Fallout 4 First Impressions [no spoilers]

Still the best game they've made.

FNV is so much better it's not even a contest.

Hokay, you guys are giving me an idea of how to play my first character. Tell me if I can do this.
She is a brilliant, self centered psychopath who knows how to manipulate people. She can do good things if she wants to and it fits her goals. She will not do evil simply for the sake of evil but again if it suits her goals. Something like that. I learned in BG II how to do smart evil and it was a lot of fun. Will it work in FIV?

Major traits high intellect and high charisma.

Charisma and intellect are as far as I am concerned essential. Intelligence nets you more XP. There is a perk with which you sometimes can get up to 5X the regular XP but it is for stupid protagonists because the higher your intelligence the less likely it is to happen. Charisma is a must for speech checks, obviously and it also helps with getting more caps for side quests (though a lot of the arsewipe followers won't like you doing that, the silly bunch of do-gooders) and the ham-fisted romances as well should you be inclined to go down this path -- Hint: don't bother.

And I'm afraid that F4 pretty much forces you to play good. There are three major "good" factions, and all three are bollocks, and the remaining faction is probably the closest F4 gets to any kind of evil. I do not see them as evil per se but the code of ethics and morality probably pinpoints them in the evil spectrum. One of the three "good" main factions are worst than the Nazis and want a complete genocide on three different races, one has no concrete plan for the future, and the third one functions only because you lead them and would eventually crumble without proper leadership. So in all effect one of the "good" factions is worst than the "evil" faction.

I will say no more but I have found it pretty much impossible to play true evil without breaking the game. I did the very same thing I did with Morrowind, Ob, Skycrap, F3, and NV -- I head out on my own, explore, loot and tell the main quest to go fuck itself.

In other words, Skorp, a typical Bethesda game.

Pretty much, yes.

After completing Fallout 1 and 2 it's hard for me to even count "Fallout 3" and "Fallout 4" as Fallout games because except for the name they have absolutely nothing to do with the greatness of the original games. I've said it before, but Bethesda is clueless when it comes to making a true Fallout game. Only Obsidian had a shadow of an idea and it shows in the greatness that is New Vegas.

But, even though Fallout 4 is a red-headed bastard stepchild, as a typical Bethesda open world game, it is enjoyable. I've reached level 29 with my sneak build just by doing side quests and exploring on my own. You'll have a good time with it, despite all the stuff I could rant on, I don't dislike it.

It's been said before but the crafting system is spot on and modding weapons and armors is a fun part of the game. My 44 Magnum packs 125 damage and I still have one more receiver upgrade to do which should push it to 135-140 and maybe even 150 if I am lucky. My .50 Sniper is on the verge of being upgraded with a suppressor, and along with a full set of Shadowed combat armor, Sneak rank 3 and Sniper rank 3 means I can often take out enemies WAY before they see me. For the rest, I took Demolition Expert and I like to craft minefields to do the work for me in situations where stealth kills are problematic.

I could have written Skorp's post above.

Bottom line don't take idiot savant, go for high Intelligence and Charisma. There are Charisma perks that allow you to subdue NPCs and animals and even if it doesn't work all the time it's great fun when it does. Charisma also affects the size of settlements (Charisma can go above 10 with gear which means that you can have more than 20 people in your settlements).

A smart character can benefit greatly from crafting and make great gear to be more effective in combat without investing in combat perks (although you can if you wish to be even more effective).

If you want to build settlements then some Charisma perks will allow you to make the most of that part of the game (although it doesn't necessarily play well with being evil unless you decide that you want your character to lord over the settlers which can be fine after all).

As far as quests go I can think of one side quest in which playing an evil bastard is pretty satisfying but that's only possible with a fairly good Charisma ability score.

Perks that I would recommend to take first:

-Locksmith and Hacker (you don't want not to be able to open containers and doors).

-Toughness and Lifegiver (the game can be unforgiving if you're unprepared so these perks help in tough spots but if you find the game too easy you can focus on other perks instead).

-Black Widow (solid bonus to damage it's better for a female since most opponents will probably be male plus it fits nicely with the femme fatale concept).

-Intimidation (simply because it's fun and a great addition to the game even if powergamers won't swear by it because it's not the most reliable way of disposing of enemies). The variants for robots, animals and wasteland creatures can be fun but you have to prioritize and Intimidation is probably the most useful.

-Science, Gun Nut and the Armorer perks are all good (if not essential) if you want to take advantage of crafting (Blacksmith is not as good simply because melee is a bit underwhelming unless you really focus on it and even then you may want to keep some foes away instead of fighting them at close quarters).

-Local Leader and the perks that unlock the best settlement upgrades if you're looking to focus on this part of the game.

-Better Criticals and the combat perks that suit your play style can wait if you're going for a high Intelligence Charisma build.

Basically for combat you want to end up with either high Perception or high Agility (and preferably both). High Agility unlocks Gun Fu which means that you can get crazy with VATS (something that does wonders with high Luck and Grim Reaper's Sprint). If you're going to treat the game as a regular shooter and not rely on VATS much then Perception is the better choice (although Penetrator and Concentrated Fire have their uses for VATS users) especially if you want to focus on rifles (Gunslinger is an Agility perk). High Luck will work wonders for a VATS user thanks to Four Leaf Clover but the number of perks needed to max all this out is a bit high for a character focused on Intelligence and Charisma.

Perks that should be avoided are melee perks (unless you really want to focus on it I believe melee is an all or nothing line which also benefits from the Blitz perk which means that a melee focused character would still need a high Agility) and unless you want to specialize in heavy guns you don't need too many points in Strength. It's not that Strength perks are bad it's just that there are too many perks for the early game and prioritizing stuff is important in the early game.

Rooted looks very situational to me because I can't picture standing still and using melee at the same time.

Pickpocket is probably better for sneaky characters who like to plant explosives I'm not sure it will add much to the intelligent and charismatic protagonist. The same can be said of Night person.

Awareness doesn't look that good to me because that's the sort of thing you won't need down the line.

Lead Belly is useless because you can use items to make up for this. Chem Resistant can be replicated with items as well. The same can be said of Rad Resistance. These are convenience perks that can only save some gear so skipping them is not a bad idea. Same goes for Medic and Chemist.  

Aquaboy and Aquagirl is more of an exotic thing and it looks like a wasted perk point to me. Cannibal is a bit pointless (food is not scarce). Party Boy is another roleplaying choice that may have its uses but isn't essential either.

Ghoulish is a bit annoying since it doesn't protect your character from the lethal effects of radiation... Something that makes it a highly dubious choice better suited if you want to roleplay a character who is in the process of turning into a ghoul.

Lone Wanderer only looks good if you're fed up with NPCs. If you want a companion and don't want to sneak a lot you don't need it but if you're a stealth artist you're better off without a companion anyway. I'd still recommend taking a companion at least during the first playthrough in order to enjoy both the good and the bad (sneaking is a nightmare with companions).

I can't really see the point in taking VANS.

I'm on the fence when it comes to Scrapper. If you scavenge a lot you probably won't miss the extra stuff from this perk and you can always find some use for the perk point.

Idiot Savant is just too unreliable so unless you're dumping Intelligence you don't want that perk.

Nuclear Physicist is a must if you want to get the most out of radiation-based weapons and extend the life of fusion cores, something to consider if you want to go the Power Armor route.

Speaking of power armor, Pain Train is another perk I'd stay away from unless you are going for a Melee character. Not going to lie, it's fun ramming into enemies and then cutting them down with a power attack but 10 STR is a pretty steep requirement. Although to be fair it can one-shot raiders and such annoyances.

Ninja is ridiculously awesome for a pure sneak and a must have. Sneak attacks with Kelloggks revolver do over 350 damage which most of the time is more than enough to one-shot enemies with a headshot.

I wouldn't bother with rooted either.

Sniper gives you a chance to knock down enemies, and it's helped me more than once especially when those OP Deathclaws decide to show up.

Mines are a lot of fun. I never get tired of hearing the explosion of a bottlecap mine.

Easy with the spoilers Skorp. Nakia doesn't need to know where the deathclaws are.

Good tips. Sneaking can be a bit overpowered but it can also be fun.

I'm not sure it's worth going for full time power armour. The perk can be useful but getting power cores is not a big deal. I prefer the pip boy interface myself so I may be biased.

Quite right. Took down that spoiler.

Full time power armor can be good for a pure tank. In my first playthrough, with the nearly fully upgraded high-tier armor I was able to completely annihilate a certain faction I happen to despise. I mopped up their HQ and while some parts of said armor were in rough shape, none of them broke and this surprised me because it took a hell of a beating. Some of the power armor upgrades can be really nifty, like the targeting visor, but I don't really like having to run around finding batteries for that bloody armor so I keep my time in power armor minimal. I downloaded Worsin's paintjob mod, and anyone seriously playing power armor should too. Vanilla power armor is fugly.

I wouldn't call sneaking OP. Sure, 3X damage with guns/energy weapons might seem overkill, but again, remember that with an Assassin in BGII you could go up to 7, 8 or 9X backstab damage and I think that with Ninja, if you are sneak attacking with a Melee weapon you can up up to 10X damage, which is kind of absurd. Playing as a pure sneak is actually feasible unlike F3 and NV. Using your environment well, knowing when to lay ambushes, having hiding spots, doing recon, it's a form of art, and really bloody satisfying if well done. Then again this shouldn't surprise anyone, being a fan of Thief, Dishonored and such stealth-based games.

Lone Wanderer is a must for a sneak. Companions are an absolute liability, however you can just tell them to stay when entering a building/dungeon/whatever and head out on your own.

Don't post too much about followers in this thread that's the sort of things people should figure out by themselves. I mean names and particulars, saying they're a bunch of do gooders is ok.

Some are just too good for me but I do enjoy rhe company of a very few so it's not that bad (at least as far as I'm concerned).

I tried sneaking with a follower once and it was hilarious. The npc kept bumping into stuff and making so much noise it was absurd.

I did the receiver upgrade to my 44 Magnum and the suppressor on my .50 Sniper, and I also added the best scope on top. At bloody last!

And also, it seems that Mister Sandman in F4 also affects sneak attack damage, and it stacks with Ninja. I am now doing 5X sneak attack damage with guns

I also modded a laser pistol and made a pretty damn good Sniper out of it.

I did enjoy some of the followers but most of them are too goody two shoes for my liking, or fanatics from a certain faction. Which I hate. And shoot on sight.

I wandered close to the east limit of the map, found an old town with a quest, it's dumb but nets a pretty neat weapon.

Also found a good supply of batteries for the power armor. Nuclear Physicist does extend battery life pretty good. And one of the radiation guns mows through raiders pretty damn fast.

Also found a sword with radiation damage. Has it's uses, but it's usefulness is kind of limited. I'll hang on to it for the moment until I find something better.

You can trade for batteries. Once you get your settlements going money is no longer a problem.

The good thing with this game is that apart from a few perks that are not very useful (mostly the ones that save a few items) they all work. Mister Sandman is a good example. In Fallout 3 it was only a flavour perk.

I ignored the questline that leads to building settlements because in the very words of the protagonist I am not their saviour. The settlement quests are boring, repetitive and not worth the hassle. Just by heading out on my own I am sitting on a stash of 15K caps, and I am basically killing time until I decide to officialize the hostilities with a certain faction.

Actually, that's not true. I have only the settlement next to the starting town and I've only got two settlers that I recruited along the way. I'm not actively improving it and don't really give a toss if Raiders want to try taking it, because they will bump into some defense I installed with a mod.

I was going to start Far Harbor and I ended up spending the better part of an hour shooting mirelurks, some stray muties and a bunch of raiders to get back into the game... I did get the message to start the DLC quest though so I guess it's only a matter of getting there.

Yeah, at this rate I thould prolly just watch a playthrough from MaTN or TheNthApple

Aaaand seeing as this if a first impressions thread, I have to say I am revising my opinion of Cait. I took her with me on my latest playthrough, and at first I dismissed her as a one-dimensional drunk junkie fuckup, but after maxing out her affinity and getting the full backstory, I kind of like her.

I've finally managed to start Far Harbor. My first impression is positive (but I'm still fresh off the boat so to speak). I haven't seen much of the island yet but the new creatures and the setting seem interesting (hopefully it will live up to my expectations). I'll have to play more of it before giving a real recommendation though.

I started up Fallout 4 for the first time in a while last night. It took a while just to get it running again. I haven't started Far Harbor yet, but I ran into Preston Garvey and thought I would share some screenshots.

Spoiler:

A settlement needs your help, I'll mark it on your map... babe

I can't stand this guy. I left him and his crew to rot in Concord.

He keeps hassling me as well... So much so that going to Far Harbor actually feels like going on holiday.

Your character has a great look on her face.

Well it's your own bloody fault for doing the bloody quest Just head straight to Diamond City and to hell with this twat, his crew and his stupid Minutemen! You can get another power armor at the start anyway! Seriously, it is so wonderful to not be harassed every 0.000003 femtoseconds by a stupid rescue/kill ghouls/muties/raiders/blah/who gives a shit quest!

Eh, it is a nice character but I prefer the source material, as it is, after all, akin to a wonder of the world

I've played a little more and I rather like the DLC but there are some details that annoy me. Like the fact that some places are saturated with radiation but you're the only one who has to worry about that (NPCs don't even have to wear a radsuit as usual).

Yeah, I watched the first episode of MaTN's playthrough and it looks like a nice little expansion so far. I've dumped it on wishlist, I am not shelling out 35 quid for it but if it ever falls on sale, then sure, I'll get it.

Modded Cait since I didn't really care for her default appearance, and I must say, there is definitively something charming and likeable about her.

Spoiler:

I like it so far. It's not worse than the base game and the backstory is rather interesting. If you like Nick Valentine it's definitely a plus.

You can get a 20% discount on greenman but I guess it's just a matter of time before it gets a better price. The steam sale is supposed to start in a month or so (not sure it will be more than 25% off though but I may be wrong).

No, I don't like Valentine -- worthless do-goody-two-shoes, much like most of the companions. I have to say, though, his roasting of the BoS nazis and Vault 81 idiot was good entertainement. If you haven't guessed by now I have a hard-on for Cait, and I figured out why -- she reminds me a lot of Rune, and to a lesser degree Jez as well.

Waiting for the sale seems like the smarter move. In the meanwhile I'll avoir spoilers like the plague, which won't be easy -- thanks YouTube.

I really don't like how Bethesda is messing with our mods. F4 may not need mods as badly as F3 but not being able to enable esps through the launcher is a new low even for Bethesda.

One thing is certain I will think twice before giving them a cent of my hard earned money in the future. I can't say I like how they're doing business. The way they increased the price tag on the season pass was pretty terrible IMO. I did buy it to avoid paying twice the money but I sure as hell didn't like it.

I wouldn't mind so much if the game wasn't so lame when it comes to the main story. For every thing that I like about F4 there is something that I utterly loathe and the voiced protagonist is definitely one of them. Not only does he sound like an idiot most of the time but to make things even worse the sarcastic flippant answers that he comes up with make him even more obnoxious. There are exceptions but usually it falls flat and the tone alone completely ruins what little immersion I'm getting from a game that like F3 before doesn't make one lick of sense.

I'm usually a chronic restarter but in this case I can't bear the thought of having to go through the same BS with the main quest -that I haven't even finished yet (and that's coming from someone who has played through the asinine Skyrim tutorial countless times and I don't need to point out that it was a really shitty way to start a game).