No never give in, I counter with.
Remove explosives, put GMG, GL's and GR's in guns.
Frag grenades, mines and dynomite in Melee as well as unarmed weapons ( as the names are completely wrong for the skill sets imo ).
Then any pulse and plasma in EW's.

No never give in, I counter with.
Remove explosives, put GMG, GL's and GR's in guns.
Frag grenades, mines and dynomite in Melee as well as unarmed weapons ( as the names are completely wrong for the skill sets imo ).
Then any pulse and plasma in EW's.

The best strategy to using explosives is to not use explosives. Why bother when you can do more with the other skills with a fraction of the resources you need to kill something with explosives, its silly.

One gauss rifle headshot is still worth more than your entire clip of HE grenades.

I can't figure out why a 25mm HE round id more powerful than a 40MM Incendiary.

I would say that is more of an indicator how OVERPOWERED Sneak Attack Head shots are! With the Gauss Rifle that boosts damage up 800%! Sneak attacks should be a regular crit - not a double dmg crit.

I will say that the Grenade Machine Gun does excel at taking out groups of Deathclaws. Easy to drop a group of three with it. No other weapon can do that without sneak attacks.

I would say that is more of an indicator how OVERPOWERED Sneak Attack Head shots are! With the Gauss Rifle that boosts damage up 800%! Sneak attacks should be a regular crit - not a double dmg crit.

I will say that the Grenade Machine Gun does excel at taking out groups of Deathclaws. Easy to drop a group of three with it. No other weapon can do that without sneak attacks.


The damage difference is not that great. Against a DT 15 critter the 25MM HE does 27 vs 35 on a 40MM. Factor in the GMG has a higher rate of of fire/magazaine size and the clear winner is the GMG using HE rounds. Now if the 40MM had HE Rounds and a faster fire rate/clip size then it would be better.

Of course the same goes for a fully tricked out Minigun vs the Avenger. The fully modded minigun is better due to magazaine size.

@Gurkog - You can take Deathclaws with Explosives. The GMG with HE Rounds or a Missile Launcher with HE Rounds. That is about it. The Fatman is actually weaker then the Missile Launcher right now. But it is expensive and very risky, you can easily kill yourself. Better of just switching to an AMR or Gauss and do a sneak attack headshot. Or if you like some fun get a fully tricked out Minigun with AP Ammo and go mow them down (takes about 30-40 rounds to drop one).

@Madocmayhem: While I agree with the direct hit damage, not sure I follow your tactics. What tactics do you use for melee combat critters? Especially indoors or outside when they can come at you from several directions? The only thing I can think of is to periodically drop mines and then lead the melee monsters over them. Not very fun. All of the other weapon skills can deal with close range, medium and long range encounters(Granted your unarmed people have to take cover and get close, but it is not impossible. The AI does not Kite the player). The only long range weapon is the Missile Launcher and with even the High Veliocity ammo it moves very slowly. And at a 100 caps a shot it hurts when your missile misses. Explosives are really only useful at medium range.

@Major - I agree with you there. As is they make a poor primary weapon skill. But since FNV has less skill points and less perk slots then FO3 why waste your time with them? Just go with the other weapon skills - they are all better. But I think they could be a lot of fun with some changes.

Why not just "Weapons Skill"? Put everything in there? :toughninja:

There is one positive thing about playing an exclusive Explosives character that I'm not sure has been mentioned: You can get the challenges "Dr. Wasteland, M.D." and "Tough Guy" over with usually before you leave Goodsprings. At least I did on my Artillery Bob playthrough. Did I mention that my M.O.S. back in the Marines was 0341? That's right. Mortarman through and through, here.

-Gunny out.

Here is more fail: I just got the Grenade Launcher, wow is the range awful, I shot Julie Farkas in the head, oh hey her lab coat has enough DT to stop a flying explosion that hit a part it doesnt cover, cool. I reloaded at OHK'd her with a single 20 Gauge buckshot from the Caravan Shotgun, and it was from a good distance too! THAT HAS TO BE THE MOST BALANCED MECHANIC EVER!

Did I mention that my M.O.S. back in the Marines was 0341? That's right. Mortarman through and through, here.

-Gunny out.

OMG!

That made me go to your profile but you're shy about your age (Although Old Farts Club gives a hint :spotted owl: ) Do they even use MOS any more? So you were a grunt? I was an Airdale: Aircrew Survival / MP)

A lucky grunt. Got to carry all my [censored], my rifle AAAANNNNNNDDDDD a 40 pound chunk of mortar. On flank security. Through the woods. On a mountain. Uphill. In the snow. With mickey mouse boots. And 10 blisters. At least we had good chow. NOT. Yeah, the memories......................................................... :foodndrink:

But the chance to blow crap up beats all that. There's nothing like a direct lay fire mission (one where you can actually see the target. Most artillery missions the gunners can't see what they shoot at, a forward observer FO sends them the corrections) where you can see those 81mm white phosphorus rounds catching "simulated armored vehicles" (stacks of tires) on fire. Makes me want to sit down with the geck and make a mod that completely changes the damage of all the weapons so they're correct. That is if I didn't have such a sell developed sense of conservation of personal energy (I'm lazy).

Semper Fi.
-Gunny out.

One gauss rifle headshot is still worth more than your entire clip of HE grenades.