Fallout 76 Trade Secrets Walkthrough — The Motherlode Quest
Trade Secrets is one of the main quests introduced in the Wastelanders update for Fallout 76. It picks up directly after you speak with Paige at Foundation. The goal is simple: get into Vault 79 by finding a way to control Hornwright Industrial's massive mining robot, the Motherlode. Trade Secrets is a multi-stage quest sequence that bounces you between Hornwright Industrial HQ, the Hornwright Estate, Vault-Tec University, and Summersville.
Quest Prerequisites: Complete "Overseer, Overseen" then speak to Paige at Foundation. Trade Secrets will not trigger until both conditions are met.
Complete "The Motherlode" at Hornwright Industrial HQ
Head to Hornwright Industrial Headquarters, located on the border of the Ash Heap region and The Forest region in Charleston. You'll need to complete the side quest "The Motherlode" first, which takes you through the building and into the underground laboratory where Daniel Hornwright conducted his research on the mining robot. The building is full of Scorched, so come prepared.
Once inside, head down into the lobby and access the terminal at the reception desk. Read the message dated 9.29.77 to begin The Motherlode quest. You'll be instructed to go to Penelope Hornwright's office via the elevator behind the reception desk, but you'll need a Senior Executive ID Card to access it first.
Head up the stairs to your right, staying on the same staircase all the way to Level 3 without entering the stairwell. At the top, go into the office and find the desk to your left. On the shelf is a copy of the Senior Executive Exam answers. There is also a terminal nearby that requires Hacking Skill Level 1 to unlock.
Exit the office, turn left, and head up the ramp. At the top, make your way to the Human Resources Office. On the desk you'll find a holotape and a Filing Status next to the card printer. In the adjoining room, take the Senior Executive Hiring Exam at one of the terminals, using the answer sheet you picked up. The answers must be entered correctly:
Q1: 2
Q2: 2 or 3
Q3: 1
Q4: 2
Q5: 1
Once you pass the exam, return to the HR office and print your Senior Executive ID Card at the card printer.
Head back down to the ground floor and take the elevator behind the reception desk. At the top level, go to the room on the left and activate any of the External Connection Systems. The Motherlode will speak to you and request a repair beacon. Access the research terminal, select Power Struggles, and scroll to the second page to find the Repair Beacon Requisition Code: 36984. Behind the terminal is a keypad; enter the code. Retrieve the Repair Beacon from the dispenser behind you.
Now head to the room on the opposite side of the lobby. Take the elevator on your right down to the Sub Level. Watch out for Mole Miners. The beacon launcher is in the middle of the room; insert the repair beacon to complete The Motherlode quest.
Make your way to the Control Terminal and select Begin Debug Sequence. The Motherlode will engage its emergency failsafe and head to the Hornwright Estate safe room. Now it's time to follow.
Reach the Hornwright Estate and Meet Penelope Hornwright
Make your way to the Hornwright Estate, located in the Savage Divide region, south of the map and near Garrahan Mining Headquarters. The quest marker directs you to the elevator leading to the safe room, but a laser grid will block your path until you have the proper access card.
Take the elevator to the top floor instead. This level is guarded by several Protectrons and an Assaultron, so stay alert. Exit the elevator, turn right, and head down the stairs. Follow the left hallway to the last room on the right, where you will find a desk holding Penelope Hornwright's computer and printer.
Hack the computer (Hacking Skill 0, no perk required). Select Secondary Passcode and choose 30448. Then activate the printer to produce your new access card.
Return to the elevator and head down to the safe room. Use the access card to bypass the laser grid door. Inside, you will meet Penelope Hornwright, a ghoul who has been living in the safe room for over 20 years.
The Motherlode arrives and emerges from the floor as soon as you enter. It scans for Daniel Hornwright, and once you confirm his death, it transfers control to Penelope. She is skeptical about using the Motherlode for the vault heist, but she can be persuaded to help.
Penelope agrees to assist but explains that the Motherlode needs a portable beacon to home in on. Your Pip-Boy cannot serve that purpose, so she asks you to retrieve a Pip-Boy 2000 Mk VI Construction Kit and a set of experimental Pip-Boy schematics. This completes the current objective and starts the next phase of the quest.
Retrieve the Pip-Boy Kit and Schematics
You can collect the Pip-Boy 2000 Mk VI Construction Kit or the experimental schematic first, in either order.
Pip-Boy 2000 Mk VI Construction Kit
Head to Vault-Tec University and enter the building on your left. Remember, it’s full of robots. Once inside, make your way to the simulation vault in the basement. Through the front door, you will find a large hole in the wall, followed by a door. Go through it and turn right down the hallway, following it to the end and entering the Vault door.
Continue down to the Vault Training Room and through the door with the terminal. The robots inside are hostile, so be ready. Enter the Maintenance Room and take the door on your right, then go up the ramp, turn right, and head to the back before turning left.
Go down the stairs and back up the stairs on the opposite side. An Assaultron will be waiting at the top, so deal with it before continuing up the stairs on your left. The Construction Kit will be sitting on the table.
Experimental Pip-Boy Schematic
Make your way to Summersville, in the southeast Forest region. Fast traveling will drop you just outside the professor's house, near the northern end of town.
Head inside and watch for ghouls. Take the stairs in the kitchen down to the basement, where the schematic is pinned to a board on the wall in the back room.
Return to Penelope at the Hornwright Estate safe room with both items.
Retrieve the Motherlode Parts
When you get back, Penelope will have already installed a voice module in the Motherlode. She'll be mid-test when you arrive: the robot can now speak, and it turns out Daniel programmed it with a full library of his jokes. After the handoff, Penelope explains that 26 years without maintenance has left the Motherlode in rough shape. She needs three additional parts before it's mission-ready.
Altimeter Chip
This one is already in the estate. Go back up to the Hornwright Estate’s residence and to top floor. Look for the Stingray Deluxe plane hanging from the ceiling. Interact with it to pull the altimeter chip.
Eyebot Sensor Module
Go to the 98 NAR Region on the railroad tracks bordering The Savage Divide and the Forest. Kill the main Eyebot and loot its body for the Eyebot Sensor Module.
Or, if you have a Charisma score of 4 or higher, you can ask Penelope about the Eyebot she worked on in the estate's workroom. To get ther, take the elevator to the top floor of the estate. Take the staircase to your right, the go up the second staircase on your right. Turn left and go through the door leading to a workroom, then immediately through the door across from the entrance. The door at the very end is the Hornwright Estate Lab. Take the Eyebot Sensor Module from the Eyebot on the table.
Robobrain Interpolator
Though the interpolator now drops from any Robobrain, the most reliable spawn locations include the area around RobCo Research Center, in The Mire, bordering Cranberry Bog, and inside Garrahan Mining Headquarters, which is right next to the estate.
For RobCo Research Center, make your way inside. Take the elevator down to the Research Center Basement. To your left there’s a terminal that requires Skill 3 to unlock. Unlock it and deactivate the turret.
Go back to the elevator and head to the Facilities Wing.
If you have an Intelligence score of 8 or higher, you can suggest to Penelope that she clean the corrosion with Abraxo and a toothbrush, which bypasses the need for the altimeter chip entirely.
Return the Parts and Report to Paige
Bring all three parts back to Penelope. A field test of the Motherlode will run, it won't go unnoticed, and the quest will advance. Head to Foundation and speak with Paige. By the time you arrive, Penelope will already be there in a gas mask, having made her own way over. This completes Trade Secrets and unlocks the next main quest, "Invisible Ties."
Quest Rewards
100 Caps, 900 XP (INT-dependent), Plan: Pip-Boy 2000 Mk VII Paint, a random aid item, random ammo, and a random armor piece, weapon, or recipe. You'll also gain 500 Settler Reputation points.
Known Bug
The "Get an access keycard for the safe room gate" objective may keep directing you toward the ground floor without showing that you need to use the elevator. This is only a visual tracking bug. Penelope's terminal will still function correctly if you navigate to it manually.
