Are you ready to face the Mojave Wasteland with just your fists? Playing an unarmed character in Fallout: New Vegas is both thrilling and tough. With the right build, you can take down enemies with ease, without needing any weapons.
The Unarmed skill in Fallout: New Vegas shows how good you are at fighting without weapons. By focusing on Endurance and Luck, you can improve your Unarmed skill a lot. This lets you take down enemies with your fists, making you a force to be reckoned with.
In this guide, we’ll dive into making a great unarmed build in Fallout: New Vegas. We’ll cover the Unarmed skill, the best attributes, perks, and combat strategies. You’ll learn how to excel in hand-to-hand combat in the post-apocalyptic world of New Vegas.
Key Takeaways
- The Unarmed skill determines the effectiveness of unarmed attacks and is tied to Endurance and Luck attributes.
- Investing in Endurance and Luck can provide significant boosts to your Unarmed skill, up to +20 points at 10 Endurance and +5 points at 9 Luck.
- Fallout: New Vegas offers a variety of unique “fist” weapons with special effects like fast attacks, explosive hits, and electrocution.
- Carefully selecting perks and planning your character build is critical for maximizing your unarmed combat ability.
- Mastering unarmed combat techniques, using equipment upgrades, and adapting strategies for different enemies are key to succeeding in an unarmed playthrough.
Understanding the Unarmed Skill in Fallout: New Vegas
In Fallout New Vegas, many players ignore the Unarmed skill for Guns or Melee. But, mastering Unarmed can lead to a unique playstyle. This guide will show you the benefits of hand-to-hand combat and how to boost your unarmed damage.
What is the Unarmed Skill?
The Unarmed skill affects how much damage you deal and block with your fists. It’s based on your Endurance and Luck. Characters with higher Endurance and Luck start with a better Unarmed skill.
Benefits of Investing in Unarmed
Investing in Unarmed unlocks powerful combat moves. You’ll learn techniques like Ranger Takedown and Scribe Counter. These moves can be found by interacting with NPCs, based on your faction reputation.
High Unarmed skill levels also unlock special attacks. These attacks, like Uppercut and Stomp, deal more damage and have unique effects.
Key Attributes to Increase
To build an effective unarmed character, focus on these attributes:
| Attribute | Recommended Value | Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Strength | 6-7 | Increases damage with Power Fists |
| Endurance | 6+ | Provides bonus HP and access to implants |
| Luck | 9-10 | Increases critical hit chance, vital for unarmed weapons |
By focusing on these attributes and choosing the right perks, you’ll become a skilled hand-to-hand fighter. You’ll be ready to face the Mojave Wasteland’s toughest foes.
Essential Perks for an Effective Unarmed Build
Building an unarmed character in Fallout: New Vegas requires the right perks. These perks boost your combat skills, help you survive, and give you an edge in fights.
Recommended Perks for Unarmed Combat
Here are some key perks to improve your unarmed skills:
- Piercing Strike: This perk lets your unarmed attacks bypass 15 points of an enemy’s armor, making them easier to hit.
- Paralyzing Palm: This perk gives your unarmed attacks a chance to stun enemies, leaving them unable to fight for a bit.
- Slayer: This perk makes your unarmed attacks 30% faster, letting you strike quickly and hard.
Other great perks include Stonewall, which stops knockdowns and boosts your armor against melee attacks. Better Criticals increases your critical hit damage by 50%. Purifier gives you a 50% damage bonus against tough enemies like Deathclaws and Super Mutants.
How to Unlock Key Perks
To get these perks, you need to level up your Unarmed skill. For example, Piercing Strike and Paralyzing Palm need a skill level of 70. Focus on boosting your Unarmed skill to unlock these perks early.
| Perk | Unarmed Skill Requirement |
|---|---|
| Piercing Strike | 70 |
| Paralyzing Palm | 70 |
| Slayer | 90 |
Balancing Perk Choices
When picking perks, balance damage boosts with survival and utility perks. Piercing Strike and Slayer are key for offense. But don’t forget about defensive perks like Stonewall or Toughness.
Also, think about perks that work well with your VATS tactics. Better Criticals and Finesse can make your critical hits more powerful, helping you defeat enemies faster.
Tips and Strategies for Dominating With Unarmed Combat
To excel in unarmed combat, mastering techniques and using the right gear is key. Mix VATS attacks, special moves, and fist weapons to outdo enemies in close battles. Perks like Cowboy, Grunt, and Living Anatomy boost your damage and survival.
Effective Combat Techniques
Use VATS to double your damage and link attacks for big impacts. Special moves like Ranger Takedown and Scribe Counter can help. Perks like Super Slam and Terrifying Presence can stun or scare enemies, making it easier to attack.
Recommended Equipment and Upgrades
Invest in strong fist weapons like Ballistic Fist and Industrial Hand. The Embrace of the Mantis King! from Gun Runners’ Arsenal is also great. Armor like Joshua Graham’s and Ulysses’ Duster boosts your critical hit chances.
How to Counter Different Enemies
Each enemy needs a unique strategy for unarmed combat. Stunning Deathclaws with the Khan Trick opens up a punch fest. The Purifier perk is great against Super Mutants and Nightkin. Adapting your tactics and using the right gear makes you a hand-to-hand combat master.
