Current Events > DrizztLink plays Fallout: New Vegas. The United States Postal Service is badass.

(+) Yeah! (+)

Picked it up along with the expansions on sale.

Recommendations for SPECIAL? Int, agility, and luck are my usual. Charisma will be set to 1, always and forever.
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end 7
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For implants?

I'm planning on getting the int and luck boost, maybe agility, probably the health regen that I think I remember.
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Play with 1 int
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I'm thinking I will have ED-E this time.

Also gonna try to get the shades from the Legion, then start straight murdering them all.
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Getting started now.
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Max out luck, my favorite way to play.

Uriel the Courier is ready to go.
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STR 7
PER 5
END 7
CHA 1
INT 5-6
AGL 8
LCK 8

Can't remember the exact point spread, put any leftovers into AGL, LCK or END.

Don't go higher than 7 in STR; implant and a perk at the end of Old World Blues will put you at 10. PER is a useless Special in effect, but a 6 is needed for a few excellent perks, so get this implant first. END for implants and useful effects. Low CHA because it is easily boosted though equipment and consumables, and is most useful for speech and skill checks and therefore doesn't need to be constantly high. INT actually offers a pitiful skill points boost, and with all the DLC there's plenty of extra levels to gain and skill books to be found. AGL is a very useful Special to have high, and LCK is essential for critical builds and casinos.
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I actually can't do that build. One point short.

@masterpug53
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No prob, take a point away from INT or AGL, your choice. INT is actually pretty easy to boost with food as well (mentats, black coffee) if you need to pass INT skill checks. Boosting won't effect skill points at level up, but for reference, each point in INT only nets you 0.5 more skill points every level, so it truly is negligible with all the DLC extra level caps and skill books.
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Two, actually. Wasn't paying attention.

So:
7
5
7
1
5
7
8
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Gonna do Wild Wasteland for sure.

Either Small Frame or the exp penalty for +5 skills.

Tagging Gun, lockpick, sneak.
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Charisma will be set to 1, always and forever.

Just like real life mirite?
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Should be solid, can't really go wrong with that.

I'd highly recommend the Comprehension perk at level 4, so you can get the most out of both skill books and skill magazines (the former give small yet permanent boosts while the latter give large but short-lived boosts).

As you go through the game, make a point of collecting Mentats, Honey Mesquite (large yellow-green plants), and Whiskey. With a Science skill of 50, these can be mixed at a campfire into Party Time Mentats, which are excellent for temporarily boosting CHA. Additionally, hang on to Moonshine - its the only liquor that can stack boost on top of other liquors. After you get the CHA implant, keep some Party Time Mentats, some Moonshine, and any other liquor in your inventory at all times, and you can boost your CHA from a base of 2 all the way up to 10 whenever the need arises.

Furthermore, as soon as you get to Freeside (Vegas outskirts), buy the Naughty Nightwear from Mick and Ralph's, which gives +1 LCK and +10 Speech; hugely helpful for casinos and speech checks. Pair all of this with a Comprehension-boosted Meeting People magazine and you can pass speech checks of 80 with a mere 2 base CHA and 34 base Speech.

Tl;dr Party Time Mentats = Mentats, Whiskey, Honey Mesquite. Keep Moonshine and another liquor on hand. Buy Naughty Nightwear from Mick and Ralph's in Freeside. Pass the vast majority of the game's high speech checks with low base CHA and Speech.
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Wild Wasteland is a lot of fun, can't go wrong. There's actually an exploit with Skilled where you can opt to re-edit your character when leaving the Goodsprings area; if you pick another trait, you get to keep the skill point bonuses from Skilled. Built to Destroy is a solid choice as well - critical hits are a major help in this game, and I'd highly recommend taking both Finesse and Better Criticals later on to boost them (make sure to get the PER implant before level 16 so you can take the latter).
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Cool.

Decided against Wild Wasteland, got Skilled and Small Frame.
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Be wary, limb damage can be pretty debilitating in this game and hard to cure in the wilderness early game. Make sure you're always carrying a few Doctor's Bags and hoard whatever Hydra you can find. Honest Hearts and Old World Blues provide some much better ways of dealing with limb damage, and you can also take the Adamantium Skeleton perk later, depending on how much trouble you're having with it.

At least you didn't pick the Four Eyes trait. That one seemed like a good investment on my first playthrough and turned out to be a huge hindrance, lol.
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Also, take a look at the perk list for player level and skill level requirements when you get a chance.

Can't save perk points, and you don't want to be stuck picking something random because the things you want aren't available to you.
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I remember doing the double perk glitch, damn you could be overpowered af doing that lol
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I was looking at that glitch, but decided against it.
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Takes an assload of time to do with the speech check version though
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Precisely. Like 5000 checks.

Took out the guys attacking the town. Got all the extra stuff, don't think anybody died who I wasn't trying to kill.
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Got to the clinic, short 2k for my implant.

Recommendations for implants, and how to get some cash?
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Can afford the first one now.

Gonna grab int first.

Wandered around McCarren stealing shit and looting dead guys. Also killed some fiends.

Picked up Comprehension for my level 4 perk.
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Cleared Primm, going to the prison.
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Be sure to take Jury Rigging when you can! Best perk in the game.
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Killed everyone in the prison except Meyers, going to pardon him.

Fixed ED-E, but Jesus Christ is that sound effect from him floating irritating.
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masterpug53 posted...

critical hits are a major help in this game, and I'd highly recommend taking both Finesse and Better Criticals later on to boost them

Yeah, my characters tend to always end up with at least 6 in Perception, Agility, Luck(and also Strength), in order to get associated perks that boost damage. The ability to drop a charging Deathclaw with a solidly placed .308 round is a good thing; though if it fails I'll usually have a mine on the ground as well.
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DrizztLink posted...

Got to the clinic, short 2k for my implant.

Recommendations for implants, and how to get some cash?

Buy the Naughty Nightwear and head over to the Atomic Wrangler. Play Blackjack until you break the bank at 5,000 caps. With a LCK of 9 you will occasionally lose a hand, but you can reliably double down, hit, and land a 20-21 on just about any card combination.
You're at 12? You'll probably draw a 9. You're at 17? You'll probably draw a 4. LCK does directly affect your outcome of the games, and anytime you get the 'feel lucky' prompt, the game has basically pre-won the hand for you. If you're wanting to sink in a little extra time, you can win at Blackjack right up to the edge of breaking the bank (just under 5,000 caps total winnings), save, and then see if you can roll a big jackpot on the slots, which will put you well over the cap and give you roughly 6,500-7,000 caps in winnings. If you go over the limit by a small payout, just reload the save and try again.
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I suppose I'll crank that out next.

I want to get my implants and whatnot handled before I level up too much. Within reason, naturally. I think the final cost is gonna be like 36000 caps.

Hit 6, took Educated (I think. The one that gives 2 extra points per level.)

I missed out on 4 points, but that's fairly insignificant in the long run.
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I played with big dick intelligence and charisma and got along just fine. I dunno why people would ignore speech checks in this kind of game I mean the shooting isn't exactly amazing anyway.
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Going forward, here's the perks I would highly recommend:

Finesse

Better Criticals

Hand Loader - this is the only way to obtain the majority of the game's hand load ammo recipes, which involve breaking down regular ammo into higher versions that usually result in more damage at the cost of higher weapon degradation rate. Very, very helpful to have these recipes, especially when paired with Jury Rigging to mitigate the degradation. Also be aware that both perks require a high Repair skill, so make sure to sink at least a few points into that every level up.

Jury Rigging - there are two kinds of NV players: those who understand the full value of this perk, and those who are poor. Being able to repair a Super Sledge with a Pool Cue has two rewards: keeping your gear in top shape, and getting the highest selling value from your loot by repairing high-end weapons and armor up to their maximum with junk.

Super Slam - pretty much turns melee / unarmed into easy mode, allowing you to control even a squad of high-level murder machines by mashing the attack button and keeping them in a perpetual state of knockdown. I actually haven't taken this perk in years because it's too OP; but for a new player it can make for a very effective get out of jail free card.
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Doe posted...

I played with big dick intelligence and charisma and got along just fine. I dunno why people would ignore speech checks in this kind of game I mean the shooting isn't exactly amazing anyway.

Going low CHA isn't ignoring speech checks, quite the opposite. The point is that CHA, Speech and Barter can be very easily boosted by chems and equipment, and the higher you go beyond a base CHA of 2, the more you negate this boosting potential. CHA is only needed situationally, whereas Special like STR, END, AGL, and LCK is needed more constantly. The only time CHA is useful as a constant is with companion nerve and companion-themed perks, and you have to ask yourself when building your character 'do I want my companions to be stronger, or myself?' Considering how many times your companions are taken from you and you're forced to go solo (mostly in the DLC), this should be a pretty rhetorical question.

High CHA and INT are perfectly fine if you're a vet, or are roleplaying. But if you're looking for a well-balanced build to maximize your potential, it's most beneficial to set CHA at 1 and keep INT mid to low.
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I never use chems because I took D.A.R.E. And abusing 'Charm' powers in Fallout/TES is incredibly boring and immersion breaking imo. That just me I guess
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Doe posted...

I never use chems because I took D.A.R.E. And abusing 'Charm' powers in Fallout/TES is incredibly boring and immersion breaking imo. That just me I guess

Nothing wrong with that at all; the great thing about NV is that it's perfectly feasible to get through the game as a speech-based pacifist, and I'd encourage TC to try something like that (or at least a more specialized build) on subsequent playthroughs.
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I've been sinking points into Repair.

I'm mostly focusing on Stealth and Lockpick. I like to get my utility skills up first.
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Paciencia and Ratslayer are great rifles for a crit build. Ratslayer is great for taking out lesser enemies, especially with the Better Criticals perk, 5.56 ammo is cheap and plentiful, and you can repair it with varmint rifles. Paciencia loaded with .308 JSPs is a monster, just don't miss your shot. Make sure you do Boone's quest in Novac to get the 1st Recon Beret too, the extra 5% base crit chance really helps beef up those guns crit multipliers
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I started my first max luck build like a week ago. It's been awesome.
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I've been rocking the SHIT out of my Varmit Rifle.

Got a night scope and silencer. Cleared the entire yard of the prison standing on a bluff to the South.
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DrizztLink posted...

I've been rocking the SHIT out of my Varmit Rifle.

Got a night scope and silencer. Cleared the entire yard of the prison standing on a bluff to the South.

Go get Ratslayer from Broc Flower Cave. It's between Nipton and Searchlight, and it's your current rifle but better.
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Holy crap, New Vegas is a masterpiece. @_@
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DrizztLink posted...

I've been sinking points into Repair.

I'm mostly focusing on Stealth and Lockpick. I like to get my utility skills up first.

Good. The sooner you get Jury-Rigger the faster you can get 100% condition gear both for fighting and selling.
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Well.

Tried to find a way to the Broc cave, found a blind Deadclaw.

It went poorly.
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Found Ratslayer.

Fucking hate that cave.
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Got Perception implant.
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DrizztLink posted...

Found Ratslayer.

Fucking hate that cave.

The giant rats are a major pain in the ass for a low level courier, but Ratslayer is worth it. Aim for the head and most human enemies won't give you any problems.
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ED-E saved my fucking life in there.

Got my naughty nightwear.
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