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.

My usual get-up-and-go kit (at least for the current character) is this:

Eugene
Ol' Painless or the Perforator
Wild Bill's Revolver or Blackhawk or The Kneecapper
Spiked Knuckles

And some nades. I will also use, if in battle, whatever I find at the scene.

As an example, I often try one of the following combinations -

Backpack - Heavy Incinerator
Commando 1 - Xuanlong
Commando 2 - Terrible Shotgun
Holster 1 - Shishkebab
Holster 2 - Blackhawk

or maybe...

Backpack - Gatling Laser
Commando 1 - Lincoln's Repeater
Commando 2 - A3-21's Plasma Rifle
Holster 1 - Vampire's Edge
Holster 2 - 10mm SMG

The weapons I carry are Hunting Rife, Chinese Assault Rife, Combat Knife, Double-Barrel Shotgun and 32, caliber and a few Frag Grenades.

I try to keep my weapons at 4 or less. I count grenades as one and try to carry just a few when I'm going to be using them.

With my current character I have hotkeyed, today, a Blackhawk equivalent, a Shish and a few grenades. I'm putting points into Explosives for Pyro so I'm using the grenades pretty regularly.

That's a pretty typical selection for me. It would be different if I was playing EW/Unarmed but I wouldn't be carrying much more. Maybe A3-21'sPR (or something like it), a laser pistol and spiked knuckles or a Deathclaw Gauntlet. I would probably have a few grenades but wouldn't use them much as I wouldn't have any points in Explosives.

I generally go more strict than that. I try to initially equip with:

1 - Long gun - Plasma rifle, Lincoln repeater, Xuanlong, whatever.
1 - Pistol - Laser pistol, Protectron's gaze, .44 Mag.
1 - SP weapon (usually the dart gun, sometimes a flamer)
1 - Up close weapon - I currently favor the Fisto
10-15 grenades and mines - I may carry any variety, though: Frag, pulse, nuka, whatever.

Anything I pick up, I figure is put in my bundle and I try not to use. If I have RL-3 handy, I give it to him.

I do pretty much exactly what you do
My latest toon carries:

Backpack - Victory Rifle
Commando - Chinese Assault Rifle (Extended Clip+Laser Sight)
Holster 1 - Smugglers End
Holster 2 - Pulse Pistol (I forget if thats Vanilla or not...)
Belt 1 - 3 Frag Grenades
Belt 2 - 5 Stealth Boys

He's basically a Commando type guy sticking to the shadows and sniping which is why I consider the Stealth Boys part of my arsenal Smugglers End and the Victory Rifle are my main combo. I really only pull out the Assault Rifle or Flamer when I get caught or overwealmed by a MMM spawn lol. And the Pulse Pistol is pretty much essential for killing synthetics so I use that every once in a while.

The mods I use: Fallout Wanderers Edition, Marts Mutant Mod, Weapon Mod Kits.

new player

Possibly not. The hunting rifle is actually a standby for many seasoned players, the double barrel shotgun comers from one of the DLC's, combat knife is a decent backup and he may be doing a little roleplaying, and the chinese assault rifle is the best assault rifle besides it's unique equivalent, and the . 32 cal pistol is probably so he can share ammo with the hunting rifle.

I tend to use these.

1. The trusty Chinese Assault rifle. For both sharpshooting, and when things get really rough.
2. The submachine gun. It's not that good for really long range, but is backup ammo, lightweight, and does pretty awesome damage.
3. Powerfist for saving ammo on rats, ghouls, raiders, and the like. On the occasion of being cornered, or the occasional 1 hit from dead enemy. Even a character with 1 strength, and low unarmed can do decent damage with the power fist, it's amazing. Also if every weapon breaks and you have unarmed from powerfist use, your hands are still okay backup. Unlike if you were an actual melee weapon user.
4. The combat shotgun. Lightweight hits very hard. It's good for when you need to kill a really tough enemy fast/close quarters combat. Also backup ammo source.
5. Maybe the laser rifle or something similar for when my energy weapons gets high enough. More backup ammo, and it will go nice with the "Cyborg" perk.

I have my mines all stored in a locker cause they take up a lot of weight, they are there for when I have a "rainy day". Grenades I just vendor cause they just always disappointed me, that or I am just not good at using them.

I assign a rifle, a pistol and a melee weapon (sword, tire iron, whatever) to the Top, Bottom and Left hot key, and use the right hot key for a healing item (food, whatever.) (I use Xbox 360 despite having a capable computer and owning Fallout 3 for it.. i'm simple.)

My "goods" pack depends on what I need to do. When i'm in a realistic RP kind of mood, i'll carry only what a survival guy on Discovery might carry in they're pack, a few tin cans for water, a few things of food, a hammer, wrench, and a bottle of pills. If I need to get something done, I stick to my weapons set, but may carry, for example, all of Lincolns artifacts out of the museum at once. It would be a simple waste of my precious time on earth to haul a single artifact out of a dungeon because it weighed 25 pounds. I'm practical, but I also love playing a game realistically.

My preferred main weapons, in no particular order, are:

1. A3-21 Plasma rifle, AKA the Green Death. Not as potent as the alien blaster, but it doesn't have a limited ammo supply. Accurate, durable, and devastating.
2. Xuanlong assault rifle. Runs on the most obtainable ammo in the game, but does extreme damage. Poor durability, but spare parts are easy to find.
3. Lincoln's repeater. Ammo can be hard to find, but it's accurate and its sneak attack headshots are quite lethal.
4. Shishkebab. Technically a melee weapon, but often winds up as primary arm due to its destructiveness. Cheap to repair, too.

If I have any of these, I rarely need anything else.

With the mod I made my character with 4 Strength can only carry 80 lbs (20 per point of Strength) and my Chinese Stealth Armor weighs 20 lbs so I have only 60 lbs that I can dedicate to weapons and loot. She is currently carrying a Powerfist, the Atomic Pulverizer from Motership Zeta, a Gauss Rifle, a Dart Gun, the Mesmetron, and a variable amount of explosives. Alltogether that leaves about 20 lbs for loot.

Limiting it to 5 might be excessive for some. I rarely have more than 3 (or 4 if I'm using melee) weopons at any time, right now it's a missile launcher, paulsons revolver and nuka grenades (a lot of nuka grenades!). I rarely have the need to whip out the revolver but it's there just in case something makes it through the blue nuka flame.

My current loadout at lvl 19.
1: SMG
2: Chinese assault rifle
3: .44 magnum
4: Sniper rifle
5: Terrible shotgun
6: 3-4 frag grenades for setting off gas leaks

SMG and .44 can be carried at the waist. Both rifles are carried in straps over the shoulders, the shotgun is velcro strapped to the chest of my combat vest, which incidentally also comes with pockets for grenades. At least, this is what I'm telling myself when i'm wondering how I'm carrying all this gear. Don't ask me how I'm also able to carry loot as well as ammo as well as 200 stimpacks, or how my Chinese stealth armor functions underneath a non-stealthy combat vest. Maybe the Bhaalspawn left his bags of holding to be found by the Lone Wanderer as well as a few splinters of the Staff of the Magi?



As Tman said...
A hunting rifle provides an okay punch if you sneak attack a headshot and it's got decent accuracy. At long range, you'll be able to manually aim a few good shots before anything can close ground. Well, anything other than yao guai and behemoths, I suppose. Talons, raiders, ghouls, super mutants and super mute brutes, they all get a headache when you tag them in the face, even with a puny .32 slug. Super mute masters and beyond as well as the more mutated wildlife is largely beyond hunting rifles but that's where the other guns come in, I suppose.

The Chinese Assault Rifle is pretty much a jack of all trades, being good in medium and close combat against most enemies and with plentiful ammo. A few bursts in the face will ruin almost anyone's day and it has the accuracy to be useful at a far greater range than shotguns and the like.

A combat knife seems ludicrous but it's fast and it's probably just for emergencies and enemies too miserable to even waste a .32 round on. Stuff like roaches. And it fits in, RP-wise. You're a survivor out in the wasteland, of course you're going to bring a knife. Just look at how much fun Rambo had with one.

DB shotgun, well, haven't tried it yet but it sure looks like a fabulous weapon for sneaking up on enemies and serving a crit sneak attack facial. Personally I'd prefer an actual combat shotgun due to the ammo capacity (to handle the yao guai you didn't notice before blasting a hole in a scorpion) but the terrible shotgun two-shots deathclaws when you sneak attack them and I can't see the DB doing worse than that, which means it's going to take down single targets easily.

Then .32 cal revolver is a bit crappy, granted, but it's a good choice if you want a sidearm without investing in a seperate ammo pile. This way his long distance rifle and his sidearm are both using cheap .32 rounds. If he'd gone with sniper rifle and SMG instead, he'd be looking to invest in a few thousand 10mm rounds to feed his SMG and rather expensive .308 rounds for his rifle. RP-wise, it might also be a problem to actually carry enough of that many different kinds of rounds.

I usually just go with either chinese assault rifle or hunting rifle, a shotgun and then a combat knife. Plus a nuka-grenade or two ^^

Oh, and i'm currently level 27 and i carry half of what he's hauling along.

This is my arsenal of weapons. I usually travel light so I can loot enclave soldiers for their power armor.

1. Backpack Weapon - NONE(reserved for loot)

2. Commando One - A3-21's Plasma Rifle

3. Commando Two - Chinese Assault Rifle

4. Holster One - Blackhawk

5. Holster Two - Silenced 10mm pistol

My character is not really a Big Guns character so every minigun I find usually ends up in Moira's shop 10-15 seconds later. It's made me quiet rich though!

My opinion on this 5 gun rule is that it's a very cool, realistic system. It gives players enough freedom to have a versatile collection of weapons, while maintaining realism and challenge. But I do like how when I go on a super mutant killing spree I can carry 8 assault rifles, 8 hunting rifles, and 8 chinese assault rifles which I can horde in my megaton house to repair my main weapons when the time comes.

If you really want to play it realistically, then I would play it more like the following:

One (1) "over the shoulder" weapon. This could be any Big Gun or Rifle type weapon. I know some people may allow a "backpack" weapon and a "shoulder" weapon (hunting rifle, sniper rifle, etc.), but realistically a person would only be able to carry one of this. MAYBE two, if you slung one rifle over two shoulders, but most people wouldn't travel like that.

Two (2) "Hip holstered" weapons. I would designate this as any pistol, the SMG and/or sawed-off shotgun.

One to Two (1-2) melee weapons. The number of melee weapons would be determined by the relative size, and position a person would realistically carry it. So, for instance, you could get away with multiple knives and a set of brass knuckles. But, more than likely only one sword would be allowed. You might be able to get away with two swords ("crossed" over the back) if you forgo using an "over the shoulder" weapon.

One to Six (1-6) grenades. Grenades are typically held on bandolier across the chest. Most bandoliers don't carry more than six.

1-2 mines: I assume my character is wearing some sort of backpak (even if it's not seen), so he could hold a few. However, I'm not sure if anyone knows how heavy these are in real life. A standard frag mine is easy 5-10 IRL, so I play it the same way.

Medical equipment: This is where I get creative. Looking at the relative size of a stimpak in game, it seems to me to be about 6 inches long and 3-4 across. So, I try to realistically carry only how many I think a normal person would fit in a easy to reach fanny-pak. So, that being said, I never roll out with more than 5 or 6. Even then, I only used them for healing crippled limbs. Any other healing I need I always eat food or drink water. Or rest. I try to never carry more than one or two rad-aways either, the damn things being almost the size of a liter of blood.

When I adventure out, I usually look like this (even at lvl. 30)

One "over the shoulder": Usually Lincoln's Repeater or the Perforator
Two "Hip holdered": Silenced 10mm and SMG, usually. Sometimes I'll swap out the silenced 10mm and bring a sawed-off shotgun.
One melee weapon: This changes constantly, but is always something small like spiked knuckles or a combat knife.
6 grenades: 2 frag, 2 pulse, 2 nuka.
2 mines: Usually bottle-cap mines
medical equipment: 6 stimpaks, 2 rad-aways.

Interesting. I tend to only carry three weapons. Laser Pistol, Laser Rifle (or Wazer Wifle), and a few grenades. Any other weapons I may have I tend to think of as wrapped up and stuffed in my pack to haul off to a merchant for sale.

That bugged me too, lugging around a whole load of weapons, So a long time a go I started just
caring the following -

Combat Shotgun *
Chinese Assault Rifle (or silent version from The Pit)
Sniper Rifle *
5 nades & 5 mines
Plasma/Tri-Laser Rifle

* Upgrade to special versions when found

and thats my lot

I think it would be an interesting challenge to see if you could get by with one projectile weapon, one close-in weapon, and a limited number of explosive ones. For best results, do it in a place where there are no armed enemies (just animals, insects, or feral ghouls). My choices would be the A3-21 rifle, Fisto, and Bottlecap mines.

That's basically what I do, Oddish, for the whole game. I use the Laser Pistol at point-blank range (due to being a pistol, I can shoot things that are trying to smack me in the head without the shot flying past them due to barrel length), Laser Rifle for any ranged engagements and for sniping, and frag grenades for emergencies. The emergencies are usually 'I'm very low on health, out of stims, and someone with guns is just on the other side of that doorway'...so a nice gentle toss will save me. Then I just hope they have a stimpack in their loot.

This is also one of the many reasons i love this game, you can play it in so many different ways

I liked the Halo¹ & Mirror's Edge treatment of firearms. Traditionally Fallout let you carry a lot of weapons, and that worked fine for a turn based game, but FO3 is Worm's Eye style shooter now, with an intent for visual realism. So I think a 5 weapon (or less) equipment cap would make it a lot more realistic. :goodjob: