DwayneGAnd
Look, Ma! Two Heads!
For quite some time now, I've been making characters taking Gifted and either Small Frame or Fast Shot, depending on whether or not I want to make targeted shots with my character. I max my Luck with my ranged characters so that every shot becomes critical with Sniper. With Hand to Hand builds, I only need 6 Luck because Slayer makes every hit a critical. I have Agility maxed by endgame for maximum action points, Strength for maximum melee damage if making a melee character, and Intelligence for maximum skill points. I have 8 Perception by endgame for Sniper or just 6 for Slayer. In Fallout 1, I dump Charisma completely and try to have reasonable level of Endurance for high hit points. In Fallout 2, I try to maintain a level of Charisma that will allow me to have two followers, since that is all I can afford with the leftover points I put into Charisma. Whenever I play a dimwit, I set my intelligence low enough so that I can still get a bonus to the stat without become 'smart'.
As I said long ago, I'm a perfectionist who doesn't want to feel like he's wasting points, whether in skills or stats. Yet for months now, I've ended up deleting characters without finishing the game with them because I feel like they are not living up to their full potential. In recent characters I played the first game with, I tried investing in skills I've never used before such as Sneak, Throwing, and Barter. While Barter was useful for lowering the prices of very expensive items, I've been told that Sneak and Throwing are useless due to Sneak still having high failure rates and the lack of situations it could be useful for, and Throwing due to the limited number of grenades in the game, the only weapon actually worth using with that skill. The last Hand to Hand character I tried was very weak until I could gain access to the Super Sledge due to many early weapons in Melee or Unarmed categories were weaker than the early guns you could find.
Also, I'm the kind the player of doesn't like to rely on drugs to qualify for perks because that feels like cheating (unless I'm playing a dimwit because they need the Intelligence to get Bonus Rate of Fire). The trick of switching to Hard mode before reading skill books, or switching to easy whenever you need to pass certain checks, feels like cheating to me too. I feel like I need to set my stats to what I need plus the implants in order to qualify for perks, because anything higher feels like a waste. Except for Intelligence, Agility, and Luck due to higher skill points, action points, and chance of critical hits. I often take the exact same path through the game, doing the same things, saying the same things, and shunning evil deeds if I am playing good. I tend to tag the same skills: Small Guns (or Melee Weapons if making a melee character), Lockpick, and Speech. In the second game, I take Tag and use it for a second combat skill to develop, because Small Guns aren't as powerful endgame as Energy Weapons or Big Guns, and Unarmed doesn't knock your foe backward as certain Melee Weapons do.
Also, another reason for not using drugs to qualify for perks is that if I set my stats low enough to the point where I need both the implant and a drug, my character may suffer, such as a ranged character with a Perception of only 5, which could hamper his long range fighting abilities.
I tend to carry at least two weapons, both a one handed weapon and a two handed weapon, such as a pistol and a rifle if going ranged. The pistol is good for ammo conservation, especially if using burst fire weapons such as miniguns.
In Fallout 2, I tend to go to Navarro early way before the Enclave has invaded Arroyo to get Power Armor. But this feels like throwing the story out of balance. The last time I did this, I couldn't kill Xarn as an evil character.
If playing a dimwit, I tend to use mentats to gain entry to the Brotherhood, get Power Armor and harden it, getting the implants, getting Bonus Rate of Fire, getting the car, having Gomorah, Stables, and the EPA put on my map.
Now however, I fee like I am stuck between a rock and a hard place because the players on the Steam Community for the first two games have advice that constrasts from what certain players on this forum have suggested. They say that you don't need to take Gifted to make a truly great character, nor do you need to max Luck or Intelligence.
Here are some things that I tend to do when playing the first game:
-Grind levels at the Deathclaw Warehouse until I hit 21. If going ranged, the best weapon for this task is the Alien Blaster due to its very high damage, low action point cost, and the 20% bonus to accuracy it grants. If going melee, I use the Super Sledge.
-After Junktown, I go to the Brotherhood and get the Glow Quest. I go to Adytum and pick up Katja and get Rad-x and other items from the Followers. Then I go to the Glow, loot everything, then go back to the Brotherhood. Doing all this gives me the chance to get better equipment so I'll be better prepared to handle the mutants at the Watershed in Necropolis.
-If playing evil, I hold off on evil karma quests until I have gained access to the Brotherhood and all merchants are willing to trade with me, otherwise it would affect my dealings with them.
-Wait until I have Brotherhood or Power Armor and better weapons before dealing with Decker, rescue the initiate, and help Irwin. This is due to the difficulty of accomplishing these tasks and the enemies you fight.
For the second game:
-If playing evil, wait until I gained access to Vault 13 and gotten the GECK before racking up the evil karma. This is due to the evil solution for many early quests being difficult, such as helping the people of Modoc attack the Ghost Farm, blowing up the Gecko reactor, and bounty hunters can be difficult to fight without more advanced armor and weapons.
-After finishing everything else in the game, I level up in the area above San Francisco and to the west of EPA to gain levels until I am ready for the Oil Rig.
-Since it's practically impossible to gain entrance to the Sierra Army Depot as a melee character, I tend to have Intelligence maxed when I start out.
-Some deeds I do even if playing evil, such as getting the kids off the Den streets, helping Nagor rescue his dog, killing the rat god, clearing out the super mutants in the military base, the raiders at the raider base, or the raiders in Valut 15 because I need the experience for completing those quests.
-If playing an evil character, I pass the Vault City Test to gain entry to the vault and the combat implants, unless I'm melee so I'll be forced to fix the power plant to gain citizenship.
My questions are:
-Is there something I need to be doing differently?
-Do I need to have Luck maxed for ranged builds to have the highest critical chance?
-How much will my character suffer if I set my stats low enough to need both implants and drugs to qualify for perks?
-Is there even a point to making Hand to Hand characters if they start off much weaker than ranged fighters and take time to reach their full strength?
-If you can get bonuses to your Melee Weapons and Unarmed skills, should you make a character that uses both ranged and melee, or should you focus only on one style?
-Should I still invest in Throwing, Sneak, and Barter?
-Do ranged characters need to max their Strength by endgame just for the carry weight?
-Which is better: maxing Perception or investing in Endurance?
-Should I even get implants in Fallout 2 as a dimwit?
-Should I start with 3 Intelligence if I play as a dimwit or can I go lower?
-Should I wait to go to Navarro?
-Is there any point to being evil at all if there are so many enemies that you gain karma for killing?
-What karma path should I follow as a dimwit? Is there a point to being good if there aren't that many quests for you to do?
As I said long ago, I'm a perfectionist who doesn't want to feel like he's wasting points, whether in skills or stats. Yet for months now, I've ended up deleting characters without finishing the game with them because I feel like they are not living up to their full potential. In recent characters I played the first game with, I tried investing in skills I've never used before such as Sneak, Throwing, and Barter. While Barter was useful for lowering the prices of very expensive items, I've been told that Sneak and Throwing are useless due to Sneak still having high failure rates and the lack of situations it could be useful for, and Throwing due to the limited number of grenades in the game, the only weapon actually worth using with that skill. The last Hand to Hand character I tried was very weak until I could gain access to the Super Sledge due to many early weapons in Melee or Unarmed categories were weaker than the early guns you could find.
Also, I'm the kind the player of doesn't like to rely on drugs to qualify for perks because that feels like cheating (unless I'm playing a dimwit because they need the Intelligence to get Bonus Rate of Fire). The trick of switching to Hard mode before reading skill books, or switching to easy whenever you need to pass certain checks, feels like cheating to me too. I feel like I need to set my stats to what I need plus the implants in order to qualify for perks, because anything higher feels like a waste. Except for Intelligence, Agility, and Luck due to higher skill points, action points, and chance of critical hits. I often take the exact same path through the game, doing the same things, saying the same things, and shunning evil deeds if I am playing good. I tend to tag the same skills: Small Guns (or Melee Weapons if making a melee character), Lockpick, and Speech. In the second game, I take Tag and use it for a second combat skill to develop, because Small Guns aren't as powerful endgame as Energy Weapons or Big Guns, and Unarmed doesn't knock your foe backward as certain Melee Weapons do.
Also, another reason for not using drugs to qualify for perks is that if I set my stats low enough to the point where I need both the implant and a drug, my character may suffer, such as a ranged character with a Perception of only 5, which could hamper his long range fighting abilities.
I tend to carry at least two weapons, both a one handed weapon and a two handed weapon, such as a pistol and a rifle if going ranged. The pistol is good for ammo conservation, especially if using burst fire weapons such as miniguns.
In Fallout 2, I tend to go to Navarro early way before the Enclave has invaded Arroyo to get Power Armor. But this feels like throwing the story out of balance. The last time I did this, I couldn't kill Xarn as an evil character.
If playing a dimwit, I tend to use mentats to gain entry to the Brotherhood, get Power Armor and harden it, getting the implants, getting Bonus Rate of Fire, getting the car, having Gomorah, Stables, and the EPA put on my map.
Now however, I fee like I am stuck between a rock and a hard place because the players on the Steam Community for the first two games have advice that constrasts from what certain players on this forum have suggested. They say that you don't need to take Gifted to make a truly great character, nor do you need to max Luck or Intelligence.
Here are some things that I tend to do when playing the first game:
-Grind levels at the Deathclaw Warehouse until I hit 21. If going ranged, the best weapon for this task is the Alien Blaster due to its very high damage, low action point cost, and the 20% bonus to accuracy it grants. If going melee, I use the Super Sledge.
-After Junktown, I go to the Brotherhood and get the Glow Quest. I go to Adytum and pick up Katja and get Rad-x and other items from the Followers. Then I go to the Glow, loot everything, then go back to the Brotherhood. Doing all this gives me the chance to get better equipment so I'll be better prepared to handle the mutants at the Watershed in Necropolis.
-If playing evil, I hold off on evil karma quests until I have gained access to the Brotherhood and all merchants are willing to trade with me, otherwise it would affect my dealings with them.
-Wait until I have Brotherhood or Power Armor and better weapons before dealing with Decker, rescue the initiate, and help Irwin. This is due to the difficulty of accomplishing these tasks and the enemies you fight.
For the second game:
-If playing evil, wait until I gained access to Vault 13 and gotten the GECK before racking up the evil karma. This is due to the evil solution for many early quests being difficult, such as helping the people of Modoc attack the Ghost Farm, blowing up the Gecko reactor, and bounty hunters can be difficult to fight without more advanced armor and weapons.
-After finishing everything else in the game, I level up in the area above San Francisco and to the west of EPA to gain levels until I am ready for the Oil Rig.
-Since it's practically impossible to gain entrance to the Sierra Army Depot as a melee character, I tend to have Intelligence maxed when I start out.
-Some deeds I do even if playing evil, such as getting the kids off the Den streets, helping Nagor rescue his dog, killing the rat god, clearing out the super mutants in the military base, the raiders at the raider base, or the raiders in Valut 15 because I need the experience for completing those quests.
-If playing an evil character, I pass the Vault City Test to gain entry to the vault and the combat implants, unless I'm melee so I'll be forced to fix the power plant to gain citizenship.
My questions are:
-Is there something I need to be doing differently?
-Do I need to have Luck maxed for ranged builds to have the highest critical chance?
-How much will my character suffer if I set my stats low enough to need both implants and drugs to qualify for perks?
-Is there even a point to making Hand to Hand characters if they start off much weaker than ranged fighters and take time to reach their full strength?
-If you can get bonuses to your Melee Weapons and Unarmed skills, should you make a character that uses both ranged and melee, or should you focus only on one style?
-Should I still invest in Throwing, Sneak, and Barter?
-Do ranged characters need to max their Strength by endgame just for the carry weight?
-Which is better: maxing Perception or investing in Endurance?
-Should I even get implants in Fallout 2 as a dimwit?
-Should I start with 3 Intelligence if I play as a dimwit or can I go lower?
-Should I wait to go to Navarro?
-Is there any point to being evil at all if there are so many enemies that you gain karma for killing?
-What karma path should I follow as a dimwit? Is there a point to being good if there aren't that many quests for you to do?