What RPG to play... choice of five. - by Digital Nightfall
Malf on 20/1/2011 at 12:22
In New Vegas, I quickly decided that the majority of my perk choices would be the ones that added +1 to your stats. No matter what gimmicks the others offered, none could compare long-term to stat boosts.
steo on 20/1/2011 at 17:45
Quote Posted by Malf
In New Vegas, I quickly decided that the majority of my perk choices would be the ones that added +1 to your stats. No matter what gimmicks the others offered, none could compare long-term to stat boosts.
The thing about stats in FO3/NV is that they don't really do much compared to what they did in the classic Fallout games. It's like the stats in the new game, with a range of 1-10, is equivalent to the old game values of something like 3-7. They've changed it such that the effect of each stat point is lower, while increasing the base values of what the stats affect. Take carrying capacity for example: with the old system a strength 1 character could carry only 50lbs worth of gear, while a strength 10 character could carry 275lbs - and additional 25lbs per stat point. In FO3/NV a strength 1 character can carry 150(140?)lbs, with only a 10lb increase per point, up to a max of 240lbs.
Malf on 20/1/2011 at 18:59
I didn't put a single point into Strength. They all went into Perception, Intelligence, Agility and Charisma. There wasn't a speech check in the entire game that I was unable to pass :)
That did me fine for the whole game.
steo on 20/1/2011 at 19:26
You can pass most speech checks with 1 charisma, provided you have the necessary speech skill. Perception has no effect on accuracy at range, like it did in the classic games - it just lets you detect enemies at longer ranges. Agility might give you more AP in VATS when you use it, but since you don't actually need to use VATS to kill stuff - unlike classic fallout where all combat required AP - it's not nearly as important as it was. Intelligence is the only stat which I would say is really important in the new Fallout games.
Nameless Voice on 20/1/2011 at 20:02
Agility makes you run faster in FO:NV. Considering how much time you spend running from place to place, I'd say that's worth increasing.
Malf on 20/1/2011 at 23:15
Let alone which, raising attributes raises the related skills as well, and seeing as how most attributes contribute to more than one skill, you get a better benefit from raising an attribute than just the immediate one.
And intelligence adds bonus skill points every level, so you'll end up maxing more skills than the average character if you max out attribute bonuses.
It really was a no-brainer for me.
Edit: Oh yeah, always go for the Small Frame trait too. It's tougher starting out, and you'll go through Doctor's Bags like no-one's business, but eventually, from breaking your bones so much, you'll get the "Tough Guy" perk, which makes your bones stronger, effectively offsetting the down-side of the trait.
For some idea of how my character finished the game, here are his stats:
S 6
P 9
E 6
C 10
I 10
A 10
L 5
Skills at 100: Barter, Guns, Lockpick, Repair, Science, Sneak, Speech.
Picked Perks: Educated, Confirmed Bachelor, Intense Training (10), Jury Rigging, Lady Killer, Long Haul
I never used power armour, as I found after a while that armour didn't matter so much thanks to high sneak and the ability to resolve lots of situations through speech or the Gobi Campaign Scout Rifle. It also slowed me down noticeably, so I went through the game eventually wearing a stylish duster.
And You CAN'T pass every conversation check with Speech alone; there are loads of interesting options that open up for a character like mine. Confirmed Bachelor and Lady Killer in particular open up some interesting conversation options, as do high Science and Barter skills.
Jason Moyer on 20/1/2011 at 23:45
Agility is pretty awesome, since it lets you start out with good sneak and guns skills. It also contributes to the silent running and light step perks which are probably the 2 most useful in the game besides the explorer one.
Dresden on 21/1/2011 at 00:27
It makes AP regen faster too which is great if you're a fellow VATS junkie or using the sprint mod.
Phatose on 21/1/2011 at 03:34
Agility is a pretty good stats, but it's hard to justify the points in it. Intelligence gives a pretty big bonus as well, and due to implants, endurance is next on the list - every point in that gets you another implant, thus another point in a different stat. Don't really have many points left to spare after that.
I don't think I used intensive training more then once in any of my NV play throughs. Too many better places to put those perks, and not enough perks to go around.
Comprehension, for example - If you're thorough, it's equivalent to 27 points from permanent skill books alone. But, because it also doubles the temporary bonuses from magazines, it frees up an awful lot of skill points that would otherwise be spent on skills where you need 100 only once in a while - lockpick, science, and speech. Ends up being equivalent to something like 60 skill points, and that's huge.
