Welcome to our Fallout: New Vegas build guide. It’s here to help you craft the ultimate character for your playstyle. Whether you’re a pro or new to the Mojave Wasteland, we’ve got you covered. You’ll learn how to boost your character’s abilities, skills, and perks.
We’ll explore key character creation elements. This includes the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. system, picking the right skills, and balancing attributes. We’ll also talk about joining factions and choosing companions that fit your build. Plus, we’ll share tips for success in the early and late game, and how to make the most of your weapons and perks.
Key Takeaways:
- Understand the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. system and allocate points based on your preferred playstyle
- Choose skills that synergize with your character’s attributes and desired role
- Consider faction alignments and companion choices to enhance your build’s effectiveness
- Adapt your strategy as you progress through the game, making necessary adjustments
- Optimize your weapons and perks to maximize your character’s maximum efficiency
By the end of this guide, you’ll know how to build a strong character in Fallout: New Vegas. So, get ready with your Pip-Boy and Stimpaks. Let’s start creating your character!
Understanding Character Attributes
In Fallout: New Vegas, making the perfect character is all about attributes and skills. The S.P.E.C.I.A.L. system, short for Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, and Luck, is key. By choosing how to use your 33 points, you shape your character’s strengths and weaknesses.
The Importance of S.P.E.C.I.A.L.
Each S.P.E.C.I.A.L. attribute is vital for your character’s growth. For instance, a high Intelligence score means more skill points per level. A high Endurance score lets you install more implants. Here’s a suggested way to allocate your points:
- Strength: 6 (unlocks the Stonewall perk, preventing knockdown effects)
- Perception: 6 (increases enemy detection range, impacting ambush frequency)
- Endurance: 9 (provides additional HP and allows for up to 9 implants)
- Charisma: 1 (minimal direct benefits, mainly affects companion damage and armor)
- Intelligence: 9 (better skill point scaling per level, faster maxing out of key skills)
- Agility: 8 (affects animation speed, including weapon unsheathing and reloading)
- Luck: 1 (minimal impact on gameplay, allows for early game advantages in casinos)
Choosing the Right Skills for Your Playstyle
Skills in Fallout: New Vegas show how good you are at things like combat, crafting, and talking to people. When you start, you can pick three skills to get a boost. Think about these when choosing your skills:
- Energy Weapons or Guns: It depends on what you like and what’s available early on.
- Medicine or Survival: This choice is affected by whether you’re playing on hard mode, which changes healing and crafting.
- Speech: It’s often a good choice because of the low starting Charisma.
As you play, you can improve your skills with Skill Points Distribution. This is based on your Intelligence and the Educated perk. By level 30, you can have up to 932 skill points if you have an Intelligence of 10 and all the right perks. To get 100 points in each of the 13 skills, you’ll need 1,300 skill points total.
Balancing Attributes for an Effective Character
To make a great character, balance your S.P.E.C.I.A.L. attributes and skills. Traits like Small Frame (+1 Agility) and Four Eyes (+2 Perception with glasses) can help a lot. Also, picking the right perks, like Educated, can boost your abilities even more.
The table below shows how much skill points you can get based on Intelligence at level 30:
| Intelligence | Skill Points |
|---|---|
| 10 | 421 |
| 9 | 406 |
| 8 | 392 |
| 7 | 377 |
| 6 | 363 |
| 5 | 348 |
| 4 | 334 |
| 3 | 319 |
| 2 | 305 |
| 1 | 290 |
Selecting Factions and Companions
In Fallout: New Vegas, choosing factions and companions changes your game. Faction quests give unique rewards and stories. Companion perks boost your character’s skills. It’s key to manage your reputation with factions to open up new paths and avoid trouble.
Aligning with Factions: Benefits and Consequences
The game has big factions like the New California Republic (NCR), Caesar’s Legion, and Mr. House. Each has its own quests, rewards, and downsides. For instance, backing the NCR lets you use their bases and resources. But, it might make you enemies with other groups. Think about these points when picking factions:
- Stay neutral early to get unique gear and weapons
- Do faction quests for reputation and special rewards
- Remember, your choices can hurt or help your standing with others
Choosing Companions to Enhance Your Build
Companions in Fallout: New Vegas add special perks and abilities. Each has strengths and weaknesses. Pick them based on how you play. Some great perks include:
- Boone’s Spotter perk boosts long-range hits
- Veronica’s Scribe Assistant perk gives more XP for quests
- Cass’s Hand of Vengeance perk increases damage when low on health
Creating Synergy Between Skills and Faction Alignments
To play better, match your skills with your faction choices. For example, with the NCR, skills like Guns and Speech help with their quests. If you’re with Caesar’s Legion, focus on Melee and Survival to be more useful.
By picking the right factions and companions, and matching them with your skills, you’ll make a strong build. This will help you face the Mojave Wasteland’s challenges.
Crafting Your Build Strategy
Starting your journey in the Mojave Wasteland requires a solid build strategy. Focus on skills like Repair early on. This skill helps keep your gear in top shape and lets you make ammo. Survival is also key, boosting food’s power and helping manage hunger and thirst.
Choose perks that fit your playstyle. For example, the Cannibal perk can restore health by eating human flesh.
Early Game Strategies for Success
Begin by getting strong gear and staying neutral with factions. This lets you explore and choose faction alliances later. In Hardcore mode, watch your inventory weight, as ammo and items can weigh you down.
Use the crafting system to make vital items like health supplies and skill books. These can help you survive in the wasteland.
Mid to Late Game Build Adjustments
As you progress, you might need to tweak your build. Look for weapon mods to boost your favorite guns. Also, invest in skills for better ammo crafting.
When exploring DLCs, adjust your strategy for new environments and enemies. For example, Science is key in Old World Blues due to tech-heavy foes.
Tips for Optimizing Weapons and Perks
To optimize your build, pick perks that match your weapons and style. For energy weapons, perks like Laser Commander and Plasma Spaz increase damage. Sneak attack fans should choose Silent Running and Ninja perks.
When modifying weapons, know their strengths and weaknesses. For instance, the Holorifle in Dead Money can be made deadly with the Focus Optics mod for long-range ghost hunting.
