After playing “Fallout: New Vegas” together with a friend on his PC, I’m finally getting it for myself on Xbox 360. I’m thinking about a combat-oriented build – and after studying a lot of Guns and EW only builds on the internet, I’m asking myself: Why not using the best of both? With the level cap at 50 the luxury of having two weapon skills maxed out seems quite affordable, so that the Courier is able to wield the best weapon loadout for all distances and situations.

So, the basic facts for my build are:
- I’m going to buy all DLCs, so level 50 is the cap for me.
- I won’t be using VATS much, if at all. I definitely won’t spend perks on it.
- Maximizing the chance for critical hits is one of my primary goals.
- I’m planning to use stealth quite a bit, but not all the time.
- I won’t limit myself to guns or energy weapons but will use both, unless one totally dominates the other one.
- Since I’m a powergamer at heart, the build should be very viable even on Very Hard and as obscenely overpowering as possible.
I’d really appreciate any advice and constructive criticism.

SPECIAL
Depending on the weapons I choose in the end, I might transfer a point or two from ST to IN or AG.
- ST: 5 + 1 (implant) + 2 (OWB enhancement) = 8
Enough to wield almost all the weapons without penalty.
- PE: 5 + 1 (implant) = 6
Without ?Better Criticals“ this would be another dump stat for me.
- EN: 9 + 1 (implant) = 10
Best attribute in my opinion. I want as much hit points and implants as possible.
- CH: 1 + 1 (implant) = 2
I prefer a very strong PC instead of more capable companions.
- IN: 3 + 1 (implant) = 4
With the level 50 cap an extremely high IN seems rather pointless.
- AG: 7 + 1 (implant) = 8
Faster reloads are nice, but putting more points here seems excessive when not using VATS. Or would you go for 10 to maximize damage output (quicker reloading = more shooting)?
- LU: 9 + 1 (implant) = 10
Maxing out the critical hit chance.

Traits
- Built to Destroy
Pretty much crucial for any crit build.
- Skilled
At first, I’ve been torn between “Skilled” and “Fast Shot”, but the more I read about “Fast Shot” the less appealing it seems. But hey, please feel free to convince me of the advantages of “Fast Shot” if you think it’s worth it.

Perks
This is probably not the final version since choosing the weapon loadout (and the according perks) is still my main problem.
- Level 2: Black Widow
- Level 4: Educated
- Level 6: Light Touch
- Level 8: Cowboy OR Grunt (IF using Cowboy or Grunt weapons)
- Level 10: Finesse
- Level 12: Bloody Mess
- Level 14: Jury Rigging
- Level 16: Better Criticals
- Level 18: Hand Loader
- Level 20: The Professional (IF using pistols, revolvers or SMGs)
- Level 22: Laser Commander (IF using laser weapons)
- Level 24: Rapid Reload
- Level 26: Toughness 1
- Level 28: Toughness 2
- Level 30: Implant GRX 1
- Level 32: Implant GRX 2
- Level 34: Chemist (Boosts the effect of Implant GRX.)
- Level 36: Living Anatomy
- Level 38: Silent Running
- Level 40: Fight the Power!
- Level 42: Travel Light
- Level 44: Tunnel Runner
- Level 46: Lifegiver
- Level 48: Quick Draw
- Level 50: Just Lucky I'm Alive (LR)

Apparel
The usual stuff like 1st Recon Beret and Ulysses’ Duster to max out the crit chance:
[10% (LU 10) + 3% (Built to Destroy) + 5% (Finesse) + 5% (1st Recon beret) + 5% (Ulysses' Duster)] * crit % multiplier + 5% (Light Touch) + 10% (Laser Commander) + 4% (Set Lasers to Fun),
so that chance for a critical hit is
28 % * crit % multiplier + 5% for guns,
28 % * crit % multiplier + 9% for non-laser energy weapons and
28 % * crit % multiplier + 19% for lasers.

Weapons
The game offers a plethora of great weapons. A lot of them are totally viable, but I’d really like to know which guns and energy weapons are the best of the best in the following categories in conjunction with a high crit build:

a) A very accurate scoped long-range weapon for the use while sneaking.
If I’m correctly informed, stealthed attacks count as some sort of critical hit anyway, so the crit % multiplier of the weapon should be irrelevant. My favorite pick right now is Christine's COS Silencer Rifle due to the silencer, but I’m not sure if the sheer stopping power of the AMR would be better in the long run. Any energy weapons which can compete?

b) An all-purpose gun for mid to long range combat.
I’ve been considering Medicine Stick and Survivalist Rifle, but both don’t seem to be able to (ab)use the power of a critical hit build due to their low multiplier. Is there an energy weapon with high crit % multiplier which can surpass them?

c) A really hard hitting close-quarters combat “Get out of my face!”-weapon to punish anything that dares to get close to my character.
Riot Shotgun with the according perks? An automatic weapon powered up by the Grunt perk?

d) A durable sidearm which gets rid of all the pesky rodents and crawlers in an inexpensive, economical way.
Perhaps Lucky (bonuses from Cowboy and The Professional), A Light Shining in Darkness (bonuses from Grunt and The Professional) or MF Hyberbreeder Alpha (bonuses from Laser Commander and The Professional)? Something completely different?

Even better if several of these wishes can be fulfilled by one gun. Please assume that I get all the corresponsing perks which bolster certain guns.

Thanks in advance for your input.

Hmmm......

For your in-your face weapon, get the GRA tri-beam laser rifle.

If you want a medium range weapon that benefits from critical hits get Paciencia. I'd also advise to get HP rounds if you can. Getting a critical hit with HP rounds on armored enemies easily surpasses AP rounds on armored enemies.

You could also use Li'L Devil with JHP rounds as a sidearm.

You could also get the perk Voracious Reader. It can give you a near endless supply of True Police Stories and with the Comprehension perk you get an additional 10% to add to the 28% base critical chance. But you need a min of 7 INT. You might want to pass on this.

The Hot Blooded trait is actually not bad since on Very Hard you take a lot of damage and getting below 50% isn't uncommon. Though you'll have to find a way to deal with the -2 Perception and Agility.

Some of your perk choices are odd...

Why quick draw?
I'm not sure +30 HP from Lifegiver would make a lot of difference on Very Hard.
Depending on your faction, Fight the Power could either be useful or near useless.

I wouldn't pick quick draw unless you have some sort of strategy attached to it. Like you combine it with travel light, run towards your enemy and then pull out a super sledge at the very last second. But even then, the usefullness is questionable.

30 HP is really peanuts, you gain a lot of health as you level up anyway.

Fight the Power can be very useful or a waste depending on your circumstances.

Weapons c and d could both be covered by the MF Hyperbreeder Alpha. You might want somethign that hits a little bit harder for your "get out of my face" weapon, though. I've personally never had any trouble with the Hyperbreeder in that regard however.

Regarding perks:
Frankly, all the perks from level 40 to 48 are no favorites of mine and sometimes less-than-ideal solutions:
- Level 40: Fight the Power!
I can’t imagine NOT getting on the bad side of the Legion sooner or later, but I totally agree: It’s very situational, probably too situational. Could be replaced.
- Level 42: Travel Light
Actually, I like this one even though it’s more or less a pure convenience perk. Much more useful for a melee build, but faster movement is always nice.
- Level 44: Tunnel Runner
Even less of a must-have than “Travel Light”, but still convenient.
- Level 46: Lifegiver
Neither a great perk nor really necessary since the life bonus is so small, but it’s still always useful to have.
- Level 48: Quick Draw
Certainly not part of some kind of weird combat tactic, but simply a bad pick from my side. Should definitely be replaced.
Which perks would you suggest instead of “Fight the Power!”, “Quick Draw” and “Lifegiver”?

Regarding weapons:
- The fully modded GRA Tri-Beam laser rifle (with max charge microfusion cells) seems perfect for category C. Great advise! By the way, do I need “Vigilant Recycler” for more ammo recipes to use its full potential?
- In category D there are a lot of great choices, but I guess in the end I’ll go with A Light Shining in Darkness (with Grunt) which seems on par with Li’l Devil regarding damage output but outclassing it in durability. The only reason I shun away from the otherwise great MF Hyperbreeder Alpha is that I really don’t want to destabilize an already buggy game by transforming hundreds of mole rats and bloatflies to permanent piles of ash.
- Paciencia would be a great choice with its high and extreme crit damage, but the three round magazine and a long reload time limit its usefulness. In my opinion it’s more of a sniper rifle to score sneak crits than an all-purpose gun.

Regarding all the rest:
- Using “Voracious Reader” and “Comprehension” to generate TPS mags is a pretty cool idea, but the IN 7-requirement seems a bit too steep.
- “Hot Blooded” is an interesting trait. The 15 % bonus damage is very impressive, but it requires a certain amount of micromanagement to offset the penalties to attributes and only triggers in life-or-death situations you want to avoid like the plague. “Fast Shot” which also generates more damage seems more reliable and less stressful in comparism.

Uh....Burden to Bear? Nothing wrong with more weight limit.

for Laser Weapons

Pew Pew and AER14 Prototype

they have high crit multipliers and dish out decent dmg/shot (especially Pew Pew which is also a holdout weapon)

That extra 30 HP could give you the ability to survive 2 strikes from a LR Deathclaw on Very Hard.



Fight the Power! is a must since the Legion will be your primary enemy. Quickdraw is only useful if you have to switch to different weapons a lot during combat.



The negative affects of Hot Blooded are easily negated if you max out your Energy Weapons, Guns, Explosives and Sneak skills at a 100 and then read 2 skill books so that no skill points will be deducted when the trait is activated. Just have a 10 Agility for reload speed.

A fully modded Tri-beam Laser Rifle (GRA) is best for a critical build cause each beam has a chance to critical outside of VATS (unfortunately) so with the Better Criticals perk, that's 33 critical damage x 3 = 99. Add that to it's maxed out base damage of 160 with Thought You Died and Camarader-E and you get 259 total damage.

But if you want a light armor character you should get Just Lucky Im Alive instead so add 100% to 22 critical damage (Better Criticals included) and you get 44 x 3 = 132 critical damage. Add that to 144 base damage and it = 276 total damage.

Huh.

Just realized that Quickdraw could lead to some interesting results with Cleansing Flame.

Yea, I use Quickdraw with my Heavy Explosive/Pyromaniac Paladin and my Veteran Ranger. With Explosives you're constantly using different weapons for different situations and I like to Run n Gun with the Ranger Sequoia when I run out of AP for the Medicine Stick.

I switch to the Cleansing Flame when enemies are too close for Mercy, Esther, and Annabelle.