The Five Weapon Backpack Rule : Fallout 3

» Sat May 28, 2011 6:55 am

I'm fairly new to Fallout 3 but heres what I use so far. I myself stick to the rule that less is more. I try to only use 3 conventional weapons (short, mediun and long ranged) all of which I try to keep different ammo for. I also use grenades quite often. Blowing stuff up is fun! :nuke:

1. Shishkabab
2. 10mm SMG
3. Chinese Assualt Rifle
4. Hunting Rifle
5. Frag Grenades (Nuka-Grenades when I get enough)
6. Bottlecap Mines
7. Empty
8. Stimpaks

The Shishkabab is fun to use and is great for saving ammo.
The SMG replaces the 10mm pistol as my close range weapon. 10mm ammo is easy to come by and this baby packs a considerable punch considering it's not "unique."
The Chinese rifle is, as mentioned, a good all round weapon that's effective in any number of situations. The ammo's pretty easy to get too.
The Hunting Rifle is not any where near as powerful or accurate as the sniper rifle but the ammo is MUCH easier to come by and it's also easy to get parts for it. This is my "beater gun" as my dad would have said. While the others are around for when I need the firepower this baby is there for the more generic, less imposing enemies like molerats or radscorpions. Works good on raiders too.
The frag grenades are there because I don't have any Nuka grenades. I just got the schematics for them only to find that I need Nuka-cola quantum to make them. I sold or used every Nuka-cola quantum I found thus far. :facepalm:
I don't use mines very often so I'm not sure if I'll keep them as a hot key. But when I do use them I like to use the best available to me!
Nothing in the 7 slot. I don't care for Big Guns. Too heavy. I'm playing with a low-strength build.
I can't open my pip-boy to use stimpaks while reloading my weapon and that seems to be when I need them the most but I can use them any time I want when they're set to a hotkey!

Minus the bottlecap mines I guess this rule kind of comes naturaly to me.

I haven't found any "unique" weapons yet (other than a couple of combat knives) but I've got my eyes peeled.

» Sat May 28, 2011 6:07 am

I am kind of already doing that.

level 17
small guns 100
sneak 100
repair 90

perks
gunslinger
lawbringer
friends of animals

As a gunslinger most of my work is done in the pistol class, as a sneaker i do alot of work with the silenced 10mm. My weapons load out commonly is;

Blackhawk, silenced 10mm, 10mm subgun, chinese assault rifle, sniper

I can use weapons i pick up to repair the weapons i am carrying and using, and i will crush many different weapons together to minimize weight and keep the primary weapons at peak repair, for example i will crush the 3 assault rifles i am carrying into one nice one to vendor, i will crush the scoped magnum into my blackhawk to keep it in top shape. But if i can not locate any chinese rifles to repair the primary that is damaged, i will not use one of the assault rifles i have for vendoring, i will switch to another primary. It does get easier to do this once you get a few of the named ones like the Blackhawk,

I will use some meta gaming knowledge to bring the occasional extra weapon depending on the quest requirements like for example big town i will grab a few mines for the bridge and the road to make it easier and save the bullets, but other than that my weapons load out is the same rain or shine, above or below ground, deathclaw or raider.

Asai

» Sat May 28, 2011 7:17 am

Most of my chars

1-3 weapons

I play favourites

1 char, wazer wifle and a lot of drugs

another char, slaver

A3-21 PR
mesmetron

small G char

Linc Repeater
Ol painless
dart gun

yet another care

brass knuckles
fat man

[this was the chair on very hard with only 1 End, so he wasn't going to get everything with the knuckles so he had the fatman for emergencies, knuck it or nuke it]

» Sat May 28, 2011 9:46 am

I do this aswell but only with guns that match the roleplay im doing at the time.
What i do is carry 1 apparel and 1 or 2 guns and about 10 stimpacs for when i get shot.
I then create a safehouse that i find in the wasteland (a place with a bed, gun cabinet, radio ect...).
Then i go out and whatever i find i bring back to the safehouse either to sell later or just to collect rare items.
Go to arlington library and head north then go past the fence, take out the raiders and maybe enclave then disarm the the traps and you have yourself a safehouse.
No radio but its great for storage.
But leave a few mines around in case someone decides to go in, some raider tried to take one of weapons once because i left the safehouse for a couple of days.

» Sat May 28, 2011 2:36 am

Honestly I would prefer a weight based solution that doesn't care if something is a weapon, and just limits you to what you can carry.

» Sat May 28, 2011 7:03 am

Does this include spare copies of weapons for repair? If not, then it's a little restrictive, but certainly feasible. If it does, then... [censored]. That's not even enough to maintain a single weapon properly.

» Sat May 28, 2011 4:38 pm

for my level 30 charactor I only carry:

1. Mosin Nagant Model 1891 sniper rifle w/ armor piercing rounds
2. combat knife

thats it, other then fresh bottled water

» Sat May 28, 2011 3:42 pm

better rule, Back Belt Boot Holster , or BBBH
back, anything that sticks to your back ei: heavy guns, 2 hander , large melee,
holster, anything pistol ish size
boot, and small melee weapon
belt, thrown or placed explosive
this way you feel prepared but its also realistic, becuase you can imagine your character haveing everything holstered and not encombered, but your still set for any ocassion
plasma rifle, sawn off [both unique], as many frag nades as you can find [uber wasteland belt] and anything you can hide in your boot [all single handed melee [and a .32 cal pistol] :foodndrink: :tops:

» Sat May 28, 2011 4:21 pm

-backpack weapon: none
-rifles: A3-24(or whatever it is)plasma rifle, metal blaster
-handguns: Callahan's magnum(or revolver, whatever its called), con. autumn's laser pistol
and a few nades just cuz i like to blow [censored] up.

» Sat May 28, 2011 11:20 am

I have a simple and effective setup. This is my entire setup

Xuanlong assault rifle - Ammo from Fort Independence
Lincoln's repeater - All other ammo converted to .44 with Ammo press (Pitt)
Frags (10-20) - I trade with Fort Independence
Mines (5-10) - Just to mix things up a bit
Ranger Combat armour - Extra AP and luck
Shady Hat - Sneaky
Lucky Shades - increased crit %
10 Stimpacks. - Only drugs (?) I use.
5 Bobby Pins

And thats it. I use nothing else (Except hunting rifle to get Xuanlong assault rifle)

» Sat May 28, 2011 4:10 pm

If i was to do this rule it would be
Missile Launcher
A3-21 Plasma rifle - Railway Rifle
Plasma pistol - Vampires Edge
Leather armor
10 Stimpacks 10 RadAway 2 Med x 2 Physco

» Sat May 28, 2011 2:50 pm

Backpack: Precision Gatling Laser
Commando 1: ACR LMG (Mod added)
Commando 2: Gauss Rifle
Holster 1: .44 Magnum
Holster 2: 10mm SMG
Head: Headwrap
Aparrel: Merc Charmer Outfit
Meds: 5-10 stimpacks and 1 radaway

» Sat May 28, 2011 3:22 pm

On my Level 26 I Use.
Weapons:
-A Hunting Rifle [Mainly Used]
-A Silenced 10mm.
-Callahan's Magnum. [Occasionally Used]

Head:
-Pre War Hat.
-Power Helmet.
-Red's Bandana. [Mainly Used]
-Stormchaser Hat. [Occasionally Used]

Outfit:
-Power Armour.
-Grimy Pre War Buisness Wear.
-Handyman Jumpsuit. [Mainly Used]
-Ranger Battle Armour. [Occasionally Used]

On My Level 11.

Weapons:
-Hunting Rifle. [Mainly Used]
-Sniper Rifle

Outfit:
-Regulator Duster.
-Merc Veteran Outfit.
-Vance's Long Coat. [Mainly Used]

Headwear:
-Sunglasses [Mainly Used]
-Bandana [Mainly Used]

» Sat May 28, 2011 1:15 pm

On reflection, I think that even this rule is a bit generous. Perhaps the following is more realistic -

- Big Gun OR two commando/two-handed guns, this would leave room for misc items, healing items, and grenades
- Holster 1
- Holster 2

I'm currently using the following, I'm not sure its a good combination, since the Laser Rifle and Metal Blaster perform a similar function. Sure, the Laser Rifle has a longer effective range, but I'm surprised at how tight the spread is with the MB, I expected it to only perform at close range, but its really useful for anything up to 50ft -

Commando1 - Laser Rifle
Commando2 - Metal Blaster
Holster1 - 10mm SMG
Holster2 - Shiskebab

I'm gonna donate my Heavy Incinerator to Star Paladin Cross and storm the National Archives

» Sat May 28, 2011 2:17 am

I've decided that on very hard mode the five weapon rule is to generous. Last night I finished watching A Boy and His Dog for the first time and I think I'm going to follow in the the footsteps of that movie. I will be using the following two weapons:

Ol' Painless
Wild Bill's Sidearm (.32 Cal Pistol)

What I've observed so far is that it's an extremely enjoyable challenge to only be using these weapons. I recommend everybody try something like this.

» Sat May 28, 2011 1:56 pm

I've decided that on very hard mode the five weapon rule is to generous. Last night I finished watching A Boy and His Dog for the first time and I think I'm going to follow in the the footsteps of that movie. I will be using the following two weapons:

Ol' Painless
Wild Bill's Sidearm (.32 Cal Pistol)

What I've observed so far is that it's an extremely enjoyable challenge to only be using these weapons. I recommend everybody try something like this.

but those both have the same ammo pool so you'll never use the revolver!

i like the idea tho, i'm doing something similar but i took my holstered weapon from the other classic post apoc film

» Sat May 28, 2011 8:29 am

but those both have the same ammo pool so you'll never use the revolver!

i like the idea tho, i'm doing something similar but i took my holstered weapon from the other classic post apoc film

What are you using for your holstered weapon?

» Sat May 28, 2011 3:24 pm

the kneecapper, unique sawn off shotgun [like mad max]

so i've got long range and close up covered

» Sat May 28, 2011 12:57 pm

the kneecapper, unique sawn off shotgun [like mad max]

so i've got long range and close up covered

I haven't seen Mad Max yet, I'll probably end up wanting to use the Kneecapper when I watch it though.

» Sat May 28, 2011 11:26 am

I don't know about you, but I think that the sheer amount of weapons that its possible to carry in this game just makes things too easy. Seriously, I'm carrying enough firepower right now to equip a small army. Its way more than any one person should be able to carry by themselves. So, to add to the realism, and to provide more of a challenge, I propose the following - The Five Weapon Backpack Rule :laugh:

Imagine a Lone Wanderer carrying the following things - A backpack, two dual-handed rifles attached either side, and two smaller weapons carried on a belt. Its still quite a load, but is a reasonable amount that one person can carry, I think. Also, it forces us to make choices, and that's what Fallout is all about. By following this rule we should never have more than five weapons available to us in the Pip-Boy weapons list. That's right, if I can svck the fun out of anything, its Fallout.

This forces you to make decisions. You can't have everything since sacrifices will have to be made. It provides enough variety for every situation (long range, mid range, short range etc) while reminding us that our decisions have consequences. The key is finding the right balance.

Here's how it works -

Backpack weapon - Basically, this is any one of the available Big Gun family. I only called it a backpack weapon as some of them require a backpack to use (Minigun, Flamer, Gatling Laser) :shrug:. Any others, like a Missile Launcher or Fat Man are all fine, as they are so large they would have to be carried on the back, where the backpack would have been.

Two dual-handed weapons - This is any two-handed rifle/shotgun in the small guns/energy weapons category, which is affected by the http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Commando perk. You can choose to carry any two of these.

Two Holster weapons - This is any two weapons from the remaining smaller categories...

Melee - any of the available Melee Weapons...Police Baton, Baseball Bat, Combat knife, Shishkebab, Shovel, Super Sledge (ok, the last two are quite big, but to keep things simple we'll assume that they are possible to carry on the waist) etc

Unarmed - any Unarmed weapon...Deathclaw Gauntlet, Spiked Knuckles, Power Fist etc

One-handed firearm - This is any single-handed small gun/energy weapon affected by the http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Gunslinger perk.

I don't like that idea. Having the option to switch to several different weapons adds more depth, freedom and makes the game less repetitive. The way it is is great. How much you could carry is already decided by weight. I think this is better for the fun and strategy of Fallout.

» Sat May 28, 2011 12:54 pm

My weapons are as follows
-Lincoln's Repeater
-Double barrel Shotgun
-Infiltrator
-Gatling laser
-Jingwei's Shocksword

» Sat May 28, 2011 12:02 pm

One way to effectively do the "limited weight" roleplay would be as follows:

* Recruit RL-3 as a follower. As a robot, he's going to be tireless, and designed to carry stuff.
* Set your limits. Maybe something like:
One Long Gun - 10 reloads
One Pistol - 5 reloads
One Melee/Unarmed weapon
10 Grenades and/or mines
* Any weapon or extra ammo you scavenge is given to RL-3.

» Sat May 28, 2011 11:14 am

My current combo is this -

Backpack - An actual backpack, no big gun. Its carries 10 grenades, stimpacks, and other fun stuff.
Commando 1 - Victory Rifle
Commando 2 - Metal Blaster
Holster 1 - 10mm SMG
Holster 2 - A random melee weapon, which I hardly ever use. Usually a Shishkebab.

My new weapon of choice is the Metal Blaster. Its absolutely lethal and does real damage to even the toughest enemies. This leads me on to my other choice - the Victory Rifle. I carry this because Clover comes everywhere with me now and she's pretty handy with a Chinese Assault Rifle. Clover is great, but is especially vulnerable against Albino Radscorpions and Reavers, even in Power Armour. So I use the Victory Rifle to knock them down, to protect Clover, then let her slash away with her Shishkebab. Its still pretty tough and considerable damage is still taken by both of us, since not every shot is a knockdown critical. But working like this, we're a great team.

» Sat May 28, 2011 2:07 pm

wait, what about explosives?
assuming grenades and mines both take up a small gun space heres what i would have

backpack: guass rifle, for all your long range explosion needs.

commando 1: plasma rifle

commando 2: another plasma rifle (incase plasma rifle 1 breaks, which it will)

small arms 1: nuka grenades, nuff said

small arms 2: jingewei's shocksword, i just love its shocking nature. (heh heh)

what about medicine, misc, and ammo?
heres what i would have if those were in the misc, youd get 4 pouches. each pouch gives you either 10 units of medicine, 20 weight max of scrap, and 1500 rounds of ammo sizes. (IE 5.56 would be rounded down and you can have 300 units of that, 10mm you would only have 150, and 5mm would be 300.

to hold actual batteries instead of plain energy then lets have all energy packs equal.. 10mm?

misc pouch 1:10 stimpacks
misc pouch 2:10 stimpacks (you know your gonna need it)
misc pouch 3: 150 microfusion cells
misc pouch 4: 150 microfusion cells. (its a really good thing all my weapons use this for ammo)

you know, as i think of it, there could be a *batterie pack* which could have units of energy. so... lets say energy cells have 2 units of energy, alien power cells would be a whopping 20, microfusion cells would be 5, elctron charge packs would be 1, and the battery could hold up to 500.

batter: 100 microfusion cells.

this whole thing is just what i would do, just ignore it if you want to stick with the 5 weapons thing.

» Sat May 28, 2011 4:08 am

Helpful Hint: If you're on Xbox 360 you can mod your weapon on the computer to make your weapon go to 101% health. That way you can choose any weapon you want based purely on looks or effects. I love the .32 Cal Pistol so I made it 101% health. Basically what it does is so when you use an alien epoxy on the weapon (above 100% health) it raises the damage of the weapon by about 1 point. So I'm currently carrying around only two weapons.

Ol' Painless -- 66 damage
.32 Pistol ----- 57 damage