DwayneGAnd
Look, Ma! Two Heads!
I finally feel like I know how to make a great character in Fallout 3. So this thread will be used to give advice to other newbies, similar to another thread I made for making characters in Fallout 1 and 2. Right now I have yet to get the hang of Fallout Tactics, so I'll be skipping that game for now.
There are several changes in this game from previous Fallout games. For starters, there are no traits. Weapons have no strength requirement. They also have durability, meaning you can only fire them a certain number of times before they need to be repaired. Third, ammo has no weight. You can also max your SPECIAL stats and skills by level 30. And you get a perk on every level. You can get more perks for your character than you need.
Like previous games, there really aren't all that many perks that benefit different combat styles and weapon skills. In previous Fallout games, you could focus on being a long-range gunfighter or a melee warrior, choosing to specialize only in one due to level caps and certain perks. In Fallout 3, since you can max all skills, it is possible to specialize in both melee and ranged combat. It is recommended and more powerful and effective than focusing on one style. Because you can easily max all skills and your SPECIAL stats thanks to the increased level cap in Broken Steel and the Almost Perfect perk, as well as the near lack of specialization perks, there is no reason to specialize around one specific style. Why specialize when you can do everything?
Unlike the other Fallout games, and due to the way the game is made, the near-lack of specialization perks, and all the skill books, you can make a jack-of-all-trades character that can do anything and everything. The only variations, other than karmic alignment, are whether or not to be a perfectionist or not. You can be a perfectionist by taking Almost Perfect which raises all stats to 9, allowing you to go to 10 each by collecting the bobbleheads afterward.
It is also recommended that you use the VATS system in this game. VATS helps your accuracy but it can also reduce the damage you suffer from enemies. VATS also increases the damage you deal in melee combat and gives you a bonus to your critical chance. VATS also makes it easier to hit certain enemies with single-shot weapons. All characters can get some use out of VATS for one or more of these reasons, but it's mostly useful for increasing your critical chance, melee attack damage, accurately throwing grenades, or applying Paralyzing Palm. Certain weapons, such as automatics whether they be ranged or melee, due not perform well in VATS. Automatics can only deal critical damage once per burst in VATS and can cost a lot of APS to use. Weapons that fire off multiple projectiles, such as Shotguns, Tri-beam Laser Rifles, Metal Blaster, actually do less damage in VATS for this reason. Together with automatics, they are best used out of VATS.
Due to some of the more powerful weapons having low durability, it is not a good idea to focus on having one all-purpose weapon. Also, unlike in Fallout New Vegas where ammo can be crafted and recycled, ammo can only be bought or found in this game (conventional bullets can be crafted in the Pitt), so it is not a good idea to carry only one ammo type. Some of the more powerful weapons are not practical enough for all situations due to the rarity of ammo, low durability, uncommon spare weapons for maintainability, or carry weight concerns. Due to ammo having no weight and that tougher enemies appear at higher levels replacing weaker enemies, it is recommended that you carry a wide arsenal of weapons to deal with any opposition and situation. Carry a Gatling Laser for dealing with the toughest opposition such as Super Mutant Overlords, Ghoul Reavers, and Albino Radscorpions. Other methods of dealing with these enemies more easily involve using a weapon with a knockdown effect or applying Paralyzing Palm, though using Gatling Lasers is your best option. Another good weapon to carry is a scoped weapon for dealing with distant targets so you can snipe enemies from afar. Remember that Overlords deal extra unblockable damage to only you when they are using a Tri-beam Laser Rifle or the Super Sledge. The tribals and swampfolks in Point Lookout all deal bonus unblockable damage with their weapons as well. Against those enemies, especially Overlords with Tri-beam Laser Rifles of Super Sledges, it is recommended that you shoot at their weapon in VATS to disarm them.
No matter what, you should get the following perks:
Bloody Mess (increased damage)
Toughness (increased damage resistance)
Cyborg (increased damage resistance. The other bonuses just add an extra layer of frosting on the cake)
Iron Fist (increase unarmed damage, get all three ranks)
Strong Back (increased carry weight)
Silent Running (improved sneaking ability, which helps reduce the damage you may suffer)
Quantum Chemist (convert 10 Nuka-cola to Nuka quantum. Good for creating Nuka grenades)
Pyromaniac (increases the damage of weapons that inflict fire damage, one of which is the most powerful melee weapon in the game)
Entomologist (increased damage against mutated insects, including the Albino Scorpion, one of the toughest enemies in the game)
Robotics Expert (increased damage against robots which are plenty later in the game)
Black Widow/Lady Killer (good for increased damage against the opposite sex and new dialogue options)
Intense Training (increase a stat of your choice. You only need one rank and it is best used in Intelligence)
Action Boy/Girl (increased AP for VATS usage)
Grim Reaper's Sprint (fully replenish AP when making a kill in VATS)
Nerves of Steel (increase AP regeneration rate)
Paralyzing Palm (uses a special unarmed technique to stun your enemies for 30 seconds, making it easier to deal with them. Great for the toughest enemies.)
Demolition Expert (increases the damage of all explosives, except for the Nuka Grenade)
Finesse (increased critical chance)
Better Criticals (increased critical damage)
Ninja (increased critical chance and sneak attack damage with melee and unarmed weapons)
Gunslinger, Commando, Sniper, and Concentrated Fire can also be useful, but depending on your accuracy and how close you are, you might not even need them, though they can be useful for longer ranges. Big Guns are not affected by Gunslinger or Commando; weapons in that category perform poorly in VATS and have high AP costs. Nuka Grenades are the strongest grenades in the game, but they are not affected by Demolition Expert or Pyromaniac. I'm not sure if the Updated Unofficial Patch corrects this. Demolition Expert does affect Bottlecap Mines, which are great for setting traps.
If you want, at level 30 you can take Almost Perfect (which raises all stats to 9). To achieve a perfect 10 in all stats, wait until you take the perk before you collect the stat bobbleheads. There is a mod that can allow the perk to set a stat to 10 if you have already picked up the bobblehead.
Due to getting a perk at every level, there are far more perks than you need for your build. This is why it is so easy to make a character that effectively uses both melee and ranged combat attacks. There also aren't that many good perks past level 20. The only useful perks at level 2 are the gender perks and Intense Training, though Black Widow is more useful in combat due to the higher amount of male enemies, but only humans and non-feral ghouls are affected. You should only take one rank of Intense Training so you'll have more slots available for better perks. Make a list of all the perks you want so you won't run out of perk slots for the important perks you need for your build if you pick the other perks you want.
The best skills to raise at the start of the game are Small Guns, Lockpick, Sneak, Repair, and Science. Focus on raising a couple of skills per level, don't spread out your points too thinly over many skills. Big Guns and Energy Weapons are rare at the beginning of the game and become more available after the appearance of the Enclave at the Purifier. Melee Weapons and Unarmed are nowhere near as powerful as the strongest guns. Thus, they are mainly used for ammo conservation purposes against weaker enemies, applying Paralyzing Palm (with Unarmed only), and attacking foes when they are under the effect of Paralyzing Palm. Skill books can raise your skills by 2 points if you have Comprehension, so save any books you find until you get the perk. Also, I've read on the Fallout wikia that two skill books can respawn every three days due to a bug. One for Big Guns on the Raider Leader in the Bethesda ruins, and one for Science on the Ant Researched in Shalebridge, so you can take advantage of this bug to get an unlimited supply of books to limit the skill points you invest in Big Guns and Science (though you should still invest in Science because it is a more useful skill) unless, of course, you are using a mod that fixes this bug. Get important skills such as Repair, Lockpick, Science, Sneak, Medicine, and Small Guns at 50 as quickly as possible. Don't forget about Explosives for perks and disarming traps. Bobbleheads increase your skills by 10 each, you can get one per skill. Certain perks can also increase skills, but Cyborg and Silent Running are the only ones worth getting. Also, you can get a charm in Oasis that permanently increases Speech by 10 points if you pass a speech check with Sapling Yew or use the Child At Heart perk on her and then complete the quest without burning Harold.
Try to complete all optional objectives in the Wasteland Survival Guide quest to get the Survival Guru perk. The critical chance bonus and damage resistance is the best because critical chance is the hardest to raise and damage resistance is just as important. Even if you're going to follow the path of evil karma, these bonuses are far more useful than Dream Crusher.
When choosing weapons for your arsenal, choose those that deal high damage, are easy to repair and maintain and have good durability.
The best endgame armors in the game are the Ranger Battle Armor, Chinese Stealth Armor, and either T-51b Power Armor suit, normal or Winterized. The best endgame helmet is Ledoux's Hockey Mask which increases your AP count. The matching T-51b Power Helmets have the highest damage resistance of any helmet and are great to wear with the T-51b Power Armor suits for more damage resistance. These choices were made because of the availability of repair materials, damage resistance, and other bonuses. Chinese Stealth Armor is great due to the stealth field which makes you practically impossible to detect when sneaking, making it very easy to get sneak attack criticals in melee range. However, it cannot be worn with Ledoux's hockey mask in the Updated Unofficial Patch. Chinese Stealth Armor can be worn to make stealth kills easier, and you can switch to Ranger Battle Armor when you are out of stealth. When up against the toughest enemies, you can wear a suit of T-51b Power Armor for maximum damage resistance together with the matching helmet. Even with Almost Perfect, the Ranger Battle Armor is better than Power Armor because it gives you a few extra action points. Both suits of T-51b Power Armor (normal or winterized) that you find can now be repaired with Power Armor (normal or Outcast) with the Updated Unofficial Patch, but repair materials are much rarer than Combat Armor. It can be given to your companions together with the matching helmet because their equipment doesn't decay. Fawkes and Segeant RL-3 cannot wear armor. Wear Chinese Stealth Armor for increasing your sneaking ability and making easy sneak attack criticals, especially in melee range. Wear the Ranger Battle Armor out of stealth against mid-tier enemies. You can also use Med-X for more damage resistance which can help make wearing T-51b Power Armor redundant.
The Ghoul Mask can help make encounters with feral ghouls easier as wearing it turns them non-hostile. It can be worth carrying for this reason.
As in the previous games, Energy Weapons and Big Guns deal more damage than Small Guns endgame. Unarmed and Melee, despite their strength, are not as effective when up against enemies carrying long-range weapons. Explosives are good for dealing damage to mobs of enemies and Big Guns such as Gatling Lasers deal the most damage to the toughest foes. Small Guns are best early game, but they should be switched out by endgame for Energy Weapons and Big Guns. A scoped rifle can be good for extreme-range sniping. The best weapons for your endgame arsenal are the Reservist Rifle, Novasurge, A3-21 Plasma Rifle, Metal Blaster, Nuka Grenade, Bottlecap Mine, Shishkebab, Deathclaw Gauntlet, and Vengeance.
You'll need to rely on sneaking throughout much of the game whenever enemies are around or when you are indoors with nearby enemies. Sneak attack criticals are your best friend. Sneak attack criticals, with the right weapon, are one of the best ways to taking out tougher enemies. For the best damage with sneak attack criticals, Combat Shotguns and the unique Terrible Shotgun are the best weapons to inflict sneak attack critical damage in the Small Guns category as long as you are outside of VATS, due to the way damage is calculated in VATS. Outside of VATS, multiple projectile firing weapons such as Combat Shotguns and Tri-beam Laser Rifles inflict more damage because all projectiles have a chance to inflict critical damage, but in VATS, only one critical damage hit is registered.
The DLCs are easier to beat if you have high skills in Small Guns, or Energy weapons for Mothership Zeta. This is due to the fact that those are the weapon types most available in those dlcs. Melee weapons are also useful in the Pitt. Since you'll meet aliens with Inertia Fields that increase their resistance to physical damage in Mothership Zeta, bring at least one weapon that deals either fire damage or electrical damage, a flamethrower being the best choice. Still, you might want to tackle Mothership Zeta first to limit the number of aliens using those fields, otherwise, there will be too many and that will make the challenge very difficult. Save Point Lookout for last as it has the toughest challenge. But wait until your Science skill is at 75 before tackling Mothership Zeta. I find it a good idea to wait until you are past level 15 and found most of the skill bobbleheads before you tackle the DLCs as around this time you should be quite skilled enough to tackle most challenges. The best weapons to use throughout Mothership Zeta are the pistols and rifles used by the aliens due to the availability of ammo and repair materials. The best weapon to use throughout Point Lookout is the Lever Action Rifle and the unique variant Backwater Rifle due to availability or repair materials, critical chance, and damage. Outside of DLCs, you'll need to rely on merchants, especially the caravans to repair DLC-exclusive weapons.
Invest in the four caravans to upgrade them and you'll get gifts. Their repair abilities are also upgraded to among the highest in the game. Crazy Wolfgang, when invested in, has the highest repair skill of all npcs. Mothership Zeta has an item that can repair your weapon and you can stock up on it during the dlc. At the end, there is a random chance you can get more of them from talking to Sally every twenty-four hours, you can return to and from the ship to get them.
If planning to take Almost Perfect, don't pick up any of the stat bobbleheads until after you get Almost Perfect. If you plan to detonate the bomb in Megaton, get the Strength bobblehead and then wait until you get the perk to get Ant Might. You'll mainly be setting your stats to qualify for the recommended perks and/or to make certain responses during the Wasteland Survival Guide, no more, the only bonuses you'll be getting until the perk are the Lesko injection and from equipment. On the other hand, if you've installed a mod that allows you to have 10 in a stat after getting Almost Perfect if you found the bobblehead, you can collect the bobbleheads as soon as you find them.
Unlike previous games, you can no longer use chems to qualify for perks.
According to my notes, here is how to set your SPECIAL stats, assuming you don't have non-canon mods installed:
Strength - 5 is needed for Strong Back. If planning to detonate the Megaton Bomb and get Almost Perfect, wait until you get the perk before you take Ant Might as you'll need to take the bobblehead in Megaton before the bomb blows. You can also postpone blowing the bomb until you get the perk. Extra points can be put here for more carry weight. Having maxed carry weight by the end of the game is very good due to all the equipment you'll be using.
Perception - You need 6 for Better Criticals together with an equal amount of Luck. 5 is for those getting Ant Sight and Almost Perfect. Characters getting Almost Perfect and Ant Might will want 6 to start off with. Characters not getting Almost Perfect, but taking Ant Sight can start with 4. Since Better Criticals is the best thing you can get from Perception, there's no reason to go any higher than six during the game, so set at 4 or 5 if planning to take Ant Sight or not with the bobblehead.
Endurance - 5 is needed together with the Strength requirement above for Strong Back. Most of the perks requiring more than 5 aren't very useful. A few extra points are good for more health and radiation resistance if not taking Almost Perfect. With Almost Perfect, you can leave it at five as you'll have maximum health after taking Almost Perfect.
Charisma - The least important stat, as it usually is in Fallout games. All it does is improve your Barter and Speech skills together with NPC disposition, making speech checks easier. You'll have this maxed anyway with Almost Perfect if you take it and the bobblehead. None of the perks requiring Charisma aren't any good and have only minimal use. Due to lesser benefits, you can leave it at 1 as the points will be spent better elsewhere. You can use Grape Mentats, Ant Queen Pheromones, alcoholic beverages, and certain equipment to increase Charisma which would be a better idea than investing in Charisma.
Intelligence - The most important stat. You'll want this as high as you can afford to for more skill points. Thanks to all those skill books, it's easy to max your skills by level 30 if you play right, regardless of how much you have here. With Almost Perfect, people suggest setting it to 9, and then picking up the bobblehead in Rivet City much earlier during the game for maximum skill points. But I find it better to set it to 8, then increase it with Intense Training at level 2 if planning to take Almost Perfect. Going to Rivet City early on for the bobblehead is unnecessary and dangerous. Without Almost Perfect, 6 is a good starting value. If you have very high intelligence, you won't need Comprehension because of all those skill books. While 4 is needed for both Educated and Comprehension, it is better to have higher intelligence than to spend a perk slot with lower intelligence to pick up Educated as the perk no longer has any effect once you reach level 30 while Comprehension can still be of use at the level cap depending on how many books you have left to find. This is the best place to spend the bonus point from Intense Training due to an increase in skill points from all future level-ups. Whether or not you'll need Comprehension depends on your Intelligence and how many of the skill books you are willing to find.
Agility - 6 is needed for Action Boy/Girl, 7 for Nerves of Steel which you can get after getting the bobblehead, so set to 7 if taking Almost Perfect. Maxing this stat early for VATS isn't worth it due to extremely marginal increases to Action Points, and those points are better spent elsewhere. There are chems, perks, equipment, and consumables that do a better job of increasing your AP total. Almost Perfect will max this with the bobblehead by the end anyway. 6 if not taking Almost Perfect.
Luck - 6 is required for Better Criticals. 7 for characters not getting Almost Perfect as they can max it with the Lucky 8 ball, Ranger Battle Armor, and the bobblehead. If taking Almost Perfect, they can start with 6. Remember that if taking Almost Perfect that the Lucky 8 ball will not take this stat above 9 with the perk, so drop it off at home before you get the perk.
Be sure to install the Updated Unofficial Fallout 3 patch to fix a lot of bugs still in the game. There are also mods that allow the game to run more smoothly without crashing in modern operating systems. I also recommend you install the following mods for better game performance and enjoyability:
No Lock: People no longer react negatively if you so much as glance at owned or locked property, even for a split second while turning away, which was very annoying!
No Knock: Prevents people from scolding you if you knock over items even by accident, also very annoying!
No Theft: People no longer react negatively if you sneak up too close and they detect you. Another annoying aspect of the game!
All Companions Essential: Prevents your companions from dying in your company. Since one glitch fixed by the Unofficial Patch was the ridiculous amount of health given to Fawkes, Dogmeat, and Sergeant RL-3, this mod is very important if you want to keep them around.
Essential Caravans: Makes the four caravans essential.
Dogmeat Leather Armor: This makes Dogmeat essential in your company and allows him to wear armor to increase his damage resistance and packs that allow him to carry your excess weight. Comes with a whistle that can summon him instantly. Can also give him sneak mode.
Better Performance: Removes some unnecessary items for smoother game performance.
Pitt Reforged: This fixes some bugs in the Pitt DLC.
Your karma can affect which companions you can recruit. For Good Karma characters, Fawkes is a no-brainer, unless you didn't free him from Vault 87 or if he died for some reason, in which case you'll need to use Star Paladin Cross. For Neutral characters, use Sergeant RL-3 instead of Butch. For Evil characters, you're down to either Jericho or Clover. Dogmeat and Charon are available for all karmas, though Charon does follow a moral path, so avoid killing good karma characters or becoming too evil, because he will turn hostile if you dismiss him (look what happened to his previous employer!). Cross and Fawkes are the only companions who can use Energy Weapons, however, Fawke's Gatling Laser is more powerful than any Energy Weapon. All other companions can also use Small Guns as they are tagged and can grow to 100, with the exception of Fawkes, Dogmeat, and Sergeant RL-3. Be sure to upgrade your companion's melee weapon and armor as well.
When scavenging for items to sell, check their value. Don't pick up too many items that are several pounds, otherwise, you will quickly become over-encumbered. Be on the lookout for items that do not have weight. Stock up on ammo and sell the excess equipment that you don't need or use anymore. Use your house or apartment at Tenpenny Tower to store your excess gear and spare weapons.
Lastly, as in all RPGs, the farther you go from home, the tougher the enemies get. So stay in the area around Megaton and Vault 101, doing quests and leveling up. Stick to the roads and don't venture far away from them, you can discover many locations, giving you opportunities to find loot, bobbleheads, skill books, and start quests. You'll need to sneak around to avoid combat when necessary and rely on sneak attack criticals until you become more powerful and have better armor. Don't rush through the main quest. Do sidequests as they become available and gain experience to level up your character to prepare for the tougher challenges. Don't do main quests immediately as they become available. Postpone continuing the main quest until you have better weapons and armor. This way you can take on tougher enemies much more easily such as the super mutants, much more easily. But don't gain too many levels before continuing the main quest. This is due to the fact that eventually, tougher enemies will replace some of the weaker enemies and that even at lower levels, some of those weaker enemies such as super mutants can be too much for you. So explore the wasteland, pick up those skill bobbleheads (and the stat ones if not planning to get Almost Perfect), and collect and read as many skill books as you can. Sneak everywhere there are enemies as to avoid taking damage and take them out from afar if possible with scoped weapons.
Be careful as to how you play. Depending on your style, you can get locked out of certain quests, merchants, items, etc. For example, if planning to detonate the bomb in Megaton, make sure you complete all the quests the residents offer (with the exception of the Wasteland Survival Guide) as Moira survives the blast (but becomes ghoulified), and moves to Underworld, and get the strength bobblehead from Lucas Simms' house.
Also note that when using the Updated Unofficial Patch, you will need to ask Dr. Lesko for payment to get Ant Sight or Ant Might upon completing his task (no speech check required), otherwise you won't get it.
The online guide for the game at gamerguides.com is a very good source of information on how to proceed through the game.
There are several changes in this game from previous Fallout games. For starters, there are no traits. Weapons have no strength requirement. They also have durability, meaning you can only fire them a certain number of times before they need to be repaired. Third, ammo has no weight. You can also max your SPECIAL stats and skills by level 30. And you get a perk on every level. You can get more perks for your character than you need.
Like previous games, there really aren't all that many perks that benefit different combat styles and weapon skills. In previous Fallout games, you could focus on being a long-range gunfighter or a melee warrior, choosing to specialize only in one due to level caps and certain perks. In Fallout 3, since you can max all skills, it is possible to specialize in both melee and ranged combat. It is recommended and more powerful and effective than focusing on one style. Because you can easily max all skills and your SPECIAL stats thanks to the increased level cap in Broken Steel and the Almost Perfect perk, as well as the near lack of specialization perks, there is no reason to specialize around one specific style. Why specialize when you can do everything?
Unlike the other Fallout games, and due to the way the game is made, the near-lack of specialization perks, and all the skill books, you can make a jack-of-all-trades character that can do anything and everything. The only variations, other than karmic alignment, are whether or not to be a perfectionist or not. You can be a perfectionist by taking Almost Perfect which raises all stats to 9, allowing you to go to 10 each by collecting the bobbleheads afterward.
It is also recommended that you use the VATS system in this game. VATS helps your accuracy but it can also reduce the damage you suffer from enemies. VATS also increases the damage you deal in melee combat and gives you a bonus to your critical chance. VATS also makes it easier to hit certain enemies with single-shot weapons. All characters can get some use out of VATS for one or more of these reasons, but it's mostly useful for increasing your critical chance, melee attack damage, accurately throwing grenades, or applying Paralyzing Palm. Certain weapons, such as automatics whether they be ranged or melee, due not perform well in VATS. Automatics can only deal critical damage once per burst in VATS and can cost a lot of APS to use. Weapons that fire off multiple projectiles, such as Shotguns, Tri-beam Laser Rifles, Metal Blaster, actually do less damage in VATS for this reason. Together with automatics, they are best used out of VATS.
Due to some of the more powerful weapons having low durability, it is not a good idea to focus on having one all-purpose weapon. Also, unlike in Fallout New Vegas where ammo can be crafted and recycled, ammo can only be bought or found in this game (conventional bullets can be crafted in the Pitt), so it is not a good idea to carry only one ammo type. Some of the more powerful weapons are not practical enough for all situations due to the rarity of ammo, low durability, uncommon spare weapons for maintainability, or carry weight concerns. Due to ammo having no weight and that tougher enemies appear at higher levels replacing weaker enemies, it is recommended that you carry a wide arsenal of weapons to deal with any opposition and situation. Carry a Gatling Laser for dealing with the toughest opposition such as Super Mutant Overlords, Ghoul Reavers, and Albino Radscorpions. Other methods of dealing with these enemies more easily involve using a weapon with a knockdown effect or applying Paralyzing Palm, though using Gatling Lasers is your best option. Another good weapon to carry is a scoped weapon for dealing with distant targets so you can snipe enemies from afar. Remember that Overlords deal extra unblockable damage to only you when they are using a Tri-beam Laser Rifle or the Super Sledge. The tribals and swampfolks in Point Lookout all deal bonus unblockable damage with their weapons as well. Against those enemies, especially Overlords with Tri-beam Laser Rifles of Super Sledges, it is recommended that you shoot at their weapon in VATS to disarm them.
No matter what, you should get the following perks:
Bloody Mess (increased damage)
Toughness (increased damage resistance)
Cyborg (increased damage resistance. The other bonuses just add an extra layer of frosting on the cake)
Iron Fist (increase unarmed damage, get all three ranks)
Strong Back (increased carry weight)
Silent Running (improved sneaking ability, which helps reduce the damage you may suffer)
Quantum Chemist (convert 10 Nuka-cola to Nuka quantum. Good for creating Nuka grenades)
Pyromaniac (increases the damage of weapons that inflict fire damage, one of which is the most powerful melee weapon in the game)
Entomologist (increased damage against mutated insects, including the Albino Scorpion, one of the toughest enemies in the game)
Robotics Expert (increased damage against robots which are plenty later in the game)
Black Widow/Lady Killer (good for increased damage against the opposite sex and new dialogue options)
Intense Training (increase a stat of your choice. You only need one rank and it is best used in Intelligence)
Action Boy/Girl (increased AP for VATS usage)
Grim Reaper's Sprint (fully replenish AP when making a kill in VATS)
Nerves of Steel (increase AP regeneration rate)
Paralyzing Palm (uses a special unarmed technique to stun your enemies for 30 seconds, making it easier to deal with them. Great for the toughest enemies.)
Demolition Expert (increases the damage of all explosives, except for the Nuka Grenade)
Finesse (increased critical chance)
Better Criticals (increased critical damage)
Ninja (increased critical chance and sneak attack damage with melee and unarmed weapons)
Gunslinger, Commando, Sniper, and Concentrated Fire can also be useful, but depending on your accuracy and how close you are, you might not even need them, though they can be useful for longer ranges. Big Guns are not affected by Gunslinger or Commando; weapons in that category perform poorly in VATS and have high AP costs. Nuka Grenades are the strongest grenades in the game, but they are not affected by Demolition Expert or Pyromaniac. I'm not sure if the Updated Unofficial Patch corrects this. Demolition Expert does affect Bottlecap Mines, which are great for setting traps.
If you want, at level 30 you can take Almost Perfect (which raises all stats to 9). To achieve a perfect 10 in all stats, wait until you take the perk before you collect the stat bobbleheads. There is a mod that can allow the perk to set a stat to 10 if you have already picked up the bobblehead.
Due to getting a perk at every level, there are far more perks than you need for your build. This is why it is so easy to make a character that effectively uses both melee and ranged combat attacks. There also aren't that many good perks past level 20. The only useful perks at level 2 are the gender perks and Intense Training, though Black Widow is more useful in combat due to the higher amount of male enemies, but only humans and non-feral ghouls are affected. You should only take one rank of Intense Training so you'll have more slots available for better perks. Make a list of all the perks you want so you won't run out of perk slots for the important perks you need for your build if you pick the other perks you want.
The best skills to raise at the start of the game are Small Guns, Lockpick, Sneak, Repair, and Science. Focus on raising a couple of skills per level, don't spread out your points too thinly over many skills. Big Guns and Energy Weapons are rare at the beginning of the game and become more available after the appearance of the Enclave at the Purifier. Melee Weapons and Unarmed are nowhere near as powerful as the strongest guns. Thus, they are mainly used for ammo conservation purposes against weaker enemies, applying Paralyzing Palm (with Unarmed only), and attacking foes when they are under the effect of Paralyzing Palm. Skill books can raise your skills by 2 points if you have Comprehension, so save any books you find until you get the perk. Also, I've read on the Fallout wikia that two skill books can respawn every three days due to a bug. One for Big Guns on the Raider Leader in the Bethesda ruins, and one for Science on the Ant Researched in Shalebridge, so you can take advantage of this bug to get an unlimited supply of books to limit the skill points you invest in Big Guns and Science (though you should still invest in Science because it is a more useful skill) unless, of course, you are using a mod that fixes this bug. Get important skills such as Repair, Lockpick, Science, Sneak, Medicine, and Small Guns at 50 as quickly as possible. Don't forget about Explosives for perks and disarming traps. Bobbleheads increase your skills by 10 each, you can get one per skill. Certain perks can also increase skills, but Cyborg and Silent Running are the only ones worth getting. Also, you can get a charm in Oasis that permanently increases Speech by 10 points if you pass a speech check with Sapling Yew or use the Child At Heart perk on her and then complete the quest without burning Harold.
Try to complete all optional objectives in the Wasteland Survival Guide quest to get the Survival Guru perk. The critical chance bonus and damage resistance is the best because critical chance is the hardest to raise and damage resistance is just as important. Even if you're going to follow the path of evil karma, these bonuses are far more useful than Dream Crusher.
When choosing weapons for your arsenal, choose those that deal high damage, are easy to repair and maintain and have good durability.
The best endgame armors in the game are the Ranger Battle Armor, Chinese Stealth Armor, and either T-51b Power Armor suit, normal or Winterized. The best endgame helmet is Ledoux's Hockey Mask which increases your AP count. The matching T-51b Power Helmets have the highest damage resistance of any helmet and are great to wear with the T-51b Power Armor suits for more damage resistance. These choices were made because of the availability of repair materials, damage resistance, and other bonuses. Chinese Stealth Armor is great due to the stealth field which makes you practically impossible to detect when sneaking, making it very easy to get sneak attack criticals in melee range. However, it cannot be worn with Ledoux's hockey mask in the Updated Unofficial Patch. Chinese Stealth Armor can be worn to make stealth kills easier, and you can switch to Ranger Battle Armor when you are out of stealth. When up against the toughest enemies, you can wear a suit of T-51b Power Armor for maximum damage resistance together with the matching helmet. Even with Almost Perfect, the Ranger Battle Armor is better than Power Armor because it gives you a few extra action points. Both suits of T-51b Power Armor (normal or winterized) that you find can now be repaired with Power Armor (normal or Outcast) with the Updated Unofficial Patch, but repair materials are much rarer than Combat Armor. It can be given to your companions together with the matching helmet because their equipment doesn't decay. Fawkes and Segeant RL-3 cannot wear armor. Wear Chinese Stealth Armor for increasing your sneaking ability and making easy sneak attack criticals, especially in melee range. Wear the Ranger Battle Armor out of stealth against mid-tier enemies. You can also use Med-X for more damage resistance which can help make wearing T-51b Power Armor redundant.
The Ghoul Mask can help make encounters with feral ghouls easier as wearing it turns them non-hostile. It can be worth carrying for this reason.
As in the previous games, Energy Weapons and Big Guns deal more damage than Small Guns endgame. Unarmed and Melee, despite their strength, are not as effective when up against enemies carrying long-range weapons. Explosives are good for dealing damage to mobs of enemies and Big Guns such as Gatling Lasers deal the most damage to the toughest foes. Small Guns are best early game, but they should be switched out by endgame for Energy Weapons and Big Guns. A scoped rifle can be good for extreme-range sniping. The best weapons for your endgame arsenal are the Reservist Rifle, Novasurge, A3-21 Plasma Rifle, Metal Blaster, Nuka Grenade, Bottlecap Mine, Shishkebab, Deathclaw Gauntlet, and Vengeance.
You'll need to rely on sneaking throughout much of the game whenever enemies are around or when you are indoors with nearby enemies. Sneak attack criticals are your best friend. Sneak attack criticals, with the right weapon, are one of the best ways to taking out tougher enemies. For the best damage with sneak attack criticals, Combat Shotguns and the unique Terrible Shotgun are the best weapons to inflict sneak attack critical damage in the Small Guns category as long as you are outside of VATS, due to the way damage is calculated in VATS. Outside of VATS, multiple projectile firing weapons such as Combat Shotguns and Tri-beam Laser Rifles inflict more damage because all projectiles have a chance to inflict critical damage, but in VATS, only one critical damage hit is registered.
The DLCs are easier to beat if you have high skills in Small Guns, or Energy weapons for Mothership Zeta. This is due to the fact that those are the weapon types most available in those dlcs. Melee weapons are also useful in the Pitt. Since you'll meet aliens with Inertia Fields that increase their resistance to physical damage in Mothership Zeta, bring at least one weapon that deals either fire damage or electrical damage, a flamethrower being the best choice. Still, you might want to tackle Mothership Zeta first to limit the number of aliens using those fields, otherwise, there will be too many and that will make the challenge very difficult. Save Point Lookout for last as it has the toughest challenge. But wait until your Science skill is at 75 before tackling Mothership Zeta. I find it a good idea to wait until you are past level 15 and found most of the skill bobbleheads before you tackle the DLCs as around this time you should be quite skilled enough to tackle most challenges. The best weapons to use throughout Mothership Zeta are the pistols and rifles used by the aliens due to the availability of ammo and repair materials. The best weapon to use throughout Point Lookout is the Lever Action Rifle and the unique variant Backwater Rifle due to availability or repair materials, critical chance, and damage. Outside of DLCs, you'll need to rely on merchants, especially the caravans to repair DLC-exclusive weapons.
Invest in the four caravans to upgrade them and you'll get gifts. Their repair abilities are also upgraded to among the highest in the game. Crazy Wolfgang, when invested in, has the highest repair skill of all npcs. Mothership Zeta has an item that can repair your weapon and you can stock up on it during the dlc. At the end, there is a random chance you can get more of them from talking to Sally every twenty-four hours, you can return to and from the ship to get them.
If planning to take Almost Perfect, don't pick up any of the stat bobbleheads until after you get Almost Perfect. If you plan to detonate the bomb in Megaton, get the Strength bobblehead and then wait until you get the perk to get Ant Might. You'll mainly be setting your stats to qualify for the recommended perks and/or to make certain responses during the Wasteland Survival Guide, no more, the only bonuses you'll be getting until the perk are the Lesko injection and from equipment. On the other hand, if you've installed a mod that allows you to have 10 in a stat after getting Almost Perfect if you found the bobblehead, you can collect the bobbleheads as soon as you find them.
Unlike previous games, you can no longer use chems to qualify for perks.
According to my notes, here is how to set your SPECIAL stats, assuming you don't have non-canon mods installed:
Strength - 5 is needed for Strong Back. If planning to detonate the Megaton Bomb and get Almost Perfect, wait until you get the perk before you take Ant Might as you'll need to take the bobblehead in Megaton before the bomb blows. You can also postpone blowing the bomb until you get the perk. Extra points can be put here for more carry weight. Having maxed carry weight by the end of the game is very good due to all the equipment you'll be using.
Perception - You need 6 for Better Criticals together with an equal amount of Luck. 5 is for those getting Ant Sight and Almost Perfect. Characters getting Almost Perfect and Ant Might will want 6 to start off with. Characters not getting Almost Perfect, but taking Ant Sight can start with 4. Since Better Criticals is the best thing you can get from Perception, there's no reason to go any higher than six during the game, so set at 4 or 5 if planning to take Ant Sight or not with the bobblehead.
Endurance - 5 is needed together with the Strength requirement above for Strong Back. Most of the perks requiring more than 5 aren't very useful. A few extra points are good for more health and radiation resistance if not taking Almost Perfect. With Almost Perfect, you can leave it at five as you'll have maximum health after taking Almost Perfect.
Charisma - The least important stat, as it usually is in Fallout games. All it does is improve your Barter and Speech skills together with NPC disposition, making speech checks easier. You'll have this maxed anyway with Almost Perfect if you take it and the bobblehead. None of the perks requiring Charisma aren't any good and have only minimal use. Due to lesser benefits, you can leave it at 1 as the points will be spent better elsewhere. You can use Grape Mentats, Ant Queen Pheromones, alcoholic beverages, and certain equipment to increase Charisma which would be a better idea than investing in Charisma.
Intelligence - The most important stat. You'll want this as high as you can afford to for more skill points. Thanks to all those skill books, it's easy to max your skills by level 30 if you play right, regardless of how much you have here. With Almost Perfect, people suggest setting it to 9, and then picking up the bobblehead in Rivet City much earlier during the game for maximum skill points. But I find it better to set it to 8, then increase it with Intense Training at level 2 if planning to take Almost Perfect. Going to Rivet City early on for the bobblehead is unnecessary and dangerous. Without Almost Perfect, 6 is a good starting value. If you have very high intelligence, you won't need Comprehension because of all those skill books. While 4 is needed for both Educated and Comprehension, it is better to have higher intelligence than to spend a perk slot with lower intelligence to pick up Educated as the perk no longer has any effect once you reach level 30 while Comprehension can still be of use at the level cap depending on how many books you have left to find. This is the best place to spend the bonus point from Intense Training due to an increase in skill points from all future level-ups. Whether or not you'll need Comprehension depends on your Intelligence and how many of the skill books you are willing to find.
Agility - 6 is needed for Action Boy/Girl, 7 for Nerves of Steel which you can get after getting the bobblehead, so set to 7 if taking Almost Perfect. Maxing this stat early for VATS isn't worth it due to extremely marginal increases to Action Points, and those points are better spent elsewhere. There are chems, perks, equipment, and consumables that do a better job of increasing your AP total. Almost Perfect will max this with the bobblehead by the end anyway. 6 if not taking Almost Perfect.
Luck - 6 is required for Better Criticals. 7 for characters not getting Almost Perfect as they can max it with the Lucky 8 ball, Ranger Battle Armor, and the bobblehead. If taking Almost Perfect, they can start with 6. Remember that if taking Almost Perfect that the Lucky 8 ball will not take this stat above 9 with the perk, so drop it off at home before you get the perk.
Be sure to install the Updated Unofficial Fallout 3 patch to fix a lot of bugs still in the game. There are also mods that allow the game to run more smoothly without crashing in modern operating systems. I also recommend you install the following mods for better game performance and enjoyability:
No Lock: People no longer react negatively if you so much as glance at owned or locked property, even for a split second while turning away, which was very annoying!
No Knock: Prevents people from scolding you if you knock over items even by accident, also very annoying!
No Theft: People no longer react negatively if you sneak up too close and they detect you. Another annoying aspect of the game!
All Companions Essential: Prevents your companions from dying in your company. Since one glitch fixed by the Unofficial Patch was the ridiculous amount of health given to Fawkes, Dogmeat, and Sergeant RL-3, this mod is very important if you want to keep them around.
Essential Caravans: Makes the four caravans essential.
Dogmeat Leather Armor: This makes Dogmeat essential in your company and allows him to wear armor to increase his damage resistance and packs that allow him to carry your excess weight. Comes with a whistle that can summon him instantly. Can also give him sneak mode.
Better Performance: Removes some unnecessary items for smoother game performance.
Pitt Reforged: This fixes some bugs in the Pitt DLC.
Your karma can affect which companions you can recruit. For Good Karma characters, Fawkes is a no-brainer, unless you didn't free him from Vault 87 or if he died for some reason, in which case you'll need to use Star Paladin Cross. For Neutral characters, use Sergeant RL-3 instead of Butch. For Evil characters, you're down to either Jericho or Clover. Dogmeat and Charon are available for all karmas, though Charon does follow a moral path, so avoid killing good karma characters or becoming too evil, because he will turn hostile if you dismiss him (look what happened to his previous employer!). Cross and Fawkes are the only companions who can use Energy Weapons, however, Fawke's Gatling Laser is more powerful than any Energy Weapon. All other companions can also use Small Guns as they are tagged and can grow to 100, with the exception of Fawkes, Dogmeat, and Sergeant RL-3. Be sure to upgrade your companion's melee weapon and armor as well.
When scavenging for items to sell, check their value. Don't pick up too many items that are several pounds, otherwise, you will quickly become over-encumbered. Be on the lookout for items that do not have weight. Stock up on ammo and sell the excess equipment that you don't need or use anymore. Use your house or apartment at Tenpenny Tower to store your excess gear and spare weapons.
Lastly, as in all RPGs, the farther you go from home, the tougher the enemies get. So stay in the area around Megaton and Vault 101, doing quests and leveling up. Stick to the roads and don't venture far away from them, you can discover many locations, giving you opportunities to find loot, bobbleheads, skill books, and start quests. You'll need to sneak around to avoid combat when necessary and rely on sneak attack criticals until you become more powerful and have better armor. Don't rush through the main quest. Do sidequests as they become available and gain experience to level up your character to prepare for the tougher challenges. Don't do main quests immediately as they become available. Postpone continuing the main quest until you have better weapons and armor. This way you can take on tougher enemies much more easily such as the super mutants, much more easily. But don't gain too many levels before continuing the main quest. This is due to the fact that eventually, tougher enemies will replace some of the weaker enemies and that even at lower levels, some of those weaker enemies such as super mutants can be too much for you. So explore the wasteland, pick up those skill bobbleheads (and the stat ones if not planning to get Almost Perfect), and collect and read as many skill books as you can. Sneak everywhere there are enemies as to avoid taking damage and take them out from afar if possible with scoped weapons.
Be careful as to how you play. Depending on your style, you can get locked out of certain quests, merchants, items, etc. For example, if planning to detonate the bomb in Megaton, make sure you complete all the quests the residents offer (with the exception of the Wasteland Survival Guide) as Moira survives the blast (but becomes ghoulified), and moves to Underworld, and get the strength bobblehead from Lucas Simms' house.
Also note that when using the Updated Unofficial Patch, you will need to ask Dr. Lesko for payment to get Ant Sight or Ant Might upon completing his task (no speech check required), otherwise you won't get it.
The online guide for the game at gamerguides.com is a very good source of information on how to proceed through the game.
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