I do know there are already guides out there that describe how to max out your stats/skills, but still - here is my version.

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This (small) guide will help you to build a "perfect" Wasteland-Survivor.
Your S.P.E.C.I.A.L stats will be 10 and all of your skills will be level 100.

It's (almost) completely up to you which perks you choose on levelup, you won't need
skill-increasing perks (such as Daddy's Boy/Girl, Gun Nut, etc).

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F.A.Q:
F: What add-ons do I need?
A: All you need is the Broken-Steel Addon.

F: Can I blow up Megaton and get my Strength to 10?
A: YES! It is possible to blow up Megaton and max out Strength! Just get the Ant-Might
Perk by completing 'Those!' WITHOUT(!!) damaging the Ant-Queen at Level 30.

F: Is it safe to pick up Bobbleheads?
A: It's no problem to pick up Skill-Bobbleheads. But It's not OK to pick up
S.P.E.C.I.A.L-Bobbleheads if the stat is below 9 and your Level is below 30.
Wait for the Almost-Perfect perk.

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Note:

* There are different ways to build a "perfect" Wasteland-Survivor. I will only cover
one way in this guide!

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The following are my decisions in a Very Hard ("good") play-through. I recommend them, but you can choose something
different in most cases.

Initial S.P.E.C.I.A.L | Why I chose this setup:

S: 5 (4 if you want to blow up Megaton, pick up the STR-Bobblehead first!) | Strong Back
P: 6 | Light Step
E: 6 | Life Giver
C: 1 | Nothing
I: 9 | +1 Skill-Point per INT, per Level-Up (232 Extra Points with 9 INT compared to 1 INT)
Note: 7-8 INT should be enough as well- but this leaves you some more room and you have to farm/find less books.
A: 7 | Nerves of Steel
L: 6 | Better Criticals, Mysterious Stranger

Note that you have 1 Point left if you want to blow up Megaton, it's up to you what you take:

S: +10 Carry-Weight, higher Melee Weapons skill.
P: Detect enemies sooner(compass), higher Explosives, Lockpick and Energy Weapons skills.
E: +20 HP, +2% Poison resistance, +2% Radiation resistance, higher Big Guns and Unarmed skills.
C: higher Speech and Barter skills.
I: Just... don't...
A: +2 Action Points, higher Small Guns and Sneaking skills.
L: +1% Critical Chance, All skills+(LK/2) (I prefer this one)

G.O.A.T:
Repair, Explosives, Small Weapons.

Perks:

Level 2: Swift Learner (1)
Level 3: Swift Learner (2)
Level 4: Educated (MUST HAVE! +3 Skillpoints on levelup, 78 in total!)
Level 5: Comprehension (SHOULD HAVE! anywhere between 4-30 is OK though..)
Note: You DO NOT need Comprehension (there are ~25 Books for every skill), but it saves a lot of time!
Level 6: Toughness
Level 7: Bloody Mess
Level 8: Strong Back
Level 9: Entomologist
Level 10: Finesse
Level 11: Mysterious Stranger
Level 12: Life Giver
Level 13: Robotics Expert
Level 14: Cyborg (RECOMMENDED: +10% DR, PR, RR and +10 Energy Weapons)
Level 15: Light Step
Level 16: Better Criticals
Level 17: Adamantium Skeleton
Level 18: Fast Metabolism
Level 19: Chemist
Level 20: Explorer
Level 21: Action Boy/Girl
Level 22: Commando
Level 23: Concentrated Fire
Level 24: Sniper
Level 25: Gunslinger
Level 26: Nerves of Steel
Level 27: Demolition Expert (1)
Level 28: Demolition Expert (2)
Level 29: Demolition Expert (3)
Level 30: Almost Perfect (MUST HAVE!)

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What you have to do:

It's best to create a new character, do so.

Baby: Open the book and set your stats as above if you want to. Some perks require a stat at a certain level, that's why I chose this setup. 'High' Intelligence is a Must-Have though! (+1 skillpoint per INT, per Level-Up!)

Child: Don't use the 'Grognak the Barbarian' book you get from Amata yet, just keep it in your inventory.

Teenager: Pick up the Medicine Bobblehead from dad's desk. Do G.O.A.T with the above stats. (Optional - it doesn't really matter in the end).

advlt: Get the 'Grognak the Barbarian' book from the dresser in your room.

After you leave Vault 101:

I suggest you run to Rivet City and grab the Intelligence-Bobblehead(Only if you start with 9 INT! ~ Another reason to choose this setup)
before reaching Level 3, the sooner- the better. You'll 'lose' 1 skill point for every level up.

If you want to blow up Megaton, pick up the Strength-Bobblehead immediately.

Do whatever you want to reach Level 30, but keep the following in mind:

* Don't forget the Energy-Weapons Bobblehead in Raven Rock! (One-Time-Chance!)

* Don't put ANY points in Big Weapons or Science! (until you have 'leftover' points, see below)
(Farm the books. I know it's time-consuming and annoying, but necessary for this setup!)

* Don't read too many books before Level 30. Why? It's not possible to leave the
'Welcome to Level xx' screen if you have points left, and it's not possible to
spend points if all skills are 100. There is no way (without cheats) to fix this!

* Don't complete 'Those!'-Quest if you blow up Megaton or take
the Strength-Bobblehead(or both) BEFORE Level 30. You need the Ant-Might perk to max
out Strength in this case!

* Don't pick up other S.P.E.C.I.A.L-Bobbleheads before Level 30.

* Drop the Lucky 8 Ball (if you have it), before reaching Level 30! Or Almost-Perfect will bring you to 8 (+1 'fake') Luck only!

* Don't get a skill higher than 70 (or 80 with bobblehead) with skill points:
70 (Skill points)
+ 10 (Bobblehead)
+ 20 (10 Books with Comprehension, 20 without)
= 100

* Your skills should be 70(80 with bobblehead) somewhere between Level 26-28 (Depends on how many books you read, initial INT, Level you pick up INT-Bobblehead at, etc) - I doesn't matter what skills you choose from now on, but I prefer Science because the book is 'harder' to farm than Big Guns.

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Thanks to everyone who's reading this!

[Guide made by Pasukaru]

~ Pardon my imperfect English.

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Very good guide for people that want to hit perfection.

I tend to follow about 80% of this. If something gets in the way of role playing I do not do it.
Building a perfect character is one thing, you still need to understand the combat system.
Unique weapons and chemicals go a long way to survival.

ie. Yao Guai meat + Psycho = 35% damage. Combine that with the Terrible Shotgun and that is some serious mayhem.

Good advice on the engery weapon bobblehead. It is amazing how many people miss it.

Just a question- why would anybody take Bloody Mess?

Thanks.

Of course you have to understand the combat system. This guide isn't meant for people who just started their first play-through.

To answer your question:
I like how all limbs are blown off by shots . Also, +5% Damage doesn't hurt either. And, well, as I said: There are just 2 perks you have to take to follow this guide- the rest is completely up to your preference.

Nice guide maybe ill give it a go soon , and welcome too the forum

Howdy and Im not convinced of the perfect character.

Latley Ive gone for mele and big guns. But after that im pushing my Luck to 10 .... who doesnt need critical dmg?

If you take the Intelligence Bobblehead at level 3, how do you max it to 10 at level 30? Is there a quest which nets you +1 Intelligence which you save until level 30?

Arrrggg Me no need int

wish bobble head was +1 smash

Almost-Perfect increases all stats to 9 that are lower than 9. So if something is 9 or 10, it won't change. And since you start with 9 Int, it's perfectly fine to pick it up and max out Int right away.


Well, if you blow up Megaton, you can put one more point into Luck (=7), then get the Lucky 8 Ball and you'll have 8 Luck permanently. There won't be a noticeable difference between 8 or 10 Luck. (2% critical chance difference...)