Finally playing through New Vegas. Good game so far I like it alot more than I thought I would. Im using Sawyers difficulty mod and hardcoe mod plus a few others....

I thought Fallout 3 felt like a fun shooter game but I got bored fairly quickly walking around realizing everything you discover was nothing but a shootout with Raiders. It appears so far in NV (About 30 hours in I think) that there are actually some interesting things to find when exploring that dont always boil down to a shootout with the same enemies over and over.

It still feels more like an action shooter then a true RPG though but I think this is the nature of the first person real time combat style. It's still pretty easy even on the hardcoe mode and hard setting but at least a challenge once in a while. It baffles me that anyone would even bother playing on easy..

I cant say it really feels like a fallout game to me though, maybe more so then F3 did, but the first person 3D style just makes it feel too much different. That being said, there are moments here and there where it does remind me of Fallout 1/2. Granted it's been quite a while since I played F1&2.

Quick question;

I am kind of spreading out my skills....is this a bad idea? Based on the game not being very hard so far probably not. It appears when you encounter a safe and a computer you can use either science or lockpick. So is it smart to only put points into one of those? I do realize sometimes science is used in other ways like creating items at a fire and stuff....

Cool game that has kept me interested in whats just around the corner quite a while....much more than F3 did (I think I got bored with that at around 20 hours, even after installing mods that made the game harder).

Some other questions;

Is there any major different in outcome of the game world depending on whether you choose NCR or the Legion? (Non-spoilerish answer please).

Where the heck can I find ingredients needed for bullet crafting? I cant really break down much and cant make much and I seem to always be missing the right kind of powder or something. I have survival at like 40 skill too...Is the best way to break down other ammo?

You could buy raw materials at the gun runners or break down other ammo(but that will only give lead and, depending on the bullet type, primer and powder)
Trust me new vegas is a game that has severe consequences depending on your choices
And you should focs on either science or lockpick and when you have one of them high start putting skill points into the other (i would advise to go with lockpick unless youre on a ews playthrough)

I think once you get a feel for the quests, dialogue, and overall writing in the game it will feel a little bit more like Fallout 1 & 2, more so 2 though (a lot of the people who made New Vegas also worked on Fallout 2 - JE Sawyer, Chris Avellone, et cetera).


Well, it's generally better to focus on certain skills early on and then spread them out later once you've become proficient in certain areas. If you focus on Melee Weapons early on, then you can effectively use more powerful melee weapons (like the super sledge) at lower levels than if you were to spread your skills out.

Also, just as a quick note, survival is used to craft recipes at a campfire, not science. The science skill is used to hack terminals and to create certain items at workbenches and reloading benches.


Yes, I don't want to spoil anything, but there are essentially 4 totally different outcomes to the main quest plus differing end-game slides depending on how you handled the various side quests.


In order to craft ammunition for guns you need the Hand Loader Perk, which requires a high repair skill. If you want to craft ammo for Energy Weapons you need the Vigilant Recycler perk, which requires a high science skill.

Lockpick -typically- unlocks greater rewards, imo. It's generally more versatile because, from a balance perspective, Science gets you into terminals (which sometimes means a safe or a doorway unlocked) AND it's also very useful in dialog. Lockpicking lacks the dialog benefits, so from a balance perspective it needs to open MORE useful stuff. For the most part that's the case, but not always. Let's just say that of the -imporant- locks you wanna crack in the game, 75% can be opened with lockpick, the other 25% need science. Science though, provides other benefits, of course.

You'll want to keep in mind that Sawyer's mod only allows you to level to level 35 (I think?) and reduces the skill points available per level up. So it's probably a better idea to start concentrating a little on the skills you really want maxed out.

Really? I'm pretty sure I remember crafting gun ammo without picking Hand Loader. Hand Loader just unlocks some additional recipes for better ammo types.

Ok thanks for all the help.

I think I have been able to craft some ammo without the Hand Loader Perk, just not very many that I needed because I was always missing ingredients. Thanks for suggesting the perk though I will take a look at it.

Gun Runners? I don't recall them but maybe I have not come across them yet. I have only found merchants in Goodsprings, Novac, NCR checkpoint in the south(dont remember name) and one or 2 other places so far. I seem to have a serious lack of the right type of powder that I need (Small rifle\big rifle).

I think I will keep focusing mostly on lockpick then and focus more on specific skills until I get to a much higher level. I think I'm level 10 right now.

I picked the NCR side and now I'm hated by the Legion and they keep ambushing me with assassins who are pretty hard to kill so far...good stuff....

Yeah, you'll not have come across it yet if you haven't reached Vegas. Though there's also a Gun Runner rep (Alexander) at the 188. He's easy to miss if you're just passing through.

I typically just buy ammo, crafting it is too much trouble and to rely on it. I use it to supplement what I buy from vendors. There aren't a lot of bullet sponges in FNV, so unless you're a real trigger-happy spray-and-pray type there should be more than enough vendors supplying ammo.

Actually breaking down ammo with the help of the Hand Loader perk is a great way to save space in hardcoe mode. On my current playthrough I have insane amounts of ammo crafting supplies and tons of cases and I only keep ammo for whatever Gun I have at the time. Though my constant breaking down of ammo has given me about 65 lb worth of Lead, this is with Pack rat.