his squad will leave.

Conversely, if you destroy the synth, pick up its head and bring it to Wolfe. He’ll give you some cash and tell you the clues to the locations of other synths in Colorado. You’ll find them as you progress through Wasteland 3‘s campaign.

Important: I’ve been informed that if you let October 11 escape, you’ll encounter it later in the game. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a save that’d let me change my decisions. Likewise, this choice happens quite early in Wasteland 3‘s campaign that it’d be unrealistic to replay the entire thing. If you’re able to found a different outcome, let me know.

“Close to Denver; near some towers”

This one is Tinker who’s found in Denver’s Machine Commune. It’s in the terminal area just before the air traffic control tower.

Speaking with Tinker lets you make amends for the war between humans and synths (which the Machine AI will like). However, this prevents you from selecting another option that lets you fight Tinker outside the area.

Now, if you attempt to attack Tinker while it’s inside the Machine Commune, all the robots in the zone will become hostile.

I messed up this dialogue during my playthrough and had no other save. But, I did keep a separate save just to see what happens when you attempt to demolish Tinker and all the bot mobs.

Honestly, the robots here aren’t tough. The problem is that they’re all very nice, but you need to obliterate all of them once they become hostile. Even Greet-O and Party Pal need to get blasted, all while the annoying vending machine calls you a “murderer.” Anyway, go ahead and pick up Tinker’s head.

“Further away from Denver; probably underground”

The next synth location is Tellurium Mines all the way to the north of Denver. Here, you’ll meet Bulb who wants you to take out all the robots.

You can repair one of the bots (Mechanics 6) and it’ll tell you to speak with Null Stack. Do that and you can attack Null Stack plus all the other mobs in the mines. You’ve probably noticed a conspicuous synth named Earl who’s buddied up with a Scorpitron.

Once the bots are wiped out, don’t forget to pick up the Barter skill book near the terminal. Grab Earl’s head and speak with Bulb to finish this part.

“Near Aspen; somewhere in the mountains”

This Wolfe’s Hunt synth location is the Department of Energy Site. It’s directly east of Santa’s Workshop.

Inside, use Nerd Stuff 7 to hack the terminals and open doors. There’s a lot of “tech” loot here and some wandering bots.

Near the section with traps (Explosives 8), open the container to pick up the Nervous Nancy creepy doll.

The next section is a large generator room with more bots. However, you can avoid them by using the side door.

If you open the metal shutter, you’ll encounter Dos-Teh-Seh who’ll threaten you. It looks like Dos-Teh-Seh is considered a leader of the synths — “I am the daughter-wife of sainted Cochise” and is plotting their resurgence.

It’s got a Scorpitron that’s being repaired at the moment, although it’ll also join the fray once the battle is initiated.

Once everything has been destroyed, pick up Dos-Teh-Seh’s head and various loot, including a Tactical Nuke, the Death Sifter machine gun, and Magneto Cannon Kodiak upgrade. You’ll also find the Nerd Stuff skill book and Soldierpunk Helmet in one of the containers.

Lastly, inspect the terminal in the small room. You can choose to “rip the guts from the transmitter” to finish this part.

Every time you return a synth’s head to Gary “NaCl” Wolfe, he’ll give you a few hundred dollars. Once you’ve returned all the synth heads to him, he’ll reward you to $1,200 cash. You’ll also unlock Tinker’s Head as an ornament for your Kodiak.

Oh, and just in case someone in your squad has the Cyborg Tech perk, Wolfe can’t help but admonish you for your ignorance. Lastly, no, he does not join Team November in Wasteland 3.

Wasteland 3 is available via Steam. For more information, check out our guides and features hub.