Sergeant RL-3

 is a robotic soldier created before the Great War that can become one of your party members in Fallout 3.

Sergeant RL-3 has an experimental soldier personality making him "unstable," meaning that it only likes particular characters (thus the neutral requirement). During combat RL-3 will also say things like "Another glorious day in this man's army! Hooah!" making RL-3 quite a comical follower.

Location
This metal patriot can be purchased from Tinker Joe outside the RobCo Factory for 1000 bottlecaps. The player character can only buy Sergeant RL-3 if their karma is neutral. Otherwise Tinker Joe will just say Sergeant RL-3 "...doesn't like the look of you." (will not follow you if you already have a follower.)

RL-3 can be purchased for 500 caps with a minimum of 70 in Barter skill.

Sergeant RL-3 won't leave if the player's karma later moves away from neutral, but if separated from the player either through firing or through story events, he cannot be re-hired until karma is again neutral. In these circumstances, Sergeant RL-3 will be waiting in Canterbury Commons after a day or two, where he can be re-hired for free.

Upon recruiting him he seems to treat you as his superior, though he shows no signs of decreased independence. RL-3 is a good tactical fighter, well adapted for complex fighting environments. Being a perfect support unit and a portable weapons cache, RL-3 is one of the best companions in the game, filling the "Mechanized Support Unit" role.

Tactical Implementation
Whilst RL-3 on his own does not provide the direct fire power as Fawkes or the multiple weapons capability of Star Paladin Cross and Charon, he does play an excellent support unit role, possessing an inexhaustible supply of flamethrower and plasma rifle ammunition, and the second largest carrying capacity. RL-3 is arguably the best support unit available. RL-3 also offers a good defensive role, while still allowing the player to cause a generous amount of damage and gain XP. Caution should be taken when facing long range foes due to RL-3's lower accuracy and damage with the plasma rifle; RL-3 will, however, provide suppressive fire by spraying plasma bolts. In such a case RL-3's fire support may be used as an opportunity to advance on the enemy's position, or line up a shot if need be. In the case of indoor fights RL-3 will usually stay near the character until they are within medium range of the enemy. At this point the player should move to support RL-3 from either a doorway or a short range if possible. Despite being mechanized, RL-3 will apply stimpaks to recover lost health. This is quite useful in heavily populated buildings where RL-3 is prone to rushing into attack. However, outdoor combat is far different, as RL-3 will lay down suppressive fire far before charging the enemy, which usually keeps him out of the way of Yao Guai and Deathclaws. The player should attempt to cripple or kill the attacker before they reach RL-3 if possible.

As a "Heavy Weapons Support Unit"
RL-3 is a superb choice for a heavy weapons strike team. While offering decent fire support, especially at closer ranges RL-3 is also capable of carrying an astonishing 197.5 pounds, second only to Fawkes. These two traits offer an excellent tactical advantage, while allowing players to carry their own weaponry and repair parts for any situation, be they close range Flamer and Minigun CQB or longer range Missile and Nuclear strikes. As well RL-3 will not attempt to find more ammo or use weapons in his inventory; this allows a player to keep all their weapons in excellent condition, and not lose rare ammo like Alien Power Cells, and not worry about explosive friendly fire. Although RL-3 will not sneak, he is capable of drawing fire away from the player while they prepare a missile strike, get in position for a flamer sneak attack, or give time for their Minigun to spin up.

As a "Sniper Support Unit"
Although RL-3 doesn't sneak, if the player is a true long range fighter this shouldn't be considered a problem. RL-3's large carrying capacity is a huge plus, allowing him to carry spare parts for repair as well as countermeasures such as mines or any other defensive weapon the player may prefer. When at longer ranges RL-3 will not engage an enemy before the player, as well RL-3 should be stationed behind the player by telling RL-3 to wait. The better tactic for this situation would be to position RL-3 behind the player out of the direct line of fire. RL-3 will move if an enemy becomes close enough to the area it's told to wait in. This eliminates or at least narrows the chance of an enemy attack from behind.

Extended use with DLC
Without Broken Steel RL-3 suffered from drastically lower health and the fixed level of 9, which limited RL-3's usefulness and his eventual outmoding to the hands of Fawkes or Cross. So care and constant micro-managing would always have to be taken to keep him from coming to too much harm.. However with the addition of Broken Steel RL-3 will level with the player, allowing his weapons to become far more powerful and accurate and intensifying his durability from 350 HP to around 5500 HP. RL-3 still offers the same tactical support but with the added durability he is far greater suited to harsher conditions. RL-3 is not nearly as vulnerable to the Talon Company or Enclave, and is capable of taking super mutant masters single handed. Now RL-3's suitability does not fade at higher levels, and it isn't necessary to trade up to Star Paladin Cross or Fawkes (which is especially handy given the different Karma requirements for these followers), especially to allow the player to gain the added ten levels that come with the DLC.

Stats

 * Combat Skill: 50
 * Attack Damage: 23
 * Attack Reach: 96
 * Turning Speed: 150
 * Foot Weight: 3
 * Speed Mult: 110%


 * RL-3 does not scale to player level like some companions, so he may become outclassed later in the game.
 * With the addition of the Broken Steel add-on, RL-3's level does scale with the player's up to 30.


 * Robots are considered creatures rather than NPCs and thus has an additional list of stats present for creatures.

Equipment
Sergeant RL-3's default equipment consists of special versions of a Plasma Rifle and a Flamer.

RL-3's "storage compartment" provides the second largest storage capacity out of all available followers. Only Fawkes can hold more equipment. RL-3's carrying capacity is 197.5 pounds.

Quotes
Sergeant RL-3 is quite the comical fellow, yelling out patriotic and Red Scare slogans to everyone who is close enough to hear them (including the player character, who he usually addresses as "Commander", or "Sir"). The lines he says, however, do not differ much from the ones you can hear from ordinary Mister Gutsy robots.

Combat
 * We are lean! We are mean!!
 * Come on people giv'em hell!
 * "Ready to die for your country, you commie son of a bitch?"
 * "Eat hot lead, you commie bastard!"
 * "Are you playing games with me God Dammit!" -Searching for hidden enemy
 * "Anyone got a target?" -Searching for enemy
 * "I have a personal message for you from Uncle Sam!"
 * "Is that the best you can do?"
 * "There's nothing I like better than making another poor bastard die for his country!"
 * "Today's a hell of a day to die, commie!"
 * "Made in the U.S. Army!"
 * "Now you're starting to piss me off."
 * "Kill 'em all, let God sort 'em out!"
 * "Kill 'em all! God will understand!"
 * "There's nothing like the smell of plasma in the morning!"
 * "I'm just getting warmed up! Hooah!"
 * "You're making me angry, you won't like me when I'm angry!" (detected an enemy but which ran of or hide)
 * "Pain is just weakness leaving the body!" (when taking damage)
 * "Every day is a good day to die!"
 * "Typical chicken shit commie maneuver!"
 * "Kill that Son of a Bitch!!"
 * "Are you afraid of me? You should be, 'cause I'm gonna kick your ass when I find you!" (typically during an extensive search for a detected enemy. Said alternately with the "Are you playing games..." quote. [PC])

Greetings and Conversation
 * "Salutations, Commander! Sergeant RL-3, Gutsy-class robotic soldier, reporting for duty!"
 * "RL-3 comes equipped with everything a good soldier needs, but your RL-3 can assist in carrying additional equipment, if needed." -while trading equipment

Post-Combat
 * "Another glorious day in this man's army!"
 * "Time to hit the showers!"
 * "Do that again and I'll put my boot so far up your ass you'll cough up boot polish!" -after withdrawing a weapon to forfeit combat
 * "That's how we do things in the U.S. army! Hooah!"
 * "Typical chicken-shit commie maneuver!"

Idle
 * "Sir, I am on the lookout!"
 * "Scanning, Sir"

Telling him to wait Note:He may say "Running will only make the pain last longer" -when an enemy is fleeing battle.
 * "I'll keep this location secure!"

Telling Him Not to Accompany You As He Is Waiting
 * "Old war-bots never die; they just rust away" A Parody of General Douglas MacArthur's famous quote after being fired by the President

Apperarances
Sergeant RL-3 only appears in Fallout 3.

Behind the scenes

 * RL-3 and other Mr. Gutsy robots are known to say, "You wouldn't like me when I'm angry," a reference to the 70's television show The Incredible Hulk. This famous line is a quote from the show's opening credits, though technically it was only said once, during the series' original pilot.
 * Unlike most Mr. Gutsy robots, RL-3 has an alpha-numeric designation. This is most likely a subtle reference to actor and former Marine R. Lee Ermey, best known as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman from the movie Full Metal Jacket.. Ermey retired from the USMC a staff sergeant, and was later given an honorary promotion to gunnery sergeant. Reading the 3 as an 'E', the robot's name would be 'Sergeant R L-E'. R. Lee Ermey also was the voice of General Simon Barnaky in Fallout: Tactics, which may be a reference to both his past experiences in the Fallout universe and to his career as a whole.
 * The "Kill'em all, and let God sort 'em out" quote is adopted by the Marines and the Green Berets. It derives from "Neca eos omnes. Deus suos agnoset," or "Kill them all. God will know His own." This was a misunderstood reference to 2 Tim. 2:19 which in part reads, "The Lord knoweth them that are his." This may come from around 1210 AD, when Pope Innocent III unleashed "orders of fire and sword."
 * RL-3's line, "There's nothing I like better than making another poor bastard die for his country!" may be a reference to general Patton's quote, "The object of war is not to die for your country, but to make the other bastard die for his."
 * Occasionally, when initiating a conversation with RL-3 he will say, "By your command!" In the original Battlestar Galactica television series, the Cylon robotic villains would regularly respond in this fashion to any authority figure.

Bugs

 * If the quest You gotta shoot 'em in the head is active, then he will shoot Dave and Rosie of the Republic of Dave, even though the "Republic" doesn't turn hostile to you.
 * Although his ranged weapon is a plasma weapon, the firing sound for it is the same as a Laser Rifle. However when the shot hits a target, the normal plasma sound is used.(Observed 360, PS3)


 * If RL-3 enters combat before you have purchased him from Tinker Joe, you may get a message stating that he is unconscious. This is due to his designation as essential (able to be rendered unconscious, but not killed) prior to being purchased.


 * After the Tranquility lane quest, if not found waiting outside the Lone Wanderer's Tranquility Lounger, he can be found waiting for you with Tinker Joe outside of the RobCo Facility (PS3 confirmed). (Proven wrong on PC)PC found him in Taft Tunnels where the scientist has the heart attack (360 confirmed) - also, Dr. Li and companions will also respawn in the Taft Tunnels when you go looking for RL-3 in there, and follow you back to the Citadel, yet again.


 * Sometimes after acquiring RL-3, occasionally no boxes or creatures will display that they are "Empty". This happens on all platforms.


 * If RL-3 becomes lost when he is trying to reach you, you can simply fast travel to a location including your current one and he will return.


 * If you utilize the Robotics Expert Perk to deactivate RL-3 while he is in combat, he will deactivate. While the deactivated robot will not follow you around in each area, when you enter a new area he will appear at door.


 * If RL-3 is fired after you enter the Ninth Circle and acquire Charon, when he kills Ahzrukhal, RL-3 will become hostile to every one in the bar thus attacking them. (confirmed PC, Xbox 360)


 * If you try to kill Dogmeat in front of RL-3 he will become hostile, but Tinker Joe will not.


 * On the Xbox 360, it has been reported that RL-3 is hostile after being captured by the Enclave, and retains stored items as well.


 * If RL-3 is frenzied he will remain friendly while being your follower, however, the next time he is fired upon or you are separated he will be hostile for the rest of the game. The only way to fix this problem is to reload a previous saved game before he was frenzied. It seems when he repairs himself after battle it does not fix him being frenzied.


 * On a very rare occasion, when you dismiss RL-3 as your companion to return to Canterbury Commons, he will turn hostile to you and everybody around you (this maybe due to the glitch above).


 * Before and sometimes after you recruit him his HP seems to be over 10 thousand due to being able to sustain a hit from the Mysterious Stranger's magnum (confirmed on PC and modded Xbox 360).

PRID 94285 kill resurrect disable enable
 * After Raven Rock RL-3 goes back to Canterbury Commons and becomes hostile. To fix this in the console type (and hit enter after every line):

if you no longer have neutral karma he can't be recruited anymore. to change your karma level in the console type (and hit enter): "Player.rewardkarma -1000" (without the quotes) drops you 1000 karma, place the number that will get you to neutral. then type "player.rewardkarma 1000" after you recruit him to gain 1000 karma (again place the number relevent to you).


 * On rare occasions if you try to pick someone's pocket at the temple of the union, when your reticle turns red he will become hostile to all the union members, and usually kill all of them.


 * If RL-3 has returned to Canterbury Commons and become hostile, it is still possible to recruit him. Travel to Antagonizer's lair and immediately kill Dogmeat's puppy. Run up to the traders cul-de-sac and RL-3 will probably be in a firefight. Run over and attempt to talk to him. As long as you have neutral karma, after 1-3 tries he will open the normal dialogue box. If you tell him you want him to rejoin you, he will turn from hostile to friendly and his opponents will cease firing. It may take several tries to complete this prior to RL-3 being killed or killing a trader (Crow died the first three times I tried this). As long as you time it right, you can recruit RL-3 and not lose any named characters.


 * Like with Fawkes and Dogmeat (Jericho, Clover, Charon and Cross need confirmation) when you complete Who Dares Wins by destroying the Enclave Mobile Platform, Sergeant RL-3 will appear in the Citadel (in wait stage, Xbox 360 confirmed).
 * Ever more odd, Sergeant RL-3's Flamethrower creates the Heavy Incinerators sound effect when fired. (Observed on PS3)