I have 300 def with ballistic armor+ leather armor...... And 300 stimpaks.

Oh, goodness, I could write a book, but I'll try to keep it brief since that really isn't the essence of this particular topic.

In essence, I don't like that I have no real control over my FO4 companions. I can't give them detailed, "if/then" instructions. They don't even heed the rudimentary instructions I can give. If I say "stay", they pop up beside me. They block the way when I try to navigate, they're nearly always underfoot, they walk in front when I'm trying to aim, they make unneeded and unwanted comments about what I choose to collect... That dog makes that highly irritating whiny, whimpery noise... /shudder

Every quest that required me to carry a companion made me tense. I do much better (and feel much better) all on my lonesome (in FO4, that is).

For what it's worth, I agree with you on the notifications .

Could not say it better myself. AI package... Whats that??? O we are going to be up on a skyscraqer? Let me just walk right off of it. 0_0

it does? ok definitely gonna spend my reserve perk on it right away, boy do i want "wtf did i get that for?" xp )

Agree with everything except Scrapper, Idiot savant, and medic.

Scrapper only works with armor and weapons. Weapons/armor are hefty and don't give a lot of components, even with scrapper. To get the uncommon/rare stuff, you need to loot items with decent mods on them. Which means even more weight, therefore carrying less items. IMO, better off selling the weapons/armor and find/buy the junk/shipments that have the components you're looking for. Plus the rank 2 "highlighting" only works on junk, not on weapons/armor.

Idiot savant is too much RNG. Even at INT 1, it only has a 11% chance to proc and goes down 1% for every point of INT after that. Whoever picks this perk better not pick up the INT bobblehead or use anything that boosts INT. Also, rank 3 screws you over. "When Idiot Savant rank 3's kill experience activates, it temporarily shuts off the chance of getting bonus experience. Because of this, rank 3 is almost always a net loss of average experience, and thus is inadvisable" (Fallout wiki).

Medic is more on the lines of "Meh". It isn't necessary unless playing survival. You find plenty of Stims in the commonwealth.

No matter what Fallout'm playing, Better Criticals is and always will be my favorite perk. Worse? Mysterious stranger, I suppose. I simply dont need him.

might be a stupid question but what does V.A.N.S actually do?

A simple solution to your copper problem: Fuses, vacuum tubes, power relay coils. Fuses and vacuum tubes are found just about everywhere. Power relay coils are common in robots, and aren't all that uncommon by themselves. Like I said, all of your material needs can be fulfilled by simply knowing the junk you need (as in marking the materials). After that, it practically accumulates on its own with ease. The same applies to the supposed "rare" materials as well, which makes rank 2 just as much unnecessary as rank 1.

In the end, its more of a burden to lug around armor and weapons at a chance of not getting the material you're even looking for, and far more efficient to simply know what you're looking for and get it directly as the game practically hands it to you because the junk is everywhere.

Benefit of scrapper is that you can use weapon and armor workbenches at raider camps.

Far less to carry. Yes you can also drop at floor and have follower pick up.

The highlighting is an bit annoying, Waiting for an mod who let me mark rare or often components like nuclear materials, screws and aluminum even if I have it in stock.

I know about those as I have copper tagged for search. But I'm a rather crafting heavy person and I need everything I can get. Not to mention I have mod installed that gives appropriate item weight based on the components they are made of, so the weight thing really isn't an issue. While it's not a perk that you would go out of your way for unless you are a dedicated builder, it's far from the worst of perks.

i do not think there is abest or worse perk depending your build you will choose the perks that makes your character good

all depend on your build and playstyle

IMO, regardless of playstyles- whether you're "shooty" or "punchy" or "sneaky".... Strong Back (LOOT!) , Aquaboy (water is no longer a no-go zone) and Explosives ( up to the level that gives you the visible grenade throwing arc) are the most quality-of-life improving perks that just fundamentally improve your gameplay, and you wonder how you ever played without them after you get them.

What's interesting though is that a number of people said aqua boy is the WORST perk! Lol


Also, some people are on the fence about strong back (maybe not in this thread, but some people do think it's useless) just depends on if you pick everything up or not.


What I'm curious about are people's experiences with the pacify perks. I've been interested in trying a max charisma build but I'm a bit iffy if those pacify peak are just a gimmick or if they can be useful.

If they're anything like my experience with Robotics Expert, prepare to be disappointed.

I think Toughness is fantastically useful at the very earliest levels. If you're playing DiD, it's absolutely essential.

It provides more damage resistance than an entire suit of leather armor (unmodded) and stacks with it. When you're facing those early pipe weapons, it practically guarantees half damage from everything coming at you. That said, as useful as the first level is, subsequent levels are not - at all. By the time you can get higher levels, armor has become available to make them unecessary.

I picked up Aqua Girl fairly early on in my first playthrough. I had a quest that required me to do stuff at the bottom of a water-filled quarry. I tried it without the perk and it ended in disaster. With the perk, it was totally manageable, and once I located the task objectives, it was quite easy. In addition as others have said, having the ability to use bodies of water for escape is beneficial, especially since one needn't worry about radiation. There are also a few locations that can be reached by land or by swimming. If I'm just interested in getting there (no fights), I can swim. On my second playthrough, I bypassed the quarry quest and haven't needed to get to those water-type places, so I haven't yet picked up Aqua Girl. However, when I'm ready to do that, you can believe I'll have my Aqua Girl on!

With regard to Strong Back, as a die-hard Sole Survivor (and one who refuses to wear Power Armor), I find anything that increases carry-weight is a bonus. Unfortunately, there are other perks that take priority over Strong Back (since one has to up Strength to even start Strong Back), but it is definitely on the list of worthwhiles. Meanwhile, I increase carry-weight with Deep Pockets.

I've had no interest in the Pacify perks. Seems like a waste of perk points, to me. Not as big a waste as V.A.N.S. but right up there.

Um...you can use raider workbenches regardless if you have the scrapper perk or not.

Not really less to carry, as you still have to take the items to a bench. Assuming there is one nearby. Since the rank 2 highlight feature doesn't work for armor/weapons, you won't know if you're getting the components you're looking for until you try to scrap it. Like I said already, you don't get much and is varied depending on what mods are attached. As for followers, that's depending on the player's play style. IMO, companions are too annoying to use. They have EXCELLENT back stories, and some good perks, but their AI behavior is garbage. Rather get the "Lonesome wanderer" perk and get an additional 50/100 carry weight plus the other effects that come with it.

You can mark specific components in the base game. Through either the workshop menu or pip boy.

Don't know if it suites your playstyle, but have you tried Lone wanderer? It gives more carry weight than strong back, and it only has a 3 charisma requirement.

I like Aqua Boy but you can swim in a Hazmat suit if you want. I just did the Atom Cats intro quest and swam both ways.

Hehe not only does it fit my playstyle, it pretty much defines it! See Post #47 in this thread; I listed Lone Wanderer as my hands-down all time favorite. I'd hug it if I could.

Hah, I didn't think of that (probably too lazy to change outfits). Thanks for the reminder!

It's funny. The first time I did that was with my high level guy, Mork, and he, in the intro battle, kicked serious ass and even Jet Packed and rained death from on high. The thanks and 'wow man you were amazing' actually made sense. My low level guy who swum, because he might not have made it over land, just had some .308 and a sniper with any ammo, so he hid out on the roof and played sniper. I think he killed one guy, maybe. When the effusive congrats were offered, I burst out laughing.

Best for me:

Sneak +4

Lone Wanderer +3

Demo Expert +4 (2 for throwing arc, and 4 for extra good kerblooey)

Maxed Ninja, Better Criticals, Crit Banker, Mister Sandman, Action Boy/Girl (standard for all my chars)

Idiot Savant +2

The rest are variable depending on char build

Worst for me:

VANS, Leadbelly, Mysterious Stranger, Ghoulish

Without scrapper you only get wood, steel and plastic. With it you get screws and other rarer stuff at least that is that I understand, yes its mostly dependent on mods, yes its more important early before you can buy lots of shipments.

I haven't used Animal Friend or Wasteland Whisperer, but Intimidate is pretty great. Or at least it's amazing at rank 3, when you can order people around and access their inventory. I got Reba and Reba II that way, as well as the Submariner Uniform without killing its owner. Now I try to mug every stranger I meet in the wasteland.

If your experience is not being able to use it in combat, you are in luck with the next patch.