I am becoming curious about making an Explosives-centered build, possibly even a themed Boomer build, so I would like some advice from more experienced players on Explosives. I am planning a non-hardcoe, Normal difficulty playthrough.

My questions are as follows:

1) Which perks are most helpful for an Explosives-centered character? Which Explosives-related perks are broken and don't do what the description promises?

2) Is there any usefulness for "placed" explosives like Bottlecap Mine and Powder Charge? Tactical advice on these would be nice.

3) Does killing people with Explosives damage and/or destroy their weapons and other gear they use or carry?

1)Hit the Deck, due to bad implementation, it in crease player DT by 50% as long as you hold an Explosive weapon. Demolition Experts don't work on all some weapons (Annabell the unique Missile Launcher is the only one I know), however there is plenty of Mods for it.

2) Run backwards and drop them on the ground. Or placement on enemy patrol route.

3) It is actually hard to damage Mobs weapon while they are alive, but like to weapons fell on the ground.

You definitely want to have a close range combat option because explosives tend to not work like that at close range.. Anyway.. Heres an example of a build I worked on.

Brick the Beserker

Traits-v
Loose Cannon
Heavy Handed

Special-v (Start > With Implant)
Str- 9 > 10
Per- 4 > 5
End- 9 > 10
Chr- 2 > 3
Intl- 5 > 6 (Get the upgrade ASAP! Make it the first one you buy)
Ag- 6 > 7 (Important only for slayer. If you don't want slayer leave it at four and put points into Luck/ Per/ and Intel)
Luck- 5 > 6

Skills-v
Ba- 9 (Aim for around 30-50)
EW- 13 (Don't bother)
Expl- 13 >Tag> 28 (96 by level 35)
Guns- 15 (Don't bother)
LP- 13 (80 by 35/ 50 by 15)
Med- 15 (Aim for around 80-96)
Rep- 15 (Aim for 70-96)
Sci- (Aim for 70. You can get 100 with Magazine and Follower s Lab Coat)
Sne- 15 (Don't even bother. If you want to use unarmed sneak attacks maybe 50.. But I wouldn't)
Spe- 9 (Aim for 75)
Surv- 23 >Tag> 38 (You can coat MW if you want and its good for hardcoe. 80 Max)
UnA- 23 >Tag> 38 (Get to 96 by 35. This is your up close weapon of choice when not blowing people to bits)
MW- 23 (If you want to use melee weapons you can, but you only need UnA. Get to 96 if you want to use them)

Perks-v (NOTE: you will NOT be able to get all of this. Choose the ones that suite your style)
Heave Ho- lvl 2
Comprehension- lvl 4 (A staple for all characters)
Educated- lvl 4 (A staple for all characters)
Cannibal- lvl 4 (For a CL playthrough or if you wanna be evil)
Demolition Expert- lvl 6 (Two Ranks)
Toughness- lvl 6 (Two ranks, but one works)
Stone Wall- lvl 8
Strong Back- lvl 8 (Staple for all characters)
Super Slam- lvl 8 (Needs 45 MW)
Piercing Strike- lvl 12 (Probably the MOST IMPORTANT UnA perk on here)
Life Giver- lvl 12 (Not necessary/ Depends)
Splash Damage- lvl 12
Unstoppable Force- lvl 12 (needs 90 MW)
Hit the deck- lvl 12 (Only if you like using explosives at close range.. Not necessary unless your stupid..)
Paralyzing Palm- lvl 18 (Only if you use VATS)
Slayer- lvl 24 (The only reason to have above 5 Agility. This makes all your MW and UnA 30% faster, that makes a massive difference!)

Equipment-v
Any Heavy Armor (T1b or Enclave works if you have training)

Weapons-v
Mercy Grenade Machine Gun
Annabelle
Gas Bombs
Plasma Grenades
C-4
Bottlecap Mines
Pushy
Paladin Toaster
Mantis Gauntlet

Thats it! Tell me what you think.

Blackhawk- This is interesting, but:

1) I see no need for ST to be so high. ST6 + Weapons Handling allows me to use the Grenade Machinegun, which is the endgame gun. With T51, I can get away with the base ST of 4 + implant+ Weapons Handling. On the flip side, CH will be important; I want my followers strong so that they could keep enemies off me; I was thinking of going with Veronica for that.

From what I can see, Explosives allows for a lot of latitude in S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Here's what I was thinking, without implants and other bonuses)

ST 5 (for Heave, Ho! early on. After that, +1 implant + Weapons Handling= Grenade Machinegun)
PE 5
EN 7-8 (allows all S.P.E.C.I.A.L. implants, with 8 also subdermal armor)
CH 5
IN 7
AG 6
LK 5 (Don't need it for crit chance but need enough for Scrounger; missiles and grenades are relatively rare at the vendors and they cost a pretty penny, so I have to compensate).


2) I WILL need a backup weapon for close range, but I am hoping to find one that does NOT require investing skill points. I'm thinking of Energy Weapons actually, because all four skill books for it are easily accessible. The Q35 requires only 25 EW, Laser RCW and Plasma Defender require 50. Pew Pew's requirements are zero, and despite its crazy ammo consumption it could be brilliant as an emergency backup gun, come to think of it. So I'll have to buy some Energy cells; no bid deal.

3) I WILL need decent sneak- not for sneak crits but for stealing and for ambushing groups of enemies.

Perks wise, I think I'll NEED Pack Rat; one of the downsides of Explosives is that Dynamite and grenades have weight even on non-hardcoe. Since I can't get damage boost from criticals, I may have to go for perks which give a "flat" damage increase, like Bloody Mess and Living Anatomy. Hit the Deck and other +DT perks (I'm not stupid but I can be slow with the mouse). Maybe Chem Resistant for liberal use of Slasher, etc.


Any idea which exactly Explosive weapons Demolition Expert doesn't work on?

- Dynamite
- Long Fuse Dynamite
- Time Bomb
- C4
- Missile Launcher
- Annabelle *Unique Missile Launcher*
- Fat Man



Actually, it's relatively unknown outside of this forum that Demolition Expert is broken. The only file that fixes the perk on the nexus is mine, as people who have noticed it just do the adjustments for themselves, and not upload it.

Well my guy was a berserker so the high strength was for the damage increase for UnA. I see what you mean, but my play-through didn't center around followers. And well, with my build you'll have plenty of points for sneak and EW. And well I guess I was a little harsh, accidents happen with explosives, but I tend to only use them at longrange to avoid that. I don't really see the need for scrounger, I've NEVER used it in NV. I've had plenty of cash to buy all my stuff. Pew Pew is a good back up, definitely recommended if your going to need a low skill requirement back up. Don't forget about The Professional Perk if you plan on Pew Pew.

I always though those "improve explosive mods" would fix it.


1) Melee Companion and Explosive doesn't mix. If you like Veronica, I suggest you to keep her stay at range with a Plasma Rifle and some bulk ammo. You also don't need Weapon Handling because a) accuracy matters little given GMG and ML's spread and B) you can alway wear T-45d or eat/drink food/alcohol.

2) You've got the right idea. But with Veronica you may want to consider Shotguns instead, given they are pretty good against armoured opponent with slugs.

3) Adamatium Skeleton, just in case you need to take shots too close for comfort. You will also want Silent Running if you intend to sneak a lot.

If one of them does fix it, then it would be described in it's description as that's only common sense.

I did a quick search on Nexus, based on description, and only http://newvegasnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=40189 adds the Fatman to the formlist, not the other weapons.

Some general observations w/ my current explosive character:

* I went with the loose cannon trait / heave ho perk for thrown explosives. This is a pretty big investment because given the amount of throwables in the game, you might not get enough bang for your buck. You could probably focus on nade rifle / launcher, missile launcher , GMG, and mines and not be very handicapped. I'm finding my nade launcher does a better job of delivering explosives and it is cheaper to facilitate than throwing explosives.

* I tagged barter as one of my skills. I'm finding this works out really well w/ an explosive character. Explosive is one of the smaller classes of weapon, so you'll find yourself selling the majority of weapons of to increase your explosive stockpile. I feel like explosives is one of the more expensive skills to fund and it is compounded by the fact the the majority of ammunition will have to be bought from vendors.

*Repair doesn't get as much mileage w/ explosives as it does for their combat skills. Many explosive weapons are one time use and for the launchers you're simply not shooting all that much so you don't see as much wear and tear on your weapons.

*Gotta have a back up combat skill to finish enemies. Explosives are pricey, so I use them sparingly. Soften em up w/ some explosives, then switch to your secondary to finish. If you try to kill everything with explosives only, you can burn through your ammunition quickly. The traditional melee /explosives combo work well but requires splitting point into two combat skills. The zero skill guns like the weathered 10mm or Maria are also a good option. I was heavily dependant on melee until I got the second rank of demo expert.

*40mm nades are a hot commodity for an explosives character and can be tough to stock pile. best vendors are nash @ primm, lacey @ mojave, munitions vendor @ nellis.

* Boosting charisma a little more than usual might be a good idea. Your companions WILL get in your line of fire and with explosives it is difficult to discriminate between targets. A little charisma will give your companions that extra armor to not take too much DAM from your bombardments. I have 4 charisma and it seems to be fine.

Pretty genreal info, but i hope it helps. :thumbsup:

Hmm actually that helped me alot too Ratt! Thanks for the advice!

So where does it put missile launchers? Do they still pack enough punch to take people out?


I generally avoid downloading mods etc. so as to limit the amount of bugs and glitches (this game has more than enough of those as it is). On top of that, I don't think I have anything with which to open those compressed filed from the nexus.

Ratt-

Repair is a nice way of making money and increasing the value of the stuff you sell.

Traits wise, I was thinking Good Natured+ Loose Cannon, but if you say it isn't very useful I may have to go with Fast Shot I guess.

valkebus-

Spot on about Adamantium Skeletonm but Veronica may be in for some tough love. Since followers cannot die on non-hardcoe, I don't have to worry about her safety. If I happen to blow her up along with the Bloodborne Cave Nightstalkers, I can always fill her in on what she's missed.

Missile Launchers are still much better than they were originally, even if Demolition Expert doesn't include them. They're still viable to use but just aren't receiving their full potential.
As for your statement about mods, I'm not sure where you're getting that perspective from though you may just being more cautious than most folks. Mine is as stable as it was Vanilla, and this is with over 100 mods running. Have you considered at least getting the http://newvegasnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=38326 or the http://newvegasnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=34832? As for opening them, there's always http://www.rarlab.com/download.htm.

I would highly recommend taking melee with explosives. There is a very nice fit. First, you will need a high strength because explosives are heavy. Second, you don't need luck with either melee or explosives. But you do need luck for EW to be effective. It is a lot of fun to lob a 40 MM grenade at a group of baddies and then smash in there heads with a super sledge. You should have plenty of skill points to max out two weapon skills.

IMO only use Explosives and no other weapons.
No knife, no gun, only explosive weapons.
Might be harder to play us but that's whats fun with pure Explosive character.

^^ I don't see that being very realistic. You don't want to waste Dynamite killing a bloat fly. Plus at close range Explosives will surely kill you. If you do, then you better max out medicene ASAP cause you are going to need an endless supply of Doctors Bags to heal crippled limbs.

Well yeah, that's whats fun about it, action and consequence, you get powerful (later on) aoe damage weapons but face the risk of severely crippling yourself and even killing you or your companions by friendly fire.

And screw realism, just try full explosives, it is fun once you get the hang of it. :thumbsup:
The start of the game is awful for that kinda character but later on it becomes really fun.

I read this a few days ago and it is STILL bothering me. Mostly cause I know the devs (attempted) fixed the missile launchers in one of the patches. How can the missile launcher, annabelle, C4, and the Fat Man be over looked by the demo expert perk? These are some of the most powerful weapons at an explosives character's disposal. No wonder so many people are complain about explosives.

At least I know now.

Skyline, thank you very much for fixing the perk.

I've experimented a little with Explosive weapons, and I don't think I like them much. Grenade rifles and launchers have a ridiculously short range; those things are supposed to be good for 300-400 meters in real life, [censored] it. The crosshairs are useless and the weapon's sights don't help worth a damn; finding elevation is 100% guesswork. Rocket launchers have no zoom-in scopes, so you don't have a long-ranged weapon at all. I'm beginning to think that the Demolition perk is broken for a reason; it's a big fat hint to NOT choose this weapon class.

Why would the devs do that when they can just improve the skill?

Anyway, I did a character with energy weapons, explosives and repair that I enjoyed. But I usually only used explosives against mobs or heavily protected enemies.

Wasn't meant literally. I was just expressing the degree of my disappointment. Especially at the fact that missile launchers have no scopes.

I suppose it could make sense to use a missile launcher as a situational support weapon... if it didn't require a whopping 75 Explosive skill.

Skill requirement is the skill level a character master it; Missile Launcher isn't some PDW or baseball bat that anyone can use it to great effect.

Shooting grenade from launcher is still a guess work on the battlefield today; airburst "smart" grenade still require you to lob the grenade near you target; however it would be nice if iron sight is actually aiming from the sight to barrel instead of straight forward.

Thump-Thump is a very good choice. My explosives character uses it a lot. Rapid Reload makes it even better. The character also has pyromaniac. Incendiary rounds make short work of cazador mobs and lightly amored mobs. Also has two levels of Demo Expert and Splash Damage (but did fine without them - now murder with).

With a little practice it isn't hard to lob a nade right where you want it. Zen nade launching. So satisfying for those targets that ALWAYS are behind something no matter which way you approach from.

Tried an explosive oriented build, didnt like it. Spent too much time using guns because i didnt want to waste rockets or grenades on botflys or those thugs in freeside. And they are expensive and ammo for it is fairly rare.

If you do try one though, barter and EW or guns or melee are essential. Cant use explosives for everything,

I've tried Explosives-oriented characters before, and I second the recommendation of a backup skill for CQC even if you have both Adamantium Skeleton and Hit the Deck, as high-tier explosive weapons can/will kill you regardless since your own Demo Expert perks are being applied against you.

I ended up adding a bunch of weapons to the DE form list, so I get the full punch the weapons are capable of with all 3 ranks. I also modified certain rounds to have an AP component, although some of the best weapons don't really need that.

In an un-modded game I do not recommend much (if any) use of the Fat Man, as it's been nerfed to hell and back in addition to having almost no ammunition available for it. I fixed both of these, although the ammunition is still scare, so I actually use it although only for the toughest targets, such as an Alpha Deathclaw.

PROTIP: The Grenade Rifle, Grenade Launcher, and Fat Man are ballistic weapons and as such must be fired in an arc to reach distant targets. As mentioned by another poster this takes some practice, although even over/under-shots can still heavily damage the target(s) due to these all being AoE weapons.

For perks I took:

Demolition Expert (x3)
Splash Damage
Adamantium Skeleton
Hit the Deck
Strong Back (high-tier Explosives weapons are really heavy)
Pack Rat (same with most of the ammo, although Missiles and Mini-Nukes are not covered)
Weapon Handling (optional, if you wear Power Armor you probably don't need it)
Toughness (x2)
Jury Rigging (optional, however high-tier Explosives weapons have very limited repair choices without it)

and a couple more I cannot currently recall. I did not optimize Traits for this, although I probably should have.

I cannot really give a SPECIAL recommendation as I have a heavily modded chargen system and do not use companions, however high Endurance is a good idea and a STR of 6 (5+implant will do) would also be a good choice. The +DT implant would be a good idea as well, as you'll be hitting yourself a fair amount of the time due to some weapons having huge blast radii, especially with Splash Damage.

Heavy (Power of some kind, preferably) armor is probably a good idea, as you need to be in an open space to use your weapons without blowing yourself up in the process and as a result will take a fair amount of return fire. The added DT will also help compensate for accidentally getting caught in your own blasts, although the high-tier stuff will essentially ignore it due to sheer volume of force.

Early on things will be rather rough if you go straight Explosives, as Dynamite and thrown Grenades are laughably inaccurate with a low Explosives skill and will bounce all over the place after impact. As such I recommend developing a backup skill early on at the same time, even though that will cut into skill point distribution. Melee or Unarmed are ideal, as neither require ammunition and both can get reasonable gear right from the start. Guns or EW can also work; doubling up on ammo expenditures that early is probably not a good idea, however If you're willing to stay cash-strapped for a while, that problem will disappear by the time you have access to the better stuff. My personal choice would be Unarmed, as it has high(er)-end options tailored to specific critter groups (i.e. the Zap Glove vs. robots) as well as the insanely good Ballistic Fist. Early Unarmed will be a bit rough in trade, but it's definitely worth it IMO.