Foreword:
This build aims to do two things: First and foremost it's a role-playing build that intends to recreate Ada Wong from the Resident Evil 2 Remake in terms of appearance, apparel and weapons. But this build is also a sort of challenge build, limiting itself to a few set S.P.E.C I.A.L. stats and perks instead of becoming a jack of all trades like your standard FO4 character. It is a lot of fun to play though and really intensifies your need of scavenging for supplies and gear while staying on your toes at all times. I've tested it and even on the Very Easy difficulty setting, some fights can get damn tense if you aren't careful. With time however, the build grows immeasurably powerful.
This build features necessary and optional Creation Club content.
This build doesn't feature community mods.
This build was made using the PS4 version of the game.
Chinese Infiltrator
Before the war, China planted several covert operatives in the United States to gather intelligence and disrupt key military operations. These anti-government units were highly skilled, female spies that infiltrated the very public and hid right under the American's noses. Their irresistible allure and unique skillset allowed them to accomplish their goals with frightening effectiveness. They were called Chinese Infiltrators, a unique subdivision of the Dragoons and counter-insurgency teams and they were among the most deadly and efficient operatives of the Chinese government.
Chinese Infiltrators are the very meaning of the word "stealth". Pre-war they were unsurpassed in hiding in plain sight. Now, 200 years after the bombs fell, the Chinese Infiltrator uses her unique combination of stealth and nonviolent skills to survive even the most challenging encounters in the Commonwealth without so much as a scratch. Capable of delivering fatal blows from the shadows, phasing in and out of visibility or mobilising a nearby army of robots are all traits that make the Chinese Infiltrator a deadly foe in combat. Out of combat, she can be persuasive, especially towards the gents, always getting the best deal or acquiring the most information. She is never unprepared.
S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Stat Distribution at start
Strength: 1
Perception: 4
Endurance: 1
Charisma: 7
Intelligence: 8
Agility: 6 + 1 (You're SPECIAL)
Luck: 1
This build is based on stealth, persuasion, looting and bypassing security. As you can see, we will not be relying on brute strength or a large health pool. After you leave Vault 111, find the You're SPECIAL book underneath the baby dresser in Shaun's room in your old house and allocate that point towards Agility.
Main Perks
Below are the perks we'll need in order for the build to work as intended. The early game can prove to be quite challenging with what limited protection and combat prowess we have. Keep in mind, however, that we'll become seriously powerful by the end of it.
Locksmith:
This perk is as mandatory as it is universal. Every build should include it unless you want to add some misery to your playthrough because you're unable to pick locks. For an infiltrator character, this is a must have.
Black Widow:
The perk that allows us to be as alluring and persuasive towards men as we are dangerous. Mandatory for an Ada Wong themed build as the woman herself is highly manipulative. Besides, easier persuasion, more lucrative bartering and a damage boost against male enemies do come in handy from time to time.
Lone Wanderer:
We will not be wearing any armour or other form of protection. Because of this, we need the bonuses that come from the Lone Wanderer perk. Besides, Ada works alone anyway so this perk only supports the kind of role-playing we want to achieve in the first place.
Hacker:
Not only is Ada Wong adept at manipulating her surrounding tech. The Hacker perk is another one of these no-brainers that every build should include lest you want to torture yourself. This is mandatory, if nothing else.
Robotics Expert:
Similarly to Hacker, Robotics Expert helps us in deepening our role-playing capabilities by further manipulating the tech that surrounds us. Being able to reprogram robots or nonviolently shut them down can be a huge help if you're in a tight spot against the more military types.
Gunslinger:
This build necessitates the use of a semi-automatic pistol in order to work as intended. Because of this, you're going to want the Gunslinger perk, no doubt about that.
Sneak:
The Chinese Infiltrator is nothing without her Sneak perk. Everything, from avoiding direct combat to dealing massive damage, depends on this perk. You need this.
Advanced Perks
Below are listed the advanced perks you'll want to have for greater survivability and combat ability. All of course with the role of an infiltration/stealth unit in mind. At the point in time where you'll rank up these perks you're probably going to leave Ada Wong role-playing territory and enter what I call the Ghost Warrior - but one step at a time.
Pickpocket:
This perk can become quite essential in dealing with human enemies that are much more powerful than you are. At rank 2 it allows you to place live grenades in people's inventories, at rank 3 you can disarm them and at rank 4 you can even strip their armour. These abilities are especially useful on higher difficulties when even high sneak melee damage isn't quite enough to bring down that legendary enemy.
Moving Target:
Another one of the perks that are more on the role-playing side of things, it can become quite useful when you're feeling a bit in over your head. This perk allows you to run for cover without getting shot to death, or flee a scene entirely and survive to tell the tale. Becomes particularly useful in places like the big satellite array during that one BoS quest where there's a big crowd of enemies shooting at you.
Mister Sandman:
Not only is the obvious ability to kill targets in their sleep incredibly useful to single out the strongest enemy in the bunch. The added damage with suppressed weapons comes in handy quite a bit as we'll be using a suppressed pistol for the majority of this build.
Ninja:
Who doesn't like more sneak damage? If you're doing a somewhat combat effective stealth build, you're going to need this. It amplifies your sneak damage to crazy amounts, especially if you're going in with a knife instead of a ranged weapon.
Rifleman:
Choose this as a little backup plan when you're in a tight spot and run out of 10mm bullets. I'd personally go with Rifleman here because a scoped bolt action rifle for long range kills is going to save the day on more occasions than one. Sniping is key when you want to survive large crowds. However, rank up this perk later than most of the others because the pistol you're going to acquire is probably more than enough to carry you through the majority of the game. In this sense, if you can spare the points you might wanna invest a tad in the Sniper perk just in case. Be sure to rank up all the other perks beforehand though.
Perk Spread
Below is the perk spread from level 1 to level 50. Listed one level at a time and my recommended perk choices for that level, bearing in mind the overall state of affairs I expect the player will be in.
Levels 1-10:
Level 1:
Level 2: Locksmith 1
Level 3: Hacker 1
Level 4: Sneak 1
Level 5: Black Widow 1
Level 6: Sneak 2
Level 7: Locksmith 2
Level 8: Black Widow 2
Level 9: Hacker 2
Level 10: Lone Wanderer 1
For the first ten levels we'll focus on non-combat perks to give you an early edge when it comes to bypassing security/picking locks (and looting valuable items, reprogramming robots, shutting down turrets etc.). We'll also make sure to acquire Black Widow's ranks ideally before we enter Diamond City as we'll be getting a few speech checks going forward and this will help us get through them to turn the tides to our favour. Also important to unlock is the first rank of Lone Wanderer for its benefits early on. As the enemies are still weak, purely combat oriented perks can wait.
Levels 11-20:
Level 11: Robotics Expert 1
Level 12: Sneak 3
Level 13: Gunslinger 1
Level 14: Gunslinger 2
Level 15: Gunslinger 3
Level 16: Black Widow 3
Level 17: Lone Wanderer 2
Level 18: Locksmith 3
Level 19: Robotics Expert 2
Level 20: Ninja 1
The next ten levels are about getting an edge in combat. During this time we're probably going to face off against a load of unfamiliar threats and we wanna be ready for it. We'll invest into Robotics Expert to work around having to fight them if feasible. But if we have to, Gunslinger's got our back here. Max out Black Widow for maximum effect against men and successive ranks in Sneak and Lone Wanderer are going to increase our survivability. Ranking Ninja on Level 20 will become important as we aim to acquire our signature weapon by that time - and that weapon's got a suppressor on it.
Levels 21-30:
Level 21: Hacker 3
Level 22: Ninja 2
Level 23: Sneak 4
Level 24: Mister Sandman 1
Level 25: Mister Sandman 2
Level 26: Moving Target 1
Level 27: Gunslinger 4
Level 28: Pickpocket 1
Level 29: Pickpocket 2
Level 30: Mister Sandman 3
Here, we're deepening our ability to fight back. Finish Mister Sandman for maximum damage with your suppressed pistol, boost that with another rank in Gunslinger and combine it with better sneak damage with Sneak and Ninja. At this point, you'll be able to put down most threats easily so long as you are hidden. At this point in time you should develop your Pickpocket perk in case you need to blow up an unaware enemy that's especially hard to kill (since enemies aren't getting any easier and our lack of armour starts to become troubling out in the open). You can now substantially damage key targets or put them out of commission directly. Now's also the time to invest in Moving Target in case you really need to run for your life. Remember: there's no shame in retreating if you are in over your head. Run, hide, reorganise and hit them with a well-placed headshot.
Levels 31-40:
Level 31: Moving Target 2
Level 32: Pickpocket 3
Level 33: Hacker 4
Level 34: Ninja 3
Level 35: Pickpocket 4
Level 36: Rifleman 1
Level 37: Rifleman 2
Level 38: Sneak 5
Level 39: Rifleman 3
Level 40: Lone Wanderer 3
Here we'll slowly work towards maxing out our perks. You can now crack the most advanced terminals and sneak your way out of every sticky situation. Additionally, maximising the Pickpocket perk enables you to disarm a tough opponent beforehand and even stripping their armour for a greater edge in combat. Now's a good time to put points into Rifleman and get yourself a scoped rifle from a vendor. Preferably suppressed but at a long range, with the current level of Sneak, it's hardly necessary. You may want to acquire a scoped rifle a little earlier than this because you're going to run into long range encounters that necessitate caution. Picking off enemies one by one from great distances ensures your survival.
Levels 41-50:
Level 41: Locksmith 4
Level 42: Gunslinger 5
Level 43: Rifleman 4
Level 44: Robotics Expert 3
Level 45: Moving Target 3
Level 46: Rifleman 5
Level 47: Charisma +1 (8)
Level 48: Charisma +1 (9)
Level 49: Charisma +1 (10)
Level 50: Lone Wanderer 4
In these late levels we're going to max out the remainder of our perks as they become available to us. From Level 46 to Level 49 we'll invest our perk points into the Charisma stat (provided you haven't found the corresponding Bobble Head yet; if you did you'll have one perk point to spend on the Intimidation perk which aligns itself neatly with our role-play as the charismatic Ada Wong). When you hit Level 50, spend that last point on Lone Wanderer and your build is 100% complete! If you level up even further, finish off the Intimidation perk and after that, do whatever. This build isn't designed past Level 50.
Gear:
The gear we'll be acquiring for this build will not be very useful in terms of damage protection but it will be useful for stealth and role-playing. Bear in mind that you're not built to take hits - you're built to avoid an open fight altogether.
Armour & Clothing:
The apparel we'll be wearing will to ⅔ mimick the attire Ada Wong dons during the events of the Resident Evil 2 Remake. To achieve the intended, role-playing visuals we have to, regrettably, ditch all semblance of armour. But if you're as stealthy as you should be that won't be a problem for you.
Apparel:
For our intended looks we'll need:
Red Dress
Faded Trenchcoat and Sunglasses
Chinese Stealth Armor (CC)
The Red Dress is an item of clothing the original Ada Wong has always worn. It's a staple of her looks and Fallout 4's Red Dress is as close of an approximation to that dress as we can get. To obtain it, simply search each and every container that usually has clothes in it such as dressers and suitcases. With a little luck you can even get it as soon as you leave Vault 111 in one of the dilapidated houses around Sanctuary. Also, sometimes clothes vendors have it in stock.
Here's a little tip: Just before you step into the elevator to leave Vault 111 make a save. Every time you enter Sanctuary for the first time, there are different items in the containers so you can continually reload your save until you get the dress.
You could also always go over to Goodneighbor and kill Magnolia in The Third Rail and Loot the dress off her corpse but this method isn't recommended.
The Faded Trenchcoat is a reward for completing the main story quest "Unlikely Valentine" you pick up in Diamond City after having saved Preston Garvey and his entourage in Concord. Since you'll need to do the main story as far as that anyway you might as well do all the quests leading up to it beforehand. You're gonna need the XP, too.
The Sunglasses can be found pretty much anywhere. There are a few spots and specific corpses where they'll appear but you're unlikely to get tonthose places early enough. If you can't find them, try the Patrolman Sunglasses or the Fashionable Glasses as a substitute until you get the real thing.
The Chinese Stealth Armor is part of the Creation Club creation of the same name. Activate the quest "Can You See Me Now?" from your PipBoy and follow the map marker to a fortified, above ground bunker protected by a good number of Gunners. Of course, Ada Wong has never possessed such an armour but if there's any armour to go along with this build, it's this one. It does give you some protection and creates a stealth field whenever you crouch, rendering you invisible. This armour is optional and the build doesn't require it to work as intended.
Weapons:
Deliverer
Combat Knife
Grenades
(Rifle)
The Deliverer is going to be our main source of firepower. To acquire it, you'll need to do the Railroad quest "Tradecraft", which can get a little tricky because you'll have to follow the freedom trail and then deal with lots of synths. The path to the Deliverer can be especially difficult for early game characters. However, we need this weapon for our build, as not only does it come with a pre-installed suppressor but is also visually identical to the gun Ada Wong uses during RE2.
A sleek, black version of the Deliverer, the Silver Sidearm, is found at the end of the quest for the Shroud Manor Creation Club creation. It does come without a suppressor though.
The Combat Knife is one of two defensive weapons that Ada Wong wields in Resident Evil 2. It's a good weapon for silent takedowns and with the added Ninja perk the damage output increases substantially. It's found at most vendors and on most corpses at some point.
Grenades are among the second defensive item on the list. They aren't stealthy but they can be placed in people's inventories for some added damage. And if you find yourself in a tight spot with multiple enemies on the receiving end, throw in one of these goodies before you run into cover for a little surprise. They are found everywhere throughout the Commonwealth.
Lastly, I recommend getting a rifle at some point in the game for those few occasions where you're sniping groups of enemies from really far away. The rifle isn't part of Ada Wong's loadout anywhere in the series but so isn't the Chinese Stealth Armor. It does fit the theme of the build, however. Ideally, get a suppressed Sniper rifle with a thermal scope. That's how I like to do it.
Gameplay
The Chinese Infiltrator is a pre-war unit deployed to the United States by the Chinese military years before the bombs fell. As such, she knows the ins and outs of contemporary tech and American customs to fit right into the society at the time. Her greatest talent from before the war is to stay hidden both in plain sight and in the shadows. First and foremost, she is a mostly risk-averse character who gets around most situations by sneaking past the obvious hazards. The Chinese Infiltrator never fights out in the open because she just can't sustain many hits before getting into serious trouble - after all, her only garments are a red dress and an old trenchcoat for most of the time. Her style of combat is a combination of very precise elimination of specific targets in a specific order. Her methodologies include planting live explosives in people's pockets, silently executing enemies from behind with a knife or safely shooting one head after the other from a dark corner. She is like a ghost, going in and out of locations unseen, oftentimes leaving a trail of bodies behind if combat couldn't be avoided. And in the Commonwealth, oftentimes combat can't be avoided. But it's also fun to try and go around a dungeon without killing anyone or with exclusively eliminating the quest target.
Her main source of firepower is the suppressed Deliverer, which gains an additional damage boost through Mister Sandman. This pistol is the most important weapon in her small arsenal. If the need arises and targets need to be taken care of from a greater distance, she carries a scoped rifle on her back as a backup. But since silence can't always be guaranteed on her rifle, she uses it sparingly or from seriously far away. On the topic of weapon mods - the Chinese Infiltrator is no gunsmith or armoursmith and as such unable to produce mods herself. She doesn't do crafting at all. Instead, she relies on whatever she finds in the world. As an added bonus, she can retrieve the Chinese Stealth Armor, a valuable pre-war asset from her unit from way back when.
Factions and Quests
She is neutral to most factions aside from the Institute (which has apparently captured her genetic material in the form of Shaun), so she slyly allies with everyone to get the most out of each of them before she sells them out for personal gain. She does all the quests that she can and will later ally with the Institute, becoming their top agent out in the Commonwealth.
Since we can't help but be the mother of Shaun, we construct our scenario thusly:
We are Ada Wong, a Chinese Infiltrator deployed to the US a few years ago. Our task was to sneak into society to spy on America and disrupt key military operations. To this end, it was a tactical decision to marry her husband, Nate, who was a war veteran and highly respected for it. The child, Shaun, wasn't really part of the equation but it happened and Ada needed to play the loving mother to not blow her cover. After the war, she was released from her cryogenic stasis with her husband dead and her son gone. While Nate's death certainly came in handy, Shaun's disappearance was a disaster. Because that little child held all of her genetic information and she couldn't allow that to fall into the wrong hands. Now it's her top priority to find that infant and secure her genetic information.
Roleplay
We are Ada Wong, a Chinese-American agent who used to work for the Chinese government but now that everything has fallen to ruin, only works for herself. She is charismatic and has a knack for the occasional sarcasm and will frequently act sarcastic during dialogue. However, she will always try to hide her true intentions from anyone unless giving away crucial information is absolutely unavoidable. This is also why she will never visit Piper's office in Diamond City, always works alone without companions/followers and always tells everyone to mind their own business. Since the war she was stripped of purpose. Her current mission is to find her missing child because it carries her genetic code and since it was stolen by a person in an environmental suit, she suspects a highly organised group with access to technology behind the deed.
She will go through the main story relentlessly until she finds what she is looking for but will veer off towards exploration and base building in Home Plate to have a base of operations where she can regroup and gather her thoughts before the next move - that means that we're not doing main quest after main quest. Instead, we'll set up a base in Diamond City where we'll store equipment and such as well as to assess which sites to explore more thoroughly every so often for much needed supplies in order to stand a chance against adversity.
She wears no armour but either a Trenchcoat when on a mission or her signature red dress whenever she is in settlements to increase her chances of success while talking. She knows her allure and does everything to manipulate the people in her vicinity - especially men. At some point, she may retrieve the Chinese Stealth Armor (if you have it) and uses it to go against the Institute once she's sure of what to do. She will side with the Institute later, however, as a sort of new employment. At this point she will take most of her orders from them and scour the Commonwealth for her marks.
Replies
Glad to see new content, nice work. ALways loved the Chinese Stealth Armor
This makes me want to get Fo4 CC, and i've avoided it until now. Well done!