HELP WANTED: Mojave Express Couriers!! !!

Post Reply New Topic

How are you planning to play Fallout: New Vegas?

Are you gonna try Hardcore Mode? If so, do you have any special strategies in mind?

What about factions?

Will you side with NCR, Caesar’s Legion, or Mr. House?

Or, will you try to play the factions against one another and take power for yourself?

I’m definitely gonna play Hardcore Mode. In my first game, I think I’ll give an extra point or two to strength and tag either melee or unarmed along with small guns and sneak. I also plan to take the “wild wastelands” trait for extra random encounters and maximum Easter eggs!

As far as alliances go, I think I’ll help the Vegas Indies, at least until I have a better idea about who shot me and why… Then I’ll either continue to help Mr. House or I’ll just play the spoiler...

I'm not sure how F NV will work so I'm not completely sure How I'll play my stats. If it is the same S.P.E.C.I.A.L. system like in F3 I'll probably strip Charisma to 1 so I can put 9-10 in Intelligence (I do this in F3 and the only backhand of doing this is buying ammo costs twice as much as it should other than that I see no real issue with no charisma as I never tried using persuasion)... Mostly because I like having tons of skill points on a level up and also because of role playing as an aspie lol.

I will try Hardcore first but I don't know a great build for Hardcore. I've heard strength is good for melee weaponry as ammo will likely be scarce. So I don't know how to build my character at this point as I can't currently use trial and error. My F3 character I just started seems very capable but I feel like it might not be strong enough for a Hardcore build. I started with. S=4, P=9, E=4, C=1, I=9, A=9, and L=4. Realistically my character feels specialized. I kick human ass sneaking around with my Blackhawk .44 Magnum which does over 55 Damage with a 100 in small arms and keeping it in top condition with a 100 in repair... but I can also see Death claws not dying very fast with a revolver so I also have a Gatling gun for beast encounters... although my Heavy Weapons is very low at 25.

Honestly to GoonSquad... what will you start with since you seem to already know what's good? I know I want to be able to sneak to get the drop on or avoid encounters, but I don't know what else I'll really want to have. I played on Very Hard mode when I was working on hitting lvl 30 (On a previous character) and I could kill raiders fairly well, but deathclaws were next to impossible to take down. I find myself currently trying to Max my favorite things out, but realize I can't max them all. I guess if I can max out 5 I'd probably pick Sneak, Small Weapons, Heavy Weapons, Repair, and Lockpicking or Melee... I play as a tactical weapons specialist. What do you suggest?

^^^ Honestly, I don't know what will make for a great/powerful/effective character in F NV, but I don't think it will be the same as in FO3.

I get the impression that the character system has been rebalanced to be much more like it was back in FO2.

I do know that weapons, especially advanced weapons, will have a skill and strength check.

According to J. E. Sawyer (lead designer) "Humans don't wield miniguns in real life...Superheroes only! If you don't meet the requirements, the weapon will either be less accurate or your attacks will be slower. The top-tier weapons in the game have a 100 skill requirement (e.g. the AMR, Gatling Laser)."

I also get the idea, thanks to "damage threshold," that ammo types will have a huge impact on combat (as in FO2).


As far as other S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats go, Sawyer also says " Having a high Charisma in F:NV gives Nerve (combat bonuses) to your companions" and I have to think with the emphasis on factional politics it will be very important in NPC interactions as well...


Over all, I think F NV is going to be a much more complex/challenging game than FO3. For my first attempt, I'm going to try a balanced character with a skill emphasis on stealth, small guns, and survival and see how things pan out.

Here's some good info from The Vault <-click


PS
From what I've been reading, I don't think your current FO3 character/tactics would be successful in New Vegas-- STR-4 + 25 skill + Gatling gun will not compute!

Yeah I don't think the gatling gun computes right now either. Heavy guns is endurance and I realized Heavy weapons are dreadful with my build, but stealth and small weapons still work very well... still have the problems with fighting deathclaws though >_<

I think I'll probably play around with character creation for a little while when NV finally comes out. I have a tendency to plan out how a character will be before I even start (If I don't I have a tendency to play for 9 hours and then restart a new character because I feel like I screwed up later). It sounds cool that they will be changing how the game works and how you use weapons to your stats and whatnot though. I just hope they fix the manual aim system. I don't really get having a sniper scope in F3 and not having hits register... I suppose it could be a bad die roll but I've had it happen to an extent that feels more like bad mechanics. I heard you say they were adding iron sights so that sounds nice. Again with the little green arrow reticule there's so many times I take a perfect shot only to have it hit nothing because the sight hadn't turned red yet... I guess. I'll Probably try a well rounded build as well then if all of the stats have a purpose in NV. I'll probably stick with my small weapons and stealth too... as it sounds preferable to trying to be good with all weapons... and failing at it.

Hardcore mode sounds a lot like FWE for F3. Since I've been playing that lately, it shouldn't feel too much of a stretch so I might try it in hardcore mode.

I haven't really decided how I'll play it yet, but knowing me, I'll probably act as a stealth sniper as I usually end up becoming. Either headshots or destroying enemy guns. I hope they still have the Dart Gun as it was essential for dealing with stronger baddies. I will miss that Chinese Stealth Armor though...

I read the link that was posted for the vault thing and this game sounds more interesting now. It sounds much more complex than I thought. I figured they would just make a game off of F3 since it's only been two years since 3, but it seems like a more complex system. I like

I will definitely spend a bit of time in character creation in F NV to see what I like the most... as it doesn't seem like creation will be as obvious as F3. I think I'll play tactically as I always do... I kinda play as a sneaky sniper taking long range over close quarters... but that's just what bugs me is I'm not sure what would work good for Close Quarters on Hardcore mode. In Fallout 3 it seems you can just pull out any gun and use it. The new system would seem you would need to be well rounded or much more well prepared... Cool I like challenges

This game reads like the perfect blend of New (3D engine) and Old (more complex game play) Fallout. I hope Obsidian pulls it off.

Other things to consider during character creation include which companions you plan to travel with later.

For better or worse, I think I'm going to use this character for my first hardcore game....

Name: Helmen “Hell” Tanner

Occupation: (former) Farm boy, Gecko skinner, Caravan Guard.
(current) Lead Dealer.

Tagged Skills: Guns, Survival, Repair.

Gender/Race: Male/Native American

Age: 30 (at game time)

Traits: Wild Wasteland, Four eyed

SPECIAL
S:6
P:5
E:5
C:5
I:8
A:6
L:5

ORIGIN STORY...

By 14 Tanner was the man of the family, helping his mother wring a living out of their small homestead on the outskirts of New Arroyo. A natural outdoorsman and dead shot with a pistol, Hell supplemented the family income by gecko hunting and guarding the occasional caravan or Brahmin drive.

After 5 years, family obligations are beginning to weigh heavy on Tanner. On a caravan trip back from Shady he resolves to tell Ma he’s leaving, heading north to try his luck in Canada. After all, he thinks, Beth is nearly grown at 15, and at 11, the twins Molly and Max can handle most chores on the farm…

As he approaches the house, he steels his nerves for the inevitable fight. He sees Ma in the doorway. He waves but she doesn’t wave back. There’s something strange about the way she’s…. not standing. Closer now, Tanner can see her, head down, clothes torn (half-naked), shoulders unnaturally hunched as she leans against the door.

He runs forward. She isn’t leaning. She’s pinned to the door with rusty spikes driven through her shoulders. Carefully, Tanner pries the spikes loose and carries his mother into the house, stepping over dead raiders in the front room.

As Tanner lays Ma on her bed, she stirs, coughs blood and whispers, “They took ‘em.”

“I’ll get ‘em back.”

Ma closes her eyes but a tear escapes, “…too late.” She opens her hand to reveal a key. As Tanner takes it, she grips his hand, “You kill those bastards for me boy. Ya hear me?” Then she goes slack, staring at the ceiling.

Tanner uses the key on the iron clad cedar chest in the corner. He takes the old blue jumpsuit, heavy with the piecemeal armor stitched into it, the old pistol and the canteen… Darkness falls as he walks into the wasteland, backlit by the blazing ranch house.


The trail was easy to pickup; the kids were leaving clues. By dusk of the third day, he was above their camp. Looked like three raiders and he could see Beth too, sitting by the fire.

As two of the ragged, dirty men passed a bottle the third grabbed Beth a drug her toward the tent. Tanner knew he couldn’t wait any longer. Silently, Tanner crawled to the tent, slit the back panel and entered. In the dim light, he saw the raider on top of his sister who remained quiet and motionless as she met his gaze. Tanner drew his old pistol and brought the butt down on the raider’s skull with all his might. As Beth pushed the unconscious man off her a voice from without broke the silence.

“Hey, save some of that for me,” slurred one of the bottle passers as the tent flaps parted.

Purely on instinct, Tanner whirled and fired. The man fell as the contents of his skull blew out the back of his head and painted the campsite in gory crimson. Just then, Tanner feels a searing pain in his right foot. He looks down to see the side of his boot sliced open, a heavy, rusty blade resting between his foot and his outer big toe.

“Damn you b***h!” cries the machete-wielding raider from behind, as Beth brains him with a rock and he falls motionless once again.

Tanner looks up from his bloody foot to see the muzzle of a grease gun poke in through the flap. He ducks and rolls as the tent jerks and dances to the beat of automatic gunfire followed by a click. He takes a knee and pumps three shots into the greaser’s chest as the drunken man stares stupidly at his jammed weapon.

Once again, the hardheaded raider stirs. Tanner turns pointing his pistol, “Crawl outside.” Then to Beth he says, “Stay in here.”

The Raider sits legs out by the fire. Tanner puts a bullet in his right knee. When the man stops screaming Tanner asks, “Where are the little ones?” Keeping his pistol on the man, he kneels next to the fire and puts his knife blade between the coals.

“The boy thought he was tough, but he was nice and tender after I boiled him…,” laughs the raider, hand on his bleeding knee.

Tanner betrays no emotion, “and the girl?”

“Too young for my tastes. I sold her to a caravan bound for Utah. They like ‘em young down there.”

Tanner takes the knife from the fire and presses the glowing blade to the bloody stump on the side of his foot. He stares coldly at the raider as flesh sizzles and the wound cauterizes.

“You owe me some boots…” Tanner lifts the blade and moves toward the rapist/cannibal, “…hold still.”

The raider screams and flops as Tanner’s hot knife flays the skin from his body. Near the end, he grows still and silent.

The trip to Shady Sands is uneventful. Tanner uses his “goin’ north stake” to buy his sister an apprenticeship with a veterinarian who works for the stockmen’s association. He sticks around town, mostly getting drunk while waiting for the cordovan to finish his work.

With his gear finally finished, Tanner signs up with a caravan bound for Utah. On his way out of town, he catches an old man covered in Khan Tattoos sizing him up. As Tanner meets his stare, the old bandit, noting the familiar markings, says, “Nice boots,” and meekly walks away.

Of course. Unless it requires eating and drinking at an anatomically unlikely rate, which I suspect it will, so I'll turn that bit off if there's the option.

General strategy for the game will be: explore, walk everywhere.

^^^ As far as I know, a game day is about 48 minutes.

My guess is that you'll have to eat, drink and sleep every 45 minutes to an hour real time or lose health and suffer penalties to SPECIAL stats.

Oh yeah... I almost forgot about that. I'm so used to the near real time in FWE that that will probably throw me off going back to the fast time frame. Could always alter that in the PC version through the console though.

I've been practicing in FWE for hardcore mode, managing my inventory and pretty much keeping it light and learning how to stealth kill enemies with melee attacks to save on ammo and health. (Unless I happen to get some good silenced guns) I've done pretty well so i feel ready for hardcore mode.

I'm going to do my best to go vanilla on my first play through. Maybe if there's a good graphic or performance upgrade mod I'll consider trying it out, but I'll save the game altering mods for my next play through. I imagine the mods are going to come pretty quick for NV since it's the same engine and most of F3 mods would just have to be converted over.

Hardcore mode sounds intriguing. Almost like a survival sim for those of us who don't play Minecraft.

I think hardcore mode and custom ammo will be the best (most interesting) parts of the game.

I'm also going to try playing without VATS and limit weapon skills to guns with melee as a backup.

Another interesting feature is disguise...

According to what I've been reading, simply wearing the armor/clothes of hostile factions will allow you to infiltrate their bases.

The disguise won't work on high level sentries or dogs but it might make SNEAK a bit less important in some cases.