CHARACTER SNAPSHOT
Introducing The Captain, A non-crit sharpshooter/engineer hybrid, who tactically approaches combat with his faithful robot companion, Spotter. His playstyle and general vibe is heavily inspired by Risk of Rain's captain and sniper classes. This stoic Navy vet is best summed up by a quote from Brandon Sanderson:
“Using his pride like a shield against despair, dejection, and-most important—
self-pity, The Captain raised his head to stare damnation in the eyes.”
BACKSTORY
The Captain came from a family with a long history of service in the Navy. Four generations passed, with each son feeling the same call of the ocean. Service was never much of a question for him. He always knew the Navy was in his future. However, sailing wasn't his only hobby. He was a bright child, with an analytical and logical mind. He loved robotics, and constantly begged his parents to take him to the shows and parade's general atomics would sponsor in downtown Boston. He marveled at the Mr. Handy’s, and swore that one day he would acquire one himself.
After graduation, he attended MIT where he studied robotics and artificial intelligence. The Navy paid for his degree, but required many years in the service after graduation. His engineering degree was put to good use on the various submarines and battleships he served on. His work ethic helped him quickly rise through the ranks. After 10 years of service, he retired from the military, moved back home to Boston, and met his fiance, Nora. Shortly afterward, the US Gov. and General Atomics announced an experimental collaboration, the young Veteran was called and given an offer... He accepted a job as Captain of the SS Contact Light, a unique battleship staffed entirely by General Atomic's robots. The SS Contact Light’s maiden voyage was a tour, where he would travel down the east coast, pass through the Panama canal, then tour the west-coast ending at Vancouver. The whole operation was a publicity stunt, but The Captain didn't care. He attended the press conferences, and carried himself with dignity and pride. He saw this as a chance to advocate for the broader use of robotics, and was planning on pursuing the venture further as a career... On the day he was to give a speech on warfare and robotics, the bombs fell.
S.P.E.C.I.A.L. STATS & PERK SPREAD
The Captain will leave the vault with the following stats:
Take an extra point in perception with the “you’re special” book in Shauns room. Also, Grab the Perception and Intelligence bobbleheads as soon as possible. Both are easily accessible for early levels. (Perception is in Concord, and Intelligence is in the Boston Library).
The Perk order (to lvl 40) was chosen with natural gameplay and progression in-mind. We start with low perception, as this build relies on your skill with shooters, rather than VATS. In addition to the below perks, you will also gain 2 from your followers: “Robot Sympathizer” from Codsworth, and “United We Stand” from Preston Garvey.
COMPANIONS
For his followers, We will first use Codsworth. His flamethrower is nice to have on hand for those early levels, and It’s really easy to raise his opinion of you. There are ample opportunities for this along the first leg of your journey to find Shaun, and also remember he also loves it when you showcase your tinkering abilities and craft something. Once you’ve maxed out your relationship with him you will be rewarded with the “robot sympathy perk” which grants plus 10 to energy resistance against robots. Not the most useful perk, but it’s relevant for roleplay reasons as The Captain is literally a robot sympathizer. Also, our gear does lack energy resistance, and you should be able to get this perk before lvl 15, when you start facing lots of robots in the Automaton DLC.
Next up is Preston Garvey. Once the Brotherhood of Steel enters the commonwealth, The Captain’s military instincts kick in. He doesn’t trust them, and heads back to Sanctuary and begins the process of rebuilding the minutemen. Preston is also easy to level, as The Captain will be prioritizing reclaiming the castle, and rebuilding the minutemen. In no time at all you’ll have the United We Stand perk, which is definitely one of the best in the game. When faced with 3 or more enemies, (which is all the time), you will have 20 additional damage resistance, and deal 20% additional damage yourself. Once he’s leveled, you can dismiss him to the castle and only return for quest moments.
His final companion is “Spotter.” A robot he designs himself after convincing the Mechanist to stand down. It’s incredibly easy to become overpowered in Fallout 4, even on survival difficulty. As such, Spotter is a support only bot, designed by the Captain to alert him to nearby enemies, and transmit danger to his linked goggles. Build a Mr. Handy torso with Factory storage armor. Then 3 eyes and a thruster with Actuated armor. This is where our Risk of Rain influence comes in. The Sniper class has a robot that marks enemies for you, so Spotter will be fitted with either the “Recon Sensors” ability, which tracks enemies with a red diamond. Or the “Sensor Array.” which adds plus 1 to perception for nearby allies. This is entirely personal preference, but we chose to go with the recon sensors.
EQUIPMENT
Note: We’re using a mod for the armor, Minutemen General’s Battlecoat by Magic881 on the Nexus. This is completely optional. If you do not want to use mods, you could make the Brotherhood hostile and kill Elder Maxon for his coat, or use either the Submariner's or Minutemen General’s Uniform. All three are good options both functionally and aesthetically.
GAMEPLAY
The Captain’s gameplay is straightforward. He is a sniper first, shotgun spazz second. You should never rush headfirst into a fight. Always carefully consider your surroundings, and begin combat with the Overseer’s Guardian equipped as a sniper. VATS can be used with your discretion, but this isn’t a crit build so it’s not mandatory. When ambushed, switch to your unique Shotgun, Justice. This has the powerful "staggering" effect, which allows you to hammer down the health of most enemies (even deathclaws) in relative safety. In Risk of Rain 2, one of the Captain’s moves is Orbital Bombardment, which we can imitate with the amazing mortar cannons from the Minutemen. This build should absolutely make full use of these whenever possible. This requires patience and planning, and it doesn’t always pay off, but when it does it’s extremely satisfying! Note I played this build on Survival difficulty, and playtested it on Normal. It's a simple enough gameplay loop (sniper + shotguns), that it can really be done on any difficulty setting.
One fun goal the Captain's gameplay is to build robot caravans. As an engineer, it makes sense for him to make the most of his metal friends, and build bots to help the settlements of the Commonwealth. Note that a robot's max happiness is 50, so it will be impossible to reach 100 happiness at any settlement with a robot as a citizen. So, instead of keeping the bots as members of the settlements, we built "minutemen waystations" at Red Rocket Truck Stop, Mechanist's lair, and Jamaca Plain. These settlements were comprised entirely of Robots, all assigned to supply the settlements in their region of the map. Oxhorn's video on caravans referred to this method as the "star" method. In this case, it allowed supply-lines to be by robot without affecting the happiness of the populated settlements.
FACTIONS & QUESTS
Unlike other Bethesda RPGs, we are pigeonholed into playing as Nate or Nora (or whoever you name them). In my opinion, it’s best to accept these characters on their terms and focus the roleplay on developing a dynamic, and changing character. With this in mind, most of my playthroughs have all started in a similar way. We prioritize the main questline until after the scene with Dr. Amari. At this point, he has some measure of closure and acceptance regarding the fate of his Son, and can afford the mental space to begin other pursuits. At least now he knows the truth.
He accepts the role of Minutemen general, and begins rebuilding the commonwealth. He takes various side-quests to find his way in this new world, and he always helps people along the way if he can. The height of roleplay for him will be his encounter with the USS Constitution. This quest is just too perfect for him, so make the most of it! (And absolutely side with Captain Ironsides). For the DLC’s, He will complete Automaton as soon as possible, destroy the gangs of Nuka World, and side with Far Harbor in exposing the truth of Acadia. Finally, once the Minutemen are at full strength, he will destroy the Institute, and leave the Brotherhood and Railroad alone. It takes him some time to form his opinion on Synthetic life. On one hand, it is the ultimate progression of Robotics, and the engineer in him can’t help but be amazed at what the remnants of his University have done. But on the other hand, the Institute has no humanity left, and the synths are being treated worse than even the near-sentient robots of his day. Worst of all, the Instute feels no accountability for the manipulation of life above ground. The Captain has hope for the Commonwealth's future, but as long as the Institute is allowed to continue manipulating the lives of innocent citizens, nobody will ever be truly safe. The Institute must be destroyed. However, unlike the xenophobic Brotherhood, he has no dislike of Synths, and will treat them with the same dignity and respect he treats his robot friends.
ROLEPLAY
The Captain is a very stoic, neutral-good character. In most dialogue conversations, he will choose the shortest, most straight-to-the point answer. He helps those in need, but is not given to bouts of emotion, or sappy dialogue. He’s analytical, and approaches everything logically. The loss of his family prompts him to fall back on his lifestyle as a soldier. He stays active, wakes up early in the morning and works out (make sure to have your workout bench built), and he keeps his mind busy by focusing on the cause of the minutemen: Rebuilding. Because of his history as a seaman, we recommend building his home-base somewhere along the coast. Kingsport lighthouse is a great option, due to the naudical theming and docked boat on the water. Building up settlements makes sense for the roleplay since The Captain is an engineer. He has the skills to teach the Commonwealth to build defenses, better buildings, and helpful robots. His character fits right into the gameplay loop of a minutemen general: Always on the move, and always looking for a meaningful task. Deep in his soul, he knows that if he stopped working and helping others, he would have to face the endless void of loss. It’s the more logical approach to bury the grief, and just keep working. As he does so, he finds healing and purpose. To quote Brandon Sanderson again:
“Pain loses its power when other things become more important.”
Credits:
Magic881 for the Minutemen General's Battlecoat, Clipart for the stock battleship transparency, HOPOO for the Captain image, and Brandon Sanderson's Elantris for the Quotes.
Replies
Awesome job. If you guys are THE Skypothesis, welcome. Love your builds.
Thanks! I wish we would have joined earlier. The forum format is different so this was a good learning experience. Hopefully the first build of many.
Hopefully. Also, glad to see another Brandon Sanderson fan