New to Fallout 2 - need advice

R

Rufs

First time out of the vault
Well, not actually new; I've played it a long time ago, but never got close to finishing it for various reasons.

I want to start again, and this time I want my character to come prepared (I remember finding the game very difficult on my first try).

So, what I'm looking for is basically advice on how to create my character so that he won't be screwed at some point in the game (yes, I realize one character can't be good at everything).

What skills and traits are essential? Will I, for example, need to have a high Energy Weapons skill to be able to get past a certain point in the game?

I'm not looking for spoilers mind you, please don't tell me anything plot-related, just the basic facts of which attributes/skills/traits/perks are good to have and which are less good.

I'm thinking of making my character fairly high in intelligence and luck, + something else. Does that sound good? Though I also want him to be able to survive attacks...heh, so many things to consider when creating a char. :)

And on another note, which patch/patches should I get?

I appreciate any help, thanks.

/Rufs
 
Here's the basic tips:

For char points, don't look to luck too much, go mostly for intelligence and agility, divide the rest as you want.

For traits; take gifted. It really does help

Skills: pick only one combat skill to start with. unarmed, melee or small guns are good starting combat skills.

The other two can be divided as you will, nothing is obligatory, but speech helps.

For patches, just grab either the unofficial one or the official one (+children's patch if you're on the non-children version)
 
You might want to check on Per Joiner's guide if you need help gettin through. There are a few other guides out there, but I am not sure if they are working.
 
I'd recommend somethig like the following (assuming that you want to maximize combat efficacy without sacrificing game paths and overral "problem solving" abilities):

Stats: a ST of max. 5. You'll find ways to raise your total physical strength by 5 or even 6 points, so don't waste any more points here.
PE should be a high priority, but don't raise it over 7-8 unless you have no better use for your points.
An EN of 6 ought to give you a satisfying number of HPs per level.
A CH of 5 ought to be substantial for all types of characters. You should consider raising it above that only if you plan on playing a squad leader or diplomat type of character
IN - put all your excess points here. IN is crucial since it determines both skill points per level and dialogue options important to the game plot. A high IN will allow you to create a versatile character. Do not bother putting more than 8 (9 at most) here form the start.
AG - put some 7-9 skill points here , depending on how many you can spare, Agility IS the second most important
LK - you may want to maximize your Luck for the purpose of scoring Critical Hits in the game. A starting LK of 7 ought to give you the possiblity to have maximum LK=10 towards the end of the game.


Traits: You simply *have* to pick Gifted, since the increase in stats largely compensates fr it's drawbacks. Other traits are not that cool, but useful ones include Small Frame (carry weight is not that important weighted against AG increase) Fast Shot (will greatly improve your combat prowess, especially later in the game, but will make it impossible to strike aimed criticals in mid-game AND in unarmed combat), Sex Appeal (simply cool 2 have it)


Tags: Pick *only* one of the gun skills: Either Small Guns or Energy Weapons. This assumes that you use the tagged skill early in the game (or in mid-game for Energy Weapons), and raise the other one (or Big Guns , for that matter) to ca 140% (you can use Guns'n'Bullets manuals for this to save skill points) and Tag! it later in the game to boost it to nearly maximum value. You may then use the initially untagged skill to it's finest at a reasonalble cost in skill points.

Tag the Speech skill. It helps you complete some quests earlier or reap greater benefits from their completion. Raise it to ca 100% using skill points, but there's no real point in spending more.

Tag one of the following, depending on your preference: Doctor, Sneak, Lockpick, Barter. These come in useful, but not crucial.

There's no real point in tagging Science, Repair or Unarmed; they're pretty useful, but can be raised do satisfying levels without spending any skill points at all. For the same reason, NEVER tag First Aid nor Outdoorsman (I did when i first played Fallout :) )

Hope my advice helps :)
 
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