Stealing Independence Quest: Is Sydney Supposed to Die?

[Goth_Lady1987]

I've reached the National Archives and made it to the part when you meet Sydney (by the skin of my neck), but my health and hers are too low to take on the three (or four) androids in the sub basement to get to the turret control room. I've just now discovered the Vault-Tech hit scanner, which I was unaware of until I read the Help sections after watching walk-throughs (I thought you needed a special weapon for that).

Also, I seem to be glitching and constantly attacking even without pressing primary fire, or can't fire at all in combat and it slows down my movement. What should I do about all this? *I'm playing on Easy difficulty*

[Count Von Count]

Sydney does not need to die in the quest if you are careful

What level are you?
What do you mean by ‘Vault-Tec hit scanner?’ Is it VATS?

[porter21287]

There's no such enemies as "androids". What the ♥♥♥♥ are you talking?

[Connor]

if you can't fight the robots then go out of the building and return there when you have more powerful weapons (pulse grenade and pulse mines are very effective against the robots)
btw sidney doesn't have to die ,you can have her as a companion all the game long if you don't complete that mission

[Goth_Lady1987]

I did complete the mission as it happen, Sidney was dead but I survived and got the Declaration, returned to Rivet City and gave it to Abraham Washington. Now I cut through L'Efant Plaza Metro station to head back to the History Museum, but can't get past a group of Talon Bounty Hunters at the exit. This game is intense! XD

[Goth_Lady1987]

Btw I am level 12

[Kvinden]

For the glitch with the attack, did you try another mouse ? It is not specific to this game but sometimes a device plugged in USB port suddenly stops working with some random programs for a reason far beyond my understanding.

I don't intend to spoil the game but even though Sidney is not essential it is very possible to keep her alive after this mission. In fact she is a burden and she is perfectly useless.

There are several ways to handle the quest.
Simplest way is to clear the way and come back to her after you have disposed of the robots in the basement. Of course, don't open any safe, don't speak to the Button Gwynnet robot and don't take the independance. When you hear the robot speaking return to Sidney and accept her offer. She will open the elevator and bring you to the place you already visited. Then you just have to speak to Button and continue the quest normally.

But if you want to do it the hard way, at level 12 you are at a too high level already when you start it, the ennemies are leveled, but NOT sidney, so the later you do this quest, the hardest it is to keep her alive. Give her stimpaks as soon as she is wounded because unlike normal companions she doesn't heal by herself.

I usually ignore her and proceed to the basement alone because she is not a nice character and it is more fun to fight the mutants and robots by myself without a companion to bother me. After all, the lone wanderer is supposed to be lonesome.

And besides, it triggers a random encounter later.

The game is not simple or linear, and decisions have consequences.

Here, you are supposed to do this AFTER the stateman hotel (Reilly Rangers), but if you do the stateman hotel first you are at a too high level when you do the national archives and it is more difficult to keep Sidney alive. But if you do the opposite, you will be at a higher level when you do the stateman hotel and then it will be difficult to keep the rangers alive. Some choices are not obvious. The problem is do you prefer to save the rangers or Sidney ?

The talon mercenaries at Lenfant plaza are hard. I don't remember the area very well because I made a lot of changes here but the best strategy is to retreat to Hubris comics, heal your character and get back to fight.

[Goth_Lady1987]

I got through the L'Efant Talon Mercs: used a mez on one to take out the others, plus a centaur and a super mutant.

[Cyanmurder]

I just tell Sidney to stay put, while i whack these Talons goons. Less than 60 seconds, I wiped them clean from this world.