Can you play F1 without followers?

I

ianpwilliams

First time out of the vault
I've started playing Fallout 1 for the first time, with the aim of playing 1, 2, 3 and NV, all for the first time on PC, and all modded, and then a nice bit of 4 when it comes out in November.

My first start was a nightmare. I didn't choose any traits, and Ian at Shady Sands wouldn't help me, so i didnt really stand a chance against the radscorpions. So I started again with the Fast Shot and Gifted traits, and Ian agreed to help this time and we took care of the radscorpions, and now we're at Vault 15.

My main question is, is it possible to play this game without followers? I've always preferred the "lone wanderer" play style in the Fallout games, but I could see myself getting into trouble when surrounded by radscorpions, or other creatures in random encounters. Unless I can get a nice shotgun or something maybe.

Also, once I've completed the water chip mission, can I take as long as I want with the rest of the game (I installed the Fallout Fixt mod). I'm one of those explorer gamers who like to go absolutely everywhere, if that's possible. Although if it's not possible then it wouldn't be the end of the world, because I hear that multiple playthroughs are worth it due to the varied character customisation.

Also, does Fallout 1 get more Fallout-y? I've only played 3 and NV in the past, and I'm hoping that 1 might have some of the things that the 3 and NV have e.g. dark humor, scary tunnels, interesting characters etc.
 
It's really easy to play without followers. I managed to do it.

As for the question about the water chip mission? No, but I won't spoil anything. You should honestly have enough time to explore most of the stuff in the game before you finish getting the water chip, though.

I would expect far more in common with New Vegas than Fallout 3.
 
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Maybe I've got it wrong when it comes to the water chip. I was under the impression that the game initially had a fairly strict time limit for the water chip mission, which was then extended a bit, and then possibly extended more by Fallout Fixt (although I chose the default options). Also, is it not the case that the water chip mission is supposed to be done early on, or does the mission extend the whole game?
 
It does, but you can probably do most of the game's quests (which will, in turn, take you to every location on the map except for a couple) within that time. Fallout is, at least compared to New Vegas (not so much Fallout 3 really), short.
 
Oh OK. So it's kind of like the quest in New Vegas then (the token that you start with), which kind of extends across the whole game. That makes sense. Maybe I should have extended the time limit in Fallout Fixt then. Although it sounds like it probably won't matter.

By the sounds of it it's probably not worth randomly exploring then either, if the quests take you nearly everywhere anyway?
 
If you play the game for the first time, then you should focus on finding the water chip asap. Of course you can do side content, but only if you don't run over the worldmap like a crazy chicken (because this eats a lot time). Quests usually don't require this either, so unless you do a lot location hopping, you should be fine until you get better hints to where a water chip can be found.

Talk to every npc and be aware of what they tell you. The game gives you hints in every location. It is never required to randomly walk into random directions on the worldmap.
 
OK I'll do that.

When I killed the radscorpions in the cave I picked up all of the tails, so that I could get as many antedotes as possible rather than just one (useful for bartering apart from anything else). But I noticed that it took a few days in total to do all of them, because each one took a while for the doctor to process. Do you think that was a bad idea or will that be OK?

Also, is it worth moving around during combat in an attempt to avoid being surrounded? Or is that a waste of action points which could be spent on shooting?
 
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Imo, companions are a matter of taste, since you'll do perfectly fine without (some would say you'll do even better without, especially if your follower is standing behind you, smg in hand, enemy in front of you, and he figures - if I could aim throoough the back of my pal's head!)

Don't be detered, fight on, this is the feared wasteland after all - it won't treat you kindly, so treat it unkindly in return!

The antidote is just a favor mission, I do it once, then leave. I wasn't even aware it was repeatable. Unless you desperately need rad-aways, just move on man! There's plenty of stuff to do.

As for moving during combat - it's all about tactics. Do you feel an impending need to move? Then move. Are you fine where you are? Stay! :D You won't be "wasting" any action points, if what you do is important in order to win. If you need to walk 8 steps closer to your enemy, in order to shoot his face better, then those 8 APs aren't really wasted are they? :D

Enemies might indeed try to surround you, particularily melee ones.
 
Thanks for that.

For the radscorpions mission, I actually only did it once, but I took all the radscorpions tails and not just one. So it took the doctor a few days to convert them all to antivenom, so I got a bit paranoid about the timer. But I'm sure it'll be fine.

As for combat, I think It's a case of trying to be the right distance away from enemies - close enough to get shots on target, but not so close that I'm getting melee attacked all the time.

And I want it to be a challenge, the wastelands should be tough after all! Can't wait for a powerful two-handed weapon though!
 
I also always play without companions and I find it more challenging and appealing, too. If it's your first playthrough and you don't want companions, I'd suggest to focus on combat skills, energy weapons is crucial if you want "powerful two-handed weapon" and you should pack it from the very beginning, aside from small guns/melee weapons. Although I always stick to the good old-fashioned small guns and this.
And yes, try to find the water chip fast. On my first playthrough I took my time too much and I was stuck with not enough time in any saveslot to get the waterchip before the vault died. After you find it you get all the time you want to do previous quests (well, not exactly all the time you want, bo if you got Fallout Fixt you know this) It's not that hard to find it, you don't need to talk to everyone you see. I'd say it's all pretty logical.
 
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I never really liked energy weapons for some reason (up until now I've only played F3 and FNV, and only on Xbox 360). They just didn't really fit with my perception of the Fallout wastelands, which I suppose I tend to associate with Westerns. I always prefer to go with rifles, shotguns, and pistols, all of which I believe are Small Guns (which I've invested heavily in). But if going it alone and not going with energy weapons is going to be a problem, then maybe I might have to consider energy weapons. Either that, or maybe heavily investing in Small Guns, and also investing in Melee as a backup might be the way to go.
 
As I said, I always stick to small guns and my beloved .223 and I'm good, so you can, too. But I usually focus on critics, so 10 luck, finesse and shooting in the eyes. If you don't, you better invest in some heavier stuff.
 
I sacrificed Luck (I chose 4) to invest points elsewhere, and I chose the Fast Shot trait so I can't target body parts. I could always choose Finesse for my next perk, but maybe I'll struggle even if I do that. Would decent Small Guns and Melee not be enough in my situation?

I'm not too far in to restart one more time if necessary. Which I would do if it means that I can stick with small guns and play without followers.
 
Then I'd go for energy weapons and get some turbo plasma rifle or gatling laser (there's plenty of ammo later in the game). But if you really want to stick to small guns, get a combat shotgun and if you prefer melee weapons and don't get critical hits much, go for a super sledge, but I'm not sure if these will do.

Well, you can always switch difficulty to easy :P
 
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I haven't played FO1 even near as much as 2, the weapons selection is bigger in 2, which means it kindov is easyer to choose in 1. I don't think energy weapons are essential early on, I can manage for a long while with hunting rifle, combat shotgun, but later on yes, you really should keep an eye on your energy weapons skill.

I also go for fast shot, sacrificing the ability to aim, and sometimes also sacrifice luck. In fact, the options are so varied, that over time, what I consider essential vs wasted changes as I give things "new meaning". For example, I would consider "awareness" a waste of perk, cus I'm gonna kill 'em anyway, then I went to seeing it as essential, because it "opens up" more information in the game itself, I can see what everyone's armed with, exact health etc, then went back to considering it useless, since they're all dead meat anyway.. :D strong back, pack rat useless, you can load on companions///essential, if you want to absolutely maximize loading capacity, and so on.

I like "small frame" for example, it gives me an extra attribute point, technically for Agility, but eh, it doesn't really matter in the end, it's one more point, and the only trade-off is some carry weight (which I delegate to companions anyway)

I still haven't grown tired of "fast shot". The ability to aim comes back in h2h combat anyway, and I can still have fun deliberately attacking groins
 
Yeah I like Fast Shot. The first perk I took was Quick Pockets because I'm assuming I'll need to heal with medkits during combat, although I was tempted by others. I want to get Strong Back though because I'm a hoarder and because of the no-follower thing.

Would Big Guns be a viable alternative to Energy Weapons later on in the game? I'd prefer to use a minigun to a Gatling laser if the weapon types are on a par with each other. Or does Energy Weapons have an advantage?

Maybe I could carry on with this save, and then put lots of points into Energy Weapons (or possibly Big Guns) for later on in the game, as it sounds like they will be essential if playing without followers.

My only concern now though is that my Luck is 4 or 5 (can't remember which as I chose Gifted), and it sounds like it needs to be much higher so I that can get better critical chance. So that might mean starting again anyway.
 
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My only concern now though is that my Luck is 4 or 5 (can't remember which as I chose Gifted), and it sounds like it needs to be much higher so I that can get better critical chance.
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No, low luck and no aiming is nothing game-breaking, but you surely can't go through the game with a pistol. A turbo plasma rifle or gatling will do, though, so invest points into energy weapons skill. And as I said, you can stick to small guns or melee but with low luck I don't know if that will be enough for tougher enemies.
 
I would prefer Big Guns to Energy Weapons really, unless the latter really is much better than the former. I just find big guns much more satisfying to use than lazers.

So I'm thinking I might start again, with this build:

S 5
P 5
E 4
C 4
I 8
A 8
L 8

Traits: Gifted and Fast Shot
Tags: Small Guns, Big Guns (or maybe Speech if I will have time to build up the Big Guns skill), Lock Pick (because I always have to know what's in that locked container or behind that locked door).

Any thoughts?
 
unless the latter really is much better than the former
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It is, I was about to say it in the previous post. There are only three big guns - rocket launcher (ammo is a scarce), flamethrower (low range and not so powerful) and a minigun (wastes tons of ammo and not so powerful). But this little friend is probably what you're looking for, if you like big guns.

e:

S 5
P 5
E 4
C 4
I 8
A 8
L 8
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I always set luck either to 1 or 10, I don't see much sense in taking a compromise here, because it only makes combat more random, but it's your choice. And I see you focus on combat, so maybe pack some more into endurance?
 
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Fair enough, I'll aim for energy weapons later on then. Any thoughts on the build? And should I go Energy Weapons as a tag at the start, or go Speech and build up Energy Weapons gradually?
 
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