I personally think Science is a very UNDER-USED skill. You use it for hacking, for crafting some materials and for charging ammo.

I could see maybe using a science check in addition to a repair check for certain circumstances.

Maybe for repairing energy weapons?

That would be nice, since it's already used for the ammo and would mean that EW users didn't need to raise Repair as well. Guns already has this, since the Repair skill is used to determine ability to make custom ammo in addition to how well you can fix the weapons with a spare.

No, it would render the repair skill obsolete. And having it repair energy weapons means that if you carry both guns and EW, you have to level up repair and science, which would be frustrating as censored.

Not really. I think it's very simple, a drugged out chem fiend likely has the education of a 6th grader, I don't expect them to know how to repair a highly sophisticated Wattz energy weapon. I'd say using science to optimize/repair an energy weapon makes more sense. With Repair I think 'conventional' technology, generators, ballistic guns, old doors and switches, these such things.

Repair skill is the knowledge to repair things. It's not specific to "conventional technology". If you wish to fix up an energy weapon, you are repairing it. Simples.

Repair=Mechanical
Science=Electronic

And that's dumbing down the 'concept' phase of a character. Look around here and most people equate Energy Weapons with the Science skill. Don't be so settled into the over simplification of todays games. Because at this point, I'll be disappointed but not surprised when the devs of Fallout 4 come out and say in that annoyingly patronizing Yes Man voice 'Hey! Hi guys! I know you guys hated all those categories of weapons, but having to only make one super strong, so for Fallout 4 Energy Weapons, Guns, Explosives, Unarmed, and Melee have all been put into 'Weapons' and Science, Lockpick, Speech, Repair, Medicine, Barter, and Survival are all going to be merged into the 'not fight' stuff. Now the game will be easy peasy for you guys! '

I hate dumbing down games, but this is not one thing that needs to be changed. You didn't address my point. How about we use the dictionary:

re·pair 1 (r-par)
v. re·paired, re·pair·ing, re·pairs
v.tr.
1. To restore to sound condition after damage or injury; fix: repaired the broken watch.
2. To set right; remedy: repair an oversight.
3. To renew or revitalize.
4. To make up for or compensate for (a loss or wrong, for example).

I see nothing there that indicated you cannot repair electronics?

And also, how does the fact that I do not wish a certain aspect of the series to change make me pro-oversimplification? Repair has been used to fix EW since the first Fallout.

I never stated it SHOULD be changed, I simply agreed with the OP it would be an interesting and logical point, take for example half of the devices in OWB, DM, and some places in the Mojave, you need a high repair OR Science. And this applies to high end tech by and large, so why is you'd find it so complicated when New Vegas shows the potential logic in this concept.

As to your point, I addressed it, but not as you'd hoped, and the reason is that you're using a dictionary term that applies to what a word MEANS, the skills of Fallout are saying what the skill DOES for you. Yes EW were repaired with the 'repair' skill. But it's not some insane idea to convert it to science as it's repair skill. It's fairly sound and logical.

Alright, I never said it didn't make sense. I said that it would simply force you to spend your skill points in two sets rather than one, if you wish to repair your weapons frequently.

You then said that not replacing the repair skill for energy weapons is oversimplification? How does being made waste more skill points to be able to use something that is essential in combat "deeper"?

Well, for starters not many people are going for god tier in all their weapons categories, the only one I bother with is guns, so Energy weapons, save the pulse gun, are never used by me. As to 'wasting' skill points, I see it as more finding a place to spend them, people complain about becoming godly in the DLCs and even prior, I see this as lessening the issue.

AKAIK only the Enclave was capable of making Power armor, and very few in the games could repair them. (In FO1 the PC makes a very minor repair to get a suit that didn't pass inspection).

I would not want Science to be used for repairing the armors by itself, but rather would have it be a secondary check to see if the PC even knows what is wrong with the device to begin with. Just because the arm seems dead (for example), does not mean that anything is wrong with the arm. :shrug:

To repair PA, perhaps the PC should have a 90+ in both Science and Repair.
*(And actually IMO that should be the minimum to attempt it with any chance at all... But unfortunately the rules no longer follow the series in FO3, so it would just have to be the two 90's for repairing the suit. )


There is no "waste" of skills in a good RPG; only what you PC is good at or not. :shrug:

If they are not good at it, then you are not supposed to succeed at it often (or in FO3's case at all, I guess).

If an RPG offered a skill Bullwhips, and there was only one bullwhip in the game, and they were low damage and useless on armored opponents... Its still not a waste to use skill points on it if that's the player's choice; If that player's character is to be good with whips. Not being good with them is just that. :shrug: And being good with them means your character can use it professionally. (Ideally that skill should afford a few options in a few places... Options to play Indiana. :chaos:)

In an RPG, no single PC should grant access to all actions or all outcomes in the game ~It negates and devalues any aspect of "role" in the Role-Playing Game.

** In context... If you must cripple other skills to achieve high enough skill in Science & Repair, to be able to work on Power Armor, then that's the price of it; or its not an option to your PC. :shrug:

I should mention that I am of the opinion that certain extremely esoteric disciplines should be off limits the the adventuring PC, and only the domain of certain specialist NPCs; and their special equipment. It is very realistic to presume that Power Armor (and just about any so-called high-tech device) cannot be repaired without specialized tools and authentic replacement parts ~even if you did know what was wrong with it; but actually those tools should be required just to figure out what the problems might be.

In the case field repairs where you have two (or more) identical damages devices (energy weapons in this case), I don't think you would need an above average Science skill to just swap parts; You would need it to be able to substitute parts though... (Even so, the need for specialty tools for something like Power Armor should be respected IMO... You can't even fix some parts on a bicycle without custom wrenches designed for the job).

Science skill in the next game should be used for optimizing, not repairing. Such as modifying a laser weapon in the crafting bench with spare parts to do stuff like...splitting beams using scrap glass or being able to charge up an energy weapon. Or maybe the ability for an energy weapon to hit a weak point for MAXIMUM DAMAGE!