The Best Vault Numbers In Fallout Shelter

Summary

• Vault numbers in Fallout Shelter may have hidden bonuses, but it’s inconclusive.
• Most Vaults in the game are similar but still unique in one way or another, making it even harder for players to choose one.
• Different vault numbers in the game have their own histories, which attract different kinds of players.

Fallout Shelter is a multi-platform game that makes up part of the Fallout franchise. Launched in 2015, it can be accessed and played at no cost. Initially viewed as a novelty, the game may have served more as a marketing device rather than offering a fully immersive gaming experience. Nevertheless, it has progressed into a live service game, attracting a significant and loyal fan following throughout the years.

Officially, all vaults are the same when playing Fallout Shelter. None offer any bonuses or variation in layout. However, there is anecdotal evidence that certain vault numbers, specifically those that are part of the Fallout canon, have hidden bonuses. Many players choose to play known vault numbers, while others choose vault numbers with specific significance to them. Are some vault numbers better than others? Maybe, but there is not enough data to be sure. However, there are some that are more fun to play simply because they have their own history within the franchise.

Updated September 15 2024, by Mac Wheeler: The Fallout franchise seems to be going from strength to strength in 2024. The Fallout TV series was well-received, and Fallout 76 has become a solid live-service offering, with many of the bugs and player gripes dealt with. Fallout 4 has also been picked up by a host of gamers who wanted to give it a try after watching the TV show. And of course, the casual game of the franchise, Fallout Shelter, continues to be popular. So it makes sense to expand this list, based on the lore of the franchise to date.

14 Vault 63

Personal Project Of Hugo Stolz

• Notable for: being a privately run project.

Located in Ash Heap, West Virginia, Vault 63 was introduced to Fallout lore in Fallout 76. This vault is stated as being a personal project that was run by Hugo Stolz, one of the members of the board of Vault-Tec. Some other vaults have been stated as being social experiments, but Vault 63 was a little different in this regard.

The vault was a facility for developing technology that could be used to establish society after a nuclear holocaust. This included robots and weather manipulation. Unfortunately, the vault was never completed to a livable standard, and many of the vault-dwellers that move into it turned into ghouls, as a result of runaway experiments in curing ghoulism. Of course, this vault doesn’t give any bonuses in Fallout Shelter, but it would be a cool vault number to base a playthrough on.

13 Vault 94

Inhabit By A Pacifist Population

• Notable for: beaching a pacifist social experiment.

Vault 94 is located in North of Dolly Sods Wilderness, West Virginia. It became part of Fallout lore in the game Fallout 76. Once again, this vault number doesn’t give any advantages when playing Fallout Shelter, none of them do. Vault 94 was another of the social experiments run by Vault-Tec. The population was made up of a group of vault dwellers who were members of a pacifist religious community.

Vault-Tec eventually tried to get the vault dwellers to arm themselves, as they had come to realize the experiment would be a failure. However, the dwellers ignored this, and were eventually all killed by outsiders, as they had no way to defend themselves.

12 Vault 108

Management Infighting Experiment

• Notable for: being a social experiment promoting conflicts in leadership.

Located in North of Washington, Maryland, Vault 108 was introduced in Fallout 3. This was another social experiment run by Vault-Tec. In this case, to measure the impact of conflicts in leadership. To force leadership changes, top management posts were initially given to vault-dwellers that were terminally ill.

Furthermore, key vault infrastructure such as a power generation system was sabotaged to fail after 20 years of use. The armory was overstocked as well. Additionally, a cloning device was included in the vault equipment, resulting in a single person being cloned over an over. In the end, this group of clones went mad, and took over the vault.

11 Vault 111

Starting Location In Fallout 4

Notable for:

• Part of the Fallout lore set out in Fallout 4

During the introductory sequence of Fallout 4, the player and their family have to head to the local vault, 111, during a nuclear attack. The player is put into cryogenic suspension, waking up briefly to witness their wife being shot and baby being stolen, before finally coming out of suspension to a deserted vault.

Upon examination of computer terminals within vault 111, the player learns that this particular vault was set up to measure the effects of long-term cryogenic suspension on its inhabitants, before exiting the vault to begin the game proper. Fallout Shelter players who want to play a vault number that has some importance within Fallout lore might like to give Vault 111 a try. It doesn’t grant any bonuses or other benefits, but it could still be fun to play this enigmatic vault.

10 Vault 4

Publicly Known Experiment

Notable for:

• Populated entirely by scientists

Located in Los Angeles, California, Vault 4 was an experimental vault that the general public was aware of, that had no oversight, and was run entirely by scientists. This vault was introduced into the lore of the Fallout franchise during the first season of the TV show.

The scientists that operated Vault 4 were somewhat unscrupulous and were known to let wasteland survivors become vault dwellers, only to perform genetic experiments on them. Eventually, the test subjects revolted and killed all the scientists. However, they decided to keep the vault active, providing a sanctuary to survivors. This is a pretty iconic vault to play in Fallout Shelter, as vault dwellers will regularly walk up to the vault door looking for a home, which fits entirely into Fallout canon.

9 Vault 34

A Social Experiment

Notable for:

• Vault dwellers had access to a fully stocked armory with no oversight

Located in the Mojave Wasteland, Vault 33 was another experiment vault, this time a social experiment. Vault Dwellers were granted free access to the vault armory, with no security in place at all. Of course, this resulted in civil strife.

Eventually, the dwellers locked the armory and set up restrictions on access. Eventually, the vault reactor sprung a leak, and this killed many of the vault dwellers, although some did leave the vault and set up the Boomers tribe. This is another fun vault for Fallout Shelter players to try out. It sits well within Fallout canon but doesn’t provide any other bonuses at all.

8 Vault 101

Overseer Experiment Vault

Notable for:

• A special vault designed to remain sealed for a 200-year period.

Vault 101 was a test vault that was supposed to remain completely sealed for a total of 200 years. All vault personnel were trained to maintain the vault infrastructure. The idea behind this was to conduct an experiment into how the role of the vault overseer might evolve over time.

Players of Fallout Shelter often choose Vault 101 as their first vault due to the connotations of the number 101 as an introduction to a topic. However, there is only anecdotal evidence that this is actually an easier vault to play in the game.

7 Vault 8

Designed As A Control Vault

Notable for:

• Vault dwellers are selected for their diverse skill sets.

Vault 8 was intended to be a special control vault that was going to be used to begin advanced repopulation efforts just 10 years after it had been sealed. It was only designed to house 100 people, with much of the other space being given over to storing machinery and equipment that would be needed. The vault dwellers were selected for their skills that were compatible with the vault goals.

Some Fallout Shelter players have reported that playing as Vault 008 makes undertaking surface and wasteland activities easier. However, there is no solid data to support these claims.

6 Vault 33

Host To A Eugenics Experiment

Notable for:

• Being part of a 3-vault cluster with vault 31 and vault 32.

Vault 33 was one of a group of three vaults that also included Vault 32 and 33. The stated vault experiment that encompassed these 3 vaults, was to find out if all 3 could trade and work together harmoniously. However, it is now known that there was a more sinister reason for these 3 vaults being linked. A eugenics experiment involving cryogenically stored Vault-Tec employees.

Vault 33 is a popular vault with new Fallout Shelter players simply because it was made famous in the Fallout TV show. However, in the game, Vault 33 is not connected to any other vaults.

5 Vault 88

Unfinished Test Vault

Notable for:

• Testing various equipment and technologies for use in other vaults.

Vault 88 was an unfinished vault that was never actually put into use. The only entrance to this vault was through a small cave, as the main entryway was never constructed. The purpose of Vault 88 was to test equipment, machinery, and technology that would be used when constructing future vaults.

In the Fallout Shelter game, vault 88 is finished and has the same layout as every other vault. However, there is some historical evidence that suggests that in the past, this vault had slightly more building space than other vaults. If this was the case, it is no longer so.

4 Vault 77

The Lost Vault

Notable for:

• Only housed as a single vault dweller.

Vault 77 was an older vault and is presumed to be some sort of early pilot project. The decor was old, dirty, and dingy, and used an orange color theme, rather than the blue of more modern vaults. A single vault dweller got themselves locked in this vault, who is now known as Puppet Man in Fallout canon.

Fallout Shelter players who try playing in Vault 77 will find that it is no different than other vaults. It doesn’t follow canon at all. Some players have said they found it much easier to attract new dwellers when playing Vault 77, but as with most of the game-related information in this list, this is purely anecdotal.

3 Vault 420

A Popular Vault With Streamers

Notable for:

• Plenty of play-along guides available.

Most people will probably understand the significance of the number 420 within a certain subculture. And because of this, many streamers and content creators have used Vault 420 as the basis of their content.

Vault 420 doesn’t give any benefits or change the Fallout Shelter gameplay at all. The only real benefit of choosing Vault 420, is that there are a great many playthrough guides and other tutorials that are based on this vault number. Meaning that new players can follow along with them.

2 Vault 666

Part Of The Fallout Shelter Main Quests

Notable for:

• Often used by streamers and content creators.

Vault 666 comes into play during Fallout Shelter as a quest location. However, it is also possible to choose vault 666 as the player’s starting vault. This version of Vault 666 is just a standard vault with nothing special about it at all.

A great many content creators have chosen to use Vault 666 as the basis for their content simply because of the number 666’s connotations. New players might like to choose this vault as their own so that they can follow along with tutorial content.

1 Vault 777

A Vault Popular With Content Creators

Notable for:

• Lots of play-along guides and tutorials available.

Is Vault 777 the lucky vault in Fallout Shelter? Some players have said that they have found Vault 777 very easy to play, but again, this is entirely anecdotal and may simply be down to plenty of good RNG rolls. There is nothing physically different about this vault in the game.

Because of the mythical ease of play with Vault 777, it is often chosen by content creators for making guides and playthrough-style content. In some ways, this does make Vault 777 a lucky vault, as new players can follow this content themselves, to learn how to play the game.