Hi, I'm going to start a new char with the Goty, I completed the MQ without any addons.

Now my first question about class, any tips for a class? I want a char that uses small guns, sneak and that can do good in speech aswell as hacking. My last char had small guns, lockpicking, hacking, sneak, pretty similiar but I want some variation. Any suggestion for startout stats?

I'm guessing Broken Steel will add some difficulty? Once my char reached lvl 10+ things started to get really easy, at later lvls not even Super mutants was challenging.

Also if I do *all* sidequests on the char will he still be good?

Thanks.

The one and only tip I can give to new characters: don't think about a build. Just play as you feel like it.


Oh wait, there was another one: don't optimize your character. Start with low intelligence and avoid free skill boosts (bobblehead/books)

I like to put INT to 8, so when I hit LVL 2 I get the 'Intense Training' perk with INT, boosting it up to 9. Then I get to Rivet City before I reach level 3 and I get the bobblehead. Just from having 10 INT you can get 20 skill points a level, and there is a perk called Comprehension, which adds an extra 3 skill points per level up. Endurance can also be quite cool, so I usually put END to 6. (10% Radiation Resistence).

So my skills go as follows:

STR 7
PER 5
END 6
CHR 5
INT 8
AGI 5
LCK 4

Derived stats (Carry Weight, Health, etc) are the most important here, so I always have a INT of 10 and STR of 10 by level 5 (Intense Training x 2, Ant Might, INT + STR bobblehead.

If you have Broken Steel DLC installed, I suggest not collecting any other SPECIAL bobbleheads for the rest of the game, until you can choose the 'Almost Perfect' perk. By LVL 30 your skills should look like this:

STR 10
PER 9
END 9
CHR 9
INT 10
AGI 9
LCK 9

After this collect the remaining SPECIAL bobbleheads you will have 10 for all SPECIAL attributes!

There is also a way of having 100 for all you skills: http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1159896-the-perfect-character/

Ok thanks for the info.

Why shouldn't I optimize the char?

That's kinda high start str, would I really need it with ranged char except the option to carry more?

It's more fun (imo) to just play things as they work out rather than concentrating on building the "perfect" character with maxed stats and all the right perks. I made a perfect 10/100 character once and it was boring, tedious and just generally not fun at all.



No. I like to carry lots of stuff and I set my starting strength at 6. You can lower it even further if you'd prefer to put the points into Agility, Perception or Luck.



Sure, no reason not to do all the sidequests. They're my favorite quests in the game.

Unfortunately in FO3 you have to nerf your int if you want to specialise a character in the long run, which is a lot more fun.

sure there are those play throughs where you are a juggernaught but the best ones are where you have weaknesses.

You could also get mods (if your on PC) that give you less skill points and every 2 int points gives you only one extra skill point (FWE has it but you'd want to play mostly Vanilla for your first couple of playthroughs)

the mutant overlords take longer to die and the space aliens with the force shields are hard to kill.

with a level cap of 30, you will be able to become a master, 75 skill, in all the means of combat. it is fun trying out all the combat toys. there are so many weapons and armor, one of a kind, to play with.

Luck is very important and increases all other skills plus critical hit chance, so starting it high is a very good idea. Optimizing is also the most fun for me, despite what some have said.

Note that if you think things are too easy, simply play on Very Hard.

That is something that I like about this game. You can change the difficulty setting any time you wish without the game punishing you for it.

Yes, this is standard for Bethesda, although I prefer the 1-100 slider in TES, personally.

Like Ghouls said, optimized characters tend to become boring. Optimization is never a necessity in surviving in this game. The game is fairly easy towards the end and even with a low-int character you won't have any issues in making out alive. However, it adds to the little challenge this game has. It adds to the RPG element.

I have no idea why anyone would think that optimized characters are boring to play. On the contrary, for my own preferences, deliberately avoiding optimizing a character makes the game pointless and boring. Optimizing is role playing; deliberately doing less than one's potential is simply lying and not role playing as far as I can see.

Just wanted to offer a different view and point out that such a statement is subjective to some players, but certainly not all, and probably not the majority.

i am in the middle. i like a strong a PC but i don't go to extremes to max out everything. it is your game so do what you want with it. there is NO RIGHT WAY to play.