Automatron (companion)

The Automatron is a craftable companion for the Sole Survivor.

Background
Automatrons are specially crafted companions designed by the Sole Survivor to suit their own personal needs. They can be created, upgraded and renamed at a robot workbench, provided the resource requirements are met. They start with protectron parts without any armor, but individual parts from other robots can be scavenged and attached, and upgraded further with quality armor attachments to meet (or exceed) factory quality.

Created automatrons can have 1 of 9 different voices, many with similar functionalities. All automatrons start with the male voice selected.

The first four similar voices are the male, female and the relative processed variants of each. The voices all sound like well spoken servants, with the normal variation sounding like well recorded voices and the processed variants sounding more mechanical and modified. This voice type has personality subroutines that can be activated by selecting yes when requested when the robot is first created or by navigating through dialogue when the automatron is the current follower. These voice types are the only voice types that allow one to command the robot to self destruct, this is accomplished by navigating to the self destruct dialogue and giving the requested secondary confirmation, the unit will then begin the self destruct sequence and count down from ten, then it will explode.

Another set of similar voices are the assaultron and sentry bot voices, both have the same voice lines, and they both mimic the voices of the respective robots. When asked to initiate personality subroutines both voices also respond with "ERROR, command not recognized," although there are cases of both sentry bots and especially assaultrons with personalities; they respond the same when asked to self destruct.

The last 3 voices are different sounding beeps and clicks (beep-click, beep-dark and beep-bright), robots with these voices appear to exhibit emotion, but have no programmed personality subroutines in-game, other robots may be heard exclaiming something along the lines of "your personality appears to be an error in your program, have you considered having it purged." Robots with this voice type will respond with a (negative beep) when asked to self destruct. Which means it is impossible for Automatrons with the last 3 voices can't self-destruct.

Automatrons will almost always fight on the side of the Sole Survivor, but may turn against them if they attack a settlement that the robot is a part of or was recently part of, even if they are the Sole Survivor's current companion.

Creating an Automatron
If you don't want to rely on the random chance of finding mods on robot bodies, you may want to invest in the Science!, Robotics Expert, Blacksmith, Gun Nut, and Armorer perks, as they're a requirement when it comes to crafting some of the more advanced parts. By and large, your "play style" determines the effectiveness of your custom automatron. If you're a melee based character, then you may want a robot that can back you up from a distance with missiles or laser fire. Likewise, if you engage your enemies at range with rifles, a bulky 'bot kitted out with devastating melee weapons might be the best option.

Optimization
When building an Automatron, the head and both arms are optional - an automatron can be finished without them, although in such a case it will usually be lacking means of inflicting damage or interacting with its surroundings, as demonstrated by Bosun aboard the USS Constitution.

Robot parts can be freely mixed with almost no restrictions, thus enabling the player to create highly unusual but very deadly combinations. As an example, a Mister Handy torso and thruster assembly including a Tesla field and three buzzsaw-equipped appendages, combined with sentry bot arms wielding Gatling lasers and decked out in voltaic armor plating, results in an automatron that can single-handedly massacre entire hostile strongholds at range without needing ammunition, will devastate almost anything foolish enough to enter melee range, can move at impressive speed, can carry more than most organic companions, and is small enough to accompany its master everywhere.

Arm types

 * Assaultron Arm:
 * Perks required to craft: Science! - Rank 1/Armorer - Rank 1
 * Description: The Assaultron Arm offers the best melee damage of all the arm models, making it an obvious choice if you're going for pure attacking power.
 * Sentry Arm
 * Perks required to craft: Science! - Rank 3/Robotics Expert - Rank 1
 * Description: The Sentry Arm is the safest choice in this category, as it allows for the best carrying capacity, the best health boost, and adds decent melee damage.

Leg types

 * Mr. Handy Thruster:
 * Perks required to craft: None
 * Description: The fastest leg type available, the Mr. Handy Thruster is a great choice for a robot that you want to be mobile, zipping from enemy to enemy.
 * Assaultron Legs:
 * Perks required to craft: Science! - Rank 1/Armorer - Rank 1
 * Description: Although the Assaultron Legs don't offer quite as much mobility as the Mr. Handy Thruster, they're a better choice for beefier 'bots, as more armour parts can be added to them.
 * Sentry Legs:
 * Perks required to craft: Science! - Rank 3/Robotics Expert - Rank 1
 * Description: Offering the best carrying capacity and a ton of health, the Sentry Legs are an obvious choice for a tank-like robot. The only real downside is that with these legs, your mechanical partner may not be able to move all too freely in enclosed spaces, and they make one heck of a racket to boot.

Other interactions

 * Automatrons will regularly give the Sole Survivor 2-3 junk items when talked to while they're the active companion.
 * Automatrons can be ordered to self-destruct if the Sole Survivor desires.

Range of interests
Automatrons are unconditional companions and their affinity cannot be changed.

Gallery
Автоматрон