I'm just curious if people seem to agree that the game is balanced.

Balanced in the amount of damage that the enemies, can absorb per shot.

I've been watching a rather long let's play, and it's come to one point where the player is at point blank range, and does the vats to aim at the head and shoots about 5 bullets (10mm) directly into the enemy (humanoid) head, but that doesn't kill the enemy.

This seems really strange to me that 5 bullets to the head doesn't kill the enemy. I'm now up to about episode 65 of the let's play and this has pretty much gone on the entire let's play and it pretty much mimics my own experience in Fallout New Vegas which just makes me wonder if this is a balancing issue, or if it was designed this way so as to ensure that the game is not too easy for the player.

I'm not complaining, honest I'm not, I'm just curious why a humanoid or even a gecko can take 5 bullets to the head and still be standing to come attack.

Thanks,

Its Fallout.....a rabbit could survive a .308 to the face.....

Funny thing is... I was discussing this with my lil bro just yesterday.

I find it annoyingly [censored]. Especially if I have say... oh THIS MACHINE and point-blank them in VATS in the face and it still takes 4-5 bullets as said.

With the 2nd strongest gun in the game? Seriously now?!

I find that you take DMG WAY too easily, and the enemies take DMG like they're god's who can't be destroyed...

I do indeed feel your pain brother.

Because NV is a roleplaying game, and In RPG-land character skill is the deity to which things like 'realism' (or 'fun') must be sacrificed. Supposedly. It's not really a question of balance, that's just how RPGs tend to work.

(NV is quite unbalanced in some respects though, sneak-crit sniper-type characters in particular are badly overpowered IMHO.)

So turn the difficulty down and enjoy the one-shots while enemies barely damage you. Or if you're on PC, mod the gun damages to be more realistic so both you and the enemy take faster, harder damage. Several mods/ppl have done that sort of thing already. eg, if you want realistic damage, buy for PC.

Depends on enemy level and type its an rpg not an fps or real life, thered be no point in a leveling system or skills or really any rpg elements if head shots were instant kills, I think the game is pretty well balanced theres always a few enemies that remain a challenge while others become easier due to you level. Also equipment and skill play a huge role ealy weapons such as the 10mm are meant to be replaced as you advance, any skill with few points will be weak regardless of equipment.

Humanoids or Geckos only require 5 head-shots while one is using early-game weapons with stock ammo and still has a relatively low weapon skill. Come back with a Hunting Rifle loaded with .308JSP, and one head-shot will more than suffice unless it's certain Super Mutants.

Needing several hits per enemy is fairly standard for RPGs, since it shows that your character is still developing his/her skills while this remains true. Whether or not said target could realistically take that much abuse is another matter, although there are RL cases of people taking multiple smaller-caliber head hits and surviving. Where folks here tend to have issues with the model is when that survival extends to 'hot' .44s or better, bullets meant to drop pretty much anything that walks in 1-2 hits.

At least in the Fallout series it's explained that the foes who can take that much abuse are either wearing ridiculously powerful armors or were genetically engineered to be almost as tough as said armors. As such, it's generally considered acceptable to need several shots for such foes despite our knowing that the RL weapons many of the FO ones are based on would drop pretty much any in-game opponent in about 2 hits. In the case of Raider-types, it's the drugs; it's hard to stop someone who cannot feel pain and doesn't even know they've been shot.

Well, first off, enemies doesn't take less damage than yourself. Second, you have several adventages over your enemies, like being able to carry around a [censored]load of items, choose perks, and have companions. Fallout were also never meant to be realistic in any way.

So yes, i think that the game was balanced enough. But that's my opinion.

'Balance' is a fluid concept, in an RPG game. It's not pure realism, obviously... or your own char wouldn't last 5 minutes in the gameworld. So since they have to give you certain compensations to make it fun and playable for beginner-level folks, so they also have to give your enemies certain compensations so that you aren't just knocking them all off like ducks at the shooting gallery, right out of the gate. That wouldn't be much fun either, for very long. Just realize that until you build up your skills, perks, get better weapons and ammo, and learn more about how the basic game mechanics work, you will not exactly be the Godzilla of the Wastes Learn to be sneaky, get the drop on your foes, or engage them at longer ranges when you can. Or avoid fights you have trouble with, and come back later to take their lunch money when you are tougher. There are many ways to get the upper hand, in FO.

It was even harder starting out in Fallout 3, at least in my recollection... the first five or six levels were a real challenge to stay alive and defeat any groups of enemies, or tougher enemies you might stumble over like supermutants or mirelurks. You don't really run into any decent challenges starting out in NV, until you get to the Powdergangers or beyond.

As for making it more balanced, as in easier or tougher (whichever you may feel it needs to be), that's what the difficulty level setting is for- Very Easy through Very Hard. Mods too, if you are on PC and so inclined.

Turn down the difficulty.

A guy in cod on line can take 3 shots to the head now.

Look it is an rpg not a shooter. Everyone has superhuman ability (you much more so than most everything else)

The last patch that made high end bullets, and weapon mods way more expensive added some more balance, but most NPCs are so stupid you are an uber god. Any really hard NPCs are far and few between. Not enough vet rangers and not enough Centurions. Not enough deathclaws roaming either. You really have to look hard to find tough combat in fo nv.

Gekos taking 5 head shots? With what a 9? I 1 or 2 shot fire geckos all day with a trail carbine. I one shot many NPCs with long range head shots with a sniper rifle.

This game could be hard, but the hard NPCs are packed away, and none of them return fire at a sniper. Instead they pull out a knife and let you finish them off.

So no the game is more and more in your favor every level rise. Not balanced.......

Shooting heavily armoured high hp enemies without armour piercing bullets again? tisk tisk.

Realism balanced?
No.
RPG combat balanced?
No.
RPG specialization balanced?
No.

I wouldn't say that the game is balanced in any single way unless you pose limitations ala self gimp on yourself.
As for realism, this is an RPG, not an FPS, enemies will be able to survive shots to the head.
So realism can [censored] right off when it comes to RPG combat cause it does it no good.

It definitely feels balanced to me.

The DT system is so simple, yet so amazing. It, along with the slew of other mechanics always in play, work to make guns actually resemble realistic counterparts. Pushing the Fallout rpg towards the survival simulation game rather than the arcade feel.

The 10mm is such a middle of the road, early game oddball weapon that it doesn't really fit into the scheme for players who have grasped a sense of the wasteland. Since I have played on easy I have always had little difficulty in combat. This made me gravitate towards understanding DT, however I've missed out on the nuances of using chems, skill mags, stimpacks, repairs, and crippled limbs to a large extent. It's basically DMG - DT, then apply perks and difficulty for +25%, or +75%, or whatnot.

So a 10mm:
18 DMG - 6 DT (human in decent armor) = 12 dmg. 24 dmg on very easy / 6 dmg on very hard.

Caravan Shotgun:
7x7 damage - 6 DT (human in decent armor) = 7 dmg. 14 dmg on very easy / 3 dmg on very hard.

later...:

Hunting Shotty:
12x7 damage - (6 DT becomes 0 with surgeon perk) = 84 dmg. 168 dmg on very easy / 42 dmg on very hard.


All in all it's been a great experience. In my playthrough I actually have felt overpowered (kicking myself for not upping the difficulty after 10hrs in when I was comfortable with the controls). All of my weapons focus on armor penetration, however I have never had a use for hollow point ammunition. If the NPCs didn't all die in 1 or 2 hits I would definitely have a hollow point option (for say.. cazadors...). Perhaps the 10mm submachine gun with 1.65dmg, double target DT hand loaded ammunition for fleshy targets with little to no armor.

It's very balanced on human reaction time to do cool stuff in a battle, while having a multitude of options available that resemble what you would expect from them on normal difficulty.

Since you were watching an LP on youtube, the guy probably wanted to minimize time spent in the pipboy while maximizing viewer lust for arcade-style combat pleasure. If your gameplay resembles that, you should pop some chems, lower the difficulty, or find/bind/rebind a better weapon or 3! The game couldn't be as balanced or multifacetedly (it's a word now) awesome as it is without using the pipboy to select the proper actions for the proper job.

Skill points and the accessibility they provide to seem the most imbalanced thing to me (since that is what leveling up gets you), however this comes from a level 25 with 60 hours played who hasn't been to New Vegas. I'm sure there are players out there who have already controlled the Tops with little more than vengeance on the mind, 900 caps, and 80 rounds of ammo.

if the game would be a FPS style with 1 shot to head kill target then u couldn't have melee weapons and unarmed , becouse let's face it running into somebody with an assault rifle will get u killed whatever big fancy weapon u have , then there's also the science fiction aspect , obiously ammunition weapons would govern plasma weapons since all u need is to duck if u see someone shoot a plasma rifle since the projectile is slow , depends on what u like to play , ofc if u want to play the realistic way then yes , if u get shot then u'd have to bleed until u put first aid , and even first aid might not help u if the bullet hits an internal organ and u start an internal bleed

what happened to u was a classical low skill vs a mob buffed for a hard difficulty setting , switch to very easy and they will die in 1 bullet ( the harder difficulty means they have better health and better damage )