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For an overview of Stealth Boy devices in all games, see Stealth Boy.
Stealth Boy
Stealth Boy
Icon Stealth Boy
Effects
Effects
+100 Sneak for 120 seconds
+75 Stealth Field for 120 seconds
AddictionNo
Other
Weight1Value100
Technical
Base ID00043e94
 
Gametitle-FNV
Gametitle-FNV

The RobCo Stealth Boy 3001 is a consumable item in Fallout: New Vegas.

Background[]

The following section is transcluded from Stealth Boy. To modify, please edit the source page.

One of the most interesting technologies developed before the war, the Stealth Boy 3001 is a wrist-mounted device that generates a modulating field that transmits the reflected light from one side of an object to another (called stealth radiation[1]). The end result is practical invisibility, which can range from translucency to near-perfect active camouflage.[2][3]

The underlying principle of bending light to create invisibility wasn't invented by the Americans. Robert Mayflower, the man responsible for creating Stealth Boys under RobCo's aegis, reverse-engineered captured Chinese Hēi Guǐ stealth armor.[4] The technology wasn't perfect, but proven itself reliable enough for military purposes. In fact, it was enough to convince the military to have had these devices mass produced.[5] Even more, work started on a more advanced Stealth Boy mark II prototype.[6] After the Great War, developed by Enclave scientists in Appalachia, the Stealth Boy Mark III was an overall improvement of the Stealth Boy, coming at the cost of reverting back to a specialized canvas holder design rather than a wrist-mounted design.

There are drawbacks to the Stealth Boy, however. Apart from limited battery life, particularly when used at full power to achieve total invisibility, the modulating field can cause permanent neurochemical changes,[7] resulting in the development of mental conditions, such as paranoia, delusions, hallucinations, and even schizophrenia.[8] This is by far most noticeable among the nightkin, former elite members of the Unity and their prolonged Stealth Boy use and apparent increased susceptibility of super mutant physiology to stealth radiation. Nightkin tend to suffer from delusions, anxiety attacks (particularly when deprived of their Stealth Boys), and heightened aggression (particularly when trying to acquire Stealth Boys to cope with their withdrawal symptoms). Treatment is difficult and usually focuses on symptoms, due to the inability to address the underlying cause (yet).[9][10]

Characteristics[]

The Stealth Boy is a personal stealth device worn on one's wrist. It generates a modulating field that transmits the reflected light from one side of an object to the other, making a person much harder to notice (but not completely invisible). The duration of the effect is 2 minutes, about a standard game hour. Having Lily as a companion doubles the duration of the effect, for a time of up to 4 minutes. If you use an additional Stealth Boy when a previous one is still active, the duration of the stealth effect does not replenish - it 'stacks', so the effect will last two hours.

While sneaking with a Stealth Boy activated, the only ways to be discovered are to fire a loud weapon, be heard by the enemy or physically bump into an enemy.

Locations[]

  • One can be found in the Goodsprings schoolhouse, in a locked safe (Lockpick 25).
  • Several can be found at the REPCONN test site.
    • One can be found inside, next to the dead nightkin near the front door.
    • Another can be found in the basement, on one of the tables in the room with the sign reading "Food".
  • Veteran Atticus in the Caesar's Legion safehouse can give two to the player for free, each time they encounters him there during his visits.
  • The repeatable side-quest Caesar's Favor can provide a random supply of Stealth Boys each time, sometimes in very large quantities ( of up to 95). A high reputation (liked or idolized) with Caesar's Legion may be required.
  • One can be found in the middle of Jack Rabbit Springs, beside a skeleton found lying near an upright post visible on the hillside.
  • Approaching the cattle pen at Brooks Tumbleweed Ranch reveals a nightkin who offers to sell you a 'wind brahmin' (a tumbleweed) for all your caps. The nightkin carries a Stealth Boy in his inventory.
  • One can be found in the REPCONN headquarters behind a locked door (Lockpick 50) in a container on the top floor.
  • With the add-on Old World Blues, passing the "Robot Compliance Test" to upgrade the stealth suit Mk II at the X-13 Research Facility will yield a Stealth Boy in the reward safe. This test and three others can be repeated and give random rewards each time, including Stealth Boys.
  • In the nightstalker test area of the X-13 Research Facility, shooting the forcefield in the ceiling of the small room with the Strange Still with an upgraded sonic emitter will drop a Stealth Boy into the room.
  • Stealth Boys may randomly spawn in ammunition boxes.
  • Many can be found in the footlockers at Camp Golf

Notes[]

  • Stealth Boys temporarily increase your sneak level to 100, which affects stealth-related speech checks.
  • Although it is considered a technological device, pulse grenades do not have any effect on the Stealth Boys.
  • There may be a bubble-like texture above your Pip-boy when using the Stealth Boy, which disappears when your Pip-boy light turns on.

References

  1. The Courier: "I found a chewed up Stealth Boy in the Nightstalker lair."
    Henry: "Hmmm... there's still power, but the casing is cracked. I'm astonished that exposure to the stealth radiation could induce mutations so rapidly. More importantly, this explains why my research into this group of Nightstalkers hasn't come up with a cure for the Nightkin. There's only one avenue left for me - I need to run the Mark II test on Lily. It's the only way."
    (Henry's dialogue)
  2. Fallout item description: "{5400}{}{Stealth Boy}"
    "{5401}{}{A RobCo Stealth Boy 3001 personal stealth device. Generates a modulating field that transmits the reflected light from one side of an object to the other.}"
  3. Museum of Technology placard: "This is the RobCo "Stealth Boy" Model 3001 Personal Stealth Device. Developed by Robert Mayflower, the Stealth Boy generates a modulating field that transmits the reflected light from one side of an object to the other making the bearer almost invisible to the untrained eye."
  4. Simple armor: "The Chinese solution to invasion by U.S. forces in power armor was its Hei Gui stealth armor, worn by elite Chinese "Black Ghost" counterinsurgency/terror units. Not much was known about this armor, save that it had active camouflage systems as well as technology that enhanced reflexes and heightened perception. Hei Gui technology was the basis for the unstable "Stealth Boy" wrist units developed in the U.S."
    Note: While Simple was never properly released, Hei Gui stealth suits are confirmed to have been reverse engineered by the U.S. at Big MT and elsewhere, while the adverse effects (for super mutants) of the Stealth Boy units were canonized by Fallout: New Vegas.
  5. Availability of Stealth Boys in Fallout 3 and New Vegas
  6. The Courier: "What are you working on?"
    Henry: "The Nightkin have varying degrees of mental instability due their addiction to Stealth Boy use. I've been trying to come up with a cure. I'm currently investigating the local Nightstalker population since they seem to have developed a natural stealth field. I've also gotten my hands on a working Stealth Boy Mark II prototype, but that experiment is riskier. I'd rather not pursue that research just yet."
    (Henry's dialogue
  7. The Courier: "What makes you think that the Nightstalker mutation isn't natural?"
    Henry: "I've compared the brain chemistry of a Nightkin to one of the local Nightstalkers we killed. They both exhibit similar neurochemical changes. Now, I'm not claiming that Nightstalkers are running around wearing Stealth Boys, mind you. I just don't think it's all a coincidence."
    (Henry's dialogue)
  8. The Courier: "What's wrong with the Nightkin?"
    Marcus: "Nightkin suffer schizophrenia from the Stealth Boys they're always using. One of the reasons I settled Jacobstown was so they could be cured. While they're in town, the Nightkin aren't allowed to have Stealth Boys so their craziness doesn't get worse. Trouble is the Nightkin don't like being visible, either. They don't take being exposed too well."
    (Marcus' dialogue)
  9. Jacobstown
  10. The Courier: "Why does Keene want to leave?"
    Marcus: "Because of a promise. One I haven't been able to keep. The Nightkin all suffer from schizophrenia. It's the Stealth Boys they use, used to use. Nightkin have a hard time being seen like normal folks. Can't stand it. A few already left to try and find more Stealth Boys. Miserable situation. They either stay here and suffer, or dig up Stealth Boys and lose their minds. Not much of a choice."
    (Marcus' dialogue)
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