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Fallout 4lets the Sole Survivor gather companions to help them on their journey to find their missing son Shaun. One of the many people that can be recruited is the sarcastic mercenary Robert Joseph MacCready, who will watch the Sole Survivor’s back with his trusty sniper rifle and offer his own unique opinions on the Commonwealth. MacCready is also one of eight companions available to romance once his affinity is at maximum.
MacCready is one of16 recruitable companions inFallout 4and a returning character fromFallout 3, where he was the mayor of the child settlement Little Lamplight. Now working as a gun for hire in the Commonwealth,MacCready has made the journey from the Capital Wasteland for a particular reason, and he’ll only discuss it with people he trusts. To build that trust, gain MacCready’s companion perk, and potentially start a relationship with him, the Sole Survivor will need to know what makes him tick.
Fallout 4: Every Returning Character From Fallout 3
Fallout 4 is full of fascinating new characters for players to meet on their journey, alongside some very familiar faces who return from Fallout 3.
How To Recruit MacCready In Fallout 4
An Investment Of Caps Is Needed For This Companion
MacCready can be found in Goodneighbor inside a private room in the settlement’s music club, the Third Rail. When the Sole Survivor first arrives, MacCready will be in a heated conversation with two Gunner mercenaries named Winlock and Barnes. It seems the Gunners aren’t too happy with MacCready still working in the Commonwealth, and after a few threats are exchanged, the two will leave.
To gain MacCready as a companion,he will need to be hired for 250 caps, although this can be lowered to 200 with a Charisma check. After this, MacCready will stick with the Sole Survivor and will occasionally give them random ammo. Like all companions, MacCready is listed as essential and cannot be killed in combat unless he becomes hostile to the Sole Survivor.
MacCready’s Likes & Dislikes
Knowing What Makes MacCready Happy Will Build Affinity
MacCready’s likes and dislikes reflect his background in Little Lamplight as well as his years as a mercenary. Typically,he likes it when Charisma checks are passedto ask for more money, threats, and lies. MacCready is also a fan of theft, with stealing and picking owned locks often the quickest way to gain affinity with him.
MacCready will become hostile if anything is stolen from the VIP room in the Third Rail, or if stealing causes any hostility in Goodneighbor.
Accepting quests from shadier people e.g.“The Big Dig.”
Sarcastic or threatening responses.
Establishing raider outposts. (Nuka-World DLC)
Helping children.
Helping the Institute,
Many of MacCready’s like and love reactions are related to specific quests and situations. However, generally, as long as youkeep in mind his mercenary outlook, it is easier to understand what he will respond toand what quests are the best to take him on. As MacCready’s affinity increases, his personal quest,“Long Road Ahead,”will trigger and enable the relationship to move forward.
The affinity system has a cooldown of two in-game hours which can be bypassed by sleeping, waiting, or using quicksave. Once the pop-up has displayed to show MacCready liked or loved something, quicksave, and then load that save to bypass the cooldown.
Take Down Winlock & Barnes At Mass Pike Interchange
Once the Sole Survivor has reached between 250 and 500 affinity with MacCready, he will ask to have a conversation and tell them about his history with the Gunners, aFallout 4mercenary faction. MacCready will explain that he joined the Gunners when he came to the Commonwealth as it seemed like a good way to make caps, but soon realized the faction’s bloodthirsty ways. For the first part of his personal quest,MacCready will ask for help killing Winlock and Barnesas a message to the Gunners to leave him alone.
Until Winlock and Barnes are killed, MacCready’s affinity will be locked at 499.
To take out the troublesome Gunners, the Sole Survivor will need to travel to the Mass Pike Interchange, where there will be a small number of Gunners guarding the outpost. These can easily be dealt with head-on or by taking a more stealthy approach, before using the elevator to travel up to the highway section.Up on the highway are several Gunners, one of which will be wearing power armor, and a leveled Assaultron, so caution is advised when exiting the main elevator.
There is a second elevator a little further north that is unguarded for those preferring a stealth approach.
After dealing with all the enemies in the area, MacCready will need to be spoken to once again to complete this section of the quest. MacCready is confident that losing an outpost will send the Gunners a message to leave him alone.He will then return the caps initially paid to hire himto return the favor he feels he owes the Sole Survivor. After this, the quest will indicate to continue traveling with MacCready to unlock the second part.
Find A Cure For Duncan At Med-Tek Research
Once MacCready’s affinity reaches 750, he will once again initiate a conversation to tell the Sole Survivor about why he’s really in the Commonwealth.MacCready will reveal he has a young son named Duncan, who is very ill and will die without a cure, which MacCready believes is at Med-Tek Research. He will once again ask for the Sole Survivor’s help in retrieving the cure.
The Med-Tek Research section of"Long Road Ahead"functions as a standard dungeon crawl, with the Sole Survivor and MacCready making their way through the building. There are plenty of feral ghouls and a little backtracking as the lockdown will need to be lifted before going deeper into the facility.The cure is located in the sublevels behind a password-protected dooralong with a leveled Glowing One. However, MacCready has the password and can quickly open the door.
To complete the quest, MacCready will need to be spoken to, where he will be overjoyed and ask for the Sole Survivor togive the cure to Daisy in Goodneighbor. Traveling to the settlement and handing over the cure will trigger some additional dialogue before the quest concludes. Until the Med-Tek Research cure has been found, MacCready’s affinity will not go above 999 and a romance cannot be started.
How To Romance MacCready & Gain Perks
Romance Is Based On A Charisma Check
Romance inFallout 4can be initiatedonce a companion has reached maximum affinity, after which the flirt option in dialogue will change to romance. MacCready will initiate a final conversation to express his gratitude for the Sole Survivor’s help and give them a wooden toy soldier to show how much they mean to him. After a toy has been given,to start a romance with MacCready, a Charisma check will need to be passedto gain his companion and romance perks.
Even if the initial romance speech check is failed, after a certain length of time, MacCready will initiate a conversation with the Sole Survivor about being their best friend. This provides another shot at starting a romance and gaining the Lover’s Embrace perk. However, regardless of whether or not a romance is pursued,MacCready’s Killshot perk will be granted at maximum affinity.
MacCready’scompanion perkis a permanent combat-based perk that gives the Sole Survivor 20% better accuracy when using V.A.T.S. The Lover’s Embrace perk is temporary and granted by all romanced companions inFallout 4. This replaces the Well Rested perk when sleeping close to a romanced companion, andboosts experience gain by 15% for eight in-game hours.
