 |
For the character, see Mysterious Stranger (character). For a cross-game overview of this perk, see Mysterious Stranger. |
|---|
“Gives you your own personal guardian angel... armed with a fully loaded .44 Magnum. With this perk, the Mysterious Stranger appears occasionally in V.A.T.S. mode to lend a hand, with deadly efficiency.”— In-game description
Mysterious Stranger is a perk in Fallout: New Vegas.
Effects[]
Taking this perk grants a 10% chance that the Mysterious Stranger will appear when using V.A.T.S. to attack enemies.
When he appears, he will attack a single enemy with his unique .44 Magnum, firing the full 6-shot clip before vanishing.
Notes[]
- The Mysterious Stranger will sometimes seek out other hostiles while in V.A.T.S., after he has killed the targeted one.
- His appearances have a counter on the Pip-Boy 3000 under the "Stats tab - General."
- The Miss Fortune perk functions in the same way as this perk, but with different effects in combat.
- Both the Mysterious Stranger and Miss Fortune perks can be chosen by the player character, but the characters will not appear together in the same V.A.T.S. sequence and taking both perks will not increase the chances of either one appearing.
- When interrogating Silus at Camp McCarran, if he is being attacked by the Courier using V.A.T.S., Silus will be killed by the Mysterious Stranger should he appear. In this event, Carrie Boyd will not respond in any way to Silus' death.
- It is possible to attack and even cripple the Mysterious Stranger by accident in V.A.T.S., but this seems to have no effect whatsoever.
- The Mysterious Stranger can be incapacitated by nearby explosions, sending him flailing about.
- If the Mysterious Stranger/Miss Fortune appears in a gas-filled area, their gunfire will ignite the gas and inflict damage to everyone in the vicinity.
- The Friendly Help challenge can be completed by the Mysterious Stranger or Miss Fortune making 15 appearances in combat, which earns a perk that increases the probability for them to appear.
- There is a chance for the Mysterious Stranger to miss all 6 shots from his .44 Magnum and leave the target completely unharmed.
- He may be seen reloading his weapon if he runs out of ammo. However, the Mysterious Stranger is never given the chance to finish.
Sounds[]
| Mysterious Stranger Coming | Mysterious Stranger Missing |
Behind the scenes[]
- The Mysterious Stranger wields a revolver and wears a fedora and overcoat, like a protagonist of 1950s film noir.
- There were several unfinished drafts of a book by Mark Twain titled "The Mysterious Stranger," in which the title character claims to be Satan's nephew. The drafts also contain various references to the number 44.
- His name could also be a reference to “The Stranger” by Albert Camus, where an Algerian shoots an Arab with a revolver for no reason.
Bugs[]
The Mysterious Stranger will sometimes be positioned unfavorably. This can include being stuck in a wall, being placed in water, being placed near a cliff, etc. This can result in his "death" (unconsciousness) or inability to effectively attack the enemy, or even in some cases to kill the player character if they are between him and his target. Because the Mysterious Stranger never attacks, even if all enemies have died, he will be forever trapped inside the level geometry and the trigger to return the game to normal never happens. The only choice is to load a previous save.[verified]- During V.A.T.S., it is common to hear the Mysterious Stranger jingle, even if he does not appear. This most likely happens at times when he would have appeared to finish off your enemy, but you killed the enemy instead. He may also have been affected by the bug above in some of these cases.[verified]
- Sometimes, when the Mysterious Stranger appears, he does not shoot. He will just stand there, leaving you helpless. Another variant makes the Mysterious Stranger reload his Magnum for the duration of his attack. If it jams, he may not attack at all. This also happens if his target is killed prematurely by an explosion, by you or a companion. V.A.T.S. will remain active for an extended time, leaving you open for attacks by any surrounding enemies.[verified]
- At times, the Mysterious Stranger will aid you during V.A.T.S., but there will be a 5-10 second delay between killing the target and returning to normal gameplay. This can pose problems when fighting multiple enemies, as they will continue to attack both you and your companions during the delay. On occasion, this bug may cause normal play to not resume.[verified]
- Sometimes, the game can freeze in the zoomed-in style of V.A.T.S. when the Mysterious Stranger appears, making him stand there and watch.[verified]
- Occasionally, the game may register that the Mysterious Stranger has appeared (you receive a progress update) but he does not, nor does the opponent die. You remain frozen in V.A.T.S. unable to move or die.[verified]
