Category Archives: Fallout New Vegas
Fallout: New Vegas, WTF Bethesda?
Warning: Spoilers to follow…
Fallout 3 is one of the only games I have ever played that felt like it was worth $60. It had some issues, like crashing every five minutes until I installed it to the 360′s hard drive but nothing that would drive you nucking futz. My only major complaint would be with the ending. Why I couldn’t send my mutant friend into the irradiated room to activate the switch is a question that will bug me till the day I die; it certainly would have allowed me to continue exploring the world, an endeavor I was less than half done with.
I’ve played through New Vegas and compared to Fallout 3 it is a travesty. Bethesda didn’t just rest on their laurels here, they brutally beat and shot their laurels to death, went out to lunch, played golf, came back and beat them some more and then threw their laurels out the door without so much as a severance package (corporations these days, eh?).
At first the numerous graphical glitches did little to perturb me from enjoying the game. But in time, added to the numerous inconsistent, half-baked dialog choices along with many unfinished and/or not working story paths, the graphical glitches only served as a constant reminder of just how much this game sucks for a $60 game. It would barely be a good game if it were a $10 add on for Fallout 3. But as a stand alone $60 title… If God is in the details, God wasn’t hanging around the Bethesda offices while they were working on New Vegas.
Things were fine and dandy until I entered the Ultra Luxe Casino and what should have been a 30 minute quest turned into 3 hour nightmare of restarting the 360 every 15 minutes because the game kept crashing. One should expect these types of glitches when playing on a PC. But this is the Xbox 360 and last time I checked the hardware is pretty much standard across the board. There is no good excuse for this type of problem on a proprietary game system that is 5+ years old. You know why Anon hacked Bethesda recently? Because half of Anon has been stuck in the Ultra Luxe Casino for the past 6 months!
I then go and try to solve the Dealing with Contreras quest nice and peacefully, hoping this Sgt. Contreras would have a greater supply of weapons and ammo if I nudged things in his favor. I go through the motions, which largely consisted of talking to someone, traveling someplace, talking to someone else, then traveling back to the same person you talked to 10 minutes ago and talking to them some more (sounds like a complete and utter waste of time when I put it that way don’t it?)
So I finish the quest, talk to Sgt. Contreras and have a look at his inventory only to find that nothing has changed. I go to the Vault Wiki and find out that he was supposed to have given me a unique gun for a reward. I check my inventory, no gun. I reload a previous save and replay the whole thing, another hour wasted, same result. So I said fuck the extra inventory, turned the rat bastard into his superiors for selling drugs and bogged off looking for spices for the cook in the mess hall only to encounter more scripting errors with that quest as well.
Bethesda had laid down a solid foundation for what could have been, unquestionably, one of gaming’s greatest franchises and they threw the baby out with the bathwater on the next attempt. The overall story is what carries the Fallout series. New Vegas’ main story line is good enough to carry on that legacy but not without all the little sub plots that fill this apocalyptic wasteland with life and character. God is in the details Bethesda, God is in the details.
If you paid full price for this game, you didn’t just get ripped off, you got ass raped by a gang of Super Mutants hyped up on Jet. The sad part is the game’s major problems could’ve been avoided with more thorough beta testing and better dialog writing, acting and voice direction. If you’re picking up this game used for under $20 then I’ll gladly recommend it (but try to find it for $10.)
To be honest, all things considered, I had a decent enough time playing Fallout: New Vegas but then again I didn’t pay full price for it either. The glitches and problems I encountered during my play through have adversely affected my decision to get the expansion packs. I was planning on saving some MS points and picking up the expansions when they went on sale. I don’t think I’ll bother now. That Magic: The Gathering 2012 looks pretty good.
New Vegas: Character Building Guide Addendum
Welcome to my Fallout: New Vegas Character Building Guide Addendum. Click here for part 1 which covers S.P.E.C.I.A.L. points allocation and Traits. Click here for part 2 which covers Skills and Perks. Click here for part 3 which covers crafting and closing arguments.
WARNING! – Definite spoilers in this part of the guide.
Been playing through the New Vegas wasteland for a couple of weeks now. I’m not finished with the game but my character is level 29 as of this writing and I thought I’d share my train of thought as I developed the character with you.
Armand Geddon, wasteland courier, gunslinger and lucky ladies man!
STARTING CHARACTER STATS
S-4. P-4, E-7, C-6, I-7, A-5, L-7. Tagged: Guns, Speech, Survival. Traits: Small Frame, Four Eyes.
CHARACTER STATS AT LEVEL 29
S-6, P-6(+4 eyes), E-8, C-7, I-8, A-7(+ small frame), L-8
| PERKS | SKILLS | IMPLANTS |
| 2 – Lady Killer 4 – Educated 6 – Comprehension 8 – Gunslinger 10 – Finesse 12 – Cowboy 14 – Toughness 1 16 – Action Boy 1 18 – Action Boy 2 20 – Grim Reaper Sprint 22 – Toughness 2 24 – Center of Mass 26 – Intense Training (+1 STR) 28 – Commando 30 - |
Barter – 55 Energy Wpns – 20 Explosives – 65 Guns – 100 Lockpick – 80 Medicine – 50 Melee Weapons – 75 Repair – 75 Science – 50 Sneak – 50 Speech – 80 Survival – 60 Unarmed – 29 |
+1 Intelligence +1 Agility +1 Strength +1 Endurance +1 Charisma +1 Luck +4 Damage Threshold |
WHY I DID WHAT I DID WHEN I DID IT
Starting assumptions – I made my Strength a low 4 because I knew where to pick up my first companion (ED-E) and planned on getting him right away to help me carry stuff (which I did). I tagged Guns because tagging your main weapon is a must and Speech because I didn’t want to shoot my way out of every situation. Survival was tagged because I’m playing in hardcore mode. Small Frame and Four Eyes made up for my scavenging Perception and Agility.
Perk progression – Selecting Lady Killer at level 2 was more of a role playing choice than anything else. Educated at level 4 is a no-brainer, nothing else at this point is worth selecting unless you’re role playing a cannibal (eww!). Comprehension was selected at level 6 to give me an advantage when using skill mags and allows me to max out most skills at 80; whenever I need a skill higher than 80 I use a skill magazine. Gunslinger at level 8 was another role playing decision as Armand pretty much only uses That Gun. Finesse at level 10 because an extra critical chance is always nice and it fit with the role play aspect of Armand being a lucky kind of cowboy. I picked Cowboy at level 12 because it increased the damage of the weapons I’m using, I had to plan this one ahead of time and throw a bunch of skill points into melee at level 11 to meet the 45 melee point requirement. Toughness at level 14 because cowboys are always tough! Also had this idea in my head of running around in a Sheriffs coat and hat for most of the game; yeh… that dream ended when a Deathclaw handed me my ass in two swings! I picked the Action Boy perk for levels 16 and 18 and Grim Reaper’s Sprint at 20 because I prefer to be in VATS. Toughness at level 22 because cowboys are tough (I told you this already, geesh!) Center of Mass at level 22 because +15% damage is +15% damage. I took Intense Training at level 26 and added one Strength to make up for a poor primary stat decision. That Gun needs a 6 Strength to function at maximum capacity, I also wanted to trade in my fully modified Cowboy Repeater for a much more powerful Brush Gun. I could have taken the Weapon Handling perk but increasing Strength allowed me to carry a little bit more and increased my melee damage as well (I’d been using a combat knife on the weaker hostile denizens of the wasteland ever since I picked up the Cowboy perk, no sense in wasting good ammo on a dumb ass.) At level 28 I picked Commando to give me an edge in VATS with the Brush Gun in ranged fights. At level 30 I will probably pick Adamantium Skeleton but I may change my mind.
Skill point allocation – I didn’t keep a detailed record of what skills I allocated points to and when. I concentrated on Guns, Speech and Lockpick first and raised the others when I needed to. I threw a bunch of points into melee at levels 11 & 12 so I could get the Cowboy perk. I raised Medicine when I was at Nellis and couldn’t bare the thought of not being able to save one of the sick Boomers. I raised Medicine some more when I was on Veronica’s quest in an abandoned irradiated Vault. I got Repair up to 50 fast so I could make Weapon Repair Kits easier thus eliminating the need for Jury Rigging (hint: pick up every duct tape and scrap electronics you see).
So there you have it, that’s my toon at level 29. As I stated before not scavenging your Charisma is a good thing. It makes your allies that much stronger and a lot more dependable in a fire fight. There is no need to make such drastic base stat decisions when you create your toon. Rolling a balanced character will not hinder your progress in any way during the game. Your only major concern at character creation is what combat skill will your character be focused on; if you’re making a Gunslinger then Agility will be important, if you’re making a Martial Artist then Strength will be your priority.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES The following sites offer more extensive help for the game.
New Vegas: Character Building Guide, Part 3
Welcome to part 3 of my Fallout: New Vegas Character Building Guide. Click here for part 1 which covers S.P.E.C.I.A.L. points allocation and Traits and click here for part 2 which covers Skills and Perks.
WARNING! – while I am not providing specific plot spoilers I will be hinting at future events in the game that you may not have come across yet. Think of this guide as a good parental figure who gives you some valuable worldly advice before sending you on your way.
CRAFTING
Initially crafting can be interesting and cool. Eventually it just becomes tedium. This is true for any RPG, not just New Vegas. Here are a few good recipes to help you along in your travels.
- Doctor’s Bag – Medicine Skill 40, forceps (1), medical brace (1), scalpel (1), surgical tubing (1)
- Stimpak – Science Skill 70, Broc flower(1), empty syringe(1), Xander root(1)
- Super Stimpak – Science Skill 90, leather belt (1), mutfruit (1), Nuka-Cola (1), Stimpak (1)
- Weapon Repair Kit – Repair Skill 50, Duct Tape (1), Scrap Electronics (1), Scrap Metal (2), Wonderglue (1), Wrench (1)
- Mass Purified Water – Survival Skill 50, dirty water (5), glass pitcher (2), surgical tubing (1) Note: glass pitchers and surgical tubing are reusable.
- Cactus Water – Survival Skill 30, Prickly pear fruit (2), Empty soda bottle (1)
- Desert Salad – Survival Skill 55, Brahmin steak (1), Barrel cactus fruit (1), Pinyon Nuts (1)
CLOSING ARGUMENTS: THE CASE FOR NOT SCAVENGING YOUR CHARISMA
The first wasteland courier I rolled followed conventional wisdom. I gave him a 1 Charisma, 8 Intelligence, raised guns ASAP, etc., but as I neared entering the city of New Vegas for the first time I started to feel uncomfortable with this character. I was shooting my way out of everything. He was boring me. So I rerolled.
S-4. P-4, E-7, C-6, I-7, A-5, L-7. Tagged: Guns, Speech, Survival. Traits: Small Frame, Four Eyes. I made Strength a low 4 because I planned on getting my first companion right away to help me carry things, I’ll get the Strength implant when I come across it and probably the Strong Back perk at some point. I also don’t plan on using any really big guns with this guy (he’s more of a gunslinger). I used my trait selections to compensate for low Perception and Agility and I tagged Survival instead of Repair because I’m playing in Hardcore mode. When I hit level 2 I selected the Lady Killer perk and allocated my skill points to guns and speech evenly. This character is a bit harder to play than my first roll, I have to be a bit more careful when considering combat options and I’ve found myself outside of VATS (free-firing) more than I’d like to be. Maybe I should’ve gone with a 6 Agility and a 6 Luck. Either way, I’m finding this character more immersive than my last one. One thing for sure, my companions are significantly more powerful with the higher Charisma, significantly more powerful.
A TIP FOR RUNNING WITH MULTIPLE CHARACTERS
If you have more than one hard drive (like a USB drive) hooked up to your 360 and want to play through the game with a couple of different characters but you are afraid of overwriting one character’s save with the other one. You can save the second character to a different drive and that will keep the save history separate for each character.
- New Vegas Character Building Guide Addendum: covers my thought process while leveling my character.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
The following sites offer more extensive help for the game.
New Vegas: Character Building Guide, Part 2
Welcome to part 2 of my Fallout: New Vegas Character Building Guide. Click here for part 1 which covers S.P.E.C.I.A.L. points allocation and Traits.
WARNING! – while I am not providing specific plot spoilers I will be hinting at future events in the game that you may not have come across yet. Think of this guide as a good parental figure who gives you some valuable worldly advice before sending you on your way.
SKILLS
These choices should be made based on how you want to role play your character. There are certain level requirements to crafting some useful items in the game. A Medical skill of 40 for a Medical Bag. A Repair skill of 50 is needed to make Weapon Repair Kits, the only thing that will repair That Gun, a gun modeled on Rick Deckard’s PKD Blaster. You’ll need a Science skill of 70 to craft Stimpaks. You’ll need to consider these things while leveling up.
It’s probably a good idea to get your primary weapon skill up to about 50 right quick, especially if you intend to blast your way out of difficult situations. Speech will be just as important if you’re planning on being a little more diplomatic on your adventures. Sneak can remain low for most gunslingers. With a rifle and a fairly safe distance you can get the sneak attack critical hit more often than not and if a task requires you to be really stealthy there are always Stealthboys. There are a lot of mines being planted in the apocalypse so boosting Explosives a bit ain’t such a bad idea. Barter will get you better deals but getting bottle caps has not been much of an issue for me. The other skills are more important. Lockpick can be raised casually so long as you don’t mind leaving behind an unopened safe or two. It’s been my experience that most of the safes I have opened weren’t worth the use of a skill magazine.
All this is arbitrary, raise the skills that best resemble the type of character you are role playing. Stealth was not an issue for me but if you’re playing a Ninja or an Assassin it will be important to you. As for what 3 skills you should tag at creation, I would suggest following conventional wisdom a little. Your primary weapon skill should always be tagged (there’s a lot of hostility in the wasteland). Survival is good to tag if you plan on going hardcore. Speech is another good consideration as is Lockpick if you just can’t stand to leave an unopened safe behind.
Remember that magazines will raise the skill temporarily by 10 (20 if you take the Comprehension perk). What skills you choose to work on will reflect the type of apocalyptic wanderer you are role playing. Immerse yourself in the character and you’ll have much more fun.
PERKS
I won’t go into all the Perks, that would make this guide excessively long. As with skills you want to pick Perks that reflect the type of character you’re role playing. That being said there are some must have Perks and others that are not worth the Perk slot. Selecting Perks that compensate for character creation shortcomings is a good idea, like Rapid Reload to compensate a low Agility or Strong Back to make up for having low Strength.
Getting Comprehension and–more importantly–Educated early in the game will give you a skill point edge while leveling, especially important if you chose to not stack your Intelligence at character creation. Getting the Lady Killer and or Confirmed Bachelor (or their female counterparts) Perks early will make sure you have access to all possible dialog options right from the beginning of the game.
I found the Hand Loader perk to be a waste of a slot ( I actually got to level 11 with a character and reloaded to my level 10 save and selected Gunslinger instead). Ammunition is pretty common in the wasteland and I’m making decent enough ammo without it. Vigilant Recycler would probably be a good perk for an Energy Weapon user, I’ve equipped one of my companions with a couple of laser guns and she’s going through ammo like mad. Retention is a waste as well, if you need a skill magazine raise to last longer then it’s probably prudent to raise it with skill points faster. If you spend all your time in VATS like I do, Run ‘n Gun is useless as well. Unless you’re in a rush to get nowhere I don’t see the point in Here and Now.
- New Vegas: Character Building Guide, Part 3: Covers crafting and closing arguments.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
The following sites offer more extensive help for the game.
New Vegas: Character Building Guide, Part 1
This is not a walkthrough. This is not an all encompassing guide. This short FAQ is meant to get you started in the wasteland with a character that YOU want to play. My character building philosophy revolves around the RP in RPG standing for Role Playing not Raw Pwnage. This isn’t Black Ops, it’s not about who has the most kills and who won the most games of Caravan. This game is about getting lost in a vast wasteland of apocalyptic horror and, somewhat ironically, having a good time.
WARNING! – while I am not providing specific plot spoilers I will be hinting at future events in the game that you may not have come across yet. Think of this guide as a good parental figure who gives you some valuable worldly advice before sending you on your way.
S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Points Allocation
Conventional wisdom would have you sacrifice your Charisma stat for the sake of allocating those points elsewhere. If you’re the “uber” character building type who intends to blast a path through the game you will want to do this. Intelligence is of greater importance as it determines the amount of skill points you get each level. I’m personally not too comfortable going through life with the personality of a rabid rat. Imagine if Malcolm Reynolds or James T. Kirk had a 1 Charisma? The possible character interactions you can get with a higher Charisma may be worth it for the added story depth or not if you intend to role play Humongus from The Road Warrior and be a sadistic shit to all the NPC(s), a perfectly viable role playing option. If you don’t plan on using any big guns or boxing your way through the game then Strength is another sacrificial lamb. You’ll have companions traveling with you soon enough to help you carry your hard earned loot. If you plan on using only small firearms during the game you can keep your Agility a lukewarm 5 or 6 (you can even make it 4 and get it to 5 with the Small Frame Trait at the sacrifice of weaker limbs which, honestly, is not that big of a deal even in hardcore mode). There are Perks to compensate for slow reload/draw speed and one handed firearms use less Action Points. Endurance is important in any RPG, I would not go less than 5 here but keep in mind that later on in the game you will be afforded the chance to get implants that will bolster your base stats by 1; the number of implants you can get will be based on your base Endurance score (End 6 = 6 implants). Perception can be sacrificed if you plan on roaming the wasteland with a robot companion. I have noticed a viable difference between a character’s criticals with low Luck and a character with higher Luck.
All that being said most consider Intelligence to be priority and will set it as high as 8 to get the skill point advantage early on in the game. The school of thought being that it is better to raise the skills themselves rather than their governing attributes and they are right. But these are the same people that will whine about the game being too easy even on the hardest difficulty.
TRAITS
Wild Wasteland makes a second play through much more intriguing and contains a special treat for Energy Weapon users. Built to Destroy’s +3% critical is good to have and the extra equipment decay can easily be compensated by a good Repair skill. Considering the high cost of NPC repairs all your characters should end up with a high Repair skill. Fast Shot makes you less accurate, you shoot more quickly and more often in VATS but what’s the point if you can’t hit the broad side of a barn? Four Eyes is better if you actively search out a specific pair of glasses in the game (this quest line will require you to be a somewhat nefarious character) but is also good to scavenge a point off of Perception to place elsewhere. Good Natured increases your communication and problem solving skills at a minor cost to your combat skills, not a bad choice if your role playing a diplomat (there are better choices). Heavy Handed is a good choice for a melee character, a little less damage on the occasional critical hit in exchange for more damage on normal and more frequent hits is kind of a no brainer. The 10 extra Action Points Kamikaze gives you will not make or break your character, neither will the -2 Damage Threshold. Loose Cannon will allow you to throw dynamite faster but not as far. So much for the bravery of being out of range, eh? Small Frame’s +1 Agility at the expense of weaker limbs is a fair tradeoff even in Hardcore mode. Trigger Discipline is Fast Shot’s more viable brother. Greater accuracy is a good thing but for me, as I spend most of my combat in VATS, the higher Action Point cost would deter me from using this trait on any character builds.
- New Vegas: Character Building Guide, Part 2: Covers Skills and Perks.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
The following sites offer more extensive help for the game.
