How do you guys manage you're inventory? I have like 20 different guns in my inventory, but I was wondering what a good combination of guns would be so I dont carry around so many. I'm on hardcoe mode so having a lot of weight is not a good thing. And I just cant seem to part with any of my guns. Whenever I think about it I just think: 'I may need to use it later.'

Well #1: Inventory management and vendoring need a ton of work. Have since FO3. I'm not talking about making the game easier, or making us able to carry infinite stuff. I'm talking about it just shouldn't be so damn hard to sort things or vendor things or manage companion inventories. For starters, and this is important, we need to be able to access companion inventory while at a vendor.

As for your issue if you're using Guns as opposed to energy weapons I suggest this:

Get a 9mm pistol and a 10mm SMG. Get a Varment rifle, upgrade to a service rifle, upgrade to a hunting rifle etc. etc. Beyond that you don't *need* anything else. Ammo for those is very plentiful.

Getting the best shotgun available to you at the time, and getting the Shotgun Surgeon perk is a good idea to handle high armor targets.

Why don't you just store excess guns somewhere? Then choose 2-3 you want to take according to your current mission and ammo supply.

The same rules from Fallout 3 apply here, I generally want:

- a varmint plinker
- a long range weapon, preferably with a big punch
- a mid-range, high-DPS weapon for firefights
- a close-in, end-this-now, weapon
- some method of doing AoE damage ('nades)
- a pistol

The varmint plinker for low level mole rats is whatever has the cheapest and most available ammo. In this game, that would either be a 9mm pistol or the varmint rifle (5.56mm) at the start. I generally carry around 100 rounds of ammo for critter killing.

For longer range at the start, the varmint rifle or the cowboy repeater are good choices. The varmint rifle has far better iron sights, but the CR packs a bigger punch. The hunting rifle would be the natural upgrade, then the sniper weapons. Since long-range shots are my primary choice, I carry closer to 200 rounds when I leave town.

For mid-range high-DPS, you want something automatic, like a 9mm SMG or a 10mm SMG. In FO3, my preference was either the 10mm SMG, the regular 5.56mm Assault Rifle or the Chinese Assault Rifle. You're going to want at least 300 rounds and maybe as many as 500 rounds of ammo for this weapon. I suggest a mix of armor piercing (AP) rounds and hollow points (HP) depending on the foe that you're going up against.

Close-in in FO3, not much beat out the Combat Shotgun. In New Vegas, probably one of the better 20ga or one of the 12ga weapons. Maybe with slug ammo. Otherwise, use the 20ga regular ammo for critter killing at close range. I used the shotgun in FO3 to take off ghoul heads. With the slow fire rate of the single shotgun (and I haven't found better), 50 rounds of 20ga is all that I carry.

AoE damage is generally handled by frag grenades (or dynamite). Other folks might prefer grenade launchers or flame weapons. I usually carry fewer then 6 frags.

The pistol is a combination of nuisance killer and "I need something that packs a big punch". I'm very drawn to carrying the 44 magnum because it has a very big DAM number. In FO3, the scoped 44 magnum was my favorite gun for taking out mirelurks with a single shot to the face. If it's a secondary or tetriary weapon, I'll carry less then 50 rounds for it.

The other consideration is to have a variety of weapons that use different ammos or different ammo types. If you base all of your weapons around a single ammo type, you're going to be in big trouble when you run out of that type of ammo. But by using a 9mm-based weapon in addition to a 10mm-based weapon, you can switch from the 10mm weapon to the 9mm weapon once you run out of 10mm ammo.

Then there's the issue of regular vs AP vs hollow-point ammo, which complicates matters. I usually carry a ratio of 4:2:1 (regular : armor piercing : hollow point). So 200 rounds of regular, 100 armor-piercing, and 50 hollow points.

Two guns. Pistol and rifle. You should be set on that.

Get a Pack Mule.. er.. I mean Companion..