I just can't help myself, but whenever I'm any where near hostiles I always sneak, often when out in the open, but ALWAYS when in a building where enemies are. I can't help myself. I'll often even stay crouching when combat begins. The advantages seem to outway the disadvantages.
Advantages
1) Element of suprise and sneak attack critical hit bonus
2) Greater acuracy
3) Knowing whether you've been percieved (Hidden / Caution / Danger alerts)

Disadvantage
1) Slightly less moverability once combat commences

Running in all guns blazing just seems suicidal to me. :gun:

What do you do?

The same. Another advantage to it, if you use iron sights mods, is that the sway of your gun is reduced quite a bit when you crouch.

Especially with tough enemies, getting that sneak critical on the first shot often means the difference between winning and losing the battle.

I switch it up.
The first one I sneak, the second I don't. Life gets.... interesting. I go with the Perforator and my trusty spiked knuckles on the first, Missile Launcher, grenades and Eugene on the second.

I used to sneak everywhere. My first six or seven characters must have had thighs made out of steel because they only stood upright when they had to talk to someone. I even caught myself sneaking in my homes. My preferred method of playing now is to charge in screaming and bop everything I see over the head. Sure, I get my tail handed to me sometimes (Behemoths and Gargantuans ) but it's so much fun that I don't think I could ever go back to playing a sneaky sniper again. Melee ftw.

I usually go in guns-a-blazing unless I know there are a lot of hostiles, like in Old Olney and on top of the crawler for Broken Steel. Edit: also Evergreen Mills.

I rarely sneak. I think it's boring. I only do it when it gives me a great advantage or it's more fun to go in that way; Deathclaw hunting, maybe entering a camp of Muties or maybe to listen to somebody talking. Mostly I run in tearing everything up cuz I think that's the most fun.

The one sniper shot to take out the leader. Then eugene is my guide :gun:

Depends on the character. Evil Roy Slade sneaks. Amos Moses does not. "Sneak'ns fur sissies!" "Hunt'n aint sneak'n. Hunt'ns fur food. Ya'll bettr hope ya aint food." Amos only "sneaks" when hunting for something he can eat.

Im the same way, I dont care if i've only got 15 points in sneak i'll still do it.

it all depends on my character. My sneakiest character uses melee and explosives exclusively. I made he in memory of and named her after my pet praying mantis Alexis. Like her she is very sneaky and strikes out of the blue. The target doesn't notice her until it is too late.

My small guns and energy weapons characters mix sneaking with all out battle charge. They snipe the stronger targets, or just for fun.

My big guns character and my unarmed character don a full power armor suit and charge head-on into battle. When you have an 85 DR you can take some major abuse.

I figured many people wouldn't always sneak for roleplaying reasons, but I am enjoying playing my current (and 1st) character as a sneaky sniper, so will continue. I really must do the second playthrough different, but I'll probably load up heavy on mods and will want to sneak cos I'll need those advantages especially at early levels

I do like you. Is natural. What do you did in reallity if you were alone and you expect more than one thing being hostile against you?

I tend to switch things up, and handle things as I would in reality - sneaking when I am cognitive enough to know I should - but that is partly cause I use a screen effect while sneaking so the game is black and white (a la Splinter Cell) while I am successfully sneaking, and this can cheapen the look of the world when you wander about, but is great for use in combat to give that espionage game feel to things as well. I like my game to have a mix of feels though.

In tunnels, I'm almost always sneaking. Being a love of the laser rifle, fast close-quarters battle can be very difficult. Open country, I'm on the move at full tilt, as then I have room to play with.

The Chinese Stealth Armor was made for the Laser Rifle. It's a match made in heaven. :fallout:

Yes, I do sneak everywhere. Whenever I forget to do so, I get assaulted by something, and I don't like that.

I try not to use the chinese stealth armor all of the time now anymore though, because that item simplyfies the game too much. On the other hand, I am now at a level where overlords, albino radscorpions, deathclaws and sentry bots should start to be the majority of the wildlife, so I don't know.

I think Sneak is same as Crouch. It not only makes you quieter, but makes you a SMALLER target. I do it pretty much the same- Whenever I perceive any danger and when in combat, even running often unless I have to run really fast.
I think Sneak also makes you a smaller target and increases the chance of the enemy AI missing, but I don`t know for sure. It seems to help.

To me it`s very much like real life. Have you watched footage of soldiers fighting in combat? 9 times out of 10 they Crouched (Fo3 sneak). The soldier crouches when he suspects enemies (Vietnam), he crouches when shooting (Vietnam, WW2)- He crouches when he runs under fire.

You really don`t see any soldier standing straight up in a shooting battle unless he`s a bit crazy. Even in footage of fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan, he`ll crouch.

The only time I saw people who refused to crouch in combat are civilians who have a mentailty that crouching is strange and belittling until they get shot- After that, everyone crouches.

So I crouch.

Hmm, this went on longer than I wanted. Sorry.

Pretty much same. I stopped usnig CSA for a long time becasue I found it too easy to string up the critical hits without being discovered. However I am having a blast (literally!) using the double barrelled shotgun with the CSA on my current playthrough, and nuka grenade in pants never gets dull

It's also worth, as some people have said, to creep up and listen in on conversations whether it be raiders or mutants. There's the odd funny line or two in the dialogue if your patient enough to do this!

Yea, listening to the Super Mutants in GermanTown talking was quite funny.

"You stupid, you talk like a Human!"

"Ah talking to you is Stupid!"

Oh and there was one interesting bit where he`s like, "Ah I think mebbe I was a man or a woman- can`t remember... Maybe both!"

I only sneak when I feel like poppin' some raiders or Akansas.

I sneak to get in a preemptive critical hit, or just toss in a frag grenade to thin out a group of enemies. After that I just start a firefight until someone wins, usually finding somewhere to take cover in between shots.

I'm playing with Clover at the moment, and spent a good few minutes chasing her through the DCTA Potomac tunnels because she had spotted some enemies and was going to take them out with or without me. Alas, sneaking isn't always possible, however much I would like to. :rolleyes:

Depends on the character I'm playing and their personality. Like many here I love the CSA, but feel it makes the game a bit too easy.

In my current playthrough I'm playing a guy who almost never sneaks (sometimes to get close for melee before standing up and starting the fight), so far fights only with spiked knuckles and some liberally deployed explosives, and takes Dogmeat everywhere he goes.

He just picked up a power fist but has only used it when fighting robots so far as punching them with his actual fist might hurt too much...

Mostly sneak, especially when just intent on getting from A to B and can't be bothered with insignificant combats along the way.

Sometimes I forget to switch off sneak when discovered and have to "do a runner".

I have a modest sneak level so as I can be discovered if not careful, moving preferably when they are looking away, so the challenge and interest is still there.

Higher Perception creatures are going to see you anyway and robots, sentry guns.

On occasions I will switch off sneak and run in fast for a kill or to a different location when their back is turned ... all depends.

I sneak almost all the time. I love being able to one-shot kill super-mutants. Moving slowly and silently, I can clean out entire buildings without ever being seen. They never know I am there, until what was in the back of their mind passes through the front of it, along with one of my bullets...

Not much anymore. Unless I'm just trying to look good for the ol fraps camera.

In my current game, I use my Chinese stealth armor and the Perforator. I'm virtually 100% invisible when I want to be with a sneak skill of 100. But, most of the time I just wear the best armor of the game (the only one that doesn't deteriorate - Winterized T-51b power armor) and walk into whatever situation and just kill everything before they even know what hit them. I own Old Olney (deathclaws), white albino rad scorpions and anything else that comes down the pike. I do love this game.