Monday, August 15, 2011

Are melee and/or unarmed builds more useful now than in Fallout 3?

Question

I recall the general consensus being that in Fallout 3, melee and unarmed character builds were practically useless due to the lack of very good weapons and armor. From anyone's experience, are things different in New Vegas? It seems as though, generally speaking, the developers tried to balance out the usefulness of the skills in the game, so I'm curious to know if anyone has tried melee and/or unarmed builds.

Answer

First off: Melee and Unarmed were very viable in Fallout 3, so long as you 1) Also pumped sneak, and 2) used a Shishkebab with the Pyromaniac perk as Melee, or grabbed a Deathclaw gauntlet and Paralyzing Palm for Unarmed.

As for NV, both combat skills are even better. The new Damage Threshhold mechanics actually make Melee/Unarmed extremely potent in the early game, as these weapons often have very high base damage values to punch through armor, leading them to rip through lower armored foes. In addition, the introduction of new 'special attacks' in VATS for both skillsets and perks to support both playstyles helps a lot. That said, there's a tradeoff: Expect to take a lot more damage, and use a lot more chems. But once you get into melee range, things will drop - fast.

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