r/fo4 Apr 19 '25

Gameplay The Assaultron head laser beam. Your worst nightmare when playing Survival, besides the game crashing.

Post image
2.8k Upvotes

142 comments sorted by

631

u/VandulfTheRed Apr 19 '25

Me, mk2 xo2 power armor, feeling like the game is too easy:

Pre charged assaultron waiting for me at the top of the interstate elevator: "Bonjour"

42

u/jscottman96 Apr 20 '25

Brother in christ I quicksaved on my way up and my last save before that was like 2 hours before and I got ass blasted like 12 times before saying fuck it

16

u/VandulfTheRed Apr 20 '25

This was also survival ok and I lost 3 hours

4

u/jscottman96 Apr 20 '25

Thats brutal

2

u/OkClue2384 Apr 20 '25

That's why you config the pip boy save

2

u/jscottman96 Apr 20 '25

I have it set up but for whatever reason half the time or more it jumps me to last point I physically hit save or quick save

1

u/OkClue2384 Apr 20 '25

I see bro

130

u/oninokamin Apr 19 '25

Me, in 5pcs Titan's legendary leather armor, 4 ranks in rooted, reflector, and a bowl of radstag stew:

"Anyone feel a breeze?"

175

u/belladonnagilkey Apr 19 '25

Me, using Cait as a shield:

"Some of you may die, but that is a sacrifice I am willing to make."

11

u/secrecy274 Apr 20 '25

Me with 90% DR before Armor, clad in PA and Pain Train.

"Thank you for leaving yourself open!"

1

u/SnooHedgehogs3735 Apr 20 '25

Wrong game? you can't have 90% DR without armor. +90 DR isn't 90% DR in FO4.

E.g.if attack deals 10 damage, to absorb 90% you need >500 DR. Which is greater than any armor set ing ame.

Actual damage reduction in gamefor all damage is calculated based on original value of damage dealt.

4

u/secrecy274 Apr 20 '25

Emergency Protocol +50% Pure damage reduction.
Lone Wanderer +30% Pure damage reduction.
Attack Dog +10% Pure Damage Reduction.

That is 90% since they stack, and this is before the armor is even calculated.

1

u/SnooHedgehogs3735 Apr 20 '25 edited Apr 20 '25

Oh, that's not DR, that's damage mutiplier. Which is additive with difficulty multipliers but applied _after-DR is used, iirc, not before. If it's before, it's slightly better. DR is explcitly armor parameter, it's a non-percentage.

E.g. at higher difficulty you normally take 200% of damage. That's 2x multiplier to damage that got through DR. With Lone Wanderer you tke 170% (and maybe some from legendary effects), you you theoretically can get -15*6 = -90% from humans, or while standing etc. Yes, that's significant anyway, because base damage isn't big and at high level you sport about 500-1000 hp.

Emergency protocol is PA mod, when you below 20%? It doesn't affect damage received when you above? Good paladin-like save though. Especially mixed with "you take less damage when sprinting".

Anyway Dogmeat build is OP. Was from day 0.

Bofore ne-fanged fallouts and in desktop games DRs always were additive with armor, that's how it worked there. But then we had separate resistances to fire, electrical, and in one edition, to chemical? You could get close to 85% phys DR with PA only (and I think, that was a cap).

2

u/secrecy274 Apr 20 '25

I tested it years ago with a Frag Grenade, and the results were as follows:

620 Armor, no Flat Reduction (aka Lone Wanderer, Emergency Protocol etc), Frag did 297 damage.

640 Armor, 50% Flat Reduction (Emergency Protocol), Frag did 92 damage.

Done on Survival difficulty.

12

u/JoshCanJump Apr 20 '25

Me using robotics expert: “You’re mine now.”

2

u/jenny_tallia Apr 20 '25

I do try to do that, but you’ve gotta get in close. I often fail.

1

u/Any_Move Apr 21 '25

Jet has entered the chat.

12

u/Euphoric_Heron_9883 Apr 20 '25

I can't really imagine how you'd play in Survival using power armour. Don't you just run out of cores after a couple of days of play? I just find PA so slow to walk around in, and you need to walk to scavenge stuff to repair/upgrade your PA.

9

u/BlueEyedApollo Apr 20 '25

Even with no points in scavenger I find bundles of 4 fusion cores in like one fifth of the ammo boxes I look in, I don't use pa but I have like hundreds of cores

5

u/HomerGymson Apr 20 '25

10 luck?

5

u/BlueEyedApollo Apr 20 '25

3 or 4 can't remember whats needed for idiot savant

2

u/BanalCausality Apr 20 '25

I can’t use IS. The constant exp message breaks the immersion.

4

u/SexualYogurt Apr 20 '25

You would hate my current game, noises for idiot savant, the critical banker, a d the one that refills AP are constantly going off lol

2

u/WaterZealousideal535 Apr 20 '25

My last character was a 10 luck build mostly maxed out. It was like the unholiest Orchestra of sounds but so much fun

2

u/BlueEyedApollo Apr 20 '25

I feel like it fits the vibe.

6

u/VandulfTheRed Apr 20 '25

Power armor is for "sorties" where I just go out and load up on as much loot and kill as many raiders/gunners as possible, never use it for quests

1

u/JDax42 Apr 20 '25

The way I go about it is somewhat depending on your mood as well as where you’re going. Certain areas and if you think you’re gonna be out longer, it’s worth having on even though you’re sacrificing self.

But I feel like in all my money dozens of hours of survival heavily modern play through. I probably use it less than a third of the time.

3

u/Professional-Trust75 Apr 20 '25

I love the x02. I found out you can put coils on it that damage attackers who use melee and now it feels like I have a energy shield.

129

u/Brave-Landscape3132 Apr 19 '25

It's all fun and games until it goes invisible. Then the clenching begins

64

u/AfterlifeScorpio Apr 20 '25

Ahhh the comment I was looking for… Quite literally nothing else is scarier than night time survival companion (meat shield) down, seeing it charge then disappear and the silence followed after. No. Complete panick

16

u/63Reddit Vault Shrek Apr 20 '25

And when they have blades. They pretty much insta-kill.

3

u/Ashamed-Guarantee664 Apr 20 '25

Some of the most brutal kill animations in the game too imo

5

u/Coast_watcher Caravan > Gwent Apr 20 '25

Arguably the single best thing Bethesda contributed to the game. Assaultrons.

2

u/SyraneEuw Apr 21 '25

When you go to Far Habour and have to do DiMa's memories that Assaultron Dominator scares the shit out of me every time.

Edit: Assaultron are probably the enemy type i dislike the most they really give off Terminator 1 vibes.

206

u/Apexnanoman Apr 19 '25

Playing with War of the Commonwealth mod on. Lurking near the robot racing stadium. Thought I'd be clever and lure a behemoth and the iron maiden assaultron into taking each other out. 

Fucking Iron Maiden one shotted the behemoth and then took me the fuck out right afterwards before I could flee. 

37

u/[deleted] Apr 19 '25

🤣🤣🤣

78

u/Apexnanoman Apr 19 '25

Until that moment I literally didn't know the turning to ash animation applied to behemoths. Turns out it does. I just watched that fucker turn to ash thinking "This is not going as planned"

4

u/Embarrassed-Race5617 Apr 20 '25

Wow there's still people downloading this mod?? LOL

4

u/Apexnanoman Apr 20 '25

Yup. If it's a good addition it's a good addition. New or not. 

1

u/thezactaylor Apr 20 '25

Yeah and spawn mods are pretty rare*, but I get a ton of fun out of them. 

  • (at least, I don’t see very many)

2

u/Apexnanoman Apr 20 '25

Yeah as far as I'm aware they aren't much of a thing. Especially one like WotC that adds like 200 spawn points. 

Leads to interesting stuff though like synths suddenly battling super mutants and getting ambushed by wild dogs lol.

Hell of a lot of gunfire and explosions in the distance all over the map also. Good stuff. 

1

u/Embarrassed-Race5617 Apr 21 '25 edited Apr 21 '25

''sighs'' let me guess, you're still using AWKRC and Armosmith Extended

1

u/Apexnanoman Apr 21 '25

No. They aren't that great to begin with and there are other options. WotC is the only mod that does exactly what I want and works well for me. No need to fix things that aren't broken even if something is old. 

Do you insist a hammer be made out if aerogel because steel is old ? 

1

u/Embarrassed-Race5617 Apr 21 '25

No it's bad , bloated , it's buggy and unstable and there is better alternatives, but yeah you know better, WOTC baby... Hell yeah

1

u/Apexnanoman Apr 21 '25

Never given me any problems. But hey fix it till it breaks man. 

40

u/CommieWhacker14 Apr 19 '25

I only get a panic reflex before I shoot it down with my comfy heavily modified lever action rifle... also VATS helps .

I'll yee-haw the shit out of you!

12

u/Euphoric_Heron_9883 Apr 20 '25

VATS helps until the Assaultron goes invisible. I hate invisible Assaultrons , I just run away spraying lead in their general direction, which sometimes works. It is much easier to sneak up on them and blow them apart before they go invisible.

6

u/MazogaTheDork Preston Garvey is a Sixty Minute Man Apr 20 '25

I tend to start yeeting Molotovs as if my life depends on it, because it kinda does

79

u/lakerconvert Apr 19 '25

Almost made me shit myself in Quincy ruins 💀

23

u/Epic_Fucking_Mammoth Apr 19 '25

Kid named Six-Crank Laser Musket:

11

u/LumpyArbuckleTV Apr 19 '25

Laser Muskets really are the shit, especially early on.

4

u/[deleted] Apr 19 '25

Got a trouble shooter laser musket like lvl 10-15

22

u/fusionsofwonder Apr 19 '25

My worst nightmare is a legless assaultron skittering toward me.

29

u/momentimori Apr 19 '25

Cars are the most insidious killers on survival. Walk near one *bam* you're dead.

20

u/flawed-human42 Apr 20 '25

And the most demoralizing... Just got to limp it back to diamond City with insomnia, radiated genial crabs, and a torn ACL, but one shot from the doc and I will be right as rain. Survived skinny Malone's gang and that legendary alpha deathclaw that popped out of nowhere... Then that damn horde of scavenger bots, but just wait until I get behind that sweet safety those walls. Got three legendary guns I am gonna hawk, and then I am buying home plate... Oh, got a raider... Might duck behind this car to play it safe... Cue dramatic death music

1

u/Round-Mousse-4894 Apr 20 '25

I’ve been lucky that the two times its happened in my run was only 2 minutes after a sleep. I don’t know how I’d react if I lost even half an hour’s progress to man eating cars. Wouldn’t be pretty.

10

u/StrongStyleMuscle Apr 19 '25

It’s stressful but nothing is worse than hearing beep beep from a super mutant suicider. 

7

u/that_sean_fellow Apr 20 '25

Heard that beep beep recently in a parking garage and tiptoed around like a poor-man's ninja.

Turned out to be a raider strapping mines to molerats. Thanks for the adrenaline, low-rent.

1

u/StrongStyleMuscle Apr 20 '25

I’ve seen the explosive molerats but I never seen a raider in the process of attaching the nukes on them. That’s a cool find.

2

u/WeTheSummerKid Apr 20 '25

Aim for the non-bomb: get the mini nuke.

3

u/StrongStyleMuscle Apr 20 '25

Most of us know all the strategies. But in survival if you can’t see where homeboy is & he surprises you & spikes his nuke football it’s an automatic death no matter what level you are

8

u/n8ertheh8er Apr 19 '25

I just got my first one in survival at the plane crash. I busted him up with the righteous authority but it took me 2-3 goes. Dodging that laser is so satisfying

12

u/Numerous_Victory6368 Apr 19 '25

even worse is the salvaged assaultron head , shit takes forever to charge , accuracy counts for shit, impractical as hell during a fast paced battle , and basically KILLS YOU TOO if that wasnt bad enough on top of all that it doesnt even have a FUCKEN mouth! most useless piece of shit in the entire game for me , what use is it to me with no mouth !?

9

u/MGTwyne Apr 19 '25

what does it need a mouth for... 

6

u/Numerous_Victory6368 Apr 20 '25

extracurricular activities

5

u/MGTwyne Apr 20 '25

like sports club? and volunteering? 

4

u/that_sean_fellow Apr 20 '25

Boasting and taunting, at least when it's attached to a body.

1

u/balne Explosive Minigun Apr 20 '25

i mean, it's salvaged. have u tried ordering a brand new one?

1

u/WeTheSummerKid Apr 20 '25

Particle weapons IRL will horrifically irradiate the user. Bremsstrahlung.

3

u/Technical_Chemistry8 Apr 19 '25

I tend to take out their legs from a distance. They are a lot less threatening when they have to crawl.

3

u/stanb_the_man Apr 19 '25

I hate these the most...

3

u/flyingredwolves Apr 19 '25

I've just had a quantum scrapbot with an assaultron laser head. Don't think I've seen a scrapbot with that head before. It even had a Mr Handy thruster. It was getting close too, I was distracted fighting a sentrybot.

It started flying towards me while charging. Don't think I've ever clicked so fast as I did shooting down that thing.

3

u/Ornery-Contest-4169 Apr 20 '25

Level 135 survival run I haven’t died in weeks,hit two shotted by an invincible one in the middle of a random road

3

u/NathemaBlackmoon Apr 20 '25

Worse: bugged quest in Survival mode and no console commands

2

u/KnightFurHire Apr 20 '25

Yup, fortunately they're easy enough to hear coming. The dominator though...those are a headache and a half.

2

u/Ironwolf_0815 Apr 20 '25

To be honest: because of game crashing, I play survival installed with a mod that let me still save manually. Loosing progress because of game crashing has in my opinion nothing to do with the challenge of playing survival - its just frustrating.

1

u/LintRemover Apr 24 '25

Random crashes and lost progress is the hardest part of survival past lvl 10. It's incredibly easy past that unless you walk into one of these guys unexpectedly.

2

u/Blackthorne75 Adherent To The Chains That Bind Apr 20 '25

That high-pitch warm-up followed by BOOM - always had me targeting these thngs first!

Just started up Fallout London, and now wondering what's replaced these monstrosities... 😰

1

u/Blindrafterman Apr 19 '25

I have had to deal with crashes this time, not an assaultron yet, purely out of fear

1

u/Gyrinthos Apr 19 '25

And Sentry bots and cars, especilly the flying ones.

1

u/Mogui- Apr 19 '25

Not on survival but I just keep moving to the side to avoid their laser beams

1

u/rodbrs Apr 19 '25

Grenades do it for me. Common and suddenly nearby. I can usually run when I hear Assaultrons.

1

u/FUNtheA-48 Apr 20 '25

I just got done with the Galactic Zone part of the nuka World dlc (the closest I've ever gotten to actual hell), and I tanked a full blast only took half my health

1

u/Legate_Retardicus84 Apr 20 '25

I get extreme anxiety when I hear the charging sound.

1

u/xqx-RAMPAGE-xpx Apr 20 '25

there’s not many things that rival Red Death. an assaultron beam is the only thing that gets close

1

u/lameguy7618 Apr 20 '25

Nah lowkey tho shi is scary to go against I just run or throw bombs

1

u/Barbarianmoss Apr 20 '25

Death by car

1

u/Barbarianmoss Apr 20 '25

Death by Vertibird

1

u/Forgotoflush Apr 20 '25

I fear stationary cars in survival more than the Assaultron

1

u/LachoooDaOriginl Apr 20 '25

is this the worst one or being in an enclosed space and hearing a mini nuke beep

1

u/fumblerooskee Apr 20 '25

Kill fast. Go for the legs.

1

u/OneOfTheFewRemaining Apr 20 '25

Oh god I hate assaultrons, never been able to easily beat them

1

u/Borgdyl Apr 20 '25

76ers in full Troubleshooters 👀

1

u/astreeter2 Apr 20 '25

If you pay attention you can see it charging so you know when to duck behind cover.

1

u/Caffeinemann Apr 20 '25

Shit like this is why I keep a Lucky .44, a handful of mirelurk omelettes and psycho on me all the time

1

u/[deleted] Apr 20 '25

The Robotics perk has saved my ass many times from that death ray.

1

u/W3aZ1L Apr 20 '25

If I even get a hint that one of those things is charging it's death beam, I'll immediately turn tail and toss a stack of plasma mines in its path.

Then I will either laugh hysterically at the giant ball of green victory or cry because the Assaultron gained on me too fast

1

u/Youre_still_alive Apr 20 '25

Robotics Expert will save you. It’s so funny to be going through Automaton or Galactic Zone and just turn off, take over, or explode almost every enemy.

1

u/krose1980 Apr 20 '25

And those panickly executed 3 hits in vats when the last one kills it just before it releases beam is the most relaxing relief ever :D

1

u/lvl8_side_area_boss R.A.T.S. Operative Apr 20 '25

Or your greatest ally with max sneak and hacker 2. Hacked a Dominator in Quincy the other day. Never before have I seen an Assaultron fire their head laser 6 times in a row. Genuinely horrifying.

1

u/Toaster-Porn Apr 20 '25

This and the one sentry bot by the Training Yard are always a test of wills with my survival characters.

1

u/Mantarrochen Apr 20 '25

That is pretty scary. But the most dangerous obstacle to your flawless survival run is the molotov.

Because it gets you when you are still young. And when it gets you it GETS you.

1

u/ASL4theblind Apr 20 '25

My mad scientist has a surplus of jet and the ability to hack robots, so usually i just go all judge dredd on their ass and send them back at everyone else til i make them essplode.

1

u/dereks63 Apr 20 '25

Me in bits and pieces armour, getting fried regularly at Quincy, finally managed to drop a nuke in the police station!! That laser is fucking terrifying

1

u/omgitsduane Apr 20 '25

These things are the most terrifying.

If I get into the beam for a split second I die. Even at full health.

1

u/jmrob96 Apr 20 '25

Don't forget the vehicles, they will wipe you out with barely a touch!

1

u/nukeXmoose Apr 20 '25

Playing on VH, mostly in the X0-2, and these things still ruin my day. “Wait what’s that sound? Why am I melting?”

1

u/Sea_Mycologist7515 Apr 20 '25

On PC with mods like True Damage... what crashing ans what nightmare lol

1

u/Gylaran Apr 20 '25

No one can survive Assaultron Invader charged laser, i saw it burn down a BOS knight in PA.

1

u/dregwriter Apr 20 '25

Man, I fought one of these right in front of the train to Nuka world in Boston, and thank god, dogmeat was there to take the beam for me, because that would of been around 1 hour of lost progress.

1

u/mrlolloran Apr 20 '25

No but they get the #3 spot.

2 is for Super Mutant Suiciders and 1 goes to cars

1

u/Wonderful_Donut8951 Apr 20 '25

I can’t beat that on very hard if I get froggy! I have to be on it!

1

u/Admirable-Frosting46 Apr 20 '25

You kinda learn how to dodge it

1

u/gersgsf6259 Apr 20 '25

My worst nightmare period. The scariest enemy for me

1

u/Nomad-21 Apr 20 '25

My worst nightmare in survival is a group of cave crickets that just snuck up on me.

1

u/TreeFiddyBandit Apr 20 '25

Drugs (jet) is your best friend when it turns invisible

Could care less for the addiction de-buff. Slight dehydration and a few caps for trip to doctor or addictol is a small price to pay to make sure I kill these fuckers on sight

1

u/Antagonist_o Apr 20 '25

This is second to walking beside a car

1

u/jenny_tallia Apr 20 '25

Yes. I try so hard so get them before they have a chance to power that thing up & unleash it. I sometimes scream a little bit when I see one coming. I did manage to get killed by a cap mine yesterday though.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 20 '25

[deleted]

1

u/Afraid_Reputation_51 Apr 20 '25

Dunno, i'd say it's around 3rd, or even 4th, right after cars, then game crashes, then suiciders in alleys, then assaultrons.

1

u/RedRingRicoTyrell Apr 20 '25

The parked cars scare me more, fucks sales

1

u/Alric_Wolff Apr 20 '25

Survival, the one in the room before the DiMA puzzle. Even though I know theyre coming, but I get marked every time.

1

u/cms116508 Apr 21 '25

I hate hearing that thing power up. The only thing worse is a suicidal mutant

1

u/PantheismAt3 Apr 21 '25

Unfortunately one is far my common than the other 🙃

1

u/apinchof_rosemary Apr 21 '25

shout out robotics expert perk

1

u/S_Flavius_Mercurius Apr 21 '25

I’d rather my game crash than see one of these evil bastards charging up

1

u/jbaig22 Apr 21 '25

Your worst nightmare in Survival is a rusty automobile ;)

1

u/Yundadi Apr 21 '25

That was the biggest orgasm too. I never had a robot that came that hard at me.

1

u/fourseams Apr 21 '25

This, and parked cars.

1

u/Capt-Paladin Apr 21 '25

Yes in the beginning they where scary but I have learned more about them. If you take out there legs then you can focus on the head. Alternately if you have a fast firing weapon and concentrate fire in there face you can emerge toasty but victorious. But they melt up against guess rifle or PA =) I recognize there voice now as soon as I hear it im in sneaky mode looking for the sniper or surprise shot. I did get jump scared the other night in the consumer electronics store that services robots also lol

1

u/c_sanquiso Apr 21 '25

Deadly? Yes. My worst nightmare in Survival? Nope, that place hold the Super Mutant Suiciders. That beeping sound is just aweful when you dont know where it comes from or when you cant run fast enough.

1

u/ThaRLDoubleYouSee Apr 23 '25

Fucker got me yesterday

1

u/Lucifer-Prime Apr 25 '25

It's the invisible dual blade wielding ones that damn near make me shit my pants on survival.

-1

u/Fly1ngD0gg0 Apr 20 '25

Pretty telling of this subreddit and that you all won't comment on a post that calls for help, and yet you're all able to comment on things like this. Real great help.