Intimidation is a Charisma perk in Fallout 4.
Effects[]
Taking ranks of this perk grants the chance to pacify a human below the player character's Level when aiming a weapon at them. Higher ranks grant the ability to incite the pacified human to attack other enemies in the vicinity similar to being frenzied as well as give them commands similar to a companion.
Ranks[]
| Rank | Requirements | Description | Form ID |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CH 10 | Time to show everyone who's boss! With your gun, aim at any human opponent below your level and gain a chance to pacify them. | 001D02B5 |
| 2 | CH 10, LVL 23 | When you successfully pacify someone, you can incite them to attack. | 001D02B6 |
| 3 | CH 10, LVL 50 | When you successfully pacify someone, you can give them specific commands. | 001D02B7 |
Affected targets[]
To use this perk, one must aim a ranged weapon at a human enemy and press the interact button (default X on PS4, Y on XBOX). This perk is not guaranteed to work, even on enemies with a significantly lower level than the player character (the chance is a flat 40% base). Once an attempt is made, another is possible after waiting 60 seconds. If successful, the target will raise their arms and surrender, turning friendly on one's HUD; however, it seems that after waiting a span of several minutes or performing certain actions (such as picking locks or entering or exiting power armor), some pacified targets can become hostile again.
Once intimidated, the individual appears to lose their faction allegiance, but will still react to crimes committed against them. For example, an intimidated enemy will not attack if their allies are wounded/killed, or if loose objects are looted. However, if one damages them or is caught pick-pocketing from their inventory, they will turn hostile. Note that damaging/killing one intimidated enemy will have no effect on other intimidated enemies, only that specific individual.
This perk can be used on non-hostile NPCs; however, if it fails, it is counted as an assault on them. If one is detected during the act, the intended target will turn hostile and attack.
| Targets affected by this perk | |
|---|---|
| Raider | |
| Gunner | |
| Gen 3 Synths, despite not actually being human. | |
| Brotherhood soldier | |
| Railroad agent | |
| Child of Atom | |
| Minuteman | |
Trapper 
| |
Disciples member 
| |
| Pack member
| |
| Operators member
| |
| All other human and non-feral ghoul NPCs | |
Dialogue[]
The Sole Survivor will sometimes make faction specific comments when pacifying and inciting targets.
| Faction | Pacify | Incite | Command |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raider | "Just chill out, asshole." | "Time to get crazy! Kill 'em all!" | "Ha! I'm in charge now." |
| Gunner | "Don't move, soldier." | "New orders - kill everything!" | "Got new orders for ya." |
| Child of Atom | "Hands up, nut job!" | "For Atom! Kill!" | "Atom commands you!" |
| Railroad agent | "Don't move, agent!" | "They're on to us! Kill 'em!" | "I'm in command now." |
| Brotherhood soldier | "Just relax, tech-head." | "Ad victoriam! Kill!" | "Listen up, soldier." |
Notes[]
- Initial pacification has a flat 40% chance of success, so long as the enemy is a valid target. Inciting/commanding a pacified enemy always succeeds.
- If a pacification attempt fails, another attempt cannot be made on the same enemy for 60 seconds.
- A failed pacification attempt will also trigger a minor alert to nearby enemies, which will put you in Caution state while sneaking and can lead to enemies discovering you.
- Legendary enemies can be pacified.
- Hostile companions can not be pacified.
- Enemies incited by rank 2 of this perk will attack other incited or pacified enemies.
- Sneak bonus damage is applied to attacks on pacified enemies, if applicable.
- Holstering your weapon or leaving and then returning to the area will make all pacified enemies hostile again. This includes using terminals or sitting down.
- Incited enemies will remain incited after holstering, but will still revert to being hostile if one leaves the area and then returns.
- Commanding another foe with Rank 3 of the pacification perks will cause the previously commanded foe to go hostile. (Note that this is only true per perk type. You can have a raider, a molerat, and a deathclaw following you all at one time, but if you try to command another animal, the molerat will go hostile.)
- Pacifying an enemy will not satisfy any objective that requires clearing enemies out of an area. Instead, you will have to dispose of them before the objective is counted as complete.
- If the player character successfully pacifies a friendly NPC, orders them to stand at a certain distance away and then holsters their weapon, the pacified NPC will not become hostile.
Behind the scenes[]
This perk was implemented into Fallout 4 by level designer Justin Schram, as part of a suite of perks tailored to a combat-avoidance playstyle, alongside Animal Friend and Wasteland Whisperer.[1]
References[]
- ↑ Alumni Guest: Justin Schram From Bethesda Game Studios (reference starts at 4:30)
Justin Schram: "For Fallout 4, I actually developed three of the perks...the hold-up system. So, Animal Friend, Intimidation, and Wasteland Whisperer were these perks where you could get an enemy to not fight, you could essentially pacify them. I was trying to make a non-combat sort of play style."