DwayneGAnd
Look, Ma! Two Heads!
I had this brainstorm last night and I was wondering if any of you could tell me if I had the right idea. My idea involves limiting your equipment based on your final end game carry weight.
The perks Strong Back and Burden To Bear can increase your carry weight, but only if you meet the stat requirements. Strong Back requires Strength and Endurance of 5 each. Burden to Bear requires each to be 6. Also, bonuses to your strength, such as from armor, spineless perk, and the reinforced spine perk do not count as the game only uses your base stats.
In Hardcore mode, ammo has weight. Take this into consideration too together with the combined weight of your equipment and other items you'll be carrying such as food, water, and miscellaneous.
If your endgame strength is 6 with reinforced spine, you will not be able to have access to Strong Back or Burden To Bear, even if you meet the requirements for Endurance. Therefore, you should limit yourself to using light armor only. You can still take Pack Rat to halve the weight of all items less than 2 pounds though. You should still set your Endurance to five so you can have access to the Toughness perk and get the Sub-dermal implant to further raise your damage threshold. If you want to use a weapon weighing more than 10 pounds in your final arsenal, limit yourself to just 1.
Therefore, if you want to use light armor without taking either perk to raise your carry weight, you can just set your strength to a maximum of 4 or a minimum of three if you want to distribute the point elsewhere and plan to get the strength perk. The NCR Courier duster can raise your carry weight by 25 pounds though.
If you start with a strength of 5, you will have access to the Strong Back perk. Or you can start with four and get the strength implant. If you start with 5 and don't plan to get the strength implant, you will have a final end game strength of 7 with the reinforced spine or 6 with spineless. You won't have access to Burden To Bear unless you set your endurance to 6 or set it at 5 and get the endurance implant. If you can use strong back but not burden to bear, I recommend using medium armor. Using heavy armor without burden to bear would still be a bad idea because of the weight, it would still use almost 50 pounds! Combined with the weight of the rest of your gear and other items including ammo on hardcore, you would find yourself becoming overencumbered if you pick up too much. Also, you need a base strength of at least 7 in order to use Heavyweight to halve the weight of any weapons more than ten pounds, so if you can't use the perk, limit the number of those weapons you carry. Don't use any weapons that weight more than twenty pounds. Pack rat can help with halving weight of items weighing less than two pounds, including ammo on Hardcore.
If you plan to use heavy armor, I recommend setting strength to a maximum of 6 and endurance at 6 in order to meet the requirements of burden to bear. Or you can set your strength to 5 and get the strength implant. With these stats, you can get both strong back and burden to bear. Depending on whether you get the strength implant or not, with power armor, you can get your Strength up to 10 at the end of the game! Since some of the heaviest weapons in the game require strength of 8 or more, you will need all the carry weight you can get for all of your equipment. Mini-nukes are the heaviest ammo in the game in hardcore and are not affected by pack rat, so if you use Esther or Fat man as part of your end-game arsenal, you will need all the carry weight you can get. Heavyweight can help reduce the weight of all heavy weapons more than 10 pounds.
So in short:
No Strong Back-use light armor
No Burden to Bear-use medium armor
Both-use heavy armor
And be sure to limit the number of heavy weapons if you have medium armor without heavyweight. And take pack rat for all three.
Now I will provide some examples of equipment for final end game strength builds. Notice how I match the highest strength requirment of weapons for each.
(Strength 10)
Avenger Minigun
Esther or Mercy
T-51b Power Armor
Strong Back
Burden To Bear
Heavyweight
(Strength 9)
Fido or Cyberdog Gun
Esther or Mercy
T-51b Power Armor
Strong Back
Burden To Bear
Heavyweight
(Strength 8)
Anti-materiel Rifle
L'il Devil
Riot Shotgun
Elite Riot Gear
Strong Back
Strength Implant
L'il Devil
Riot Shotgun
Red Glare or Annabelle
Elite Riot Gear
Strong Back
Strength Implant
(Strength 7)
Christine's CoS Silencer Rifle or Gobi Campaign Scout Rifle
12.7mm Pistol
Riot Shotgun or This Machine
Red Glare, Annabelle, or Shoulder Mounted Machine Gun
Elite Riot Gear or Advanced Riot Gear
Strong Back
YCS/186
Pew Pew
Elijah's Advanced LAER
Sprtel-Wood 9700, Red Glare, or Annabelle
Gannon Family Tesla Armor
Strong Back
(Strength 6)
Christine's Cos Silencer Rifle or Gobi Campaign Scout Rifle
5.56 Pistol
This Machine or Dinner Bell
12.7mm SMG
Courier Duster
YCS/186
Pew Pew
Elijah's Advanced LAER
Sprtel-Wood 9700
Courier Duster
La Longue Carabine or Scoped Trail Carbine
Mysterious Magnum or Ranger Sequoia
Medicine Stick or Lever Action Shotgun
Red Glare or Annabelle
Cowboy
Courier Duster
(Strength 5)
YCS/186
Pew Pew
Elijah's Advanced LAER
Annabelle
Courier Duster
All-American
Light Shining In Darkness
Assault Carbine or Survivalist's Rifle
Grenade Launcher
Grunt
Courier Duster
Let me know if I've gotten the right idea with this idea.
The perks Strong Back and Burden To Bear can increase your carry weight, but only if you meet the stat requirements. Strong Back requires Strength and Endurance of 5 each. Burden to Bear requires each to be 6. Also, bonuses to your strength, such as from armor, spineless perk, and the reinforced spine perk do not count as the game only uses your base stats.
In Hardcore mode, ammo has weight. Take this into consideration too together with the combined weight of your equipment and other items you'll be carrying such as food, water, and miscellaneous.
If your endgame strength is 6 with reinforced spine, you will not be able to have access to Strong Back or Burden To Bear, even if you meet the requirements for Endurance. Therefore, you should limit yourself to using light armor only. You can still take Pack Rat to halve the weight of all items less than 2 pounds though. You should still set your Endurance to five so you can have access to the Toughness perk and get the Sub-dermal implant to further raise your damage threshold. If you want to use a weapon weighing more than 10 pounds in your final arsenal, limit yourself to just 1.
Therefore, if you want to use light armor without taking either perk to raise your carry weight, you can just set your strength to a maximum of 4 or a minimum of three if you want to distribute the point elsewhere and plan to get the strength perk. The NCR Courier duster can raise your carry weight by 25 pounds though.
If you start with a strength of 5, you will have access to the Strong Back perk. Or you can start with four and get the strength implant. If you start with 5 and don't plan to get the strength implant, you will have a final end game strength of 7 with the reinforced spine or 6 with spineless. You won't have access to Burden To Bear unless you set your endurance to 6 or set it at 5 and get the endurance implant. If you can use strong back but not burden to bear, I recommend using medium armor. Using heavy armor without burden to bear would still be a bad idea because of the weight, it would still use almost 50 pounds! Combined with the weight of the rest of your gear and other items including ammo on hardcore, you would find yourself becoming overencumbered if you pick up too much. Also, you need a base strength of at least 7 in order to use Heavyweight to halve the weight of any weapons more than ten pounds, so if you can't use the perk, limit the number of those weapons you carry. Don't use any weapons that weight more than twenty pounds. Pack rat can help with halving weight of items weighing less than two pounds, including ammo on Hardcore.
If you plan to use heavy armor, I recommend setting strength to a maximum of 6 and endurance at 6 in order to meet the requirements of burden to bear. Or you can set your strength to 5 and get the strength implant. With these stats, you can get both strong back and burden to bear. Depending on whether you get the strength implant or not, with power armor, you can get your Strength up to 10 at the end of the game! Since some of the heaviest weapons in the game require strength of 8 or more, you will need all the carry weight you can get for all of your equipment. Mini-nukes are the heaviest ammo in the game in hardcore and are not affected by pack rat, so if you use Esther or Fat man as part of your end-game arsenal, you will need all the carry weight you can get. Heavyweight can help reduce the weight of all heavy weapons more than 10 pounds.
So in short:
No Strong Back-use light armor
No Burden to Bear-use medium armor
Both-use heavy armor
And be sure to limit the number of heavy weapons if you have medium armor without heavyweight. And take pack rat for all three.
Now I will provide some examples of equipment for final end game strength builds. Notice how I match the highest strength requirment of weapons for each.
(Strength 10)
Avenger Minigun
Esther or Mercy
T-51b Power Armor
Strong Back
Burden To Bear
Heavyweight
(Strength 9)
Fido or Cyberdog Gun
Esther or Mercy
T-51b Power Armor
Strong Back
Burden To Bear
Heavyweight
(Strength 8)
Anti-materiel Rifle
L'il Devil
Riot Shotgun
Elite Riot Gear
Strong Back
Strength Implant
L'il Devil
Riot Shotgun
Red Glare or Annabelle
Elite Riot Gear
Strong Back
Strength Implant
(Strength 7)
Christine's CoS Silencer Rifle or Gobi Campaign Scout Rifle
12.7mm Pistol
Riot Shotgun or This Machine
Red Glare, Annabelle, or Shoulder Mounted Machine Gun
Elite Riot Gear or Advanced Riot Gear
Strong Back
YCS/186
Pew Pew
Elijah's Advanced LAER
Sprtel-Wood 9700, Red Glare, or Annabelle
Gannon Family Tesla Armor
Strong Back
(Strength 6)
Christine's Cos Silencer Rifle or Gobi Campaign Scout Rifle
5.56 Pistol
This Machine or Dinner Bell
12.7mm SMG
Courier Duster
YCS/186
Pew Pew
Elijah's Advanced LAER
Sprtel-Wood 9700
Courier Duster
La Longue Carabine or Scoped Trail Carbine
Mysterious Magnum or Ranger Sequoia
Medicine Stick or Lever Action Shotgun
Red Glare or Annabelle
Cowboy
Courier Duster
(Strength 5)
YCS/186
Pew Pew
Elijah's Advanced LAER
Annabelle
Courier Duster
All-American
Light Shining In Darkness
Assault Carbine or Survivalist's Rifle
Grenade Launcher
Grunt
Courier Duster
Let me know if I've gotten the right idea with this idea.