Vault 13 – The Best Vault Number in Fallout
Without a doubt, Vault 13 stands out as the best vault in the Fallout universe. Not only was it designed to genuinely provide a safe, habitable shelter from nuclear war, but its residents went on to positively reshape the post-apocalyptic landscape of America like no other vault.
Overview of Notable Vaults
Here‘s a high-level overview of some of the most iconic and pivotal vaults from the lore of the Fallout series:
| Vault Number | Overview | Safety & Habitability | Experiments & Legacy |
| Vault 13 | Intended to genuinely shelter residents long-term and re-establish society later. Equipped with ample supplies and sustainable resources. | Very high safety and habitability scores. Spacious and well-stocked facilities conducive to raising families. | No experiments. Dwellers later founded Arroyo and the influential New California Republic. |
| Vault 101 | Remained sealed for 200 years as a social experiment testing prolonged isolation. | Initially high due to ample provisions, but later overcrowding caused deterioration. Harsh Overseer‘s rule also oppressive. | Infamous total isolation experiment. The Lone Wanderer later escaped and continued to Megaton/Capital Wasteland. |
| Vault 11 | Residents told required human sacrifice each year to stay housed, leading to madness and violence. | Extremely unsafe both physically and mentally given the ritual sacrifices and terror they inflicted. | Vault 11‘s brutal experiment lead to almost total annihilation of its residents. |
In-Depth Analysis of Vault 13 – The "Control Vault"
- Vault 13 was actually a "control vault" – intended to house residents safely with ample provisions rather than conduct any bizarre experiments on them.
- As a result, it boasted state-of-the-art facilities for long-term comfort and survival:
- Hydroponic farms and sustainable water purification systems.
- Spacious living quarters equipped to house over 1,000 residents across several generations. Educational, recreational, and medical amenities included.
- Massive food/water stockpiles sufficient to sustain residents for over 200 years. Medical supplies to last proportionally long.
- Robust geothermal power supply, disconnected from reliance on surface power grids.
- Over generations living in the vault, residents formed a vibrant, close-knit community and extensive archives/libraries were maintained and taught.
- The Vault 13 population grew large enough to establish specialized technical/medical training programs. This trained competent overseers and doctors for the community.
- In 2162, the Vault Dweller is sent out to replace the vault‘s damaged water chip – leading him to save all of Southern California in Fallout 1.
- Most importantly, Vault 13 residents in Fallout 2 embarked outside to found the village Arroyo and later the powerful New California Republic.
In essence, Vault 13 represents the "ideal control vault" – safely housing residents to rebuild civilization for generations, rather than abusing them like lab animals.
Reasons Why Vault 13 Stands Above Other Vaults
1. Focus Was Saving Lives, Not Endangering Them
Unlike so many other sadistic Vault-Tec experiments, Vault 13 was engineered with residents‘ well-being as the priority:
- No dangerous secret missions or objectives were imposed on residents. Surviving and cooperating were the only goals.
- Facilities and resources were expressly designed for sustaining health over multiple generations. Education and recreation helped residents thrive rather than just survive.
2. The Facilities to Sustain Life Indefinitely
- With spacious hydroponic farms, recycled water supply, geothermal power, and well-stocked living quarters, Vault 13 boasted the reserves to sustain life even longer than the 200+ year duration seen in-game.
- Positive, non-abusive leadership also helped. The Overseer and his staff served the people rather than domineering them like in Vaults 8 or 101.
3. Produced Competent, Learned Residents Rather Than Damaged Victims
- Educational programs, technical/medical training regimes, and recreational activities resulted in skilled, sociable residents equipped for resettling, not just traumatized victims.
- Some survivors of other vault program suffered lifelong illnesses orbiases from their experiences. Vault 13 alumni were able to begin civilization anew.
4. Vault 13 Graduates Seeded Iconic New Settlements
- As mentioned earlier, Vault 13 dwellers went on to found the legendary communities of Arroyo and Shady Sands in Fallout 2.
- These eventually gave birth to the New California Republic (NCR), one of the largest and most expansionist civilizations seen in the Fallout universe today.
No other vault can claim such an enduring, influential legacy reaching so far beyond their isolated origins.
Why Other High Profile Vault Numbers Don‘t Measure Up
It‘s easy to see why a notorious number like Vault 108 (horrific clone mutations) or Vault 92 (forced musical indoctrination) leave much to be desired compared to the overwhelmingly positive outcomes from Vault 13:
Vault 101 – This highly iconic vault from Fallout 3 kept residents trapped for over 200 years as a social experiment. Despite adequate initial facilities, such prolonged confinement led to stagnation and decaying conditions over generations. Its residents were also oppressed rather than uplifted.
Vault 11 – Vault 11‘s depraved experiment forcing residents to vote amongst themselves for ritual sacrifice is among the most appalling and ethically bereft experiments of all vaults. It inflicted severe psychological trauma and ultimately ended with mass suicide of all inhabitants.
While other vaults contributed other key characters (Vault 101‘s Lone Wanderer) or communities (Vault City from Vault 8) to the Wasteland, their actual legacy pales in comparison to the New California Republic stemming from Vault 13.
Vault 13 thus represents the gold standard for "control vaults" – created by Vault-Tec to legitimately safeguard lives during nuclear war, rather than simply furthering their secret societal engineering ambitions without care for residents.
Its ability to sustain healthy populations for generations, train competent and educated survivors, and enable the founding of civilization anew sets it apart as the model vault system.
No other vault in the games gave residents such an all-encompassing environment not just to survive, but thrive. From foiling The Master to seeding the legendary NCR, the pivotal legacy and heroism linked to Vault 13 make it the sole choice for the best vault number in all of Fallout lore.
