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With the Robotics Expert perk, you do an additional 25% damage to any robot. Also, sneaking up on a hostile robot undetected and activating it will put that robot into a permanent shutdown state.Fallout 3 in-game description

Robotics Expert is a Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas and Fallout 4 perk.

Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas

Effects

Grants an extra 25% damage dealt to robots. Also, entering sneak mode and activating a robot permanently shuts it down.

Robots that can be disabled

Additional dialogue

In Fallout 3, additional dialogue options are unlocked with certain robots with this perk. These often bypass Speech checks:

Notes

  • Deactivating a robot awards 10 XP (Fallout: New Vegas only).
  • A deactivated robot cannot be targeted in V.A.T.S. However, the unit can still take damage, and destroying one will give the same experience and loot as normal. Every attack on a deactivated robot while sneaking will register as a "sneak attack critical," regardless of the player's location or level.
  • Making contact with a deactivated robot while sneaking may still alert other robots in the vicinity to the player's presence, just as if the robot were fully active.
  • You cannot disable a robot who only goes unconscious.
  • When you are given the option to disable a sentry bot, it also gives the option to "talk" to the robot, as if you were interacting with a friendly robot, such as Wadsworth. However, you cannot engage the robot in conversation.
  • For deactivating a robot using the perk, it is sufficient to be crouched and behind it. As opposed to the perk's description, it is not necessary to be [HIDDEN], i.e. close up and unnoticed. You can in fact charge a hostile robot, crouch, circle strafe and disable it while it is circling about weapons blazing.
  • Automated turrets are scripted as robots and can be disabled with this perk. While in many cases they are out of reach, ceiling-mounted turrets can be disabled if the player is able to reach them by jumping while crouched.
  • When sneaking up on a robot with this perk, if "talk" is selected, it talks to you and does not attack you. (e.g. a sentry bot, when the talk selection is selected, it will say "Do not interfere with security operations.")
  • Sergeant RL-3 can be disabled with this perk.
  • Deactivating a robot will not cause any of its allies in the vicinity to turn hostile.
  • Big MT Protectrons often can not be disabled. An example is Mk6 protectrons in the Big MT west tunnel at high levels.

Fallout 4

Machines will always serve humans, if you have anything to say about it. Hack a robot, and gain a chance to power it on or off, or initiate a self-destruct.— Rank 1 description
Rank Requirements Description Base ID
1 INT 8 Machines will always serve humans, if you have anything to say about it. Hack a robot, and gain a chance to power it on or off, or initiate a self-destruct. 0004D889
2 INT 8, LVL 19 When you successfully hack a robot, you can incite it to attack. 00065E64
3 INT 8, LVL 44 When you successfully hack a robot, you can give it specific commands. [Command as a companion only] 001ACF96


As of the release of the Automatron DLC, Ranks 1 and 2 of this perk are required to gain full access to all available robot construction options at the Robot workbench.


Notes

  • Though not mentioned in the perk itself, hacking a robot requires either approaching a non-hostile robot or sneaking undetected up to a hostile robot. As such, investment in sneaking may be needed if you want much mileage out of this perk. As of patch 1.3, however, hostile robots can be hacked in combat.
    • As with all pacify/dominate perks, you can artificially extend the range by aiming at the robot using a scoped weapon.
  • When you power off a robot, you can still initiate a self-destruct by re-hacking the robot.
  • Initiating a self-destruct will take some time; moreover, the simple act of initiating self-destruct will do a small amount of rad damage to your player character, in addition to making the robot hostile (though they will not move far).
  • Legendary protectrons will explode when killed; when combined with the self-destruct explosion, your player character should essentially flee to a safe distance to avoid being killed.
  • Turrets and such cannot be hacked by this perk, and in fact require the appropriate Total Hack perk magazine to do so (via a terminal).
  • Robots such as sentry bots and assaultrons will act like your own companion until they are killed. (you need rank 3 of this perk to get full access to this.)
  • Combat sentry prototype MkIV cannot be interacted with this perk until the Combat sentry proto MK IV holotape is used to activate the Sentry Bot.
  • Hacked enemy robots will turn hostile towards any friendly settlements when following you, but any hacked friendly robots will not attack them.
  • A robot that you command with the Rank 3 perk will follow and enter a different cell with you (i.e. entering an interior door) and will also fast travel with you.
  • There's no way to permanently make a robot commanded with the Rank 3 perk stop following you, besides killing or disabling it.
  • Synths and all variants cannot be hacked with this perk, instead, one requires the Intimidation perk to hijack them since they are classified as humanoid enemies.
  • It is not a good idea to hack Percy in diamond city and use the command option. This will cause him to follow you as a companion, potentially getting him killed. There is no way to make him go back to diamond city permanently

Bugs

You can hack robots from afar by looking at them through a scope similarly to when you pacify enemies with the Intimidation perk.

  • Xbox 360Xbox 360 In Fallout: New Vegas if you save a game next to a robot, deactivate it, destroy that robot's limbs and load back, the robot is active but without any limbs.
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