Timeline

The following is a composite timeline, basing on all the possible sources to create a composite image of the events in the series.

1981

• Ronald Reagan elected.

1985

• William "The Refrigerator" Perry, star of Da Bears, participates in the 1985 SuperBowl, writing about the event in his biography.

1987

• Drug Wars begin in Central and South Americas. Led by the United States, they result in many governments being abolished and replaced with puppet right-wing ones, fiercely loyal to America.

1989

• Ronald Reagan's two terms come to an end. He is granted the unique position of Elder Statesman, to advise future Presidents on matters of policy.

1993

• The Drug Wars end, with the United States and NATO in control of the western hemisphere. The Comintern Combine forms to counter American belligerent foreign policy.

1995

• A Titan missile is decommissioned for use as a museum piece. This is the missile that will eventually become the god of the M.A.D. Monks.
• Morningstar's AI routines are initialized.

1996

• Morningstar becomes self-aware.

1998

• February: Citadel Starstation nears completion, tensions rise, world divides into Soviet and NATO camps.
• March 21: The Great War takes place after the Citadel sends a fake signal about an imminent Soviet nuclear attack. Humanity narrowly avoids extinction.
• Colorado is saved from destruction by the missile defense systems of Cheyenne Mountain and Peterson Air Force Base. The polar vortex forms and with it, the long winter.
• A company of U.S. Army Engineers, seeking shelter, takes over a federal prison and expels the prisoners into the desert. The prison becomes known as Ranger Center, and the Engineers as Desert Rangers. As the weeks pass, they invite nearby survivalist communities to join them and to help them build a new society.
• Fountain of Dreams Florida becomes an island after direct nuclear hits on Atlanta and several military bases in Georgia trigger a seismic backlash.

2027

• Luke Samson founds the Salvation Church.

2028

• April 18: Saul Buchanan is born.

2030

• B. Bilious Balfour is born.

2041

• The Brakeman is born.

2048

• Fountain of Dreams Events of Fountain of Dreams take place.

2052

• Luke Samson leads the faithful on an exodus from the Angelus Temple to Griffith Park. Though he dies, the Militia lives on, unfortunately.

2062

• Solveig Sefors begins amassing notes and information for the Southwestern Folklore collection.

2087

• The History of the Desert Rangers is published.
• Events of Wasteland take place:
  • Bobby shot by Rangers at Highpool.
  • Ugly John dies at the hands of the Rangers at Quartz.
  • Guardians of the Old Order are wiped out by the Rangers.
  • Irwin John Finster is killed by the Rangers.
  • Base Cochise is destroyed by the Rangers.
• The M.A.D. Monks set up at the abandoned silo in the Canyon of Titan and institute Titan's Peace.

2089

• The Desert Rangers finish cleaning out the Guardian Citadel and prepare it for moving in.

2090

• The Brakeman dies.

2097

• The Battle of Punkin Center marks the last major engagement between the Patriarch and the Scar Collectors.

2099

• Brother Wright is sent to recover the Titan from Silo 7. Instead, he barricades himself in and attempts to dismantle the weapon. For three long years he is unsuccessful.
• Feburary 12th: General Vargas commissions an investigation into the cyborgs encountered beneath Vegas in 2087.

2100

• Hopi and Magee pull Jaime out of the Damonta scrapyard.
• Mona Shera's husband leaves Angel Oracle with a scavenger party and heads for Arizona. She never hears from him again, though he reaches his destination.

2101

• The Wrecking Crew forms.
• The last Ranger patrol enters Highpool.

2102

• B. Bilious Balfour dies.
• Events of Wasteland 2 take place.
  • Tinker enters Arizona to sabotage the Rangers and destabilize the region. Agricultural center and Highpool are hit particularly hard, followed by Darwin and Damonta.
  • Team Echo is dispatched after Ace is killed by one Tinker's synths. Their investigations lead them to uncover radio signals from California and Tinker's involvement. They are deployed to Los Angeles to investigate after Team Foxtrot is wiped out and Angela Deth goes missing.
  • Team Echo reconnects with the Rangers in Arizona after losing contact due to the crash and lack of airborne transport to maintain a radio link. Matthias and his synths attack the Ranger Citadel.
  • Las Vegas is destroyed by the second wave of robots as well, forcing Faran Brygo to eventually relocate to Colorado.
  • Team Echo returns to the Citadel using a captured Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King. With assistance of their allies, they confront the Cochise AI and Matthias beneath the Citadel and destroy them once and for all, but at the expense of nuking the Citadel and losing General Vargas due to him staying behind to activate the nuke.
  • Rangers rally and re-establish their operations at the radio tower, the New Ranger Citadel.
  • Lieutenant Wade Woodson is voted in as the new Ranger General, mostly because the surviving Captains didn't want the job.

2104

• Events of No Way Home take place.
  • Angela Deth is rescued by the LA Rangers in an underground factory in Seal Beach, two years after she went missing. She then goes back to Arizona with Pistol Pete and Brother Thomas in tow.
  • General Wade Woodson is contacted by the Patriarch, and both start talks of a deal to supply the Rangers with what they need to get back on their feet.
  • Despite the treaty with the Rangers, Danforth secretly continued to make plans to wipe them out.
  • Angela discovers that the RSM enslaved the Rail Nomads and used them to build a heavily-armored train to attack what was left of the Rangers.
  • The RSM attack the Rangers using most of their manpower and vehicles, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides. The RSM however, completely routs after Danforth is killed by Angela during the battle.
  • A few days after the attack, General Woodson orders Angela to lead a scouting mission to Colorado, and to confirm the Patriarch's legitimacy.

2105

• If the Desert Rangers choose to flip the turtle over at Rail Nomads, it triggers a series of events that leads to rogue robots appearing and massacring everyone in the camp.

2106

• Di lures eight synths to Steeltown to create the Computation Engine. The synths are enslaved, and their attempts to regain freedom culminate in a near-revolution next year.

2107

• Ranger Team November, comprising of fifty Rangers under Maj. Vera Prasad, are ordered by General Wade Woodson to travel to Colorado via convoy and aid the Patriarch. In return, the Patriarch promises to create supply lines necessary for the survival of both the impoverished Arizona and the Rangers themselves, since they are still recovering from both the second war with the Cochise AI and the RSM attack. Colonel Angela Deth previously led the first team, only to go dark after having some disagreements with the General.
• May 10th: Wasteland 3 begins as the second Ranger convoy is ambushed by Dorseys, with only two Team November Rangers surviving and going on to deeply changing the whole political landscape of the Colorado nation. After surviving the ambush, they are allowed refuge by the Patriarch at Peterson Air Force Base, while also being given staff to organize their supply and train new recruits.
  • Events of Battle of Steeltown take place.
  • Events of Cult of the Holy Detonation take place.