Summary
- Automatron DLC follows Sole Survivor on mission to stop evil Mechanist, leading to tough choice at end.
- Questline begins at level 15 with caravan distress call, introducing new companion Ada for .
- Confrontation with Mechanist reveals shocking truths, allowing player to decide between killing or sparing her.
Fallout 4's Automatron DLC sets the Sole Survivor on a mission of tracking down and dealing with the evil Mechanist who was terrorizing the Commonwealth. Of course, things are never as simple as they seem in Fallout, leading to a tough choice for many at the end of the DLC's storyline. Misinformation and misunderstandings lead to tragedy in the wasteland, but it is possible to find a happy ending.
The questline for Automatron will begin automatically once the Sole Survivor reaches level 15, and a caravan distress call will appear on their Pip-Boy radio. Heading to Wattz Consumer Electronics, just a little northwest of Bunker Hill, the grisly aftermath of a battle can be found, with the only survivor being a robot named Ada. Ada will then as a new companion in Fallout 4 to help during the short but tough Automatron questline.
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The Automatron Questline Is Short But Interesting
Traveling All Over The Commonwealth Will Reveal Intriguing Lore
After upgrading Ada at a robot workbench and tracking down various robobrains, the Sole Survivor will eventually learn the location of the devious Mechanist's lair. This is a huge area with plenty of places to explore and discover information about the facility. All of this leads to a final confrontation with the Mechanist in their headquarters that reveals some startling truths behind their motivations.
Why The Mechanist Is Such A Threat
Hordes Of Robots Will Appear As Random Encounters
The Mechanist's various robots have been terrorizing the Commonwealth under the command of robobrain leaders. Each group will attack settlers, raiders, and generally anyone who gets hold of them. However, what makes the Mechanist's minions stand out is that the entire time they are killing, they will blast out a message of peace from the Mechanist.
"Attention, people of the Commonwealth! I, the Mechanist, have come to bring about an age of peace. Do not be alarmed. These robots are your allies, your protectors, and they will not rest until the Commonwealth is saved. Together we will restore justice and bring about the dawn of a new age."
Three holotapes can be found on fallen eyebots that lay out the Mechanist's mindset, with the first claiming that the robots murdering settlers and caravans are protectors. The second labels the Sole Survivor as a scourge that is preventing the Mechanist from saving lives. Finally, the third promises to double robot patrols, leaving nowhere for "insidious predators" to hide.
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When finally confronted, the Mechanist will unleash a horde of robots, which can be a very tough battle for the unprepared. This final battle can be skipped by finding holotapes and backtracking to the security station next to the decontamination area. There are three to track down throughout the facility from the Chief Scientist, the Facilities Director, and the Lead Engineer.
If the Sole Survivor is wearing the Silver Shroud armor, they will have the option to “speak as Shroud” during the initial confrontation, resulting in some hilarious dialogue between superhero and supervillain.
In the security station there is an elevator access terminal, and to unlock the elevator, players must load each of the holotapes one by one to use their voice activation. The elevator will lead directly to the Mechanist's central command area and avoid the massive robot battle. After surviving the onslaught or sneaking in the back way, the Mechanist can be spoken to face-to-face.
What Happens If The Mechanist Is Killed?
Quest Rewards Remain The Same With One Small Extra
One of the most obvious ways to deal with the Mechanist is to kill them. As they approach the Sole Survivor, the Mechanist will reveal their true identity as Isabel Cruz and explain that she programmed her robots to protect the people of the Commonwealth. Isabel will react in disbelief when told that innocent traders and settlers are being killed.
Her robobrain overseers have been misinterpreting their orders to save people by killing them. Their logic is that the Commonwealth is so dangerous that killing innocents gives them a quick death and prevents suffering. When confronted with this, Isabel will react in horror but will remain in denial about her robots killing people.
When face to face with Isabel it is very easy to kill her as at the end of the conversation there is the option to initiate a fight with her. However, this outcome results in the same quest rewards with only one extra benefit of her personal weapon. After Isabel is defeated her unique laser pistol, Protectron's Gaze, can be looted, which has a 25% fast fire rate and 15% faster reload.
Some of the responses during the conversation with Isabel are timed, and if there is too long a pause, she will become hostile, preventing any peaceful solution. The safest way to get the desired outcome is to quicksave often.
While Isabel will express remorse, killing her can be justified by the death toll her robots have caused. She will even explain that she has been using human brains and wiping them constantly to keep the robobrain overseers operational, making her actions extremely unethical. However, unless the Sole Survivor chooses to attack, Isabel will not initiate combat and seems to genuinely regret her actions.
What Happens If The Mechanist Is Spared?
She Seems Truly Remorseful About The Suffering She Caused
Most will wonder whether killing Isabel is the right thing to do. Once her mistake is made clear to her, she will stop sending robots and is horrified by the suffering she has caused. Isabel will even hand over the to the mainframe, handing the facility over to the Sole Survivor and thus preventing her from ever creating or sending more robots ever again.
Sparing her life grants the rewards of the Mechanist's Lair as a Fallout 4 settlement, and all robot mods for the workbench unlocked. After the mainframe is shut down, Isabel can be spoken to again, where she will express her gratitude for being given a second chance. She'll also give the Sole Survivor her Mechanist's armor and helmet as a form of proof of her leaving that identity behind.
Isabel is not the first time the Mechanist has appeared in Fallout, as there was a Mechanist in Fallout 3. Scott Wollinski made his own Mechanist suit to defend Canterbury Commons from the AntAgonizer and also unwittingly caused suffering for its population.
Letting Isabel live nets the best results overall for the DLC. The only benefit to killing her is to gain her gun, while if she lives, Isabel will become a vendor, selling various items along with ammo and junk. She will also send the Sole Survivor on different radiant quests to track down her robots, a role that Ada will fulfill if Isabel is killed, which can lead to frustration when traveling with her.
Sparing Isabel also feels like the right thing to do, as she never intended to harm anyone. She will explain that she grew up in a settlement that was constantly under attack from raiders and super mutants and wanted to spare people that kind of life. More importantly, Isabel will freely it to her mistakes and take responsibility for them, a rare thing in a world as harsh as Fallout 4.
