Fallout: New Vegas – Wasteland survival guide
November 18, 2010
Fallout: New Vegas is a daunting game, the sheer amount of quests, contents, secrets and mechanics at play can often overwhelm even the most grizzled wasteland wanderer.
To help you survive and thrive in New Vegas we grabbed Prima Guide writer David SJ Hodgson and forced him to give us a few key tips for Fallout: New Vegas.
STAT’S ENTERTAINMENT
Top of the class: When creating your character, stick with an archetype and pour points into your three specialised Skills first. These round out your character once they approach 70-80 points. For the most well-rounded character, it makes one of these three Skills combat-related (Guns, Energy, Melee, Unarmed), one ‘living off the land’ (Survival, Repair, Medicine) and one around socialising (Barter, Speech).
Bookworm: There’s no need to ever raise a skill to 100 points, as Skill Books (which give a small but permanent boost) and Skill Magazines (a temporary, larger boost) can help with the hardest conversations, barters and hacking. You should also carry clothing that offers bonuses to aid in tasks; an outfit for combat, survival and speech means you’ll never have to max out one stat.
Sklls for kills: If you’re going to spread points about always try to end up with a zero: you’ll often require Medical scores of 30 or 50 Lockpicking, for example, so it’s no use stopping at 29 or 49! High Speechcraft is absolutely essential, as is Science – especially now key skills are integrated into numerous dialogue options.
Buddy backup: Companions can prove a great complement to your play style. Firstly, you can have up to two; one humanoid (Boone, Cass, Raul or Lily) and one robotic (Rex the dog, ED-E the Eyebot). Each also grants you a free perk when accompanying you. For example, if you’re a ranged specialist, pick Veronica (great at close combat).
For a Repair boost, rescue Raul. For a great Companion combo, Boone and ED-E offer excellent Perception perks that provide long-range scanning capabilities – you’ll never be ambushed again!
Perked up: If you’re in New Vegas for the long haul (and who isn’t?) then it’s often worth going with ‘Intense Training’ and ‘Swift Learner’ rather than the more exciting-sounding ‘Math Wrath’ or ‘Laser Commander’ perks. Intense Training is especially ace, because – when used in conjunction with a high Intelligence score – it gives you massive skill points to distribute whenever you level up.
Wild at heart: ‘Wild Wasteland’ – is it worth it? We’d hazard a boring ‘nope’. ‘Lady Killer’ or ‘Confirmed Bachelor’ comes in handy. ‘Snag Tag!’ offers a serious skill point boost. If attempting Hardcore mode, ‘Rad Child’ is a no-brainer.
CAP’S THE WAY TO DO IT…
Easy money: A good way to make a load of caps is to visit every casino and play Blackjack. Roulette and Slots are chance; Blackjack factors in tactical play and a high Luck skill. Each Casino has a cut-off point to learn – the plan is to take the casinos for just under their payout limit. This way you can enjoy the benefits (food and Combat Armour) and live the life of a high roller.
Caravan man: Get handy at Caravan by buying up as many extra cards from traders as possible to build incredible decks.
Rare wares: Keep an eye out for rare Snow Globes too. They’re often worth a small fortune to the right collector, as are blue-star Sunset Sarsaparilla bottle caps. They’re a precious commodity in New Vegas and if you bag a certain number something very interesting happens…
The bets are on: Feeling a bit naughty? You can cheat on the regular gambling games by saving/reloading before/after a 50/50 bet in Roulette. Just don’t win too big! And don’t bother robbing the casino banks – they rarely hold much in the way of caps.
CAPITAL GUNISHMENT
Shop ’til you drop: Mick and Ralph’s (in Freeside) is a good spot to get great stuff. The Naughty Nightwear is there, but only if you ask Mick to show you his special wares. For weapons, the Vendortron at Gun Runners is the number one spot for Guns, Energy Weapons and upgrades. There’s also the Van Graffs (also in Freeside), if you like your Energy Weapons, but you might want to check the quality of their merchandise. Remember, though – allying with certain Factions can impede your standing with these Traders.
DIY why?: Weapon Modifications (or Upgrades) are an essential part of every gunsmith’s collection and only available from a select number of Traders (such as Chet at Goodsprings). Kill a Trader and you lose their Mods forever. Many weapons have up to three Mods attached at once and don’t need a high skill to use. But don’t repair a regular weapon using the Modded version or you’ll lose the Mods!
The hunt for guns: Why not strike out for far-flung corners of the map while at low level and bag yourself some high-end gear? We recommend the CZ57 Avenger – grab it at ‘The Devil’s Throat,’ near Bitter Springs. Or, try the overpowered Alien Blaster – north from Freeside’s North Gate and skirt the mountains westwards to stumble upon some ETs…
Ammo crafting: AP (Armour Piercing) bullets are a definite improvement. Incendiary ammo adds continuous fire damage. Delve into the stats lists to figure out if your chosen weapon actually deals out the best damage. Remember to factor in your Gun Skill. Better weapons need a high (75+) skill to wield without penalties, which negate the benefits. Remember to strip apart ammo you never use at Reloading Benches – create bullets you need from their component parts instead. It’s an easy way to stock up on some more ammo.
SUB DERMAL O’LEARY
The Vegas Medical Centre: Won big at the casinos? Then you want to go find Doctor Usanagi at the Vegas Medical Centre (just east of the Crimson Caravan Company). Here you can get some cyborg awesomeness: Sub Dermal armour (another layer of protection), a Monocyte Breeder (Regeneration) and attribute enhancements (+1 for each attribute, such as Strength, Luck or Perception). Even better, these enhancements have knock-on benefits to Skills and Perk allocations, making them highly prized.
Note: Usanagi is a Follower of the Apocalypse, so if you’ve peed off her pals, bang goes your chance. Also, your Endurance stat allows you to receive Implants; sickly players benefit less.
CAMPFIRE COOKING
Makin’ tasty: Crafting is most helpful in Hardcore mode but everything requires a fair bit of scavenging. It’s the price you pay for living a more sustainable life. There are secret Recipes too, collectible from certain locations. Jas Wilkin’s Deathclaw Omelette is both delicious, healthy, gives the Fallout 2 player a “shout out” Easter egg, and is bonkers to try and collect items for. You end up on dozens of off-at-a-tangent tasks… this one being to collect Deathclaw eggs from a Den Mother.
BEST FRIENDS FOREVER
I’ll be there for you: Companions have their strengths and weaknesses, but all offer a different type of gameplay attribute. Cass, for example, has the awesome Whiskey Rose Perk, allowing you to drink alcohol without receiving the negative effects, AND increases your DT! Rex has Search and Mark, enabling you to find hidden items (and Hollowed-Out Rocks) more easily. Sniper Boone is a vicious dude (whose itchy trigger finger can get you in trouble), but he can be calmed if you use the Companion wheel. Tell him to back off and he will.
Companion quests: Every character has their own Companion Quest, and some require you to commit to actions before you’ll ever figure out what they want. Some Quest criteria will take weeks of trial and error to figure out but you’ll have to persevere if you’re a completionist.
GETTING FRACTIOUS
Friends and enemies: This is the big deviation from Fallout 3. The main two factions (unless you count Mr House and Yes Man) are the NCR and Caesar’s Legion. For a normally morally muddy game like New Vegas, it’s a relatively plain good/evil thing as to whether you side with the former or latter – though you can also strike out on your selfish lonesome or even play the benevolent philanthropist should you wish.
Sub-factions: It’s worthwhile getting to know the various tribes and subfactions. Happily, they rarely come into direct conflict with one another so it pays to buddy up with almost everybody you meet. Exceptions include the Powder Gangers – being pally with them comes at a price, especially in Goodsprings or Primm. Being idolised by a faction/settlement bags extra quests and discounts. Being vilified means you’re often shot at on sight!
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