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.