hi folks, first time posting here. happy new year and nice to meet y'all.

ok, here's my story. I'm actually quite a bit into the game, playing as a level 8 gun build with points heavily invested on guns, speech, repair and science. problem is, i built my character based on my experience with Fallout 3 and soon i reached my bottle neck. i have several questions which i would like to have answers for -

1. where the hell are all the rifles that are supposed to be the bread and butter of the guns build? i'm already inside Repconn fighting nightkins and the only rifles i come across regularly are varmints. beyond that i have exactly one service rifle (which also svcks) i got at Mojave Outpost. so, wtf? i remembered finding my first chinese assault rifle in Fallout 3 within half an hour and those guns just kept coming so maintenance was never a problem... at this rate, how is the guns build supposed to hold up in New Vegas?

2. another thing i didn't expect is how effing rare the science skill is actually put into use in New Vegas. so far i came across no more than 3 computers to hack. needless to say, it doesn't help in opening locks AT ALL because, unlike in Fallout 3, virtually all locks can only be picked. the only reward i got so far for pumping up science is getting ED-E. so, what's happening here? is science going to helpful in the long run or what?

3. besides guns and science, what other things that are very crucial in Fallout 3 but less so in New Vegas? for example, VATS seems to be less useful now, and many guides have suggested skipping Agility and VATS perks as a result. true or bogus?

4. last but not least, is there any news on a possible 1.03 patch? the game definitely needs another patch.

that's it. thanks for your time.

The bread and butter are the "end game" weapons. If you simply just play though, you wont litkely see more then a service rifle or hunting rifle and some leather armor. The good part of this 3-course meal is always the ice cream.

A. Don't expect for common "good" gun drops. If anything, those are sold by places like Gun Runners at higher levels. Also the "good" guns are held by NPCs when you reach higher levels.
B. I'm level 31 and haven't hacked 25 terminals yet.
C. Speech. Speech checks are common and will make your life A LOT easier. My guns character has an agility of 8 after an agility implant. I still think agility is important if you're going for a guns/sneak+guns build.
D. I have no idea.

1. unlike fallout 3, new vegas has alot of guns, or at least more than fallout 3. so in new vegas all those guns are spread out, single shotgun and varmint rifle at the level 1s, and you probably wont get a good rifle until higher levels. whereas fallout 3 you have alot less guns, and you would get a good one at level 6 or so.

2. yea, not many terminals... but science skill is EXTREMLY useful to you if you have energy weapons, where you can convert ammunition to fit your needs (i havnt run out of elctron charge packs, but thats because poeple keep dropping microfusion cells.)

3. other than speech, barter. to me its extremly useful, its used in checks alot. it can get you a good ammount of money, and it also helps you avoid trouble if speech wont do anything.

4. seeing as there already working on a different project, dont expect a miracle... or anything for that matter.

You should have run across a couple Cowboy Repeaters by now, a very long-usage gun (imo) that can be found relatively early in the game.

Science checks are rare (as you have found out) but like others have mentioned Speech and Barter checks are more common. Some missions also have Medicine checks, but I invest in that for my own sake anyways (gotta get the most out of those stimpaks)

I use VATS with a Guns (non-sneak and snipe, Cowboy + Hand Loader perks) build and dont have alot of problems, mostly have alot of fun with the death animations :mohawk: My bread and butter skills are Barter, Lockpick, Guns, Repair, Speech, Medicine. Science to about 50. I get Melee to qualify for Cowboy perk (45) and thats it.

As for another patch, I'm not holding my breath.

see, the problem is, "a couple" really isn't going anywhere - and lol, there aren't even a couple, so far there's only 1. i have the built to destroy perk and if it feels extremely insecure if i don't have a handful of similar weapons ready for repair at all time. repair kits aren't very easy to produce too due to the relative scarcity of wench. my only hope is Raul, who's waaay out in the Black Mountain

another poster said that the good stuff only shows up around end game. is that true? does that apply to ALL weapon types?

A cowboy repeater is more than enough until like 10+ LOL.
NPCs eventually start dropping them which will cause you to be able to repair your current one.
Bison Hotel in Primm, like the second city, has wonderful goodies. Primm is also where you find the first Cowboy Repeater.
Novac has a unique pistol.
Primm has the first available companion.
Novac has the second available companion.
Everything becomes easy.

yes and no. If you follow the first part of the MQ and do some of the Side Quests/Town Quests along the way, by the time you get to the Strip at level 8 to 12 you will have a good set of mayhem implements to play with. I never felt like I was really under gunned at any point along the way. Once there, then you have access to the Vendors that will sell the good stuff as you level up farther.

Even with 9mm Pistol I don't feel under gun until I meet the Nightkin in Repconn rocket site, which I manage after switch to HP.

Guns do seem weak but you can find better stuff if you explore early on, one of the best rifles is available if you look hard enough. I couldn't kill the nightkin at Repconn and had to find another solution eventually.



Science is really useful and terminals often open safes, doors etc, saving the need to pick. There's a perk that doubles the points you get from magazines that's really handy too.

First off, don't knock Varmint rifles. Scoped and silenced, they're great sniper weapons that will serve you for another 8 levels fine.

If you're already at Repconn, you must have come by at least a few .357 revolvers and Cowboy Repeaters on your way. Your first .357 should have been available in Goodsprings. Do not underestimate those, they're good guns, especially if you have the Cowboy perk. (I would advise taking it if you tactical preference is for high hitting power over stealth; some of the most powerful endgame guns are Cowboy guns).


Science has its uses in the crafting department. If you use energy weapons, It allows you to recycle some of the drained ammunition and create overcharge/max charge ammo. You can also recycle flamer fuel. You can also craft chems like Party Time Mentats and Slasher, Super Stimpacks and, with the Nuka Chemist perk, Nuka Cola Quartz and Nuka Cola Victory.

The main use of science, though, is getting EXP by hacking terminals and passing skill checks in conversations. Yes, you can often lockpick a door instead of hacking a terminal- but why not do both and get double the EXP?


Speech, Repair, Lockpick are must-haves. Sneak is just below them in importance, depending on your tactics and level of kleptomania. Luck is important, but a lot of people seem to reduce Charisma to 1 and see it as useless. Perception matters less if you have ED-E, more if you perfer to travel without him, but I would still advise keeping it around 5-6. Survival is important for those playing hardcoe. Medicine is not really worth boosting; there's only one or two skill checks that you can't pass with "base" Medicine+ Comprehension+skill mag+ boosts from gear and chems.

Honestly lockpick is more usefull in the long run. Often i find myself wishing for a higher lockpick while i simply dont bother with science. Speech is another very important skill to make youre life easier

those are nice perks to increasing science, sure, but i really expected it to be a lock/safe opener, and like i said.... it fails miserably in this respect because there are so few terminal-controlled locks. hell, there aren't even that many hackable terminals to begin with. another poster here supported my claim, stating that he had come across just around 25 terminals when he maxed his character :sadvaultboy:

Really??? Cowboy repeader or 10mm SMG makes reasonably short work of them, in my experience.