Building a First Character for NV

[Golan2072]

I'll probably be buying a copy of F:NV from STEAM this week, and I am already thinking about my first character.

My initial concept was playing a "geek" of sorts, a weak, uncharismatic but *SMART* guy with Science, Energy Weapons and Repair. I might switch Repair to Speech if that would open up more plot exploration for me.

The attributes I'm thinking about are:
STR 4 (later get the Implant)
PER 5 (later get the Implant)
END 5
CHA 1
INT 10
AGI 7 (later get the Implant)
LUC 8

And, of course, Small Frame and maybe Built to Destroy as my Traits.

However, I get the feeling that F:NV is a cowboy sort of game, and therefore six-shooters and shotguns might seem more appropriate to me than lasers to its atmosphere. But I might be wrong.

 

[Richwizard]

Hi Golan, I'm a little long winded so bear with me.

New Vegas is set in the west, and you can play a cowboy if you want, but it's not necessary (maybe next time ). Hey, it's Fallout! There is actually an Energy Weapons merchant in Freeside, if you have the caps. I would recommend keeping Repair tagged. The crafting system is greatly expanded in this game, compared to Fallout 3, and that skill will help a lot in the long run. Science will improve your energy ammo recycling, so that's a good choice for an Energy Weapons character. With Energy Weapons tagged, I would recommend raising your Perception more. That is the attribute that gives a bonus to Energy Weapons.

Personally, I think Guns is more helpful, but if you tag Energy Weapons, the game will place a Laser Pistol in Goodsprings. There are a couple in nearby locations anyway, so it's not a big deal. Actually, that gives you a few spares for parts. There is also a Recharger Rifle and a Laser RCW somewhere fairly early in the game. I recently started a new game, haven't gotten past the Mojave Outpost yet and I have these weapons.

There are no "perfect" skills to tag. Every time you use a weapon on someone, it is effectively a skill check. In the early tutoral missions, there are speech, barter, explosive, and survival checks. You will probably not be able to pass all of them until you wander around outside Goodsprings a little and gain some experience. You could also cheat, just a little. That's what I usually end up doing with skills at first, just enough to pass these checks and move the game along.

Regarding your attributes; I don't think you should ever start with any at 10. You can always raise it later; it's just a matter of finding the clinic and paying caps, or taking the Intense Training perk. There is also a great mod I would recommend for this called "Perky Snowglobes". There are 7 snowglobes in the game already that do nothing but get you caps for selling them to Mr. House. This mod permanently raises one of your 7 SPECIAL attributes for each one you find. The first one you find near Goodsprings raises your Charisma with this mod installed.

I do have one bit of advice starting a New Vegas game. Heed the warnings about going north from Goodsprings. DON'T until you have better weapons and armor, and a higher level. Check the "Spoiler" if you want to find out why. Note, you will find Deathclaw warning signs in that direction.
[spoiler:683336932b]Many Giant Radscorpions plainly visible from atop the Goodsprings cemetry hill, many Cazadores sometimes visible at a distance from the same hill, a well equipped group of raiders, and a colony of Deathclaws with some wandering the area around the colony. I usually play on "Normal" difficulty and these New Vegas deathclaws can kill with one rake of a claw.[/spoiler:683336932b]

Mostly, just go with the character YOU want to build and have fun!

 

[Wastelander357]

Hi there. This is actually the type of character I recently made. I found that I didn't need to completely dump my Cha to make a pretty decent character.

Here's what my starting stats looked like:

S 4
P 7
E 4
C 5
I 8
A 5
L 7

I then took 3 levels of Intense Training to raise Intelligence to 10 and Luck to 8. You can turn in snowglobes for easy caps and get an implant at the New Vegas Clinic to raise any others that you want. I put another point into Luck to raise it to 9.

I tagged Energy Weapons, Repair and Science.

So far I'm having a blast on this playthrough because of all the different ways that you can complete missions besides just brute force and blazing guns. Good luck, and have fun!

 

[Ben]

When you start, take the GIFTED trait.

Put INT at 9, CHA at 1 and Luck at 6 (dont care about the other ones)

Run north around the west side of the map, get Freeside. Make sure you don't level up. Make it to Freeside, gamble at the atomic wrangler (might as well break bank). Buy the INT implant and get the other ones ASAP.

Take the perk that gives you 2 extra skill points per level.

Use the Fallout Wiki to figger out where all the skill books are. Max out anything but Lockpick, Science and maybe Speech.

By the time you hit level 50, you will, be a beast

 

[SharkClub]

I don't think the OP meant powergaming builds, Ben.

 

[Ben]

I don't think the OP meant powergaming builds, Ben.

He's still a geek character, just a useful one