What are NPCs really good for?

Ravager69 said:
Yeah, I had hell of a problem keeping him alive through Enclave. Anyway - give him Plasma Rifle and make Sulik charge with a Super Sledge \ Power Armor and everything will be fine.
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It was tough getting Myron through there as well, even leveled up and in power armor. He actually does pretty well with a gauss pistol. A pulse pistol or alien blaster would be better, but with their short range he charges ahead of everyone else. If he's going to do that, might as well give him a melee weapon and all the lit dynamite he can carry and use him as a suicide bomber. :twisted:
 
In Fallout 2. Absolutely worthless unitl Cassidy. I just had myself and Vic mowed down by Sulik. We had already pretty much cleanded out the whole cave of junior Deathclaws. One left. I pull out my hunting rifle, Vic goes wherever Vic goes. I shoot, Vic actually engages for once and it moves in close. I move 4 spaces off because I know what is coming. Sulik blows Vic to bits like always. Then he misfires and blows me away despite the fact I am 90 degrees to his left. (At least the game says Sulik misfires, etc...) Does not matter, I am dead. Sulik is terrible despite what people say. Vic is worse.
 
I usually give him a .223 pistol, since it has the SMG animation but no burst fire. He does pretty well with it, and it keeps him from charging ahead and getting shot in the back by everyone else.
 
NPCs are useless

I rarely use them. I occasionally pick up Cassidy in FO2, but not often. They either are idiots, bad shots, and when they die you have to pick up all their shit (which isn't always possible), just so you don't come out at a loss (which is really only an issue in FO2 before you get the ore in Broken hills). Basically you never give any NPC a burst weapon. This makes Marcus about useless because if you give him a flamer, he'll get killed on his way in, and if yu give him a rocket launcher he won't be able to attack often enough for him to be of any use. Basically just grab up Advanced Power Armor Mark II and a gauss rifle or Boar (FO2), or Hardened Power Armor and Turbo plasma rifle (FO). 'Nuff said.
 
I find it good in the late game having myself, Vic, Cassidy and Skynet armed with Gauss Rifles and wearing Power Armour. Well, the latter except for Skynet, obviously. Rockin' on the Enclave, baby!
 
I always take Ian with me. I find him very useful.
Too bad the AI prefers to target PC even when the cNPC is closer.

Also, a Ian romance would be nice :D .
 
Also, a Ian romance would be nice
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Maybe if you like guys with more muscles than balls or brains...

But when it comes to NPCs: Never give them Burst Weapons unless you are going for a Darwin Award. And most comonly they will be better off as mules than anything...

My party usually consists of me and Tycho/Cassidy McRae... that's it...

Fallout 1...

Ian: the fact that he can shoot twice per round is good but his aim isn't the best, I usually kept count how many times he hit me in the back, once that number surpassed 10 I took him out to a remote, deserted location in the desert or city and returned all the bullets he had given me. He was a know-it-all when he came to traveling in the Hub or Junktown and was normally nothing more than a packmule for getting large quantities of sellable stuff out of the Glow. But after that, if he didn't exceed his 10 bullets by then, I usually gave it to him in advance... *evil grin*

Tandi: Sweet girl, but dum-as-a-box-of-rocks. Not worth keeping around even as a Mule because by the time you get her you have others who fill that role and can actually understand how to pull out a gun instead of being stuck on a knife. I mean, I know, I'm a blade collector, but even I put away the sharp-shiny-pointies when there is somethingbetter...

Dogmeat: It seems to be the census that He's cool... I have to agree. He can usually take care of himself and if he can't it's no big loss. Just a dog, and all...

Tycho: My favorite form Fallout 1. Hand him a sniper rifle (after I'm done using it for the merchant and his wife) and he's awesome. Normally he's not tageted by the enemy, so you don't have to worry about him getting too hurt. HE CAN ACTUALLY AIM... and is excelent as a mule (if Ian pissed me off earlier in the game than normal).

Katja: Okay, the throwing daggers are useless. I usualy take these from her and use them for hunting rats when I get bored (or just need that exrea 25 xp for my next level). She's okay with the .223 pistol (commonly taken from Ian's radiated, flea infested, dead body). She only has the same acuracy as Ian but can't get off as many rounds. However she is, I think, so much more pleasing on the eyes.

Fallout 2...
Sulik: I would say he's worth about $1300 in the Den. But, if I keep him, he always gets power armor and a supersledge hammer. But don't expect to be able to rely on him in a fight. But he is good for those first bucks needed to get your car up and running.

Vic: Okay guy. The side stoy with him and his daughter (the chic in the Vault City repair shop) is kinda funny... by the time I have progessed in the game to use his Repair skill, my own has usually surpassed his. So he ends up being a meat shield and not worth the $1000 (or $1300 worth of ammo and stims) you pay for him.

Miria: Worthless as anything but a shield. And even then it doesn't last long. And, Oh-Mi-God can she get anoying with her baby-names... there have been times, though, I actually tried to be nice to her, giving her lumps of gold, money, Diamond neclaces, Flowers, etc. Y'know, just to role play the situation... but if she wasn't dead by the time I got to the Enclave Oil Rig, she was then. And don't give her a ranged weapon; she can't hit anything but you or the NPC that you actually like.

Davin: More worthless than Maria... If for whatever reason I do end up getting married, the spouse very quicly and mystiriously be "visiting other family".

Cassidy: Tycho reborn... He can shoot, he can drink, he can use a decent weapon. Though he is a bit overzelous with letting everyone know how he hates Cault City or is named after a Drinking-Irish-Vampire or (etc.)... That is something though, Tycho was never this talkative. I liked having the silent travelling partner that you and they knew you had each other's back. But whatever, I'd supose that a little socialization never hurt anyone (too much at least). Knowing I can take more damage than he can I usually give him the better armor and I take the second best for myself, and him having a gausse rifle makes combat so much easier. He has a habit of killing probably 1/3 to 1/2 fo the people I don't get.

Lenny: Nice guy, but I'm not real keen on having mutants follow me around... it's usually frowned on by society, but then Vault City is "City of Tight-Asses" (as Cassidy says so acurately) anyway. His Doctor ability is nice and all, but I have never ran out of stims and there's nothing a couple of days rest won't cure (unless maybe if you decide to take a nap while in the Glow).

Marcus: All Brawn no Brain... NEVER give him a burst weapon unless you are wanting to see how many bullets you can take before you are dead. He is okay with grenades but has a knack for thowing them exactly when you 'just happen' to be standing right next to the guy he's targeting. Personaly, I gave him a Power Fist and told him "Berzerk!"... he lasted a while that way, though.

Myron: Just like Vic or Lenny, the Skill he has is useless because by the time I get to use it I have surpassed him. The fact that he can make drugs for me though is kinda nice. I usualy drop hi off in the Den and talk to him only when I need more Stims.

Skynet Robot: This is a gamble... but most of the time I get an okay brain (or I extract it from Vic's head, just to be sure.) It's kinda cool having your own pet robot but kinda makes me feel like Will Robinson when the party gets into a battle "danger, danger!" The Robot can aim though, and is alright with a Gausse Rifle.

K-9: Okay, this pup is cool. Tret him like Dogmeat from the first one and he'll be there for you, expect too much of it and it will let you down. But he's still a cool pup...

Goris: Exelent at being up close and personal, but I had problems with how long he took to psyche up for battle (taking his robe off, or putting it back on). And the fact than he leaves your party after a time, sends red flags. But still, give him a chance at Horrigan and he'll go off... (Goris alone did near 350 points of damage to Frankie-boy in that last Boss-fight).

Cyber Dog: Again, cool pup, but the least worthwhile out of the three pups you can get as NPCs. He usually ened up as a meat... er... shield for us. He doesn't do enough damage to make up for the damage he takes. But at least he doesn't need stims, just a few hours of repair to get back up to health.

Dogmeat: It seems to be the census that He's cool... I have to agree. He can usually take care of himself and if he can't it's no big loss. Just a dog, and all...
 
Nightling said:
Vic: Okay guy. The side stoy with him and his daughter (the chic in the Vault City repair shop) is kinda funny... by the time I have progessed in the game to use his Repair skill, my own has usually surpassed his. So he ends up being a meat shield and not worth the $1000 (or $1300 worth of ammo and stims) you pay for him.
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He's good with a rifle. Not as good as Cassidy, but good enough.

Nightling said:
Lenny: (...) (unless maybe if you decide to take a nap while in the Glow).
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Where in FO 2 can you find the Glow? :P

Nightling said:
Marcus: All Brawn no Brain... NEVER give him a burst weapon unless you are wanting to see how many bullets you can take before you are dead. He is okay with grenades but has a knack for thowing them exactly when you 'just happen' to be standing right next to the guy he's targeting.
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This means he's not OK with grenades.

Nightling said:
Personaly, I gave him a Power Fist and told him "Berzerk!"... he lasted a while that way, though.
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Ever tried to give him a Pulse Rifle? A turboplasma rifle? A laser rifle? You'd see what an all brawn and no brain is. Also you never mentioned he can wear armour, which should count as a drawback.

Nightling said:
Skynet Robot: (...) The Robot can aim though, and is alright with a Gausse Rifle.
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It quite rocks with a Gauss Rifle. Unless you never manage to extract the cybernetic brain. Which you should, if you're boasting that you're better in Science than Myron :P

Nightling said:
Goris: Exelent at being up close and personal, but I had problems with how long he took to psyche up for battle (taking his robe off, or putting it back on). And the fact than he leaves your party after a time, sends red flags. But still, give him a chance at Horrigan and he'll go off... (Goris alone did near 350 points of damage to Frankie-boy in that last Boss-fight).
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Actually Goris sucks so hard that the black hole couldn't escape him. :P A melee guy who intends on charging ahead, has no armour and can't have weapons other than his Claw? Let me think for a moment.
 
They are all good at blocking doorways and corridors...

Might be some waste of time taking care for them, but it's worth it for the roleplaying factor (:
Fallout isn't Fallout with allied NPCs wasting you.
 
Well, i for one think NPC's are great. A freind of mine complained his top hate of FO is how the NPC's die sooooo easily. I'm sure we all know what he means.

Has anyone here ever seriously taken on the challenge of keeping them alive? (you have to play ironman for this to work, really)

It's not as hard as you might think. Here's a few of my top tips for keeping the boyz alive:

1)
fa2241 said:
DON'T GIVE SULIK A GUN

seriously, a hammer is all he needs...
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This is damn good advice and comes in a no.1 for me. But i would expand to say don't give any NPC any burst weapon. They'll kill each other far more than they kill you (but both are really bad)

2) It sounds obvious, but keep ALL party members (well, those you care about) at 100% health ALL the time.

3) ALWAYS make sure they have at least 4 stims or the best healing item you can afford.

4) Set their combat controls. Specifically, make sure they run away long before they are 'almost dead'. Make sure they take their stims before they get to that point also.
Most importantly, IMO, set them to 'stay close to me'. This means when you get into a fight you can't handle (which is often, early on) they high-tail it with you. Also be aware of Cassidy's settings re-setting and change 'em back. Or he WILL die.

5) Oftentimes, you have to baby them. And i mean more than changing their daipers. I mean using your stims, chems, booze on them when they need it, even if it means you can't ..... ngrrr .... gotta ... get .... JUST ONE MORE BURST ON THAT ROBBERS ASS!!

6) Armour. Give them the best you can get: even better than what you're wearing. After all, you're much better at surviving than they are (if you're playing ironman, anyway)
Vic is the most vulnerable, so give him that combat leather jacket. Cassidy is the next most vulnerable, and significantly more useful. Sulik has quite a few HP, so will often be the last man standing. But he is likely to be in the front line with a melee weapon so this kinda balances it out.

7) Burst. As in any ironman game, burst attacks made against you, or your NPC's, should be avoided above everything else. Take out people with burst weapons first, and at range.

8) Enemies attack YOU! Most critters in FO will go for the player if you've attacked them, even if an NPC is closer. You can use this to your advantage in keeping NPC's alive.

Wow, this turned into quite a spiel. That's my take on NPC's, anyway...
 
Nice analysis. It helps to keep enemy fire directed at yourself, taking out people attacking your NPCs first. With a good supply of stims, as long as you survive a round you can get back to full health. Party members will use one, maybe two per round, and rarely get back above half their max HP.

Once you get to New Reno, your NPCs should always have the best armor. Boxing can give you a 15 DT and 10% DR against normal damage; the implants give another 10%. Add combat armor, and you're tougher than someone with advanced power armor mk2! (Well, only against normal damage, but that's what you're facing 90% of the time.)
 
i always have the Myron, Sulik, Cassidy and Marcus combination and i never had problem with any of them. just give them the right weapon and set the correct strategy for the and you'll be fine.

one-shoted that Horrigan crap without any casualties...well ok, Marcus died... thats what happens when you dont wear armor >.<.
 
I believe what people don't understand is that you don't give an NPC a burst weapon and then tell it to snipe.

Sulik for instance - a burst weapon, ranged/melee preference and distance set to Charge! makes for a pretty effective line breaker, as he comes in, rips the first to shreds, then continues to chuck people left and right with his hammer, while I move in to support him with Marcus under careful sniper cover from Cassidy and Vic.
 
Keeping them alive is no problem, but just the fact of always having to play babysitter is kinda monotonus and redundant...
 
I actually find Ian very useful in the beginning of the game. His two shots per round really count in the Radscorpian Caves/Vault 15/Raider Camp. However, the NPC's do die a bit too often in F1 without the option to add armour. Still, I often manage to get through the game with limited casualties.
 
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