no matter what character im building, early game, ive always spent the points upping my lockpicking/hacking, those 2 perks were always the first maxed out, and on my first character build in FO4, i spent my choices on those 2 perks as soon as they were available, what perks did you carry over as a must have before you realized builds were a bit different as was how the game was played

Never bothered with hacking in this one, the science was too high, plus we lucked out with

and then there's the view that usually there is more than one way into something.

my first 10 levels of fallout 4 this is what perks i pick, first one is probably rifleman, then lockpicking, hacking, cap collector, gun nut and science, then i pick a few special perks, maybe sneak, thats the first 10 levels, next 10 levels i'm gonna pick the second rank of lockpicking and hacking couple more special perks then 2nd rank of rifleman, better criticals. i like to be able to hack and lockpick and by level 30 usually i can pick expert locks and hack expert terminals.

yea, was asking if there were any perks you carried over from previous fallout games that you had to have, no matter what, lock/hack were just an example of my choices

edit - choices that i made before getting deep into the game and knowing it was played a bit differently, so really, 1st playthrough choices

I don't touch hacking, it's irrelevant, I get lockpicking quickly

Hacking and lockpicking skills are less useful in this game compared to previous Fallout games due to two companions being able to hack and lockpick. Although, I wish a certain companion would be able to learn the brute lockpicking skill or smash door until it opens. Could also work for hacking. Smash computer until it is unlocked. After all, lots of people hit their machines or computers when every logical solution fails.

Lockpicking is a must for me for various reasons. Early access to supply stashes and the fact I hate being "locked" out of areas. Hacking is close secondary for same reasons, as well as the lore and history on the terminals throughout the wasteland. Other than that, it highly depends on what kind of weapon category I want to start off with, and just sorta build around that, since there is no good pacifist way of completing the game this time around.

Action boy/girl is my only must have from all three games.

Right off the bat, I went for lock picking and hacking. Don't like companions and have yet to use them for more than mules or temporary comic relief, except when required to advance the main quest (though one or two are nice to have around for eye candy). What I did realize as a difference over older games was s.p.e.c.i.a.l


After a certain point, much earlier than 3 or NV; many, many perks are more advantageous than just buffing up special. Gunslinger, armorer, lone wanderer, etc. Not to say that wasn't the case in earlier versions, just more so in 4, IMHO.

You can easily just pick either one, there is scarcly an instant where you can only apply the one but not the other - if it is, you mostly just have terminals that contain no additional lore, but open doors to rooms with goodies in them. You don't miss any interesting intel, every locked Terminal with some on them was secured with Novice level security thus far.

I don't like to skill Hacking or other Science perks; because I simply roleplay my character to have no clue about computers beyond basic usage. He's not an idiot, he just has no scientific education whatsoever. The exception would be Gun Nut in FO4, but even there, I imagine he just puts either finished mods or largely functional parts together - rather than constructing a precision sniper scope from raw, malformed glass & metals.

I get lockpicking first, my first perk and level it up as soon as I can. I'll get hacking too later on, but lockpicking has more frequent uses. There are areas and situations (turrets, spotlights) where hacking comes in handy. I don't use companions because they svck at lockpicking and hacking. They get locked out of hacking which I think means you have to wait a while, but I'm not going to still there or go afk and wait. So I just hack it myself.

Hacking is harder than in Fallout 3 EXCEPT that you can tab out if you fail 3 times and restart again. That makes it guaranteed. Strangely enough, the shorter words are harder to hack because there are so many possible right answers. The longer the word, the easier it is for me.

Deciding what to spend those points on in 4 is, IMHO, much tougher than the previous two games. The complexity and vastly greater options come in to play right off the bat. Usually, I go for the local leader for supply line, and then the second level for shops as soon as I can. With guns and armor being crap early on, I like to get gun and crafting perks early on. When I can spare a point or two, I go for computer and lock picking, but they aren'tthe priority they were in 3.

I always end up playing the same type of character on every Fallout game, called 'The Dude Who Does Things' for short. I always take the 'doing things' perks, whatever they may be in each game. Always lockpicking, hacking, any and all crafting, etc. I tend to not have the best combat skills (at least until very late game) which makes the game, even on Normal difficulty, a nice challenge, but I have at least a good shot at all persuasion checks, dialogue options, and skill checks. I always found that the Fallout Universe was rich enough that I didn't want to miss out on anything just because Int. was my Dump Stat.

I agree, always a consideration in earlier games, much more so know. Which is a good thing. The early game, being most intense is ripe with an over abundance of choices. Many times I'll start out with the intent of playing a certain type, but find myself adapting to the tools I've been given. BTW after the first play through, I never follow the main quest line.

Must be able to open Advanced and Expert Locks as soon as Possible!

Gun Nut for better Turrets, Armorer to build PA Repair Stations, Science for Large Generators and Water Purifiers, Scrapper to turn Weapons into Metals...

Local Leader and Caps Collector for Settlement Building at Level 20, so I can have a 100 Happiness Settlement at Level 22, despite getting the Achievement Months Ago.

Then I have to decide Sniper, VATSrat, or Darn the Torpedoes! playstyle...

What SPECIAL do I need, with the Clothing found in Sanctuary, to pass check X in My current character?

T-45 or T-51...

Will I find that Legendary again and redo My character mid build?

I always go for the infiltration/sneak type skills in the Fallout games, just how I play. I went for lockpicking and hacking first, not wanting to be locked out of anything as I explored. But in F04, I find that level 3 in lockpicking and hacking is really all you need, the 4th level (never breaking a pick and never getting locked out) of these skills just really seem unnecessary.

Not sure about Perks but in Fallout 3 I played a high Agility/VATS/Small Arms character, and I've kind of automatically done the same in 4...so far.

Well, I went into Fallout 4 with a notion that things were probably going to be different, so I went into it with no real build in mind except "Smooth talking gunslinger"...as is my want...And pretty much played it by ear from there. I took perks where I felt I needed improvement, particularly when the next level of a certain perk was level locked for a bit and I had some levels to spread out the points.

"Well, I got five levels until I can take this one...and I could really use some better VATS regeneration, so let's take this..."

Probably the only Bethesda game I've never put any points into lockpicking or hacking seems pointless when you can get your companions to do it. (And if I'm not with those particular characters I'm not too bothered as theres so much loot around anyway). I always put a point into chem resistant early on though as I hate being addicted so easily.