Figured I'd detail more of the stuff I'm doing while I work my way to Level 20.
4/23/20
- Found two Power Armor frames while making my way to the lab where the Scorched research is taking place. Both were incomplete, with three pieces of T-45d and T-51b armor. (You can use Power Armor frames without any armor attached; the Armor has the level requirement attached to them.)
- My stash has hit its 800 lb. limit, so now I have to haul ALL my junk with me until I ditch enough stuff to give me space again. Problem is, all of this stuff is useful in its own way so getting rid of it just means hiking around and gathering it all again. Thanks a fuckload, Zenimax/Bethesda. Dickheads. (Still not buying Fallout 1st.)
4/24/20
- Finished the Ounce of Prevention quest, which far as I can tell is mandatory to complete along with reaching level 20 in order to continue Wastelanders. Also managed to finish the first two of the Fire Breathers quests, one being a run from one button to another, which I pulled off even when overencumbered, and the second a linear crawl down a flame filled mineshaft with fireman gear and a respirator on. (Turns out respirators are actually useful in this game as opposed to Fallout 4 where they just provided a small bonus to Poison/Rad resist.)
- Starting to get annoyed at the constant switching in and out of Perk cards to get the best results out of buying/selling items, using items, and etc. On the positive side, I'm almost able to afford a Single-Action Revolver, the one pistol I really want and which, along with the Black Powder Pistol, is a monster of a handgun. (Turns out you cannot sell ammo to anyone in Fallout 76, not even the Vendor Protectrons, so if you're loaded down with a lot of rounds you don't need, you can't earn anything for them. You have to drop them on the ground and let someone else take them.)
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- Started the Into The Mystery quest at Riverside manor, and turns out the place is housing a high tech underground base, and another dead faction: The Order of Mysteries. Here we go...
- It's a sisterhood based around the radio drama of a past actress, The Mistress of Mysteries, that behaves somewhat like the Responders and Firebreathers. (She's a sex-swapped version of The Shadow if my pulp knowledge is on point.) And she's another character related to The Silver Shroud, The Mechanist, Grognak, etc. And yes, even if you're a male, you can join this group.
- Something I'm noticing is despite Wastelanders being installed, this side quest and some others do not have NPCs in the areas where items can be found or the quests can be progressed. If you do the military training at Camp McClintock, there is one NPC there, but like most Bethesda NPCs, he makes no sense and shouldn't be there.
4/26/20
(Had a personal issue with my desktop; new heatsink is causing a lot of BSOD screens, not due to overheating but another issue that I can't identify. Until I fix it, I can't test the PC version.)
- Ran into the 'Last player that passes through this area sets the difficulty' situation at the Whitespring Golf Course. Died three times in a row to masses of Feral Ghouls that were up to four times my level, then I checked the map and there's a Level 306 player nearby. (He spawned a Deathclaw in the area too.)
- Found a Fissure site and got hit by a Level 50 Legendary Scorchbeast Queen. Thankfully had a spare Stealth Boy to help hide myself until I could get away.
- Ran into a Raider who showed off some new Speech checks. One was having high enough Raider reputation, being Level 50, or having INT 8+. Probably a random encounter because this dude was outside Flatwoods and I've never seen him before.
- Found another Power Armor frame with three t51-b parts on it in the Welsh area to the southwest of the map. (It's the mining are that looks more like they tapped into an active volcano.)
- The Personal Matters quest from the Overseer just turned into a 'kill this thing' quest. (Pro tip: You can shoot this Scored guy through the glass window seperating you from him, and the room he is in is sealed, so...fish in a barrel.)
- It seems the new Wastelanders stuff runs almost completely parallel to the original stuff, and in many cases branches out from the old and new quests. (The Scorched research you have to track down originally? Now Rose, the one NPC Raider Ms. Nanny from before, knows where it is versus it being on the guy you were seeking out.)
- Been finding Power Armor chassis and pieces in multiple places, but not enough for a full suit of any of the main two, and even then, those pieces can't be worn until at least level 25. Moreover, I'm finding the best route to take with weapons and armor, since they degrade with use, is to scrap them when they're durability gets too low, take Luck of the Draw for the LUC perk cards if you want to make using weapons have a chance at making them fix themselves, and get into the habit of scrapping only the lowest quality weapons. The others you can sell high, with enough CHA cards and some Grape Mentats. (Chances are other players will sell plans for other weeapons, which is honestly the only reason to interact with these people.)
