Need roleplay advice...

[Mentats_Addict]

Hello! Thanks for popping in. Been a fan of the series for a while and decided to get around to doing a Very Hard/Hardcore run of New Vegas. I've got all the DLC and I'm running J.E. Sawyer's mod. Anyway I want to do a diplomat but to me it doesn't seem like a diplomat would use big honking weaponry, just one handed stuff like pistols/SMGs. That kinda creates a problem when fighting enemies with high DT, especially in large groups (looking at you Deathclaw Promontory) I was just wondering if anyone could give advice from their own experience on whats effective in practice, not just on paper. Also before you say it, yes I know about the Ranger Sequoia but I've used to in most of my other playthrus and I'm kinda sick of it. That and you can really only get it one way if you don't want to murder someone for it. Thanks again for your time.

 

[Ohaimerk]

Silenced .22 for sneaky headshots, That Gun for everything else. Should last you a good part of the game until you run across something better. As for SMGs, maybe 10mm? I don't use smgs that often so I'm no help there

Also, if your large guns are honking, you probably picked up a goose by mistake

 

[Mentats_Addict]

Silenced .22 for sneaky headshots, That Gun for everything else. Should last you a good part of the game until you run across something better. As for SMGs, maybe 10mm? I don't use smgs that often so I'm no help there

Also, if your large guns are honking, you probably picked up a goose by mistake

Oh damn no wonder it laid eggs. I never really bothered with silenced .22lr before, this may sound crazy to ask but how do they far against deathclaws and such.

 

[Ohaimerk]

I think the real question here is why a skinny diplomat would be trying to take on a deathclaw in the first place. You most likely will need a large weapon stashed away for bigger/stronger hostiles or just avoid/sneak past them as much as possible.

 

[Josan]

Silenced .22 for sneaky headshots, That Gun for everything else. Should last you a good part of the game until you run across something better. As for SMGs, maybe 10mm? I don't use smgs that often so I'm no help there

Also, if your large guns are honking, you probably picked up a goose by mistake

Oh damn no wonder it laid eggs. I never really bothered with silenced .22lr before, this may sound crazy to ask but how do they far against deathclaws and such.

They do surprisingly well. If you use a wee bit of strategy. My preferred method is crippling one of the deathclaw's legs with a hunting rifle so they can't run at you with that nasty leap attack. Once crippled, headshots with the .22 put it down incredibly fast.

I am assuming you're asking because of the challenge. It's only the kill shot that needs to be with a particular weapon. I do cazadores the same way. Cripple the wings then finish with the long fuse dynamite.

 

[Mentats_Addict]

I think the real question here is why a skinny diplomat would be trying to take on a deathclaw in the first place. You most likely will need a large weapon stashed away for bigger/stronger hostiles or just avoid/sneak past them as much as possible.

I don't particularly plan on hunting them down, I was just curious. I'll have a problem with high DT/DR targets regardless, its the limitation of the roleplay I'm going for it. I'd rather have that problem then be bothered by the fact my primarily diplomatic character is decked out in military grade hardware.

 

[Mentats_Addict]

Thanks for the advice guys, That Gun is a particularly great weapon, especially since I can steal it in Novac at the start of the game. I never really bothered looking at it before but its a blast, especially when you build to maximize critical hits. Its aesthetics add a certain elegance and charm to to it too.

Still haven't found a consistent way to deal with high DR/DT targets, not that its particularly a problem since you can avoid/diplomacy them the majority of the time. Best thing I've come up with is throw Veronica in power armor and hide behind her as she punches the shit outta things until they die. Not exactly an ideal tactic as I can't actually hide behind her if we get flanked, it fails against stuff like Deathclaws and I can't rely on having her in my party all the time, but its all I've got.

 

[Ben]

Silenced .22 for sneaky headshots, That Gun for everything else. Should last you a good part of the game until you run across something better. As for SMGs, maybe 10mm? I don't use smgs that often so I'm no help there

Also, if your large guns are honking, you probably picked up a goose by mistake

Oh damn no wonder it laid eggs. I never really bothered with silenced .22lr before, this may sound crazy to ask but how do they far against deathclaws and such.

And you mean to tell me you wouldn't like a goose shaped gun? Make the enemy think you're fighting a goose and get a shot in while they're distracted.

 

[Chromevod]

To be honest a diplomat probably wouldn't be very skilled with weapons to begin with. What you do is get a companion and outfit them with the best gear you can find so they can protect you while you hide behind a rock. One of the more obvious choices is Boone, but I've found that Cass in T-51b armor with an anti-material rifle does a pretty good job killing everything as well.

 

[Mentats_Addict]

To be honest a diplomat probably wouldn't be very skilled with weapons to begin with. What you do is get a companion and outfit them with the best gear you can find so they can protect you while you hide behind a rock. One of the more obvious choices is Boone, but I've found that Cass in T-51b armor with an anti-material rifle does a pretty good job killing everything as well.

Yeah I'm not really that great in combat with the self imposed restriction. Also Cass can use power armor? I never really bothered to give it to her to be honest, or the anti-material rifle.

 

[Chromevod]

To be honest a diplomat probably wouldn't be very skilled with weapons to begin with. What you do is get a companion and outfit them with the best gear you can find so they can protect you while you hide behind a rock. One of the more obvious choices is Boone, but I've found that Cass in T-51b armor with an anti-material rifle does a pretty good job killing everything as well.

Yeah I'm not really that great in combat with the self imposed restriction. Also Cass can use power armor? I never really bothered to give it to her to be honest, or the anti-material rifle.

I recommend putting a lot of points in sneak and avoiding combat when at all possible. And yes, Cass can wear Power Armor, all humanoid companions (barring Lily) can wear power armor. I gave her the anti-material rifle because with the armor she has enough strength, and at level 30 her guns skill is at 100. She's pretty handy with it.

 

[Mentats_Addict]

snip

That is basically what I've been up to. I am slightly annoyed that the ending is somewhat railroaded with combat. I mean you can talk down the final boss (which is great, I love it when games do that) but getting to him is basically a nonstop fight. Not that its hard, if you have good companions and have done several other quests before then you'll get a lot of help. I'm a bit disappointed though that getting all that back up doesn't require much in the way of diplomatic skills. As long as you aren't a raging dick you can count on few different factions lending you aid in the fight. I just wish it would have involved actual skill checks to get them to support you as opposed to doing a few quests for them and then they go along with your plan.

 

[TorontoReign]

snip

That is basically what I've been up to. I am slightly annoyed that the ending is somewhat railroaded with combat. I mean you can talk down the final boss (which is great, I love it when games do that) but getting to him is basically a nonstop fight. Not that its hard, if you have good companions and have done several other quests before then you'll get a lot of help. I'm a bit disappointed though that getting all that back up doesn't require much in the way of diplomatic skills. As long as you aren't a raging dick you can count on few different factions lending you aid in the fight. I just wish it would have involved actual skill checks to get them to support you as opposed to doing a few quests for them and then they go along with your plan.

That is a pretty legitimate complaint really. A high speech skill helps the final fight a lot. Also, the companions can help, but I usually take the ones that I hate, so I don't care if they die. Usually I will let Lily croak since I hate her guts. Overall the game offered more variety than 3 did at least.

 

[Mentats_Addict]

snip

That is basically what I've been up to. I am slightly annoyed that the ending is somewhat railroaded with combat. I mean you can talk down the final boss (which is great, I love it when games do that) but getting to him is basically a nonstop fight. Not that its hard, if you have good companions and have done several other quests before then you'll get a lot of help. I'm a bit disappointed though that getting all that back up doesn't require much in the way of diplomatic skills. As long as you aren't a raging dick you can count on few different factions lending you aid in the fight. I just wish it would have involved actual skill checks to get them to support you as opposed to doing a few quests for them and then they go along with your plan.

That is a pretty legitimate complaint really. A high speech skill helps the final fight a lot. Also, the companions can help, but I usually take the ones that I hate, so I don't care if they die. Usually I will let Lily croak since I hate her guts. Overall the game offered more variety than 3 did at least.

It certainly does. I still think its acceptable as an entry to the Fallout series despite its flaws, New Vegas that is. Fallout 2 had a similar issue although you could at least convince a squad of Enclave soldiers to side with you for that fight. I haven't had much of a problem of keeping anyone alive, its not like the first Fallout where almost all of my companions are dead by the time I finish the game. Only Deathclaws and cazadors are a real threat to your companions and they can be avoided easy enough.

Edit: Actually I take that back your companion AI setting off traps is also somewhat of a threat. Its not that bad so long as you take point and make good use of the wait command when disarming a series of traps.

 

[Independent George]

Still haven't found a consistent way to deal with high DR/DT targets, not that its particularly a problem since you can avoid/diplomacy them the majority of the time. Best thing I've come up with is throw Veronica in power armor and hide behind her as she punches the shit outta things until they die. Not exactly an ideal tactic as I can't actually hide behind her if we get flanked, it fails against stuff like Deathclaws and I can't rely on having her in my party all the time, but its all I've got.

That Gun can use 5.56 AP ammo, can't it? After that, if you have Honest Hearts, A Light Shining In Darkness is one of the best weapons in the game, and ammo is relatively plentiful. The 12.7mm Pistol is also pretty effective against armored foes. Maria is also decent through mid-game, and gets further boosted by the 'Grunt' perk.

 

[BOS_Warlord]

keep a Trail Carbine or Brush Gun on you for certain situations. Any wastelander should have 1 long distance weapon for hunting.

Keep "That Gun" handy for close encounters and maybe get the silencer mod for the .45 or 10mm.

 

[Flick]

Just pump up sneak early so you can get The professional perk and sneak crit all your problems away if you are not limiting yourself to no combat that is. Also grenades are very effective against armored foes.