i just bought the Ultimate Editon. I am a long time TES fan and decided to try this one. Any advice on starting out?

Don't try to handle it like a TES game by trying to go wherever you want. If you don't follow the path laid before you, Deathclaws and Cazadores will destroy you. "Destroy" with a capital "DESTROY."

Do the main quest until you get some levels, then you can start roaming. The DLC was originally released in a specific order, and it's a pretty good experience to do them in that order (DM, HH, OWB, LR) but you can do Honest Hearts first, then Dead Money and the others after. HH can be done at fairly low levels (I've done it with a level 1 character).

Also, don't jump to conclusions about any of the factions.

Every faction is grey, Deathclaws are bad and what the devil said about the DLC's.

Thanks. I also bought FO3, should I wait to play NV until I finish a playthrough or at least get deep into FO3?

Follow the MQ until you get to the Strip. If you deviate from that path, death and destruction await you. Once you are familiar with the game, then you can find the alternate paths to the strip.

Thanks. I know nothing of Fallout lore so this may be very interesting.

Play FO3 first. You will appreciate New Vegas more.

So not so open world in the begining,

Thanks, that is what I thought. Started a char last night but only got to Springvale.

Don't judge the factions too quickly, I did on my first play through and I have regrets on it now. Also, do not rush. The MQ isn't going anywhere and it's a big desert. Explore, explore, explore and explore. While looting of course. Make sure to stay close to the roads though, their basically you're safety but occasionally dwelling off of them offers big rewards sometimes.

They're completely detached from each other storywise you can play either in any order

again...cannot stress enough not to judge factions on ur first impression. All the factions are grey meaning they have alot of good and alot of bad. There are no white knights and evildoers, alot of times its people doing bad things for the greater good and people doing good things that in the end is set up for personal greed or self preservation aka meaning bad outcomes.

Its got a long hidden tutorial meaning that its pretty linear until u get to vegas then its open world afterwords. I would save the dlcs for story purposes until after a couple of main quests after u met mr house.

Story wise the dlcs should be played on first time thru hh/dm-owb-lr, after uve done it before then the dlcs can be done at any order except always leave lr for last.

Also there is an ending to the game, its sweet because u see what ur actions and affiliations did for the future.

Also, there are choices and consequences. U cannot CANNOT do everything in playthru because people and events will open or close due to ur actions,and responses to people and scenarios.

Otherwise dont look at fonv as a tes game but its own game. Read the text and pay attention when talking with people.

Think outside the box. Every quest canbe done a different way with different endings and scenarios if u look around and pay attention. Just because it says u have to do this, most times theres something else u can do to complete it. Weither talking to the right person, examing the right object, or just having a certain object in ir pocession.

Have fun and I hope u enjoy.

Yeah, but New Vegas has tons of features Fallout 3 doesn't, so starting out with New Vegas could mean that once he does try out Fallout 3 he will miss lots of stuff, like Companion Wheel and hardcoe Mode.

I will playthorugh FO3 first. I planned to anyway just looking for reassurance, I RP heavy all my char so I will be doing the same here. I just dread starting over again and doing the vault again. I can run through it now though and save it right before I exit. FOrgot to do that the first playthrough

heads up, fo3 is more suited towards tes style. Fonv..u are in luck, extremely easy to rp in that game and it does something that tes games hasnt done in years...and thats the game will give options for ur rp setup and in cases actually identify ur rp.

So more like Morrowind in that sense?

You don't have to play it that way. My very first playthrough, I explored and dawdled all over along the way to the Strip, and didn't end up going after Benny until I was well over level 20! There are lots of side quests to do, towns to explore, caves and camps to clear, and great items to be found early on, even if you don't get anywhere near New Vegas. A lot of people will tell you you have to make a bee-line, #1 priority out of racing to the Strip, but that isn't even close to being necessary, to enjoy learning this great game. Race on if you like, but just be aware there is absolutely no need to, to have fun. But definitely heed the ppl who tell you not to head straight north out of Goodsprings... lol! Good advice.

- Explore a lot. Dangerous areas will probably have signs indicating the dangers ahead, so pay attention.
- Nearly ANYTHING has a use, one way or another. If you don't know if a certain item night be of any use, store it somewhere, because it can probably be used as a component for recipes later in the game.
- Always keep your weapons fully repaired. Their damage is severely lowered if their condition is low.
- Exhaust all dialogue options with everyone. You can be amazed by the rewards/quests/valuable information that you can discover just by talking.
- Save ammo for the bigger weapons. Kill lesser enemies with weaker weapons. You might need that extra ammo later in an "OH SH-" situation.

Just my 2 cents.