Mysterious Stranger (character)

The Mysterious Stranger is an individual that may appear if the player character has the Mysterious Stranger perk and utilizes V.A.T.S. in combat.

Background
Appearing suddenly if one has the namesake perk, the Mysterious Stranger can be spotted throughout the wasteland in his trademark trench coat, hat, and .44 Magnum to lend a helping hand in battles. After one's V.A.T.S. sequence finishes, he will vanish.

Fallout and Fallout 2

 * There is a chance that Mysterious Stranger will appear as a temporary ally during random encounters.
 * To calculate, the chance of appearance is equal to % = 30 + (2 x Luck)

Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas

 * A short guitar riff will play whenever he holsters or upholsters his weapon, as does the Mysterious Magnum.
 * He circles around the enemy shooting several times.
 * He can appear in water, and swim around. He will not shoot when this occurs.
 * During the add-on Mothership Zeta, having the Mysterious Stranger perk opens up a unique dialogue option with Somah, where the Lone Wanderer mentions if they are lucky, a friend might show up and help them.
 * The Lonesome Drifter remarks about his past when speaking to the Courier, mentioning his father was a "mysterious" man, and a "stranger" to his own family. The Drifter carries a unique .44 Magnum that looks similar to the Mysterious Stranger's .44 Magnum. When the Courier draws it, the same guitar notes that are heard when the Mysterious Stranger shows up are played, and a chord is played when the weapon is holstered.
 * The Mysterious Stranger has a unique .44 Magnum called the Mysterious Stranger's .44 magnum that can only be obtained via console commands. It deals up to 9000 damage, making it one of the strongest weapons in both games.

Fallout 4

 * In Fallout 4, the Mysterious Stranger is middle-aged and has a mustache. His coat is buttoned shut rather than being tied. His outfit is also no longer unique to him and can be found in the wasteland.
 * The Mysterious Stranger uses the standard issue .44 pistol and possesses a unique perk, named "Mysterious Stranger Damage," which increases all the damage stats on all weapons except melee weapons. It can be obtained only through console commands using.
 * The riff alerting to his upcoming presence is different from previous games.
 * The Mysterious Stranger is currently being investigated by the detective Nick Valentine, who has a short log containing everything he knows about them in his office. Nick will express incredulity when he appears, and frustration when he vanishes.

Fallout 76
In Appalachia, the Mysterious Stranger appears to middle-aged, clean shaven, with sunken cheeks, and short, cropped hair. He wears a tan, worn trench coat that is buttoned down the middle, on top of a collared white shirt and red tie. He has a fedora that matches his coat, with a darker brown band. He wears olive green pants and brown shoes. There are now two perks associated with him, one being his namesake perk and the other being Mysterious Savior, where instead of appearing in VATS to attack random enemies he may appear when a player with the perk is downed to revive them.

Fallout Shelter
In Fallout Shelter, the Mysterious Stranger appears in vault rooms or elevators and a sound is played when he does so. He does not aid in battles, but may appear in the vault regardless of if the vault is experiencing an incident. When selected, he disappears and the vault is awarded a random amount of caps based on how quickly he is found. He must be tapped on to receive the caps. If any rooms are not powered he will not appear, even when the sound effect occurs. Finding him two, four, and five times, respectively, are three of the objectives. He can spawn at anytime, appears with a smoke poof and leaves with one as well. He will spawn in intervals of at least 10 minutes.

Appearances
The Mysterious Stranger appears in Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout 3 and all its add-ons, Fallout: New Vegas and all its add-ons, Fallout 4 and all its add-ons, and Fallout 76. He also appears in Fallout Shelter.

Bugs

 * If the Mysterious Stranger appears and there is a wall or other obstacle between him and his target, he will not take a shot. This will sometimes lead to you being stuck in V.A.T.S. permanently, necessitating a reload of an earlier save.
 * This may also happen if your target is swimming as he will not be able to draw his weapon and will swim around possibly rendering you stuck in V.A.T.S.
 * If the enemy is near a cliff and a weapon is used that knocks them off it without killing them, the Stranger may spawn in the air off the cliff and fall to his "death" as a result. As he is an "essential" character he will be rendered unconscious and the "Mysterious Stranger is unconscious" message will appear on screen like any other essential non-player character. This will not prevent him from appearing to aid the player at a later date.
 * You can sometimes knock the Mysterious Stranger unconscious if you attack a nearby enemy in V.A.T.S. with an explosive such as a grenade.
 * After the Mysterious Stranger has killed his target, there may be a considerable delay in V.A.T.S. before he goes away and normal play is resumed. You and companions can still be attacked and may be killed if there are other enemies around.
 * If the Mysterious Stranger appears and there is a wall or other obstacle between him and his target, he will not take a shot.
 * The Mysterious Stranger spawns either on top of the enemy or within touching distance and won't fire his shot. He continues doing this and resetting the game doesn't fix it, effectively making him useless.
 * If this happens try to put space between you and your target.