Hi everyone! I'm new to this section of the forum, though I've been active in the Oblivion one for quite some time.

Recently, I decided to give Fallout 3 a try on PC. I liked the intro and all the dialogue options, and it was easy to tell that it's made by Bethesda.

I made it to Megaton (I believe it's called) and got to know that my character's dad had passed through there and continued to the town. I went to D.C. to look for him, and this is where I got stuck.

The game is just too freakin' hard. Even as I play on "Easy" difficulty, the monsters literally own me. It's hard to aim, my rounds/shots run out in no time, and then I have to rely on my baton or baseball bat.
On one guy I had to use "tgm" to survive, which I am a little ashamed of, but it had been ages since my last save.

Should I not have continued on to the place called "Galaxy News Radio" and tried to lvl up more near Megaton? I barely survived the zombies in the underground on my way through the city.

Also, I can't really seem to get into this game. I've always liked fantasy, so Oblivion was pretty easy, but Nirn is quite different from a post-apocalyptic USA crawling with mutated cockroaches. All the ruined buildings and dusty sky just makes it really depressing. Is this simply not the game for me or have I done something wrong?

Answers will be appreciated. And remember this is my first try at the game so maybe I've simply screwed up my character.

Did you by chance speak with Moira at Craterside Supply in Megaton? She has a project that she needs help on. This quest is designed to get you into the game, and help outfit you with better weapons and gear. I sneak too, a lot. If you're completely hidden, that first shot will be a whopper and can seriously hurt if not outright kill your enemy. Why not switch to very easy for a while until you get the hang of things?

Personally my transition from Oblivion to Fallout 3, was made with great anticipation. I do love it, but the funny thing is, I need to take breaks every other week... so I can return to good old Oblivion. :whisper:

Main difference between archery in Oblivion and guns in Fallout 3 is that accuracy is skill based, in Oblvion the arrow went in the direction you shoot, in Fallout 3 bullets goes everywhere with low skill. Solution use a hunting rifle or let the enemy come around a corner so you can shoot them at close range with an assault rifle or combat shotgun. As Big Daddy says, sneak works well, pretty like OB but you get warning if enemies are searching for you.
Repair and condition of your weapons are also important, you can not repair more than your skill so that is an critical skill to level up.
Do you use VAT, very nice against moving enemies at medium range.

About the game seeming hard, I think you'll find it really isn't. But the enemies don't scale with you as much as they do in Oblivion. So it really pays to develop a character before venturing into difficult areas, like downtown DC.

Generally I'd stay around Megaton or Rivet City for a few levels. As mentioned above, you might see Moira in Craterside Supply to see if she needs help with anything. That's might give you a focus to level up.

Also I'd recommend getting good with one Kill Skill (Small Guns is probably easiest) and also Repair.

Ammo could be tough early on, so taking a Scrounger Perk might be good.

But it does get easier. I really like that game. personally I prefer Oblivion but I think Fallout 3 is a great game.

WOW!!!! You sound like me.I came here from Oblivion and Dragon Age and it took me a long time to get into this game.I agree everything looks so depressing, all black grey and white,after all the color of Oblivion.Take your time with the main quest.There are alot of side quests to do to level up.Small guns is probably best in the beginning.I wandered around awhile(check out Springvale not far from Megaton) to get the feel and then started over.Spend alot of time in the beginning scrounging around for anything and everything you can sell for caps so you can buy what you need,which shouldn't be alot because you can find almost everything you need.Level up before you try DC.Enjoy and remember we're here if you need help.

Thanks for the tips guys. I suspected the enemies were not lvl-scaled, the fights were intense.

I'll go back to Megaton and stick around for a while and talk to Moira.

I did focus on Small Guns and Repair, and also Medic or something like that, so I hope I'm not too screwed up for being the first char.

I'll keep working in the easier areas, and thanks a lot!


I played Dragon Age too, loved every bit of it.

Here is a tip for those not used to firearms: accuracy is better with single shot weapons. When using an automatic weapon the bullets will tend to spray all around your target, using small bursts of one to three rounds at a time will improve accuracy with your automatic weapons.

Going to GNR right away isn't really the best approach. You should do some of the Megaton quests first and get some better gear and level up a bit. That 10mm pistol is only good for so much, you need to have a bit more firepower than that in order to survive. You also need to build up your skills more so you're more effective with your weapons. As mentioned, talk to Moire Brown at Craterside supply. If you do the quests for the first couple of chapters of her book, then you should be in a better position to tackle the GNR. Also talk to Lucy West, she has a job for you as well. You can find her in Moriaritie's Saloon.



Well if you can't get into the atmosphere, then maybe it's not the game for you. There are mods though that get rid of that post-apocalyptic climate and make it more like what you're used to. Nothing that can be done about the ruined buildings though, that's kind of what happens after a few atomic bombs get dropped on a city. Not to mention a further 200 years of neglect and decay.

Yes, you need to be aware of the limitations of your weapons. Some are good at long range, some medium, and others svck at anything other than close up. For Small Guns, Hunting, Lever and Sniper Rifles work the best at range, while Assault rifles, Sub-Machine Guns and pistols are best for medium range. Close up you want to use the Combat Shotgun, it can be absolutely deadly at that range but really svcks for distant targets. It has the worst spread of any small gun in the game. The medium range small guns are also effective at close range, but the Combat Shotgun is by far the best. A Sawed-off Shotgun is pretty good too, though you only can get in a couple for shots before you need to reload. There again, it really svcks at distant targets because of the spread. Don't use it for that.

I also find grenades good for softening up a group of enemies. I try to aim in the middle, or free hand it around a corner. Then switch out to an assault rifle. I actually find the basic assault rifle to be extremely accurate when squeezing off 1 or two rounds. Or hose down the area. I only use VATS for mid-range enemies, about 20 to 30 yards out. Before and after they hit that range, I free hand it. Although getting into VATS should be good for you, as when you are in the VATS animation, you are a tank, when the game looks at your DR.

It's the grey, depressing, hostile setting / enviroment that I really really like about FO3, I don't claim to have played all post apocalyptic games out there but for me personally FO3 hits the nail on the head.

I agree with scrounge collect and steal everything you can and sell what you don't want for amo etc which might be particularly useful early game if your focussing on guns. I like the OP approach to get the main quest started asap this will leave plenty of time for the character to level as the game progresses. Doing Moira side quests at the start I feel awards too much xp early on and leaves one wanting more by the time you hit the level cap (usually a while before the main story finishes). Doing Moira's quests will however as others rightly say better prepare you for what's waiting elsewhere in the game

Don't go anywhere near D.C. until your like level 5+, and have a relatively high small guns skill: 50+

Speech, Small Guns, and Lockpick skills are needed in this game.

Ideal weapons to use: Lincoln's Repeater, Chinese Assualt Rifle, Plasma Rifle, and it doesn't hurt to carry a Missle Launcher, either.

I suggest going to the town that is a little north from Megaton, it's the elementary school. A butt-load of Raiders live there, you'll gain at least two/three levels there.

If you want more help, just ask me. And make sure to go to Craterside Supply in Megaton, Moira has the biggest/longest sidequest in the game. You gain a secret perk and a lot of supplies from her.

She's hot, as well.

She's hot in my game as well. But that's only due to the excessive radiation she received recently.

Speech is not necessary at all. All you get from it is a little extra XP, and a few bonus items. You can easily skip that skill altogether. And under no circumstance should anyone put points into Barter. In no time you'll have more caps than you know what to do with. My first time through the game I had something like 12,000+ caps sitting in a desk in my Megaton home.