The Liberator is a unique Machete that can be found on Dead Sea. The player can acquire this weapon by reverse pickpocketing it from him, taking it off of his corpse, or by completing the quest “We Are Legion”.

Quick tips before you go get the machete for yourself.

• Can be acquired without completing any quests. While the weapon is typically only acquired after the completion of either We Are Legion or Restoring Hope, it can also be acquired by either killing or reverse pickpocketing it from Dead Sea.
  • Reverse pickpocketing the weapon allows you to acquire it without the need to do any quests, while also preserving your faction reputation with the Legion. A guide for reverse pickpocketing can be found here.
  • Sometimes, Dead Sea will have the weapon in his inventory, but he’ll have a different weapon equipped instead. If this happens, you can simply pickpocket the weapon from him without the need to use the reverse pickpocketing strategy.
• Located in a Legion-controlled area. There are numerous Legion soldiers in the area. If you are hostile to the Legion, you are most likely going to have to fight your way through them to get this weapon.

Acquisition

First, travel to the town of Nelson, located directly east of Novac.

Once there, go to the town square, which currently has 3 crucified NCR soldiers in it. Go to the building northeast of the 3 crucified soldiers.

Once inside, Dead Sea will speak to you. Pick the following dialogue options to ensure that you don’t provoke him to attack you:

“What’s the situation here.”

“How can I help break the stalemate?”

“No offense intended. Carry on.”

Once you get out of the conversation with him, you’ll be able to freely walk around the building. Sneak up behind him and pickpocket (or reverse pickpocket) the weapon from him. 

Make sure to save your game before you attempt to pickpocket him. If you don’t, and you fail the pickpocket, you will either lose Legion reputation or Dead Sea will become hostile.

Comparing The Liberator To The Machete

• The Liberator deals more damage (18 damage vs 11 damage) and critical hit damage (18 critical damage vs 11 critical damage).
• The Liberator deals more limb damage (2.5x limb damage multiplier vs 2x limb damage multiplier).
• It attacks faster (3.46 attacks/second vs 3 attacks/second).
• It has the highest critical hit chance multiplier of all machetes (3x vs 1.5x).
• It’s more durable (370 attacks before breaking vs 245 attacks before breaking)

Gameplay Tips

• Its high attack speed and critical hit chance multiplier make it ideal for a critical hit build. Our critical hit build guide can be found here.
• Its relatively easy acquisition makes it a great melee weapon for mid-game melee builds.
• If you don’t use any critical hit perks, the weapon becomes outclassed very quickly by weapons like the Machete Gladius, Chance’s Knife, or even the Shishkebab.