Fallout New Vegas DLC Order - Release & Recommended Levels

Last Updated on January 29, 2025 by Samuel Franklin

This DLC guide details the release order, level requirements, rewards and recommended level for the best Fallout New Vegas (FNV) DLC order experience. With 4 DLC and 2 item packs players can access a new maximum level of 50 (+5 per DLC), several perks and equipment for the Mojave Wasteland.

After multiple playthroughs across this wasteland my personal recommendation for the ideal DLC play order is Honest Hearts > Dead Money > Old World Blues > Lonesome Road. While this varies from the release order this maximises rewards, prevents difficulty spikes and maintains story coherence which is detailed below. This page contains story spoilers for New Vegas and the respective DLCs.

Table of Contents: – Fallout New Vegas DLC Order (Release Dates) – Fallout New Vegas DLC Recommended Order – Dead Money Summary – Honest Hearts Summary – Old World Blues Summary – Lonesome Road Summary

Fallout New Vegas DLC Order (Release Dates)

The Fallout New Vegas addons have the following release order:

DLC	Release Date
Dead Money	December 2010
Honest Hearts	May 2011
Old World Blues	July 2011
Lonesome Road	September 2011
Courier’s Stash Item Pack	September 2011
Gun Runners’ Arsenal Item Pack	September 2011

Fallout New Vegas DLC Recommended order

While the release order is a viable default option many players in the community have developed their preferred Fallout New Vegas DLC chronological order for various reasons as when to do DLC is your own choice. With each DLC serving as a stand alone story many in the community including me recommend this play order:

1. Honest Hearts (Recommended Level 10+)
2. Dead Money (Recommended Level 20+)
3. Old World Blues (Recommended Level 20+)
4. Lonesome Road (Recommended Level 30+)

The factors for this FNV DLC order are:

• Honest Hearts is an easy DLC and provides useful gear to help you with your storyline progression. It also has seperate story from the other DLCs so can be completed at any point without significant impact on your role playing experience. Completing this first gives your character a foundation of gear and levels although can be skipped for later if you don’t want to utilise this gear boost.
• While Dead Money is the second hardest DLC in Fallout New Vegas (Lonesome Road being the most difficult) playing it before Old World Blues is still recommended. This is particularly the case for story focused players as if you do play Old World Blues before Dead Money it will remove some of the character mystery and their motives which is core to the DLC atmosphere. If you aren’t someone that focuses on story detail or are already familiar with the story of the DLC then swapping the order of Old World Blues before Dead Money can make for a less difficult playthrough order.
• Lonesome Road serves as the capstone Fallout New Vegas content and is also the toughest DLC option so is best completed last when you’ve finished the majority of other content. This also has the highest DLC recommended level and while this isn’t a level requirement enforced by the game players will have difficultly facing it at lower levels.

Dead Money Summary

• Accessed By: Visiting the Abandoned Brotherhood of Steel Bunker on the eastern side of the Mojave Wasteland.
• Recommended Level: 20+
• Notable Rewards: Unlocks a player bunker that includes a consumable vending machine.

The Dead Money story brings players to the Sierra Madre casino resort which was scheduled for a grand opening event the day the new Vegas nuclear war started. With a high tech security system the location is mostly untouched although players realise they are not alone after discovering a strange toxin.

Dead Money is a challenging DLC so players will want a foundation of perks and skill levels from the broader New Vegas content before adventuring here as you won’t be allowed to bring any equipment. A minimum level of 20 is recommended for Dead Money although melee builds with high speech and medicine skills can tackle it earlier as these are central to the gameplay.

Your reward for completing Dead Money is gold bars that sell for a large number of Caps and a personalised bunker. This bunker has a vending machine similar to that in the Sierra Madre Casino where you can purchase Rad-X, Rad-Away, Stimpacks and other consumable items. The currency for the vending machine (Sierra Madre chip) are found during the DLC, given to players regularly after completing the DLC or can be crafted with scrap metal and fission batteries.

Honest Hearts Summary

• Accessed By: Northern Passage map location in the centre northern side of the map.
• Recommended Level: 10+
• Notable Rewards: Desert Ranger combat armour and Survivalist’s rifle.

While joining a caravan expedition players are ambushed by the raiding tribe of White Legs which places you in the middle of a tribal war with you in control of the ultimate fate of the Zion National Park area.

Serving as a stand alone adventure Honest Hearts is the easiest DLC option that makes it a popular starting DLC. While it can be difficult to reach the location initially this DLC provides an abundance of armour and weapons that can help in your future F:NV adventures. These rewards include the Desert Ranger combat armour, the Survivalist’s rifle and other useful equipment from Joshua Graham. Honest Hearts imposes its own weight limit so players should clear their inventory beforehand.

Old World Blues Summary

• Accessed By: Visiting the Mojave Drive-in at midnight.
• Recommended Level: 20+
• Notable Rewards: Several special perks and the Sink Auto-Doc which provides various services and implants.

Starting from the Mojave Drive-in at midnight you will watch a unique film from a nearby fallen satellite. Centred around a group of scientists that have replaced their physical bodies with machines known as the Think Tank this DLC gives players the ability to acquire implants and body related perks. Fighting their way to the rogue scientist known as Dr. Mobius through new and familiar enemies players will decide the ultimate fate of the Think Tank.

Old World Blues is one of the easier Fallout New Vegas DLCs although is recommended to be played after Dead Money due to the story links between them. I would complete Old World Blues before level 30 though as the enemy scaling can make this a tedious adventure full of enemies that feel like bullet sponges. This DLC allows players to keep their gear and Old World Blues offers some unique perk rewards based on body parts to improve their character. Players also having access to implants through the Sink Auto-Doc, healing for free, a reset to your traits and character haircuts on completion.

Lonesome Road Summary

• Accessed By: Visit the Canyon Wreckage that is located west of Primm.
• Recommended Level: 30+
• Notable Rewards: Various late game perks available when installed, late game equipment and a SPECIAL point upon completion.

The pinnacle DLC content that rewards end game equipment and special perks based on your actions in the main story so far. For Lonesome Road even experienced players should be at least level 30 or ideally 35+ with the best equipment available and a sufficient reserve of consumable items. This DLC does allow you to leave and return as necessary if you find you’ve underestimated the difficultly level and you still have vanilla Fallout New Vegas locations to explore.

Given Lonesome Road is intended as a late game piece of content you should complete this right before you wrap up the core New Vegas storyline at Hoover Dam where you receive your faction ending. Completing this content will reward players with an additional SPECIAL point and one of the best melee weapons in the game despite being near the end of your journey.

For further Fallout add-on content recommended orders and information refer to our Fallout 3 DLC and Fallout 4 DLC overview pages.

Written by Samuel Franklin Samuel Franklin is the founder and lead editor of the Games Finder team and enjoys video games across all genres and platforms.

Sam enjoys the modern adventures in the Fallout franchise for their large open world settings of choice which blend RPG and FPS mechanics. He is a seasoned Wasteland wanderer where he often crafts karma driven heroes who cleanse the irradiated landscapes with traditional guns and Pip-Boy in hand. Whether it’s a highly modded rifle for use in V.A.T.S. or charging into the enemy with shotgun blasts Sam strives to not just survive the Wasteland but shape it for the better.