Mission Overview
The Broken Monument mission sends you into the Scrap Yard to collect three items for Tian Wen. You'll need to grab the First Wave Compass, First Wave Video Tape, and Old Field Rations, then extract with all of them. The catch? You have to get everything in a single raid. Die or leave without all three items, and you're starting from scratch.
Unlike missions like What We Left Behind or Eyes in the Sky that drag you across multiple regions, Broken Monument keeps you in one area. The whole thing takes place in the Scrap Yard at Dam Battlegrounds, so you won't be running all over the map. The real challenge is finding the items hidden among the debris and ruined vehicles.
Getting to the Scrap Yard
Head to the Scrap Yard in the southern part of Dam Battlegrounds. Enter from the south end where you'll see piles of ruined vehicles and tires scattered on the ground. This entry point puts you closest to all three items and gives you the most efficient route through the mission.
The "reach the hallowed grounds" objective completes once you get into this southern section near the vehicles and tires.
Finding the First Wave Compass
The compass sits in the southern part of the Scrap Yard, tucked between two rows of vehicles. Start at the south end where the tires are lying around and find the big spherical tank. Face north from here and you'll spot two paths: one going right past the tank, another going left. Ignore both. Instead, climb over the wrecked vehicles between those paths. The yellow-marked box with the compass is hiding in that gap.
Open the box and grab the compass. Searching the container doesn't automatically add items to your inventory, so you need to manually pick it up.
Finding the First Wave Video Tape
From the south end again, take the right path that goes north past the spherical tank. Follow it and watch the right side for two large aluminum cylinders lying on their sides. You'll find the yellow-marked box right in front of the first cylinder.
Search the box and pick up the video tape. Same deal as before: you have to manually collect it after opening the container.
Finding the Old Field Rations
Keep heading north from where you found the tape. Look for an old Raider camp trailer, which is basically a field depot structure. Go inside and check the left wall. The yellow-marked box with the rations is sitting there against the wall.
Search it and collect the Old Field Rations to complete your item collection.
Extracting with the Items
Grabbing all three items doesn't finish the mission. You still need to extract while carrying everything. The Water Treatment Elevator sits northwest of the Scrap Yard and gives you the shortest route out, but there's a leaper that likes to hang around there. Be ready for a fight when you approach.
If you're not running a free loadout, put the quest items in your safety pocket. This protects them if you die, which means you won't have to recollect everything on your next attempt.
Tips for Completing the Mission
The single raid requirement makes this mission trickier than it first appears. You can't split the collection across multiple runs, so plan your route and avoid unnecessary fights that might get you killed before extraction.
The items follow a natural south to north progression through the Scrap Yard. Collecting them in order (compass, tape, rations) creates the cleanest path with minimal backtracking.
All three quest items come in yellow-marked boxes, which makes them stand out from regular loot containers. Look for that yellow marking when you're searching.
Remember the two-step process for each item: open the box, then pick up the item inside. Missing that second step means you won't have the item when you try to extract.
Before you grab the third item, make sure you've got a clear route to your extraction point. The Water Treatment Elevator is closest, but if that leaper situation looks too dangerous, have a backup plan ready.
What Makes This Mission Different
Broken Monument doesn't ask you to travel between regions or complete complex objectives. Everything happens in the Scrap Yard, so the difficulty comes from locating specific boxes among all the scattered junk and vehicle wreckage. If you generally struggle with item hunting quests, this one might give you more trouble than straightforward combat missions. But if you're comfortable navigating cluttered areas and following landmarks, you should be able to knock it out in one clean run.