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Intro
Fallout 4 brings back most classic creatures and enemy types, like Yao guai, super mutants, and ghouls. But it also introduces a few new enemies. One of the most notable new combatants of the Commonwealth is the Assaultron.
Joining its mechanical brethren like the Sentry Bot and Mister Gutsy, the Assaultron is yet another dangerous robot you’ll have to contend with throughout your journey in Fallout 4. Welcome to an Assaultron Guide
What is an Assaultron?
The Assaultron is a brainchild of Robco Industries that they developed as a frontline model for the United States military. Humanoid in design with pincher-like hands, the Assaultron is primarily a melee combatant. They’re quick on their metallic feet and have a dangerous lunging attack.
Their pinchers aren’t the only weapons at an Assaultron’s disposal. Most have access to an “eye” laser that they will use at long-range. Many Assaultron will also leave you a parting gift before expiring by self-destructing (Similar to Sentry Bots).
The Assaultron is highly customizable, so standard pinchers and eye lasers won’t be your only causes for concern. Some have electrified pinchers that deal electrical DOT damage and can stun you. The deadliest Assaultron variant drops pinchers in favor of dual shishkebabs. Some Assaultron models also have access to Stealth technology and can sneak up on you before you know they’re there.
With the installment of the Automatron DLC, you will encounter some Assaultron models called Scrapbots. The highest-level Scrapbots are slower than standard Assaultrons but have beefier HP pools and are just as deadly in close combat.
Automatron also introduces a unique Assaultron boss.
Fallout 4
Fallout 4 marks the debut of the Assaultron.
While it’s possible to come across lone Assaultrons wandering around random locations in the Commonwealth, you typically find them at military installations. The military-centric Gunners and robot-loving Rust Devils also have Assaultron among their numbers. These Assaultron are effective and dangerous distractions hitting you up close while their ranged attacking allies whale into you from afar.
You will only encounter the strongest Assaultron models and Scrapbots if you have the Automatron DLC and begin the storyline after reaching level 15. You can intentionally put that questline on hold to give yourself less trouble until you feel ready for them.
Along with the standard Assaultron variants, a few act as bosses or NPCs.
Automatron DLC
The Automatron DLC is the first DLC add-on for Fallout 4. To begin Automatron, you must be at least level 15 and start the first quest in Automatron’s questline. You can intentionally avoid starting the Automatron questline, and it may not be a bad idea to do so. If starting at level 15, the new enemies may be a bit above your pay grade.
Once you begin Automatron, the Rust Devils will spawn in the Commonwealth. Rust Devils are essentially palette swap raiders who have a thing for robots. So much so that they even wear robot parts as armor (Robot armor is roughly on par with metal armor). Once unlocked, Rust Devils and their minions become one of the many groups that will attack your settlements.
The real threat of the Rust Devils is their chosen companions: robots. The Rust Devils are competent enough to create their own robots and use them to bolster their numbers. The Rust Devils primarily use four new robot enemy types: Swarmbots, Tankbots, Junkbots, and Scrapbots. They also flank themselves with the old guard robots like assaultrons and sentry bots.
The Automatron DLC also introduces a handful of new enemy types for all of the robotic enemies in the game, including Assaultrons. Automatron introduces five new Assaultron models, with the Assaultron Gorgon being the deadliest (It uses two shishkebabs as weapons).
By pursuing Automatron’s main questline, you’ll meet Ada, a heavily modified Assaultron and a new companion looking to avenge her fallen creator. You’ll soon discover that at the center of the Automatron DLC is Fallout 3’s The Mechanist, terrorizing the Commonwealth instead of the Capital Wasteland.
Along with robot armor, Automatron gives players access to a handful of other robot-themed equipment, like the sentry bot helmet, eyebot helmet, and Tesla T-60 power armor. To get this sweet piece of loot, you’ll have to remove it from its present owner: the leader of the Rust Devils.
Robot Workbench & Robot Repair Kits
Ada isn’t the only robot you can team up with in Automatron. After completing the first quest of the DLC, you unlock the blueprint for the robot workbench.
You can build a robot workbench at any settlement and use it to create your own robots called automatons. These automatrons start as makeshift protectrons, but you can customize them however you want, including turning them into assaultrons. You can salvage robot parts from hostile robots you destroy in the Commonwealth. This fact may make you inclined to seek out Rust Devil raiding parties on your own instead of waiting for them to come to you.
To get the most out of the robot workbench, you’ll need to invest in the Robotics Expert, Gun Nut, Blacksmith, Armorer, and Science! perks. You’ll need as high a Rank 4 in some of these perks to be able to use all the mods at the robot workbench. That does mean it’ll be a while before you can have the most fun with this part of the Automatron DLC, but it’s worth it. After all, what’s more fun than a robot with a Fat Man for an arm?
Automatron companions
Automatrons are extremely useful and can function as both settlers and companions. As companions, you can give them the ability to pick locks or hack terminals, saving you some perk points. You can also order them to steal items. They also make for pretty powerful allies in combat.
You can give them weapons to sync up with your own loadout and make up for your weaknesses. You can give them melee weapons like shishkebabs and hammer saws or heavy artillery like miniguns and Gatling lasers. If you’re a cruel creator, you can order them to self-destruct.
The Automatron DLC introduces robot repair kits to Fallout 4. These are the stimpaks for your robotic allies, and you’ll need to use one of them whenever they fall in combat. Like the rest of your companions, they cannot be killed (Unless playing on Survival Mode)
Automatrons are equally useful at settlements as they can bypass the standard settler limit. You can assign them settlement tasks and build an infinite amount of them. I recommend waiting until you’re at max settler capacity before turning yourself into Dr. Wily, as automatrons take up settler space if you’re not already at the cap.
Why is that a big deal? Well, because unlike automatrons as companions, automatrons as settlers or “settlers” can die. Or be destroyed. Since enemies can attack your settlements on all sides, it’s not too hard for your automatrons to bite the dust.
Funnily enough, it’s possible for one of your automatron settlers to fall victim to a kidnapping, just like regular settlers. Picture, for a moment, a pack of super mutants kidnapping and then attempting to ransom a Mister Handy. Never change Bethesda. Well, maybe a little. Or a lot. Your call.
KL-E-0
KL-E-0, or Kleo, is an Assaultron resident of Goodneighbor and a merchant. She sells weapons, armor, and ammunition at her store, Kill or Be Killed.
KL-E-0 is one of the best merchants in the game, being one of the few who stocks power armor frames. She has a unique Fatman, the Partystarter, with the Assassin’s legendary effect for sale. She also sells the online Devastator’s armor pieces in the game: The Devastator’s right greave and Devastator’s chestpiece. The right greave has the Martyr’s legendary effect, and the chestpiece sports the Punishing legendary effect.
But the best part about KL-E-0’s services is that she’s one of a handful of merchants who stocks shipments of ballistic fiber. Ballistic fiber is one of the rarest and most useful crafting materials in the entire game. It’s a necessary component for the ballistic weave mod. Ballistic weave allows you to turn pieces of clothing into powerful armor pieces.
One of the other merchants, Lucas Miller, is a roaming merchant who can be tricky to track down (Or at least requires a lot of waiting at Bunker Hill). Alexis Combes and the vendors at Vault 11 in Far Harbor might have shipments of ballistic fiber in stock, but not always. Proctor Teagan aboard the Prydwen sells ballistic fiber shipments, but you’ll have to complete the first Act of the main story before he even shows up. That makes KL-E-O the most readily accessible vendor for ballistic fiber shipments.
Interesting Fact: KL-E-0 is the closest thing to Batman in the Fallout universe. That is if Batman were a murderous robot.
If you read her private terminal, you’ll find out she has plans on how to kill every major resident of Goodneighbor should she ever need to. She and Vandal Savage would get along well.
P.A.M.
P.A.M. is a modified Assaultron model working for the Railroad in the main base at the Old North Church.
P.A.M., or the Predictive Analytic Machine, started out as an advanced AI program developed in a top-secret project by the Defense Intelligence Agency and the United States military in 2067. After some time, her creators modified the AI to fit inside the body of an Assaultron. The move made it easier to relocate her should the need arise or dismantle her to prevent enemies from capturing her.
Her creators developed her as a way to predict future events via data and attempt to avert them (Specifically, nuclear attacks). P.A.M. would successfully predict the nuclear Holocaust set to befall the United States but could do nothing to stop it.
Initially, P.A.M. operated at the DIA secret base, The Switchboard. After the bombs fell and her creators perished, P.A.M. remained inactive for two centuries. Upon locating The Switchboard and using it as their base of operations, the Railroad discovered P.A.M. and reprogrammed her to fight for their cause.
P.A.M. now resides at the Railroad Headquarters in the Old North Church. She is an invaluable ally and serves as a quest giver for several quests. The most important quest P.A.M. gives is Jackpot. You must complete the first Jackpot mission to gain access to the ballistic weave mod.
If you side with the Brotherhood of Steel in the main quest, your superiors will send you to Old North Church to wipe out the Railroad leadership and reprogram P.A.M. to fight for the Brotherhood.
Ada
Ada is a heavily modified Assaultron and a potential companion from the Automatron DLC.
To gain Ada as a companion, you must first reach level 15 to unlock the Automatron DLC and first quest, Mechanical Menace. During this quest, you’ll come across the Mechanist’s robots for the first time and must aid Ada in defeating them.
After the battle, Ada will join you as she wishes to avenge her creator, who died at the hands of the Mechanist’s robots. She is a central character in the Automatron DLC and stays on as a companion for the rest of the game.
After getting Ada as a companion, you’ll soon unlock the robot workbench. You can use this to modify Ada in any way you wish. You can change her weapons, give her hacking or lockpicking abilities, or turn her into a sentry bot.
Atom’s Wrath
Atom’s Wrath is the companion and bodyguard of Brother Henri. You can find both at the Sentinels site in the Glowing Sea during the Liberty reprimed quest for the Brotherhood of Steel.
Brother Henri and Atom’s Wrath are initially non-hostile, but both will attack should you provoke Henri. Apparently, he doesn’t like it when you call him a looney tune for worshipping radiation.
Atom’s Wrath is your basic Assaultron model, and by the time you get here, you’ll likely be at a considerably high level. However, being up close and personal with Atom’s Wrath still makes it dangerous despite being the most basic model.
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden is a legendary heavy metal band. It’s also the name of an Assaultron model at East City Downs. Iron Maiden is one of the many competitors competing in a race for the viewing pleasure of the resident raiders.
Iron Maiden is a standard model Assaultron and, like most robots at East City Downs, will become hostile once the raiders/Triggermen spot you. It is possible to hack Iron Maiden if you have the Robotics Expert perk. At rank 2 or 3, you can make Iron Maiden fight for you.
Lady Lovelace
Lady Lovelace is another Assaultron model at East City Downs. Unlike Iron Maiden, Lady Lovelace isn’t online, meaning you don’t have to fight it. Like Iron Maiden, you can hack Lady Lovelace and make it your ally.
Duelbot
Duelbot is an Assaultron boss from the Automatron DLC. After discovering the location of the Mechanist’s hideout in the Restoring Order quest, you’ll fight through waves of robots. After defeating them, the Duelbot acts as the sub-boss of the Automatron DLC and the last line of defense.
The Duelbot uses a sword and an electric melee attack. Sitting at 500 HP, it’s roughly upper mid-tier on the Assaultron list.
Assaultron Blade and salvaged Assaultron Head
The Automatron DLC unlocks two Assaultron-themed weapons for the Sole Survivor: the Assaultron Blade and the salvaged Assaultron Head.
The Assaultron Blade is a stronger but slower version of the Machete. You can modify it into an electrified version that deals electric damage.
The salvaged Assaultron Head is similar to the Laser Musket. You’ll find one during the Headhunting quest in the Automatron DLC.
You must charge it before it fires, and you can charge it to a maximum of five shots. Like the Laser Musket, the charging effect gives it respectable damage output. But as a downside, using the salvaged Assaultron Head deals 50 points of radiation damage to you every time you use it (Having radiation resistance can reduce or nullify this damage).
Assaultron Helmet
The Assaultron Helmet is another addition brought to you by way of the Rust Devils from the Automatron DLC.
It looks really cool, but DR-wise, it’s very low-tier. By the time you find one, you’ll long past have better options.
Fallout 76
Assaultrons are largely the same in Fallout 76 as their Fallout 4 counterparts.
As an enemy type, the only notable introduction is the Harvestron, a mad creation of the Rust Eagles. It’s hard to miss them, as they have human skulls for faces.
Imposter Sheepsquatch/Sheepsquatch Imposterling
What happens when you combine a sheep with an Assaultron? You get the Sheepsquatch Imposterling. This thing is the stuff of nightmares and deserving of a spot as a killer in Dead by Daylight.
The Imposter Sheepsquatch is a modified Assaultron from the Out of the Blue quest. It starts out 100% invulnerable and invisible until you down several nearby pylons before you can attack and defeat it. The Imposter Sheepsquatch has 100% armor penetration on attacks and is immune to crippling effects and limb damage. Quite the foe indeed.
Artemis
ARTEMIS is a security Assaultron at Sugar Grove for the Deep Sleep project. She plays a role in the Mission Out-of-Control quest.
If you transfer ATHENA’s AI into ARTEMIS, then ARTEMIS will become a traveling merchant who will visit your C.A.M.P.
PANDORA
PANDORA is yet another Assaultron associated with the Deep Sleep Project. She plays a role in the Crash Landing quest. You must destroy her or pass an intelligence check to obtain a decryption key from her.
Polly
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Polly is a security robot working for the Duchess at The Wayward. And since she’s a robot, she probably doesn’t want a cracker.
Polly plays a role in the Strength in Numbers quest. During the quest, you gain access to her head as a weapon.
Assistron
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Assistron is a random event Assaultron dentist. She is an assistant to the Dentist at Whitespring Refuge. After fixing her, she will sound off dentistry-themed lines but otherwise serves no purpose.
Flauresca
Flauresca is an Assaultron vendor at the Whitespring Resort in the Live Chic store. She primarily sells clothing.
Vera/Aloe/Lotus
Aloe and Vera are Assaultrons working at the Whitespring Resort. Aloe is the front desk attendant, and Aloe is the spa attendant.
Lotus was the previous spa attendant. After several spinal accidents, she lost her job. You can find her deactivated in the maintenance room on the second floor.
What’s the best way to deal with Assaultrons?
Assaultrons are, in many ways, the robot version of deathclaws and Yao guai. Their lunging attack can deal massive damage. On higher difficulty levels, this attack can kill you in one blow.
The best way to prevent that is to take Tony Stark’s advice to Spider-Man in Civil War during his fight with Captain America and go for their legs. Even while downed, Assaultrons will still come after you, but their most dangerous attack will be out of the picture. As for their eye laser attack, just duck for cover until it’s over.
As Assaultrons are robots, pulse weapons do wonders against them. Since Assaultrons are primarily melee attackers, you can easily lure them into pulse mine traps.
Remember that some Assaultrons will self-destruct before dying, so keep a fair distance away from them. Their detonations aren’t as massive as those of Sentry Bots, but they can still deal enough damage to kill you.
What drops can you get from Assaultrons?
Assaultrons mostly drop useful crafting components like aluminum, nuclear material, military-grade circuit boards, and power relay coils. They’ll also drop fusion cells for your energy weapons.
The Rust Devil Assaultrons from the Automatron DLC will also drop robot mod parts for use in the robot workbench.
FAQs
Question: Are the Assaultron blade and salvaged Assaultron head good weapons?
Answer: The Assaultron blade is a decent enough melee weapon, but nothing special. The salvaged Assaultron head is a niche weapon that you can have a little fun with but otherwise forget. It does, however, make for a good mantle piece in one of your settlements.
Question: Is Ada a good companion?
Answer: Yes and no. Base Ada has her problems, most noticeably her walking speed. But you can modify her into any robot you want. I like giving her a Mister Handy bottom to improve her movement speed and a shishkebab and automatic laser for her weapons. She’s not the most engaging companion in Fallout 4, but for combat, she can be quite potent.
Question: Can you hack KL-E-O?
Answer: Yes, you can. You can even have her follow you and function as a pseudo-companion. But doing so temporarily removes her as a merchant. Given that she’s just a standard model Assaultron, there’s no reason to hack her. Unless, of course, you want to program instructions for her to never try to kill you.
Conclusion
Fallout 4 introduced a lot of things into the Fallout franchise that Fallout fans don’t like too much. But I don’t think that many people have too many complaints about Assaultrons.
They’re a welcome challenge in a game that many find to be a little too easy. They effectively place themselves in the robot triumvirate of mechanics menaces you’d rather not tangle with (Alongside Sentry Bots and Mister Gutsy).
Assaultrons are more of what I’d like to see from Bethesda. Many iterations of enemies from classic Fallout are worse in every way in Bethesda’s Fallout. And that’s personally one of, if not my biggest complaint about Bethesda’s handling of the franchise. If they could do more to make Fallout their own instead of relying on and diluting what Interplay/Black Isle Studios created, it would be all the better for the series.
Assaultrons are a step in the right direction.