Hey Guys and Gals


So basically I am a complete noob when it comes to New Vegas - I have racked up tons of hours on Fallout 3 and played it religiously - Due to work commitments , it is only NOW that i could sit down and devot some time to play it

I am just wondering if anybody could point me in the right direction on what to do when i start up the game, some general hints and tips, and maybe a character build?

EDIT: Also is there any DLC i should be aware of?

Play though on your own. Then come back for build tips.

There is Dead Money and it can be very challenging at first.

Try to find out everything for yourself, explore. I highly recommend not using any information sources from the outside (the Vault wiki, this forum) and instead solve everything by yourself, you'll feel much prouder.

Oh yes, keep an open mind no matter how twisted a group may look.

Try out hardcoe mode when the in-game prompt appears. I'd suggest it's not so much difficult as that several aspects of the normal game seem redundant without it.

(And you can always turn it on or off at any time.)

Here's a good way to go in the first game at an early level. It's not too spoilerish on detail so don't be afraid to look.



Now the rest is up to you...that was a broad outline and you can fill in many details yourself as you play and talk to people. Go pretty much anywhere except North...you're not ready yet....although some people do try it and make it. It depends on what you want to do. Good luck!!!

Added: Two tips on character build. I go pretty much for balance. Intelligence will give you more points to spread around when you level up if it's not low. Charisma will affect the strength of your companions so I don't make that low plus it helps Speech. An Endurance of 7 at the beginning of the game will allow you 7 Implants to up your Primary Skills later.

• Don't expect it to be a clone of FO3 in a new location, that's upset a lot of FO3 players.
  
  
• Listen to everyone and even pay attention to the opening video.
  
  
• Really explore the Goodsprings area, you can pick up a lot of useful stuff.
  
  
• Don't pick the Wild Wastelands perk.

No, if you turn it off you can't turn it back on.

If your head comes away from your neck, it's over!

Ignore this advice. Pick Wild Wasteland if you want. Sometimes it's pretty funny, and the only thing you miss out on is the YCS/186 (but you get the Alien Blaster instead.)

One big change from FO3 : factions

Factions come in two flavors, we'll call them major and minor.

Major factions have a hard limit of ONE. This is who you're teaming up with to beat the game. The other major factions will not take kindly to your rebuke, but such is life.

Minor factions have no hard limit, though there will be conflict among them that may earn you negative rep with one or the other. Perfect example in the first 15 minutes of gameplay, Goodsprings vs Powder Gang. Whoever you help, the other side will be unpleased.

Play the Main quest until you Get the a Suite, Then collect lots of Unique Guns and Armour etc.... Then Customize your house with them its FUUUUUUUUUUN, Also collect as many Followers as you can and You can send them to the Suite you get and they Hang around in a Room

Oh one more thing; kinda late in the game, your major faction leader will ask, basically, "Are you ready?" Then a huge box of text will pop up and say, "No really, are you SURE that you're ready???"

When this happens, do yourself a favor and actually read it. There is no "after the ending" in New Vegas, like there was with FO3: Broken Steel. Once you finish and beat the game, you're done. You can only reload a previous save. (and If you'd like to debate whether this is a good or bad concept, there are 150 other threads already dedicated to that).

Why would he do that?! He just started :facepalm: . He should play it without hardcoe mode then turn it on the second playthrough if anything.

I suggest heading to new vegas by i-15, the sload road. sneal past the deathclaws and then get this machine, an m1 garand really, just this machione is the in game name of the weapon.

You can. It's only the 'hardcoe Achievement' doesn't appear if you do.



Why not? Seems to me that "I have racked up tons of hours on Fallout 3 and played it religiously" means the OP can handle it, and will miss out on a fair bit and perhaps risk disappointment if not. It's only a suggestion.

Luck is far more useful in Fallout NV. And so is Charisma.

I've always played with hardcoe on :shrug:

I hadn't even played Fallout 3 for over a year and it still wasn't a problem

stay away from wild wasteland and survival on your first playthrough. ww is just a gimmick and survival isn't nearly as useful as it could have been.

definately think about giving hardcoe mode a try, it really adds to the experience without messing with the difficulty level.

do the sunny smiles tutorial, strip goodsprings of everything you can and search some of the surrounding areas. talk to everyone there and just head south, after that just experience the game for what it is.

Advice for beginner...

1) Keep your Speech level high. Talk to everyone who has a name, and I do mean everyone. Pay close attention to dialogues. Information is EVERYTHING in this game.

2) Save VERY often. Diversify your saves, too. Between bugs, crashes, poor signposting and staggering surprises of the game's storylines, you might have to go back to an old save every once in a while.

3) Some followers have VERY strong feelings about factions they belong to, as well as factions they oppose. If they tell you they plan to shoot members of a certain faction whenever they meet them, they're NOT kidding, and it can get you into some serious trouble. Also, when traveling with a faction-allied follower, try not to kill anyone from that faction, for the same reasons.

4) For your first playthrough, go with Guns for a combat skill. You can try Energy, Explosives, Unarmed or Melee in later playthroughs, but it's best to keep things simple while you're familiarizing yourself with the gameplay.

5) Until you learn which items do or do not have uses, collect EVERYTHING. Hoarding is not a crime

6) Do not take the Wild Wasteland trait on first playthrough.

7) You get to respec once, just before you leave Goodsprings. That means you don't have to make your final choices of S.P.E.C.I.A.L and skills to tag right away. I usualy tag Explosives at the start to get some Dynamite and sell it for a bit of starting capital (Dynamite is the most expensive weapon you can receive at the start), then I respec to something else when I'm done doing all there is to do in Goodsprings.

8) Lead (as in ammunition component) has weight, despite the fact that your Pip-Boy doesn't show it. That weight can add up to serious values. If you've been converting different ammunition types at the Reloading Bench and you find some "invisible" weight on yourself, try unloading the lead.

9) Fallout Wiki is your friend. Even if you don't want spoilers, things like weapon stats and more intelligible explanations of perk effects will come in handy.

10) This forum and its people are also your friends. We don't bite. Ask away

Read all the perk discriptions very carefully before picking them. Some perks are very useful when you read what they actually do, but don't seem like it at first glance. Other perks look really cool, but are a waste of time when you find out what they really do. Also don't rely on your FO3 experiance about the perks, many retain the same name but their effects have changed greatly.

I do :blink:

Anyhow, as you've undoubtedly noticed, some people don't know how to use the spoiler tags.

As for hardcoe mode, its not as much hardcoe as it is annoying, but thats just my personal experience.

1. While I agree speech is one of Fallout's strength, I wouldn't "tell" 1st time players to get it as freedom in character building is alson one of Fallout's strength.

2. Yes, too many rely only on one save.

3. I think a steep learning curve is a good learning curve; it also tells you NPC dialog means it, unlike many games.

4. EW is pretty good about the patch, Melee and Unarmed are pretty good as well. Only explosive require some matter gaming, which if one is willing isn't much of a problem.

5. You forgot to mention overweight would stop you from running

6. Why not? It doesn't do much anyways.

7. I love the word "respec". That aside, I don't see how it have to do with anything.

8. Pip-boy actually says 0.00 instead of --, just like syringes.

9. It's call "the Vault".

10. I do.

He is on the FIRST playthrough. He will have plenty of time replaying the game and tweaking character builds in his next playthroughs; I'm simply trying to advise him on ways to learn to navigate the game's environment quickly and simply. Best way to turn someone off the game is to make their first playthrough a chore- even with the best intentions.


Yes, but FNV is a bit bad with signposting in that department.


In terms of availability, vendor access and ease of repair, Guns are still the easiest for beginner. Starting out with EW will force him to wander around for quite some time until worthwile weapons come along; guns grant you viable early-game weapons right there in Goodsprings.


And heavy armor will slow you down. But these things don't really require explanation; you learn them quickly on your own.


Because before giving your gameplay experience a wacky side, it is best to learn the basics.


He is on a first playthrough. Every little bit helps. I find the early boost in caps which I get from tagging Explosives at the start quite helpful. It's not a must, it just makes life a little bit easier.


That doesn't count. Your bite is about as hard as that of a Radroach trying to nibble on a Power Armor.