Fallout 4: Settlements and Crafting for Experience

I like watching videos on YouTube that talk about different ways to build a character in Fallout 4.  Some builds avoid character stats and perks that relate to settlement management and crafting.  I understand this but I think it is a mistake in this game.

When I first started Fallout 4 I treated it as a first-person shooter and role-playing game hybrid game.  The previous Fallout games were all RPG's that were either first-person shooters or tactical combat game hybrids.  (I haven't played New Vegas so I might be partially wrong on my generalization.)  I think Fallout 4 is also partially a simulation game.  The crafting element doesn't really catapult it into being a simulation but the settlement management part I think brings it into the simulation territory.

If you ignore the settlement management part of the game, you will make the game harder for yourself.  There are a lot of built in mechanics that give you a lot of experience to level up, more equipment to make you more powerful, and more wealth to help you get through the game easier if you manage settlements.  You can craft without settlements but being able to create resources by growing crops, harvesting water and having settlers gather junk for crafting is a lot easier in the long run.  Yes, you can gather everything you need and borrow a workbench, but you will be spending a lot more time in the wasteland gathering than you need to.  You will also be doing at least twice as much fighting and exploring in order to get these resources and get experience to level up.  I started to realize this when I was getting as much if not more experience from gathering crops from my settlements and crafting items from them as I would from fighting in the same time period. 

In Fallout 4 you can choose to just fight the whole time.  You can also choose to just manage settlements after you "conquer" a few with some fighting.  Right now, I have about twelve settlements that I control.  I could just manage those and be busy building, crafting and defending them forever.  But I think the game has about three phases of play. 

In the beginning you will be doing mostly fighting and exploring.  Later you will be alternating between the fighting and exploring and managing settlements.  The way crops and settlements work, you have to leave for a while and come back to see crops grow and certain things like settlement happiness to rise.  You could just sleep and have most things happen but a rhythm of going on an adventure, returning to manage a settlement and then going out adventuring again seems the most efficient way of building a character.  Yes, you have to sidetrack a little with your perk choices and add some non-combat perks for settlement management, but you will level up twice as fast by doing both in the same amount of time.  After you have finished the main quest and most of the side quests what do you do?  In most games you simply start over but with Fallout 4 you can choose to continue to the third phase which is managing and protecting your settlements forever.  The creative possibilities of what you can build are endless.  Go to YouTube and you can see some awesome designs for settlements.

The settlement management/simulation part of Fallout 4 can be tedious and a little frustrating at first but in time you realize the frustration comes from not "playing along" with the way the game was designed.  Fallout 4 is not just Fallout 3 with some extra crafting options.  Fallout 4 is a complex game with several focuses.  If you are looking for a pure first-person shooter you will be disappointed.  If you are looking for a pure RPG, I think you will be disappointed.  If you are looking for a pure simulation/building game, you will be disappointed.  Fallout 4 really is an interactive simulation game.  Yes, you will build.  Yes, you will manage.  But you will always be forced to interact with a never-ending story influencing your settlements that you build and manage.  That is where the combat and exploring come in.  I guess I was disappointed when settlements and crafting got in the way of my adventuring in Fallout 4's world.  Now I am starting to like the simulation part of it more.  To get more out of Fallout 4 you have to slow down, let your gun cool off and tend to your crops.

Fallout 4: Switching Between Automatic Weapons and Melee Weapons

I have been experimenting with a character that uses Automatic weapons and Melee.  Automatic weapons have the weakness of using a lot of ammo.  I save a lot of ammo using melee that I can use later with my Automatic weapons.  Melee weapons are great for sneak attacks and can one shot kill an opponent when using a combination of stealth perks.  But if you are caught out in the open against a lot of opponents Melee can be kind of weak.  I use my Automatic weapons to blast my way out of those situations.  I find that these two styles of play are very complimentary since they are so very different.  I will post more observations about this type of play style as I get more experience.

Fallout 4: Start with a Charisma of 7

I have started Fallout 4 with a variety of character builds.  To make the game easier and more enjoyable I think people should start their characters with a Charisma of 7.  With a Charisma of 7 it is very easy to increase your character's Charisma to 11 by wearing a hat (+1), glasses (+1) and a suit (+2).  There are other ways to increase Charisma but this is the easiest way that I have found to get to Charisma 11.  Before I talk to characters in the game I just change into my "Charisma Outfit" and I can pass all the speech checks.  Passing a speech check will give your more experience, money (caps) and easier resolutions to a few quests.  It was just more fun and rewarding than playing a character that had better statistics for fighting but not for interacting with characters in the game world.  Also, a Charisma of 6 gives you access to the Local Leader Perk that allows you to set up supply lines between settlements.  People say that you don't have to use the settlement system in Fallout 4 but you miss a very large chunk of the game if you do.  Not having the Leader Perk makes the settlement system pretty tough and not fun in my opinion.  Starting with a Charisma higher than 7 creates a more difficult character to play with in the beginning.  I have played a character with Charisma of 10 to start with but it just took too much away from other S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats.  It caused me to have a weaker combat character.  If you want to raise your Charisma to 10 later to get better prices on items that is fine.  That is only fun though after you have a character that can fight its way though the beginning of the game.  You may decide to start a Character with lower Charisma but I would advise to keep it close to 7.  A Charisma of 5 or 6 might be practical if you are willing to add points to Charisma as you level up.  But I have found that starting with anything lower than that (like a Charisma of 1) is a real struggle to add points to later on.  You really don't want to have to add points for six levels and pass up other perks that will help you early on.  You might be waiting until level 30 or above to add those points if you try to squeeze them in between early useful perks.  In the meantime you will miss a lot of speech check and settlement building opportunities. 

Fallout 4: Switching Between Pistols and Rifles

It has been fun and effective switching between pistols and rifles while I play Fallout 4.  The game likes to throw mobs of weaker enemies that a pistols can handle just fine.  Sometimes it gives you one or two very powerful enemies that rifles do a much better job with.  Sometimes you get both a powerful enemy surrounded by a mob of weaker enemies.  In that case I shoot the weaker ones in V.A.T.S. with a pistol and switch to a shotgun (counts as a rifle in the game) for the powerful ones at close range.

My 10mm Pistol gets used for most of the weaker enemies like Bloat Flies and weaker Ghouls types.  I keep that .38 Pipe Gun for blowing up landmines and the odd Radroach.  If I need a little more power, but not that of a rifle, I use the a Laser Pistol (Righteous Authority as a pistol) which has a little more damage than the 10mm Pistol.  The Laser Pistol is better on wild and mutated dogs and some of the tougher Ghoul types.  The nice thing is that both the 10mm and the .38 (not the Laser Pistol) can be silenced weapons (and I have those modifications installed) that don't wake up the whole combat area which keeps me alive a little longer.  I tend to snipe with either an Institute Pistol or the Bolt-Action Pipe Pistol since pistols get a bonus to range (farther than rifles) with the Gunslinger perk.  The Bolt-Action Pipe Pistol is silenced while the Institute Pistol is quite and seems to be acting like it is silenced too.  Again, being quite doesn't stir up trouble.  

When Super Mutants, or any of the other tougher enemies, get closer the Combat Shotgun (counts as a Rifle) can finish the job.  When I don't know what is coming at me or if the enemy is really big then my Overseer's Guardian (a legendary Combat Rifle) comes out.  The Combat Shotgun and Overseer's Guardian are noisy but by then there is nowhere to hide and I need to put those enemies down fast.  The character I am playing doesn't use Power Armor (better for stealth game play) and has a very low Endurance (I can put in more points for other attributes early in the game) so I can't stand and fight with a weak pistol firing a hundreds of shots to put something down.  Well, it feels like hundreds of shots while they are doing more damage to you than you are to them.

Recently I acquired the Deliverer (legendary 10mm silenced pistol) working for the Railroad faction.  I also randomly got a 10mm Pistol with the Deadeye (slows time while aiming) effect.  The Deliverer gets used at close range and in V.A.T.S. while  I put a scope on "Deadeye" and use that for longer range sniping.  I also have another 10mm Pistol with the Enraging (target attacks everything -  including friends) effect that I want to try on tougher enemy groups.  One of the great reasons for having both Pistols (Gunslinger) and Rifles (Rifleman) as skills (to increase damage) is that you can take advantage of more weapons with a legendary effect on them.  Legendary effects are just as important as what type of weapon you are using.  Legendary effects can make a weak weapon or weapon type very powerful.  I may not be able to drop an enemy with one shot with that Enraging 10mm pistol. But having a target turn around and attack its friends for me can completely change the dynamics of a battle.

In the future I will probably want to add Automatic and Heavy weapons to my skills for the variety and tactical advantages I will get with more choices.  But for now, Rifles and Pistols together have made the game easier and more fun.  

Fallout 4: Bring a Pistol

In my previous post I discussed that bringing a rifle along will make playing the game easier and add versatility to any playstyle.  One of the bad things about rifles is that the first weapons you get in the game are pistols and good rifles are hard to come by.  So to add to your options bring a pistol.

Pistols are good at close range and for stealth work.  They also use the easiest to find ammo at the beginning of the game.  You can also upgrade them quicker (with the "Gun Nut" perk) than other weapons.  For the first 10 to 15 levels of the game pistols shine.  Once the Overseer's Guardian rifle becomes available they begin to fade and take a secondary role.

That secodary role is to conserve your rifle ammo and use them on low level opponents and as a practical stealth weapon for close range.  Ammo at the begining is scarce but if you play on Normal difficulty you will have so much that you will eventually be selling a lot of it.  Early on you can find and/construct a good bolt action pipe rifle that is silenced and excellent for sniping.  Unfortunately ammo is expensive and scarce for it.  Worse than that is if you don't one shot kill your opponent you are left with a slow firing weapon at close range that can get you killed.  If you switch to a pistol at close range you just might survive.  Also, when you are in enclosed spaces like caves or buildings a silenced pistol is much more practical.  Pistols allow you to snipe with one shot and then switch to rapid firing with the same gun.  At close ranges being able to switch styles without switching weapons can be a life saver. 

In previous Fallout games there was a differentiation between guns (bullet firing weapons) and energy weapons (lasers type weapons).  Fallout 4 took that distinction away but split up those same weapons into pistols and rifle categories.  Fallout 3 and before treated a laser pistol and laser rifle as being in the same "family" of weapons that were affected by the same modifying perks.  Now in Fallout 4 these energy weapons are now in different families.  A strategy from the previous games was to use guns early in the game and then switch to energy weapons later.  Now the progression in Fallout 4 seems to be to start with pistols and then switch to rifles.  There is actually a pretty good overlap between pistols and rifles in Fallout 4 so that you can specialize, but life will be easier if you follow this progression. 

I tend to upgrade my pistols and perks that affect them first and then my rifle perks (and modifications) afterwards.  The game even kind of does this the way it is designed.  The Gunslinger perk increases pistol dameage wereas the Rifleman perk increases rifle damage.  You can choose the first level of Gunslinger and Rifleman immediately at level 1.  Choosing level two of Gunslinger can be done at level 7 while Rifleman level two can be chosen starting at level 9.  Also, when upgrading weapons with the Gun Nut perk modifications can usually be fitted earlier to pistols.  For some players putting points into both pistol and rifle perks seems a waste of perk points but I find that it makes for an easier playthrough.  As enemies are leveling up I am able to get that little extra help from pistols earlier until my rifle perks and modifications catch up later.  The most efficient use of points would be to just use rifles but again, using pistols makes your life easier.

I also tend to play a character that has a lot of Agility and Action points which tend to favor pistols.  So if you don't have a lot of action points you will be missing out on the extra attacks in V.A.T.S. you would get with pistols.  But I also tend to have characters that have low Luck and can't take advantage of some the Critical shot type perks that can make pistols so deadly later on.  I tend to use my Rifle skills to compensate for this and bring up my luck later. 

So in short, bring a pistol and a rifle and the game will be a lot easier.  Just switch back and forth between the situation and how your character is built at the moment.  I find this much more enjoyable than grinding levels to get my character to a point that a specialized play style will work without me dying every few minutes.  Some people wouldn't see this as grinding levels but as a challenge with a reward at the end.  Fallout 4's game balance is such that players who find grinding boring don't have to do that while others who see it as a challenge can go their own way in the same game.  I think for the average or first time player a pistol and rifle combination character will be easiest and just more fun.

Fallout 4: Bring a Rifle

I like going to YouTube and watching the different character builds for Fallout 4.  They all tend to specialize in one style of combat.  Some builds use pistols, melee weapons or even heavy weapons.  I am not the expert/master regarding Fallout, but I would like to think I represent the "average" player in a sense. Almost every specialized playstyle requires skill and knowledge of the game to really pull off.  In my opinion the most versatile combat style for the average/beginning player is that of the rifleman.  In fact I believe every player should have a rifle regardless of playstyle.  For a few perk points invested in the Rifleman perk you will have a fall back weapon that can adapt to most situations.  For people new to the game you will have a weapon that will keep you alive until you decide what playstyle you want to specialize in.

Very early in the game you will run across the Overseer's Guardian rifle.  Buy it, regardless of your playstyle.  That weapon can carry you throughout the whole game.  You may want to sneak around with a melee weapon silently eliminating enemies but in the beginning you are going to fail a lot.  When you do fail pull out the Overseer's Guardian and try those Ninja moves another time.  Heavy weapons are fun but early versions don't do a lot of damage and ammo is scarce, your rifle will keep you alive until you can upgrade.  Pistols are great, but early models are not that hard hitting and they require a player perk setup that may take a few levels in order to make those pistols practical.  Explosives are great until enemies get real close and that is when your rifle can save you.  Maybe you are a high charisma character and have access to intimidation perks.  Well, sometimes intimidation fails and you have to fight and your rifle can bail you out.  Maybe you want to spray lead across the wasteland with automatic weapons.  Well, that takes ammo and a rifle can help you conserve your ammo until your stockpile gets bigger.

One of the weaknesses I see in a lot of builds base on one one weapon type that are put up on the internet and YouTube is that they require either lots of levels, special equipment, perfect gameplay or tough companions to do the fighting for you.  Adding a rifle to your toolkit will get you past some rough spots.  Early in the game I bought the Overseer's Guardian and converted it to a semi-automatic rifle and replaced the scope with the best iron sites I could craft.  I then supplemented that with a good rifle with a scope.  Using a scoped "sniper" rifle to thin out a group of enemies is always a good start.  Then switch to your playstyle of choice and if that isn't going to work or the temperature gets too hot mid-encounter switch to a rifle.

I like watching and reading about character builds.  They show you how one playstyle can really be developed and shine.  I prefer to see these playstyles as "tools" to get the job done.  Other players see them as a way to role play a character.  Either approach is fine as long as you have fun.  If I had to pick one playstyle it would be a sniper/rifleman but I prefer to have more options.  I also like switching styles because it is just fun.  Nothing like running around with a flamethrower but sometimes it just isn't practical.  Bethesda created a game where different styles can be played but I think having a "character" who can use multiple styles is really the point of Bethesda games.  Role playing can be an added challenge once you have mastered the game but I really think that Fallout 4 (and all Bethesda games) was designed for the player to "multi-role."

Well, it doesn't matter how you play the game as long as you have fun.  But I think the game gets easier and more fun when you throw a rifle into the mix.  Just my opinion, but do it your way and just have fun.

Watching the Super Bowl by Streaming on Fire TV

A couple of weeks ago I cancelled my cable TV.  The cost was too high and I decided to only pay for internet service.  Maybe not the smartest move right before the Super Bowl.  Well, yesterday I actually got to watch the game streaming it on my new Amazon Fire TV.  Times they are a changing.