Opinions appreciated. I'm new to Fallout......or I should say I played the original years ago and never touched it again. Recently picked this up again along with a DLC disc. I am, however, getting smoked. I'm early on....level 3ish.....yet I find it very difficult to simply travel to destinations without becoming mutant cuisine. Would I be making a mistake by turning down the difficulty until I can get a grip on the game or is it better to svck it up and figure it out?

I realize running a character or two as test "subjects" usually works in other Beth games.......Oblivion....Skyrim, etc.....but I don't turn the difficulty down in those when I start. Just a bit frustrated and really want to explore this game.

I appreciate the opinions. Sorry if this is the wrong section.......I tend to think those posting in the Cheats & Hints forums have more insightful opinions and understanding of the games.

Thanks!

You use "......." far too much.

On topic, loot, trade, and stick with it. After you level up a little, it's a walk in the park. That said, avoid combat if possible, use vats, repair your weapons, and so forth.

Apologies. I didn't proof my post.

Appreciate the advice. I'm pretty much attempting what you've suggested. At least, I think I am. I'll keep on keepin' on.

I'd say go ahead and turn the difficulty down till you get a feel for it and gradually increase it as you go, also take the educated perk as soon as it becomes an option it'll go a long way

Hey, I was just kidding.

Anyway, it's always a bit of a scraqe when you first start out, especially when you're new to the game. But as you level up and get better gear, well as I said before, a walk in the park.

The earliest levels were actually pretty tense. I too stuck to moving slowly, picking my spots to fight. Sticking around Megaton area until I'd beefed up a little.

However, I did carefully - and I mean slowly, as well as saving frequently - go through the Elementary school shortly after leaving the vault. It took me forever, because of course I had crap armor and weapons, but as long as I could keep the raiders from ganging up, I got through and found the - iirc - chinese assault rifle in the basemant, which helped a lot early on.

I never make a particular build, I was just winging it. I just found that assessing and moving slowly when I was unsure, or under-armed, was effective enough to keep me getting stomped to a minimum.

Thanks for the input. The information really helped! I just had to throttle back on how much I was trying to do at one time. I didn't end up turning the difficulty down, but through a pretty good gaming session Saturday and Sunday while being conservative, I was able to get some things accomplished and am now sitting at level 10.

There have been some interesting and tense fights thus far. One was last night dealing with some slavers up north. Fortunately, Ole Abe left me a nice treat that I found and that thing is just awesome!

I did pick up that educated perk, as suggested above, and that was also a nice shot to help early on.

Again, thanks for the advice! Much appreciated.

I would've suggested doing Operation Anchorage before level 6 as the gear you get from it can make the game dramatically easier.

My son suggested the same thing when he got home from work yesterday. He asked if I'd picked up the radio transmission from the outcasts? Something about that being important. I'm not sure I recall what he said exactly.

I'm learning. The gear I have now has made a serioius difference in my ability to not die on a regular basis. I'm most grateful for that.

So, about this Operation Anchorage DLC, the Outcasts are in the game even without this, correct? I found some last night, but I've yet to receive the signal from them to initiate the quest. I'm thinking I may need to start a new character since this was added after I began playing. Or do I need to have my x-box hooked up online for it to work? Jabber Jr. keeps saying something about certain items are only available while online or some such. He mumbles a lot so getting proper info out of him can be a pain in my pancreas.

Thanks!

There are Outcasts in the game even without Operation Anchorage, but the ones added by the DLC are an entirely separate group. You can kill all of them and the ones in the rest of the game won't know or care.

If you haven't gotten any of the radio signals to start the DLC quests by now, then something has definitely gone wrong with your game. I haven't played FO3 on XBox in ages, but I don't recall you needing to do anything special in the game launcher to activate the DLCs (on the PC version you have to run the game launcher and check the DLCs off on the Data Files page before they show up in your game). I do know, however, that you don't have to be online to activate the DLCs; when I played the game on the XBox, I didn't even have an XBox Live account, and the DLCs ran fine.

ETA - have you received any of the signals or indicators for the DLCs? Example - when you install Broken Steel, you'll get a pop-up that states that it is installed and your level cap has been raised to 30, and you have to click out of it. Did you get this message?

No, I did not get that message. Will that happen for each character or only the first time? I've got another gamer on the box and he installed it. I can see it in the list of downloads and Jr. has actually completed the quest. I'm thinking I'll start a new character and see if that clears it up.

Appreciate the info!

It'll happen with each new character, usually within a couple of minutes of leaving the vault. You may have to use his account, though, if you don't have the DLCs on your account. Not sure how that works, since I only have one account on my XBox.

These DLCs are from discs and I have access to others. With the info you've provided, I'm thinking this is a glitch on my current play through. I'll have to start another character (not a big deal....I'm using my tutorial character now) and see if that makes a difference. Either way, I game, I have a few advlt beverages and mutants die. All in a good night's fun.

Appreciate the input, Gator Country! Lets beat those Tigers tomorrow!

On 360, sometimes when I start a new character, I will not receive radio signals for Anchorage and the Pitt. I can see that the DLC is sitting on my hard drive, but the game doesn't recognize it. So I re-install the DLC, without deleting the old stuff. Doing this, I think, prompts a connection. After doing this, I get radio signals right away.

I'll have to give this a try, thanks! Nothing else I've done has worked. I need to try a new character, but I didn't get a chance to do that this weekend.

i'm also new to Fallout, but i figured put a handy way to get XP and money.
i did the Wasteland Survival Guide quest, which led me to a town called Minefield. as the name suggests, landmines are everywhere.
if you approach the mines, look at them and activate them. you can then pick them up safely. if you go into sneak, you can approach them and disarm them from further away (as you are closer to the ground). disarming them gives you XP, and you can keep them or sell them for money. i got 25 frag mines really easily.

just watch out for the sniper

I just started this game today, so I don't have much advice to offer. Depending on where you are (or if you intend to restart):
-Don't underestimate the bat.

-Use the environment when in the open. Stay near rocks and large objects so when enemies attack in groups, you can jump up or run around and form a plan of action.

-Running from a fight is better than losing supplies. It didn't take me long to learn this lesson!

-Repair your armor first, your weapons second. Those DP points are priceless!

-If you get to Megatron, stay away from the saloon. Instead:
-: Talk to the old man at the water treatment plant. If your repair is high enough, he'll ask you to stop 3 leaks in town. Once you complete this, he'll offer to buy any scrap metal you find.
-: Talk to the girl at the supply store and start the Survival quest(s). Be careful, though: these aren't easy quests. I went in order of the minefield, drugs and food, and am now doing the radiation. The first gives you the opportunity to walk away with the sniper rifle, which comes in very handy for the second quest. This is a very tough fight, but you can walk away with one sweet boomstick.

-Whenever you find a bed, clear the area asap. Sleeping will be your greatest ally in the game early. One hour will restore your health, and can save on using up critical supplies.

-Don't waste skill points on barter, sneak, or speech this early. Lockpicking and repair are going to be more powerful early. Too bad I didn't realize this sooner, now that I'm just level 3.

-Repair your armor first, weapons second. The DP rating is going to be critical, and the higher, the better. The vault (escaping) offers the best armor at level 1 with the armor security outfit and the helmet. Get them and put them on. The second best armor I've seen doesn't come until the meds and food run given in the Survival quest. Aesthetics is not something to focus on early.

Well, that's all I have. Now that my game's better since my decisions screwed up my last game. By the way: SAVE. SAVE. SAVE. SAVE.

Kill something? Save. Walk 10 feet without dying? Save.

Enjoy the game.

Your abillity to walk short distances without dying will be your enemy's downfall!

OA due to bug on the xbox. interfers with the got to shot them in the heads quest. to do the later go to underworld. there is a quest giver that wants keys. get the three keys. you don't have to finish his quests. just get the keys. doing so will net some really expansive loot.