Discover Top Posts Tagged with #far habor

In my longer, lore-related posts, I’ve covered a few different things, including the history of Lord Raiden in Mortal Kombat, biographies of Dorian Pavus and Maeveris Tilani from the Dragon Age universe, and the history of the Qunari people and culture, also from Dragon Age. But so far I haven’t touched anything or anyone from Fallout, and so today I’m going to remedy that.

The very first Fallout game I ever played was 4 (I know, I know, I did go back and play 3 and New Vegas, don’t worry fellow fans) and as such some of my strongest ties are with that particular game. And while one character in particular isn’t the first companion you encounter, he quickly became my favourite (and I also continually curse Todd Howard for not making him romanceable!).

Nick Valentine has an interesting history. His memories and personality come from a pre-war detective of the same name who, after the traumatic death of his fiancée Jennifer Lands at the hands of infamous mobster Eddie Winter, submits himself to an experiment at the Commonwealth Institute of Technology (the remnants of which later became the Institute) that scanned his brain as part of treatment for PTSD. What happened to the original Nick is unknown, but whether he died during the initial nuclear bombing in 2077 or died sometime after, he is long gone by the time the events of Fallout 4 takes place in 2287. The Nick we get to meet in game is one of two prototype synths leftover from when the Institute was experimenting with expanding and furthering their synth program. His “brother” DiMA’s AI was allowed to develop a personality naturally, while Institute scientists attempted to implant the memories and personality of the original Nick into the prototype that would become our in-game companion. Since it was an unknown procedure at the time, the scientists had issues with the transplantation, and while sometimes it would seem to take, other times it wouldn’t. In observing what seemed to be the torture of his brother, DiMA escaped the Institute with Nick in tow to spare him further abuse. Unfortunately, after their escape, the personality and memories took root a little too hard, synth Nick thought he was really the original Nick, and in his confusion he attacked DiMA and forced his brother to knock him out and leave him.

While later on, the population of the Commonwealth would be extremely suspicious of synths and anything Institute-related, at this point in time they didn’t know much and so he was greeted with a mix of awe, curiousity, and a little fear at the unknown. In talking with Nick, he’ll tell the Sole Survivor of a kid he befriended known only as Jim, and that he was the first human contact he had post-Institute. In another story, he’ll tell of how he was permitted in Diamond City (a settlement known for its anti-synth and anti-ghoul stance) by rescuing the Mayor’s kidnapped daughter. Though he didn’t realise who she was when he stumbled upon her kidnappers, and despite not having a weapon, he was able to bluff his way into getting the abductors to leave by pretending to activate a bomb inside himself and just saying “beep” repeatedly as if in countdown. One he returned the daughter to the Mayor, he gave him a house as thanks and for the first time since he woke up, he had a sense of stability. He initially worked around town as a handyman, but because of his detective skills that kept being brought up and used, over time he stopped fixing things and became a detective full time.

It was one of his cases that lead to him meeting the Sole Survivor in an old Vault. In following a lead on a woman named Darla who was believed to be kidnapped – spoiler, she was not, she ran away with her gangster boyfriend – he was captured by Skinny Malone’s gang and imprisoned in the hideout they’d made out of Vault 114 nestled in the Park Street subway station. The Sole Survivor breaks him out and escapes with him, and upon leaving the Vault and meeting back up at his office, they reveal that they need him to help them find their missing son. Nick will assist them in their endevour, interviewing them and revealing the identity of the person who shot their spouse and stole their son, taking them to the house of known mercenary Conrad Kellogg and then summoning Dogmeat to help the Sole Survivor track him down (if they aren’t already travelling with Dogmeat). After the Sole Survivor confronts Kellogg at Fort Hagen, he will lead them to Doctor Amari and also volunteer to host Kellogg’s memories so that the fate of the Sole Survivor’s son can be ascertained and confirmed.

His personal quest, called “Long Time Coming”, involves finishing the old case that the original Nick had been involved in regarding the gangster Eddie Winter. After tracking down all 10 holotapes involving Winter, it reveals the code that will work on the keypad outside Winter’s bunker in Andrew Station. Upon arriving at the bunker and opening it, instead of being empty, the bunker will be revealed to be inhabited by Winter himself … ghoulified, of course, but alive nonetheless. Nick’s affinity will increase if the Sole Survivor allows him to kill Eddie instead of killing him themselves. After the shootout is over, Nick will retrace his steps to a road outside a run-down sandwich shop, the place where Jennifer Lands was murdered over 200 years before. While not the original Nick, he’s given some closure by wrapping up one of old Nick’s “loose ends”. He still has some issues with his identity, with knowing who he is separate from the pre-war detective, but the Sole Survivor has a chance to reassure him that he is his own man apart from the old Nick.

While not required, if allowed to accompany the Sole Survivor in the DLC “Far Harbor”, he has a significant emotional importance to the questline. The beginning involves following up on a message from a former associate of Nick’s, Kenji Nakano, whose daughter has run off and he wants he found and retuned. All signs point to the island of Far Harbor, and once Nick and the Sole Survivor arrive, they are pointed in the direction of Acadia, a settlement founded and run entirely by synths who escaped the Institute. Some of them refused a memory wipe offered by the Railroad, others had a memory wipe that didn’t take well and suffer side effects from it, and others still figured out they were synth and are trying to come to terms with who and what they are and their identity. The leader of the settlement is DiMA, Nick’s brother, who immediately recognises Nick on sight but who Nick doesn’t remember. During the course of the main quest, the Sole Survivor is able to find proof of their relationship, and Nick accepts the truth and even starts to form a bond with DiMA by talking with him every time they enter Acadia. While he won’t approve if the Sole Survivor doesn’t hold DiMA accountable for murder, he seems to comes to terms with the decision and it doesn’t seem to affect his relationship with his brother too much … though this could also just be something the devs overlooked.

While outwardly he may just look like an old synth that’s starting to fall apart, Nick is full of charisma and personality and has an amazingly witty and sarcastic sense of humour. Especially when taken on board the Prydwen and surrounded by Brotherhood soldiers who hate synths and everything associated with the Institute, he won’t hold back if someone outright insults him. Sometimes it’s just a simple deflection … for instance, if a Brotherhood soldier mutters, “Abomination” then Nick will respond with, “Well, good afternoon to you, too.” He’s not afraid to get a little more aggressive when told, “You disgust me” and he’ll reply with, “Not much of a sight yourself.” He’ll even point out their hypocrisy when told, “No machine should have free will”, he’ll say, “Why? You jealous you had to turn yours in?” I also personally like the response to, “Don’t get any ideas, synth” when he’ll reply, “From you folks? I wouldn’t know where to look.” That humour helps to cover up his insecurities related to his conflicted feelings about his identity and who he is, and I wish that an in-game romance would help reassure him of who he is and his worth, similar to the way a romantic relationship between the Sole Survivor and John Hancock unfolds and develops. Unfortunately, Todd Howard and the Bethesda team denied us this chance, however mod authors have given us a chance to play it out with cut audio files spliced together to form the dialogue. Even without the mod, however, Nick always becomes one of my best friends, a voice of reason and a guiding hand to a Sole Survivor who so desperately needs it, but who will also call them out if they do something he disapproves of. Everyone needs a friend like Nick, and if you haven’t found one yet, I hope you will soon. <3

#beauties and headcanons #elisabeths gaming corner #fallout #fallout 4 #nick valentine #long time coming #far habor #dima

Welcome to Far Harbor

#fallout 4 #nick valentine #jax the mechanic #far habor

Levey Mathway’s build at Longfellow’s Cabin!

#fallout 4 #fallout 4 settlements #maine #far habor #bar harbor #gaming vistas

submitted by anonymous

screenshot by @aendova

#fallout 4 #fallout confessions #far habor #longfellow

god I hope Synths can see better in the dark than humans can and they don’t even realize how dark Arcadia is because otherwise they are all destroying their eyes. Can you people please get some candle. Some flashlights. Can you please turn on the god damn lights. You’re straining your eyes please let me give you some god damn lightbulbs. I will set them up for free. I will PAY YOU to let me set up more lights.

#Fallout 4 #Rjalker plays Fallout 4 #Far Habor #Far Habour #?#is there a u.