If you think about the plot of Blade Runner and Fallout 4, you can't help but notice the parallels between the story of Roy Batty, Blader Runner's main "antagonist" and the Sole Survivor. The questions of their humanity, their survival skills, their confrontations with Tyrell and Father. It was very cool to me, and I had been toying with a Roy Batty build even before the Cyperpunk 2287 Event rolled out. More so than Deckard, Batty's experience in Blade Runner is a journey to spiritual empathy, full of symbolism. He becomes, depending on your interpretation of the film, more human than the actual humans. How does this translate to Fallout 4's world? Well, in a build that unlocks Batty's "Limitless Potential" by focusing on unarmed and energy weapons; using VATS, chems, and perks to recreate the strength, agility, and endurance of the Nexus 6 replicant, and giving him a thoughtful quest arc that expands upon his story in Blade Runner and places it in the context of the Fallout 4 universe. I present to you...
Difficulty: Hard
SPECIAL: In a departure for me, this is my most Bobble head heavy build, and yes, notice the very high intelligence. The other route was to increase his strength or perception, and there are some noteworthy perks there, but if you listen to his dialogue in Blade Runner, especially in his talk with Tyrell, you'll understand why I went full intelligence. And I could not deny Nerd Rage as the ultimate RP tool and what I could use to really convey his Replicant power and anger.
Outfit: Drifter Outfit followed by the Courser uniform once Roy Batty kills the Courser in Hunter/Hunted, upgraded with moderate Ballistic weave, only through rank 3. It doesn't make for a very high AR, but the aesthetic matches what Batty wears in the beginning of the film quite well and it gives you a bit of dramatic intensity when you engage in fights.
Weapons: The Furious Power Fist and Prototype UP77 "Limitless Potential", the prototype laser gun found at University point. I loved the dichotomy between the two weapons. One owned by Swann, the human turned Behemoth and known for his savagery. The other developed by an academic. There are better weapons in the game, but none, to me, drove home the point of Batty more than these two. His fury mixed with his intellect. Good early weapons, however, include Righteous Authority, Kellogg's Pistol, and Deliverer. I got out of ballistic weapons rather quickly though.
It seems like I have taken a lot of perks, but not all perks are fully developed. On purpose, I only took this build to level 46. Four symbolizes the total number of replicants that were in Roy Batty's group in the film and six symbolizes his model number; Nexus 6. While all my perks are taken to ultimately maximize Roy Batty's roleplaying potential in Fallout, two perks, in particular were chosen at very specific gameplay moments. I only took Awareness after my conversation with DiMa to represent Roy Batty finally realizing that he is a synth. It also allowed him to finally see the world the way a machine would and it was a bittersweet decision from an rp perspective. To become more aware and ultimately, more human, he must embrace his inner machine. The second, Nerd Rage, was opened only after Roy Batty's conversation with Father. Again, another bitter choice.
Chems: Jet Fuel, Ultra Jet, Overdrive, Bufftats, Psychobuff, Orange Mentats, Grape Mentats, Berry Mentats. All of these contribute to his enhanced state.
Magazines: Grognak the Barbarian and Tesla science (I loved this combination because it drives home my point about the character very well), US covert operations manual (You really don't need ranks in sneak if you pick up enough of these).
Perks: MacCready's Killshot (20% more VATS accuracy in Headshots, though really, it's higher), Deacon's Cloak and Dagger (20% more sneak damage, 40% longer duration for stealth boys), Curie's Combat Medic (Once a day when below 10% health, you get 100 more hp, very interesting combination with Nerd Rage).
Romance: While she's quite the opposite of Pris in many ways, I felt that Roy Batty's roleplay would cause him to be extremely sympathetic to Curie's plight. She is essentially asking for the same thing he asked of Tyrell, an improvement to better the quality of her life. Upgrade her to a synth body and then pursue romance. There is an endearing scene between Pris and Batty where they almost act like teenagers in front of Sebastian, because they are replicants experiencing things for the first time that humans take for granted. Curie, when you make her a synth, goes through some of these emotions as well and I thought that just enhanced Batty's roleplaying. Love would be new for him too, especially when you take into account how I bring Roy Batty into Fallout's world.
Gameplay: Since the beginning of the build, I've driven home that there are two sides to Roy Batty. He is extremely articulate, the top of the line Nexus 6, and the conversation between him and Tyrell shows his extreme intelligence. Then, when he doesn't get what he wants, he reacts in a brutal way, killing Tyrell by gouging out his eyes.
This was portrayed in the gameplay by the two forms of combat open to you.
This is a VATS build. Sort of, minus the Critical perks from the luck branch that my Machete build enjoyed. I do not normally play the game with VATS. However, when I want to convey beyond normal human speed, agility and perception, it's what I use. In combination with Blitz, Chems, Nerd Rage, and unarmed, VATS provided Batty with the strength he needed to take down most enemies using the Furious Power Fist, which has the "furious" effect
(subsequent blows do more damage). Deathclaws were still a problem, but honestly, I am of the notion that deathclaws should always be a problem. When the enemy was much stronger, I opted for Batty to show his more intellectual side and opt to wear down his opponent first with some VATS-assisted shots from his pistol at a strategic location. This is how I defeated Swann at level 11 to get the Power Fist. If you battle Swann from the narrow alley way opoosite Boston Common, you can dodge his thrown rocks and the battle becomes more stratigically smart. I highly recommend that right out of the Vault and as soon as you finish helping Preston, you make your way to Diamond City and then Boston Common, helping Paladin Danse for Righteous Authority along the way.
It was a Railroad mission that took me to University Point. If you can handle the synths, I recommend going there even earlier to obtain your second main weapon. Prototype UP77 "Limitless Potential" is a laser rifle that has the never-ending effect, which means that if you have ammunition, you don't need to reload. I was intending to go Quick Hands with this build, until I discoved the "Potential" of this weapon, but if you choose another laser weapon, then take Quick Hands. You do not need ranks of gunnut to modify it into a pistol.
Nerd Rage kicking in accounted for some of my favorite gameplay moments. Just when you think you've lost, Roy's internal anger kicks in and time slows, allowing him to heal. If you go beyond level 46 gameplay, I would definitely invest in the final perk of Nerd Rage. Below is a video of his endgame gameplay. You can see, I am still challenged, though, I admit, I am not the best button masher.
Quests and Roleplay: For me, these go hand in hand. Roy Batty is a victim of one of Father's experiments, replacing the original occupant of the cryopod so that Father could study synth emotional interactions and implanted paternal drive. Implanted memories. He wakes up in Vault 111 thinking that he is a former veteran, married with an infant son, and I played him that way until I received the quest Far From Home. So, yes, there is a bit of Rachael in Roy Batty. A crucial turning point in the game is when you first encounter DiMa, a prototype synth with acute awareness, who asks you the all-important question.
"Tell me: Are you a synth?"
Certainly an eye opener, isn't it? And I used that idea. Batty's eyes are now opened, he is aware ,he can account for why he only has the one memory. No first kiss, no childhood friends, no memories of war... It is at that point in the gameplay where Roy Batty goes from simply a hired gun trying to survive in the Wasteland while he searches for his son (I even joined both the Brotherhood of Steel and the Railroad, not certain who I'd end up alligning with. I played him totally clueless) to a synth on a mission to find his creator and I pursued the mainquest agressively until I arrived at the Institute. The game changes yet again when you encounter Father and see him for the man he is. He doesn't answer the questions of Batty's creation, iinstead he asks you to join him, promising a better future, revealing that he is your son while toying with you by tempting you with a synth version of Shaun. Father asks Roy to join him while other synths are slaving for him. There are two routes you can go with Roy's roleplay at this point.
You can kill Father immediately, pulling a move that is very much like Roy Batty's reaction to Tyrell in the film, but you will fail Underground Undercover and you must then seek out the Minutemen to complete the main quest. It is a darker path. "I have done questionable things..."
Or, you can show Roy Batty's "evolution", the growing humanity that we see at the end of Blade Runner, by restraining your anger and mirroring his final conversation with Deckard. "Quite an experience to live in fear, isn't it? ..." He understands that other synths live in fearr and he has the power to change that.
He becomes a more sympathetic character then and while at the Institute, on a side mission for the Railroad, you encounter Patriot and then the synth Z1-14, who wishes freedom for his people, now your people. This allows you to not fail Underground Undercover and you can pursue the Railroad ending. Ultimately, both versions of his story are extremely satisfying. Some particularly moving moments of Roy Batty's playthrough wa his final encounter with Glory (a synth heavy working for the Railroad) and his dialogues with Z1-14, DiMa, Father, Nick Valentine, and Curie. To get the full effect of Batty's experience, make sure you finish Far Harbor favoring Acadia peace before you destroy the Institute.
The "Tears in rain" monologue then changes, morphs into the possibilities an Institute-free Commonwealth. A Commonwealth where synths are no longer afraid. It is no longer time to die, but time to live. "Revel in your time."
There you have it, my submission for the Cyberpunk event. I hope you enjoy. I had a lot of fun captureing the essence of Roy Batty, the themes of what it means to be human and who should be free in this build. Made me rethink ideas in the Railroad ending that I, at first, didn't much care for. You can disagree with Desdemona, think she's naive or misguided, but I definitely felt for Glory and Z1-14. Thanks to my usual peeps, the workshop, and for the support of the hosts during this event. You guys make building extremely fun. It's also my first time with video!
Replies
Stellar presentation as always and an excellent build to boot. I'm gonna have to copy your style (with your approval of course) when I get to posting my own fallout builds.
My style changes all the time. Lol
For some reason the first thing I thought when i saw that last image was "oh that looks like the cover of The Great Gatsby lol
I’m speechless. This is fking amazing. The presentation does so much to make this build come to life.
Hey, thank you! I'm a fan of the cyberpunk aesthetic and it fits in extremely well with Roy Batty.
Beautiful build Long-Chapper, I watched Blade Runner awhile ago myself and I completely loved it. Blade Runner (haven't seen the 2049/2017 'sequel' as yet) combined with your Prodigal Son has given me the inspiration of recreating - not Roy - but Deckard but after the events of Blade Runner. How it'll turn out, one way to find out
I L-O-V-E love Blade Runner. I might just dust off my copy of Fallout 4 and give this build a whirl.