Hi . So I decided to start over on survival setting because I like a challenge and boy do I have one ??. That being said I need some tips on surviving .


I have dog meat and am near concord .

My stats are as follows

Str 4

Per 1

Endr 6

Charisma 1

Intelligence 6

Luck 1

Agility 9


My persona is a melee and will be using power armour mainly . So I need some tips throughout the early level .

Well, survival is going to get a gigantic overhaul so what you're doing right now may change drastically in the coming month or whenever that drops

Yea I am well aware of that , and I am confident that whatever changes are made , I will be able to adapt to them .


So back on topic , are their any tips ?

If you have none than please don't post . I am only looking for tips that will help me on this current difficulty setting .

lol ok kid

I am actually an advlt . Seriously though, you didn't offer any tips that would help , so why did you post here to begin with ?

Search out all factories for more fusion cores an invest in life giver and damage miigatigation perks to help tank threats better.


How do you feel about taking drugs in game?

For a melee build, STR is usually your main stat, as your direct damage output is dependend on it aswell as perks in that particular tree. However, END will also be very helpful for surviving the hits you take whilst approaching your target, and AGI might be of some use too. (Maybe luck but meeeeeeh, RNG...)
The perks you most definetely want to use are:

• STR:
  • Big Leagues (obviously)
  • Armorer (to keep your PA as protective as possible, you will need that in survival)
  • Blacksmith (to boost your melee weapon's efficiency)
  • (Pain Train) (certainly helpful in some situations as melee in PA)
• END:
  • Toughness (even though you are in PA, you can take a lot of hits until you reach your target, this will increase your survivability)
  • (Live Giver) (Not a fan of that one, a plain HP increase, but may be useful to some degree)
  • Chem resistant (only if you plan on using chems (like Med-X) a lot in order to make up for your limited possibilities in combat)
• INT:
  • Medic (stimpaks are your friend more than ever)
  • (Nuclear Physicist) (Since you want to use PA a lot, making the most of your limited fusion core supply (at least early on...) will help you save time/money you can use on other things)
• AGI:
  • Blitz (only if you plan on using vats, it will help you to get across larger distances "quickly", saving time and thereby precious health)

For weapons, I'm not really sure about that, I usually go for style rather than being the most effective.
Sledgehammer/Super Hammer tend to be very good, esp. in combination with PA, since the additional STR the PA grants you will greatly increase it's damage. Combined with your base STR + Big Leagues perk, you can deal insane amounts of dmg per hit even on Survival. You won't have to hit as many times, but since your attack speed is much slower you have to make sure to hit, otherwise you are loosing precious time.

Try avoid running in head first, while that may work against small simple groups that are poorly armed and armoured, it will get you killed quickly in other engagements, e.g. against Super Mutants.
Instead, try to flank them and make good use of the terrain, keep in mind that as a melee you will need a direct route to your target. Be aware of your PA's weakness (e.g. against energy based weapons) and try to eliminate the greatest threats first.
Having a backup plan for retreat and refocuse (aka. healing up) also comes in handy, so try to look for potential retreat spots before engaging. Depending on the terrain, you might be able to always only have some of the enemies being able to shoot at you while the others have to switch positions, giving you some time, so avoid being exposed to crossfire whenever possible.

Enemy groups with melees can be quite cool to deal with, since some of them will have to come to you, making it easier (and time saving) for you. Don't forget to block though

Awesome Guys . Thanks for the tips. In terms of drugs , I am totally for them . I know the risk of becoming addicted to them , so moderation is key , but anything that can give me an advantage I will definitely take .


I do plan on taking blitz because of the vats combat . Also can I get away with using a shotgun as a back up or would I need to invest more points into perception to make it viable ?

I think with Endurance 5 you can pick up the Chem Resistant perk. Two points in that and you are immune to addiction. Pair that with psychojet and you have the most powerful drug without any of the drawbacks. I'd also recommend picking up Chemist (in the INT tree) and biocomm mesh for your chest armor. Those will boost the duration of the chem, which can be just as helpful. Get more bang for your buck!

In my 2nd play thru I wentto the robotic junkyard that is to the right and behind Sanctuary . to get cores and the PA there and then hit Radar site before going to Concord . Is a lot of useful stuff there ..

is a start anyways for ya ..

Yeah PsychJet will be your best friend. Also Yao Gui meat is supremely helpful becauce the ribs recipe gives damage resistence while the roast gives extra melee damage. The roast also needs tatos and carrots though. Yao Gui can be a little bit hard to find in the wild but I think the meat merchant in Diamond city sells some. The roast is really helpful though. 2 nights ago I was playing and I consumed a psycho, whiskey, and like 2 roasts and for hours had amazing damage output. My bladed tire iron had 423 damage every hit and my geavy concrete sledge hammer was hitting 646 damage. I was one shotting even legendary enemies on very hard and probably could have even on max difficulty.



Another easy thing is to get yourself a switchblade or combat knife and serrate it because there fast and the bleed effect stacks up. Heops with pesky bulletsponge enemies.

Awesome guys ! Thank you so much for all the tips , I will make full use of them ??