InXile Entertainment’s Wasteland 3 is easily one of the best RPGs of 2020, and fans got another taste of its choice and consequence-heavy narrative with Battle of Steeltown. Now, in roughly a month, fans will get to check out the second DLC, which is set to be explosive in terms of content. Wasteland 3’s Cult of the Holy Detonation DLC releases on October 5, bringing with it a ton of new content.
It’s the second and final DLC for Wasteland 3, which makes sense from a narrative perspective. While the Rangers previously fought to manage the control of Colorado, the Cult of the Holy Detonation DLC could determine its prosperous or ruinous future.
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Wasteland 3 – Who Are the Cult of the Holy Detonation
While their name is mostly self-explanatory, they have some serious history in the Wasteland franchise. Particularly, in this DLC, this refers to the severely divided cult worshipping a frozen nuclear explosion. None of these Wasteland 3 characters can agree on it, leading to war over the Holy Detonation. The Rangers will step in to resolve it and obtain the Holy Detonation, but it should be noted that this cult is an offshoot of another.
The Cult of the Holy Detonation also serves as an off-shoot of the Servants of the Mushroom Cloud, who first appeared in the original Wasteland. They saw the Nuclear Holocaust as a holy event and thus nuclear energy as divine—with the goal of converting as many people are they can to their religion, while providing power to the city and other settlements via the Last Vegas Nuclear Power Plant. Thematically, the two groups are very similar and can even be compared to the Fallout 4 faction, Children of the Atom, but at the end of the day, it is a cult that worships all forms of Nuclear power.
Wasteland 3 – The Cult of the Holy Detonation’s Story
How the so-called Holy Detonation was frozen and hasn’t gone off, leveling Colorado in the process, has yet to be explained. Chances are, players will find out though. They will travel to a military complex in the Chyenne Military Complex, combating mutant cults who are warring over the Holy Detonation. It could power Colorado Springs practically forever or destroy it. The Wasteland 3 rangers will come into conflict with this cult, making the decision of what to do with the Holy Detonation.
To do so, players will be interacting with several elements of the Holy Detonation and surrounding military complex, such as reactors, ventilation systems, and countermeasures. Story-wise, that’s all but it sounds incredibly promising when coupled with new features, gameplay elements, weapons, armor, and other additions and improvements to Wasteland 3.
Notably, the Holy Detonation and its resulting cults were originally in the base game before they were cut. It could have led to an alternative power source, so that Colorado did not have to rely on the Gippers’ oil. Here, by name, players ould have fought the Servants of the Mushroom Cloud, found technical manuals to draw power from the frozen Detonation, and visited the Department of Energy site to all of this.
Obviously, various elements have changed from the cut content to the DLC, but characters like Theodoric Curic (seen in downtown Colorado Springs) would have been important, as was Megan Silver—a cut character who didn’t make it into Wasteland 3. While the locations and names may have changed, securing these instructions and materials IF players choose to power Colorado Springs with the Holy Detonation may return.
As many fans know, though, the Wasteland series can be a bit zany and particularly its latest entry, and it’s not impossible that the Holy Detonation has other choices and options for players to pursue. Being a very clear save "Colorado Springs" or "destroy anything and everyone" binary option is not quite the game’s normal style, so while the fate of Wasteland 3's Colorado is to be determined, it’s likely going to be a surprising thrill ride from beginning to end.
Wasteland 3’s Cult of the Holy Detonation DLC releases October 5 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
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