Just blew dust off my New Vegas box and started a new game. I have two days off so I'm taking some time to relax before my 9 days of work in a row.

Is a Melee oriented character even feasible in a game in which guns are so prevalent? Don't bring knives to a gun fight is an expression we all know. Is a melee class fun? I mean completely melee, to the point of not using guns AT ALL. Just weapons. Any suggestions? How will I deal with Deathclaws and strong close combat enemies? Is hardcoe Mode doable with that type of build? All suggestions are appreciated. Thanks. I'd like to play mod free but if I must absolutely install mods to enjoy the full extent of melee combat, I'm willing to. Thanks in advance.

Edit: I play on normal difficulty.

Unarmed/Melee Characters are some of the most Powerful characters in the game period..

use this Special

ST:8
PE:6
EN:9
CH:1
INT: 9
AGL:6
LUC: 1

Traits:
Heavy Handed
Good Natured

why I went with a Luck of 1 is because with the Heavy Handed perk. It kills your chance for a Critical Hit, and you'll want to have the most out of your Skill points since you will want to Focus on both Melee Weapons and Unarmed. My Praetorian character I made is Still by far the Toughest character I made in any Fallout. on "Normal" mode I can get 1-2 hit kills on Death Claws

Any Questions on a melee/unarmed build just PM me. I consider myself a much better melee fighter then gun person

Thanks for the advice. Is Perception useful though? I would think it'd be useless save for the sneak boost it gives. I was planning on getting the Shishkebab for its criticals but since you're telling me you 1-2 shot Deathclaws, I won't be needing criticals it seems. Any advice on where I should head first to find good melee weapons?

To deal with nasty ranged enemies, you go around a corner out of their line of sight. Then they are forced to come closer to you then you can punch/hit them with them defenseless.

How about when I get swarmed by Cazadores though? Also, should I focus only on melee weapons and leave unarmed or spend points in both? I have a hard time seeing the use of unarmed when you can have melee weapons. Then again, I had a hard time seeing the use of melee weapons when you have guns.

If your going pure melee, you should use explosives as well to soften up the enemy, especially if your using a lower class melee weapon. I.E. just chuck a dynamite before you go rushing in.

Also, cannibal and ghastly scavenger helps a ton, especially in hardcoe mode. Since all your battles will be up close and personal, it will do you good to have a cost-free, waste-free alternative to healing and feeding yourself...plus it's just hilarious to see your character feed on the heart of an idiot butt-ugly mutant.

I believe that some of the better perks require both Unarmed and Melee (don't take my word for it). You should still be able to mow through Cazadors, your high endurance should help mitigate the base damage and poison damage, plus if you use VATS it will negate some extra damage. Or you can go into Old World Blues and gain poison immunity/resistance.

My current pure melee char is blowing through everything. your starting specs should reflect your playstyle and plan where you want to be.

I know panda is fond of the build, but I disagree with the traits. Heavy Handed is a must and i would much rather take Skilled over Good Natured. GN actually takes 5 off of your Melee skill. The -10% in Xps, from the Skilled trait is easily made up, by sleeping in an owned bed.

My psycho killer started out with

S-9
P-1
E-10
C-1
I-1
A-9
L-9 ( most melee don't really have much of a crit damage, even more so with Heavy Handed, but I'm a Luck nut. Luck affects more than just crits, like the amount and kind of loot found as well as enemy misses. I believe it also contributes to enemies getting knocked down.

With tagged skills in, Melee - Sneak - Survival

He walked out of Doc's office with an HP of 300 and a Melee of 45 and by level 7, it was at 100. At his current level 8, his Repair and Sneak is 50 and a Survival of 55.

EDIT : This is my projected list of Perks for the psycho melee killer

2 Confirmed Bachelor
4 Cannibal
6 Toughness ( Melee at 97 )
8 Super Slam
10 Stonewall
12 Sile Running ( easily meet the requirements by level 8)
14 Jury Rigging ( Repair at 90 - this takes calculated planning )
16 Unst Force
18 Toughness
20 TGood Eatin
22 Bloody Mess
24 Slayer ( Unarmed at 90 - this is the only required unarmed perk in the list )
26 Life Giver
28 Ad Skeleton
30 ?

Starting weapons were the 9 Iron ( this thing has a special move, that can be done in and out of vats, dealing a head shot and often knocking down enemies that it doesn't kill outright )
The other weapon I used more than any, was the Lead Pipe. That thing has a special move that will one shot every Humanoid enemy that has light armor.

Perception is nice... its not needed wayyy bad but it's nice.

Also I wouldn't pour points into Explosives, by just having Thump-Thump around you can disable limbs to the "Bigger guys" which proves to an amazing Meat tenderizer before you butcher the death claw or super mutant.. So I'd place a few points into Explosives such as 25 until you get more leveled up and begin to get established better with Unarmed/Melee, Medicine and repair. Then I'd worry about minoring in a 3rd combat specialty. Explosives would be my 3rd specialty but don't worry about till later in the game when the bigger brutes become more apparent. So just place it at 25 till you are around 75-100 on both Melee/Unarmed and your other passive skills are high(Repair, Medicine, Science, Lockpick, Speech etc..)

My Praetorian which I will go toe-to-toe against anyone...

SPECIAL:

ST: 10
PE: 6
EN: 10
CH: 1
INT: 10
AGL: 7
LU: 1

Traits:
Heavy Handed
Good Natured

LVL 2: Intense Training(Strength)
LVL 4: Educated
LVL 6: Bloody Mess
LVL 8: Super Slam
LVL 10: Stone Wall
LVL 12: Piercing Strike
LVL 14: Jury Rigging
LVL 16: Purifier
LVL 18: Unstoppable Force
LVL 20: Toughness
LVL 22: Toughness
LVL 24: Slayer
LVL 26: Travel Light
LVL 28: Silent Running
LVL 30: Adamantium Skeleton

This guy is a [censored] Tank...

Weapons I Carry:
Oh, Baby!
Ballistic Fist
Paladin Toaster
Thermic Lance(for the [censored]s who don't die in 1 hit)
-
Armor I wear:
T-51b Power Armor(Battle)
T-51b Power Armor Helmet(Battle)
Vault 34 Security Armor(Exploring)
Vault 34 Security Helmet(Exploring)

Implants:
Sub-Dermal Armor
Agility
Perception
Endurance