Forums » Fallout

Addiction, the Player and Chem Resistance

    • 627 posts
    February 9, 2017 10:53 PM EST

    So a while back I told Phil my thoughts on the Chem Resistance perk in the games (basically I've been thinking about things more then is necessary) and he suggested that I post it on the site somewhere, at which point I agreed and then forgot about it for a while. 

    To start, for those that have never played the Bethesda Fallout games (If so I'm confused at why you're interested in this group :P) the Chem Resistance Perk was in Fallouts 3 and New Vegas a perk that reduced the likelyhood of becoming addicted to chems by 50% and in Fallout 4 it has gained a second level at which you become completely immune to chem addiction.

    Now the realisation that I have had is that this perk isn't actually doing what it claims to do. Well sure the character is no longer at risk of becoming addicted to chems, but by spending perk points in unlocking this trait we the player have become addicted. While relient might not be the best word for this, we the player have come to enjoy or rely on the use of these chems in playing the game to the point that we are willing to spend points on avoiding their negative effects. And then once the points have been spent, there is almost an obligation to continue using the chems so that the points we could have spent elsewhere, haven't been wasted. An obligation which just continues the cycle.

    So thoughts, am I just overthinking things or is it possible that I might actually be right? :P

    • 1595 posts
    February 10, 2017 4:17 AM EST

    Huh. I don't think you're overthinking at all, rather you are highlighting something quite clever and deep. There must be a word for what that is but I'm tusked if I know what that word is. Immersive? I duno, but if a game can suck a player in like that... Hey, I am sort of reminded of the Oblivion Shivering Isles quest "Addiction" and how the Felldew and quest actually made the player crave the next dose. Very clever, or so I thought!

    The addition of spending perks and therefore needing to get a return for that investment is cool. How many caps do you think yo spent on dirty syringes throughout the game?


    This post was edited by Paws at February 10, 2017 4:18 AM EST
    • 627 posts
    February 10, 2017 4:36 AM EST

    I remember one of my friends using the felldew withdrawal to get his attribute above 100, by leveling and increasing them back to the max before curing himself, so that once cured he'd regain those lost ontop of his maxed attributes.

    Reading that back it's kind of convoluted so here's it in numbers: All stats = 100 - 15 from withdrawal, level back to 100 for all stats and then cure to get 115 in each.

    It's hard to tell, especially since you can effectively make any chems you want once you've perked chemist all the way (which extends the duration of chems and allows the crafting of more). You can even end up using excess chems as a currency.

    • 1595 posts
    February 10, 2017 4:40 AM EST

    Breaking Bad, Fallout style - become a dealer to fund your habit! Set up a fried chicken shop too. Is there a mod for that?

    Shhh about Felldew though. Don't make me wanna play SI again and test that exploit :D

    • 627 posts
    February 10, 2017 4:44 AM EST

    Just wait until Skyblivion, from the dev streams that I've been watching they are either planning for or expecting a 2018 release date :P

    • 248 posts
    February 10, 2017 12:48 PM EST

    Oh I see...yes it becomes a bit of a self-fullfilling NEED. You perk to avoid addiction which makes you addicted the use. A viscious delicious cycle. 

    • 152 posts
    February 10, 2017 5:46 PM EST

    Sheesh Golden, you really just opened my eyes to something that I'm guilty of but never really noticed. You see, I'm a very "safe" player when I play video games (Don't use stimpaks unless I have to, keep literally any and every unique item regardless of whether I'll ever need it, etc.) and this includes the fact that I don't like the potential risk of having negative effects due to chem addiction. So really I hardly would ever use them until I had the chem resistant perk which then I would literally be on at least one chem at all times. Because of this, if i ever WASN'T on chems I'd find myself surprised how squishy I really was. It's like it became a crutch without me even realizing it. Very insightful, I don't think you're over thinking anything; rather just doing some Nick Valentine uncovering of this game

    • 133 posts
    February 10, 2017 9:20 PM EST

    This is...really clever Golden. Never really thought of it that way, nor did I have time to (don't use chems very much in my games) but that is a cool way to turn the idea on its head. Shifting burdens onto the actual players? Weirdly fourth wall-breaking, despite the fact that the devs probably didn't try to make it that way. But you're definitely right about the reliance on chems. On my one character that did have them, it was an absolute must.

    • 627 posts
    February 10, 2017 9:25 PM EST

    It was my most recent character that actually sparked this, I've been using jet in combination with automatic weapons and from the very start I planned on getting the perk. I find it interesting that in making a character that can quite any time they wanted, we the player prove that we can't.

    • 122 posts
    February 11, 2017 12:38 AM EST

    I always assumed Chem Resistance was a person's RESISTANCE to addiction, in other words how well he or she can handle repeatedly injecting or ingesting chems and relying on them for recreational or tactical reasons rather than due to mental or physical addiction. A very rare few people can do MOUNTAINS of drugs and then walk away without issue. I knew a model who moved to New York and indulged in cocaine and heroin (in his words, "we locked ourselves in our apartment and did nothing but heroin for a month and then decided we REALLY needed to stop"), but never crossed a line to where he needed professional help for his substance abuse.

     

    Addiction is a real thing, and I'm not at all trying to make light of it, but there are just some people who manage to...Sidestep it.

     

    But like I said, a very rare few. Please, PLEASE be careful with anything involving drugs or alcohol.