DwayneGAnd
Look, Ma! Two Heads!
This is yet another guide I have written for newbies from a former newbie. Since I now feel I have mastered the game, I would like to share some wisdom.
In my opinion, this is the best Fallout game so far. It's also my favorite. Maybe because there are so many different types of characters you can make. Thanks to all the unique perks that benefit certain combat skills and the use of certain weapons, there are so many builds to make.
New Vegas feels much more like a Fallout game than Fallout 3 due to the return of traits, a reputation system, more low-intelligence dialogues, and a setting closer to the original setting where the franchise began. Thanks to the fact that you can join one of four endgame factions, this game has incredible replayability.
Unlike Fallout 3, New Vegas has a much greater range of specialization for your character, adding to replayability. There are three major archetypes of builds.
Critical - Focuses on inflicting as much critical damage as often as possible. Luck needs to be maxed for the highest critical chance, together with certain perks, equipment, and traits. Single-attack weapons with high critical chance and critical damage work best, especially if they also deal high damage. This build has the highest potential for critical chance with the right weapons. Optionally taken, Light Touch and VATS give you an even higher potential for critical hits due to adding a flat 5% each to final chance calculations. Perks, equipment, and traits that increase critical chance and damage are the bread and butter of this build. Chems that increase attack speed can give you an extra edge in combat.
Quickshot - The goal is to attack as fast as possible to inflict damage in a short matter of time. While criticals can help supplement the damage, they are not the main focus of this build, but are more than welcome since the faster you attack, the more criticals in a shorter period of time you can inflict. Some chems and consumables increase attack speed as well, giving this build the potential for the fastest attacks. Weapons with fast attack speeds and high damage per shot and second, not including automatics, work best with this build. For Automatics, use the next archetype.
All Out - This build focuses on inflicting as much raw damage as possible per attack, but does not depend on criticals to add damage. Automatics, explosives, and hand-to-hand with the Heavy Handed trait is the way to go. These builds have the strongest damage potential outside of critical hits or speed. The higher the damage per shot or per second, the more damage that will be added to each attack, the better.
If desired, these characters can be built as either one or both of these variants:
Wild Wastelander - Takes the Wild Wasteland Trait. This is primarily for a unique gameplay experience. You can make use of any combat skill. Though there are several weapons that appear only if you take this trait, Unarmed has the one that is most practical for use as the others have ammo that is very rare and thus you can't use the weapon anymore once they run more. Also beware that certain weapons are unobtainable if you take this perk, such as the YCS/186 which is replaced by the Alien Blaster.
Imbecile - Intelligence is less than 4. For a humorous gameplay experience. Can also make use of any combat skill, but remember that you will not be able to get Pack Rat which can reduce the weight of ammo in Hardcore mode, so you won't be able to carry as much ammo for your weapons. Builds focused on maxing their critical chance won't be able to get Comprehension and Voracious Reader. The Educated perk is also unavailable. Imbeciles will also not be able to max all their skills, even if they find all the skill books.
When deciding what kind of character you will make, first choose one of the three archetypes above. If you chose Critical, Quickshot, or use criticals with All Out, decide whether or not to use light armor as there are perks that benefit it. The best choice of armor for either choice increases the chance of critical hits. If you are using automatics, there are other armor choices that benefit the build but do not increase the critical chance. Then choose your primary combat skill. Regardless of your choices above, do you want to make heavy use of VATS? Although not as strong as it was in Fallout 3, it can have its uses such as increasing your accuracy, the chance of critical hits, or slightly reducing the damage you suffer from enemies. It also increases your damage with melee weapons.
Like Fallout 3, it is possible, though more difficult here, to max all your skills by the level cap. In Fallout 3, it was very easy to make a Jack of All Trades type character that could maximize effectiveness in all forms of combat, this was due to all those skill books, making it easy to max your skills, even with low intelligence. In New Vegas, this is no longer possible, due to perks being gained every couple of levels instead of every level, and the fact that there are so many specialty perks, you won't have enough perk slots to choose them all or most of them. There aren't as many skill books, though they do give a couple more skill points each. High intelligence and certain perks are required in order to max all skills by level 50. You also do not gain as many skill points per level as you did in Fallout 3. There is also no way to max all your stats as you could in Fallout 3 due to the absence of the Almost Perfect perk.
Still, due to the higher perk rate, you only get twenty-five perks from leveling up compared to Fallout 3's 29. If New Vegas allowed you to get a perk every level, making a Jack of All Trades character that maximized the effectiveness of ranged, melee, and explosive combat would be a different story. Since you don't get as many perks from leveling up this time, you won't have enough perk slots to fully develop the ranged, melee, and explosive combat styles. So pick one style and develop a character around it. Try to get all of your non-combat skills maxed no matter what as they are all useful, though Sneak might not be as useful if you do not use criticals. Certain other skills are useful as they allow you to pass certain skill checks in dialogue. If you have low intelligence, try to max your primary combat skill as you probably will only have enough skills points to max it together with your non-combat skills. Raising Explosives is also good as it allows you to disarm mines before they blow up in your face. In the end, specializing in one combat skill and developing it to its maximum effectiveness is much more effective than spreading them too thinly. With higher intelligence, you can max more skills than you could with low intelligence, and if you play right, you can max them all. This of course is impossible to do if you are an imbecile. Regardless of your intelligence, realistically you should develop one combat style and build a character around it, though if making a hand-to-hand character, getting certain perks requires investment in both Unarmed and Melee Weapons. Only raise certain skills high enough to qualify for perks. You can also raise certain skills to 90 and then read a magazine if you need to pass a check, or 80 with Comprehension. This can also help you save on skill points.
For Fallout 3 characters who enjoyed playing a sneaky assassin wearing Chinese Stealth Armor, there is no armor that has a stealth field when sneaking in this game. Due to the limited amount of Stealthboys you can find, it is much more difficult to sneak around without being visually detected, even with Silent Running. This means that you'll have a harder time inflicting melee ranged sneak attack criticals unless you use certain perks, implants, chems, or drugs. Any character can do this, though light armor characters have the potential for the fastest sneak speed. Like Fallout 3, there are times when you will be forced to attack out of stealth.
Only choose perks that benefit your build's effectiveness and combat style. A good example is the Cowboy and Grunt perks. These two perks affect the damage of specific weapons, so if you choose either of those perks, you'll have to restrict yourself to using certain guns, explosives, and melee weapons. Same with Pyromaniac where you'll have to limit yourself to using fire-based weapons. If you are making a character that uses criticals and automatics, don't get traits or perks that increase critical chance due to your weapon's low modifier reducing it, Light Touch is the sole exception. If you are making a build that does not rely on critical hits, don't get perks that increase your chance of criticals or their damage. If you choose to use either guns or energy weapons, pick one and choose the perks that benefit your ability to create better ammo or increase your combat effectiveness with certain weapons, such as Shotgun Surgeon for Guns and Laser Commander for Energy Weapons. You won't have enough perk slots to maximize the potential for Guns and Energy Weapons.
Some of the DLC's also limit what you can carry, especially when you first enter Honest Hearts. Dead Money strips you of your inventory and you don't get it back until after you finish. High skills in Guns, Melee Weapons, or Unarmed help in Honest Hearts and Dead Money. Old World Blues and Lonesome Road allow you to keep your inventory but save Lonesome Road for last.
As in Fallout 3, you should choose weapons for your build that deal good damage and are easy to maintain, though here in New Vegas you can craft Weapon Repair Kits to help maintain weapons. The Jury Rigging perk can help make repairs easier, but certain weapons can only be repaired with an identical weapon even if Jury Rigging was taken. That's what you need Weapon Repair Kits for. Having Raul as a companion can also reduce the decay rate of your weapon as can one of ED-E''s upgrades from Lonesome Road which can repair your weapon once a day. It is recommended that you only carry a few extra weapons to handle any situation, but due to the weight of ammo in Hardcore Mode and other important items you'll be picking up, including food and water, your arsenal won't be as expanded as it was in Fallout 3. Only limit yourself to a few weapons, and be sure to restrict how many heavy weapons you carry in your endgame arsenal if you use any.
Due to carry weight concerns together with other useful items you may need to carry, such as crafting items, food, water, supplies for medical or repair, ammo in Hardcore mode, and the armor you wear, it is recommended that you do not carry too many weapons. Sell what you are not using. If you are ranged, carry at least one pistol, one rifle, and at least one weapon that either has very powerful damage per shot or can chamber armor-penetrating bullets. The pistol will be good for taking on weaker opposition to conserve ammo or for closer range, though you need the rifle for fighting at a longer range and dealing more damage. If you build around the use of shotguns or automatics, a shotgun or automatic is all you need. If you focus exclusively on critical hits and damage, choose weapons with a good critical damage modifier and high critical damage.
While Unarmed and Melee Weapons require investment in both to get the appropriate perks, it is recommended that you choose one over the other to maximize.
Thankfully, there are no Overlords, Albino Scorpions, or Behemoths in the Mojave, unlike Fallout 3. Reavers are much more fragile here than they were in the Capital Wasteland. The game however does have its own nasties of comparable difficulty. The five legendary creatures, Marked Men, some robots including Robo-Scorpions, Cazadores, Nightstalkers, some super mutants, and Deathclaws are among the most dangerous and toughest to face. For these enemies, it is recommended that you include in your arsenal at least one powerful weapon with high damage per attack.
If critical hits are part of your build, it is also a good idea to carry a scoped weapon for extreme ranged sniping. Good choices include the Trail Carbine (for which you can buy a scope), Christine's CoS Silencer Rifle, Anti-materiel Rifle, and YCS/186.
Check the table at the Fallout wikia for New Vegas to get all the info you need on choosing the best weapon for your build.
Depending on your build, the only stats worth maxing endgame for certain builds are Strength, Endurance, Intelligence, Agility, and Luck. Strength for melee weapon damage and carry weight. Endurance for health, resistance to radiation, poison, number of implants, and how long you can stay underwater. Intelligence increases skill points per level up. Agility increases reload, draw, and holster speed. And Luck affects criticals, gambling at casinos, and increases all skills. Higher strength also allows you to use a wider variety of weapons. The Minigun and its unique version are the only ones that require max Strength.
As in Fallout 3, only set certain stats to what you need to qualify for perks plus the implant and the bonus point you get from completing Lonesome Road, any more is a waste. If you want to max Strength, Endurance, Agility, or Luck set your stats to what you need to max them with bonuses from implants and equipment. Playing as an imbecile with less than four Intelligence will give you more extra points.
When setting your SPECIAL stats, here is how to do so according to my notes for maximum effectiveness:
Strength - 5 to 7 is a good starting value. The implant raises it by one. So does wearing T-51b Power Armor. There are some good perks that require a minimum strength of 5 even if you are not engaged in melee combat, such as Strong Back, so starting with average strength can be more beneficial than just what you need to use your weapons with all bonuses, which could hamper you in the long run until then. Or you could always get Weapon Handling. Getting the Reinforced Spine during Old World Blues increases your strength by two. But only the implant helps qualify for perks. To know how much you should start with, subtract 2 from ten for Reinforced Spine from Old World Blues, 1 for the implant, another 1 if planning to wear T-51b Power Armor, and finally 1 if planning to use the Lonesome Road bonus point here, for a maximum of 5 points. Low Critical builds can best use the stat point bonus from completing Lonesome Road here or in Endurance. Melee Weapon users need to max it for increased damage. Unarmed does not gain any damage bonus from Strength. Low-intelligence characters will have more spare points, and this is a good place to spend some, and they will want to have it maxed by endgame for more carry weight as they can't get Pack Rat.
Perception - 6 is needed for Better Criticals, which is all you need Perception for. Keep it at the default 5. If not using criticals, feel free to lower it. Having ED-D as a companion gives you the same effect as having this stat maxed. So don't take it any higher than 6.
Endurance - Endurance is a much more important stat in New Vegas than in previous Fallout games. Starting with 9 can allow you to get all implants, though you can max Endurance by starting with 8, getting the implant, and wearing either the normal Valence or the unique Atomic version. 7 or 8 is recommended for any character as the more implants you can have, the better.
Charisma - Charisma is the least important stat as usual. This time, its most important effect is upon your companions, increasing the damage they deal and their damage threshold. Feel free to keep it at 1 and use chems to give yourself a boost to Charisma to affect the companion nerve which is a better idea.
Intelligence - As always, Intelligence is one of the most important stats. A minimum of 4 for normal intelligence builds. For the imbecile, you should set it to 3 or fewer. If you do not want to be an imbecile, you may also choose to set it as high as 9 for more skill points if you have enough stat points. Remember that if you are an imbecile and get the intelligence implant, you won't be a dimwit anymore. 5 is needed for Pack Rat. 7 is needed for Voracious Reader, which is good for Critical builds and goes well with Comprehension. If built around criticals, set it to a minimum of 6 and get the implant.
Agility - Remember that you get an extra point of Agility if you take Small Frame, take that into consideration when setting this stat. You need 6 for Silent Running and 7 for Slayer which is good for hand-to-hand combat characters. VATS characters need 7 for Nerves of Steel. Light Armor characters need 8 for Tunnel Runner for increasing sneaking speed, so start with 6 if taking Small Frame and the implant, or else 7 with just the implant. Agility also raises reload speed as well as the draw and holster speed of all weapons, though the bonuses are minimal, thus the points that could have been spent maxing it by endgame will be better spent elsewhere. Low-intelligence characters, however, will definitely have enough points to max this by endgame and have points to spend elsewhere.
Luck - 7 to 9 for builds that benefit from critical hits. Those who do not can go lower than that. You can have it maxed by endgame for a higher critical chance, better gambling, and a bonus to all skills. Lucky Shades can give you an extra point. Remember that points granted by equipment do not let you qualify for Better Criticals. 7 is for critical builds getting the implant, wearing Lucky Shades, and using the Lonesome Road bonus on Luck. If you don't want to bother getting a positive relationship with the Legion to gain the Lucky Shades, you can start with 8. Any character can benefit from maxed luck for more successful gambling to help earn money and for a bonus to all skills, even those who do not focus their build on criticals.
You can get implants to raise a stat, how many you get depends on your endurance stat. 5 allows you to have five implants for example. You can also get a free point in Agility if you take the Small Frame Trait. Finishing Lonesome Road grants you an extra stat point that you can put into any of your stats, depending on your build, it is best put into Luck, Endurance, Agility, or Strength. For critical builds, you can wear Lucky Shades to increase your Luck, but you need to have a high reputation with the Legion in order to get them. Remember that stat increases you get from equipment do not allow you to qualify for perks.
As in previous games, you can change your gameplay experience by varying your stats, as long as you set them to qualify for perks because drugs will not help you do that as they could in games before Fallout 3.
To best optimize your character's stats, first determine whether you'll be using critical hits. Then decide if you want to be of normal intelligence or stupid.
First, dump Charisma. Set Endurance to 7. If building your character around the usage of criticals, set Luck to 7 if planning to get the Luck Shades to help max it by endgame, or 8 if you do not. If ranged, set Agility between 5 to 9, all depending on whether or not you plan to use light armor, use the bonus from Small Frame, or if you want to have this maxed for the highest reload speed. If going hand to hand, set Agility to between 5 to 7, depending on if you are using Light Armor and/or Small Frame. If you have a point left over, raise Endurance to 8. Set Strength to 7 if going melee or 6 if going unarmed. If not using Criticals, feel free to set Perception and Luck a bit lower. Put your leftover points into Intelligence.
If being Stupid, keep Intelligence between 1 to 3. Having 2 or fewer can give you access to super special dialogue which can be useful, while 3 is the maximum level to remain an imbecile. Follow the same setup as above depending on your attack style. It may be a good idea to max strength and have as high a carry weight as you can because you won't be able to get Pack Rat. Remember to consider the bonuses you'll get to certain stats during the game and you may not have to get certain implants depending on how you set your stats.
After setting your stats, choose your traits. Some are more worth taking than others. Traits are another reason why you should specialize around one style for maximum benefit and effect. The best traits are:
Small Frame - increased agility at the cost of more fragile limbs. Take this into consideration when you set your Agility stat at the start of the game if you plan to get it later and qualify for perks. There is a challenge that can make your limbs harder to break if you get it, nearly negating the penalty of this trait. Note, that if you take Small Frame at the start and get perks that you meet the agility requirement for, you can swap it for another trait and still keep those perks. In hardcore mode, the increased damage to limbs and quicker crippling can make the game more challenging, but you can easily fix them using a doctor bag. There are also two perks that increase the resistance of your limbs, one for free, and the other you can choose. Good for builds that can't make use any other other trait below.
Silled - increases all skills at the cost of reduced experience. Considered by many to be the best trait, much more useful than the early games. However, it is best taken at the start of the game and then switched out for better perks that would be more useful for your build.
Good Natured - increases Speech, Medicine, Barter, Science, and Repair by five points, at the cost of reducing all combat skills by five points. Another good trait to choose at the start together with Skilled, swapped out for another trait in Old World Blues.
Fast Shot - increases your attack speed and reduces AP costs with Guns and Energy Weapons, but reduces accuracy by increasing weapon spread. In earlier versions and certain consoles, this capped your accuracy in VATS at 76%, taking accuracy perks such as Gunslinger, Sniper, and Commando fixed that. On PC however, Fast Shot does not reduce your accuracy. Fast Shot is great for increasing your attack speed with Guns and Energy Weapons and allowing you to get off more shots in VATS. The increased attack speed does not affect fully automatic weapons such as Miniguns, Flamers, and Gatling Lasers. It's the most important trait for the Quickshot build, as long as you use either Guns or Energy Weapons. It's also great for critical builds because it allows you to inflict more criticals in a shorter amount of time, increasing your overall damage.
Trigger Discipline - the exact opposite of Fast Shot. It increases your accuracy by reducing weapon spread. The trait also increases accuracy with Guns and Energy Weapons in VATS. But it also increases AP costs in VATS for those two weapon categories. Better for fully automatic weapons such as Miniguns, Gatling Lasers, and Flamers as they receive the benefit of reduced spread, while not being affected by the reduced attack speed. If you choose this trait, you should not use any single-shot long-range weaponry as their attack speed will be reduced.
Good Natured - increases all non-combat skills at the cost of reduced combat skills. Like Skilled, it is mainly taken at the start of the game and changed to another trait later on in Old World Blues.
Built To Destroy - increases critical chance at the cost of increasing the rate of decay for all weapons. This is the most important trait for any build using critical hits, unless they use automatics. Also good for hand-to-hand builds using criticals as part of their arsenal due to the lack of other good traits to use with those builds.
Heavy Handed - increases damage with melee or unarmed weapons at the cost of reduced critical damage. Perfect for All Out Hand-To-Hand builds.
Loose Cannon - increases throwing speed while reducing distance. Good for throwing grenades, spears, and other thrown melee weapons, especially when VATS is used as this trait reduces AP costs. It's the equivalent of Fast Shot, but for throwing weapons. This trait is ideal for Demolitionists that use grenades, especially if they use VATS.
Wild Wasteland - adds lots of strange content to the game to change your gaming experience, but some weapons become unavailable as they are replaced by specific weapons found only when you take the trait. This is mainly for unique gameplay experiences. Can be built for any type of combat.
You can change your traits during Old World Blues if you find the update for the Autodoc. At the start of the game, I recommend you choose Skilled and Good Natured for the skill boosts unless you are making a Wild Wastelander. This way, you start off with higher skill levels. Once you become stronger and more skilled, you can change your traits at the Autodoc in Big Mountain. So choose either Skilled together with Good Natured or Wildwasteland at the start, and change your traits in Old World Blues to what your build needs.
The best armor in the game for builds that use criticals either the Elite Riot Gear or Ulysses' Duster. Both armors increase your critical chance by 5% as does the best helmet which is the 1st Recon Beret, which you get from Boone after completing One For My Baby to his satisfaction.
All Out builds do not depend on critical hits as much as the Critical build, nor are they inflicted as much and as often in Quickshot builds. For this reason, the best armor for the All Out build is T-51b Power Armor. The best helmet is the Space Suit Helmet due to the fact that you can wear it with a very good accessory mentioned in the next paragraph.
The Atomic-Valence Tri-Radii-Oscillator can be worn as a helmet for more damage threshold, the bonus to Endurance, and the healing effect. According to the Fallout wikia, you can wear it over certain helmets that do not take up the eyeglasses slot, but you cannot wear it with Lucky Shades according to the Fallout wikia. You also cannot wear it with helmets that also take up the glasses slot, such as any power helmet, but you can with hats and space suit helmets. Since you can find two of them, you may want to give one to your endgame companion. The normal version, the Valence Radii-Accentuator can be worn with Lucky Shades though. Like the unique variant, it gives you a bonus to Endurance, some more damage threshold, and healing ability. If you wear Lucky Shades, wear the normal variety. If you do not, go with the unique variant.
Due to a wider range of perks than in previous Fallout games to benefit different combat styles and the fact that you get a perk every two levels, you will no longer have more perks than you truly need for your build. This means that perks that you may have been forced to pick in Fallout 3 when you had no others to benefit your build are now useless. You also can't get as many as you could in Fallout 3.
All builds should get the following perks:
Bloody Mess (increased damage of all attacks)
Them's Good Eating (chance to find good food items on dead enemies and create the best healing items in the game)
Jury Rigging (easier repairs for equipment)
Both ranks of Toughness (increased damage threshold)
Silent Running (improved sneaking ability which can help reduce the damage you take)
If you want to focus your build on the maximum potential of critical hits and damage:
Just Lucky I'm Alive (further increases the damage of critical hits. Neutral karma is required at level 50. The best level 50 perk for the critical build.)
Better Criticals (increased damage of critical hits)
Finesse is another useful perk for critical builds as it increases your critical chance by 5%, stacking with other bonuses from equipment, traits, and other perks. If you are making your character around automatics and criticals, don't take Finesse because those weapons have very low critical chance modifiers that will reduce your critical chance and you won't see any benefit. Quickshot builds can also benefit from Finesse and Better Criticals.
A good combo for those that want to maximize their critical chance is Comprehension and Voracious Reader. Voracious Reader allows you to craft an unlimited supply of magazines, but mainly the True Police Stories which grants a bonus of 5% to your critical chance, 10% with Comprehension. 7 Intelligence is required for Voracious Reader, so you can start with a minimum of 6 Intelligence and get the implant. This combo is most effective with weapons that have a critical modifier of 2 or more. Quickshot builds can also gain some benefit from this combo because they attack faster and thus have a higher chance of inflicting criticals. Don't bother if you are playing an All Out build.
If you want to focus on attack speed:
Ain't Like That Now (further increases your attack speed. Stacks with Slayer and Fast Shot. Does not work with automatic ranged weapons or automatic melee weapons. Evil karma is required at level 50 and is the ultimate perk for the Quickshot build.)
If you want to focus on increased damage per attack:
Thought You Died (further increases your damage per hit. Good Karma is required at level 50. A perfect fit for the All Out build)
There are other perks that increase damage against specific targets or in VATS, though depending on your build, you might not have enough perk slots available to take them.
Just Lucky I'm Alive works best with weapons that deal high critical damage and damage per shot, and stacks with Better Criticals. Ain't Like That Now stacks with Fast Shot for Guns and Energy Weapons (not including automatics) and Slayer for Unarmed and Melee Weapons, it works best with weapons that have quick attack speed, stacking further with chems such as Rushing Water. Thought You Died is the perk of choice for All Out builds, the increased damage adds up with automatic weapons and stacks with Heavy Handed for hand-to-hand weapons, but it isn't as useful for single shot ranged weapons because the final total damage isn't as high as the increase from higher attack speed from Ain't Like That Now. If using weapons deals high critical damage per shot, high critical damage, and a good critical chance modifier, take Just Lucky I'm Alive. Weapons that deal poor critical damage per shot (not including projectiles), a low critical modifier, but having fast attack speed are better used with Ain't Like That Now or Thought You Died depending on whether or not they are automatic or if you are using Heavy Handed or not. For example, single-shot weapons such as shotguns are best used with Ain't Like That Now due to low critical chance and critical damage, while automatics such as Gatling Lasers are better off used with Thought You Died due to their automatic fire mode and low critical damage and critical modifier, but Pacienca is fantastic with Just Lucky I'm Alive due to high critical chance and critical damage. Weapons such as Ballistic Fist, Saturnite Fist Super-heated, Anti-materiel Rifle, Old Glory, and many more can also be great for Just Lucky I'm Alive even if the critical modifier isn't very high. This is due to them dealing very high critical damage, though you may need to inflict sneak attack criticals for maximum results. Weapons that have only a few shots before reloading or have slow attack speed are also better off used with Just Lucky I'm Alive. Critical builds can use Rushing Water for increased attack speed and gain part of the benefit of Ain't Like That Now. Grenades also have a final higher damage with increased attack speed than they do with increased damage percentages.
If you choose to specialize your character in Guns, get Hand Loader which allows you to craft better ammo. If you build around the use of shotguns, take Shotgun Surgeon which allows you to ignore ten points of Damage Threshold (better for slugs) and And Stay Back which gives a chance of knocking your foe down when using shotguns (buckshot and magnum are better for this). Grunts and Cowboys have ranged, melee, and explosive weapons that are affected by the perks.
If you choose to build your character around the use of Energy Weapons, decide whether or not you want to use mainly lasers. If you do want to use laser weapons, get Laser Commander which increases your damage and critical chance when using them. Also, get Vigilant Recycler which allows you to craft better ammo. If you do not use lasers, choose between fire or plasma. Pyromaniac is for those who want to use flamers or incinerator-type weapons, but those weapons deal poor critical damage and are not suited for critical or quickshot builds, but are good for All-Out. Pyromaniac also affects certain unarmed and melee weapons as well, both of which can be good for Pyromaniac builds that focus on critical hits and damage or increased attack speed. Fire ammo for certain weapons is not affected, but the Sonic Emitter Tarantula is affected by Pyromaniac and also gains a bonus to Laser Commander, a good weapon for Pyromaniacs who develop around critical hits and damage or increased attack speed.
One perk you should be careful with as an Energy Weapons user is Meltdown. The resultant blast caused by enemy deaths from Energy Weapons can cause chain reactions but can cause self-harm, friendly fire, and of course collateral damage to neutral npcs. The damage is also dependent on your weapon, the stronger the better. If you choose this perk, do not use Energy Weapons in close-range combat, nor should you have your allies fight in melee range.
Remember that if playing an Energy Weapons user, there is a bonus perk that can also increase your critical chance by up to 4% if you achieve both ranks, but it requires you to use lasers to get it. The perk affects all Energy Weapons. Laser Commander also increases your critical chance by 10%. Like Light Touch and the bonus in VATS, these are added to your critical chance after being multiplied by the modifier of your weapon.
Unarmed and Melee Weapons are also much more powerful than they were in previous games and thus they can make a very effective build on their own. If you develop your character around the use of Hand To Hand Combat, get these perks:
Super Slam (chance for melee and unarmed weapons to knock down foes, rendering them helpless.)
Piercing Strike (your melee and unarmed attacks ignore fifteen points of the enemy damage threshold)
Slayer (increased attack speed with melee and unarmed attacks. Good for builds that focus on increasing attack speed)
Super Slam has a chance to knock down enemies. However, Super Slam doesn't work with automatic melee ranged weapons such as the Ripper, Chainsaw, Industrial Hand, or Thermic Lance, nor does Slayer or Ain't Like That Now increase their attack speed. Although the Industrial Hand, Ripper, Chainsaw, and Thermic Lance ignore the damage threshold of your enemies, it isn't applied correctly, but Piercing Strike fixes that. You can carry a single-strike weapon together with an automatic striking weapon if you choose. Chems are needed for improving damage and survivability against tougher opposition.
Other Hand-To-Hand perks to consider are Stonewall which grants a bonus to the damage threshold from melee damage inflicted upon you and prevents knockdown, Purifier to increase damage against abominations such as Deathclaws, Ninja to increase critical chance and sneak attack damage of melee and unarmed attacks, and Unstoppable Force to quadruple damage against enemies that block. However, you might not have enough perks slots to get some or all of them depending on your build.
If you want to build your character around heavy usage of VATS, get the following:
Math Wrath (reduced action point cost)
Nerves of Steel (increased action point regeneration)
Grim Reaper's Sprint (replenishes twenty action points when you kill in VATS)
If using VATS, there are many other perks to choose from. Energy Weapon VATS users specializing in plasma should take Plasma Spaz which reduces the action point cost of plasma weapons, stacking nicely with Math Wrath. Paralyzing Palm was very useful in Fallout 3, but since enemies don't have as much health as they used to in Fallout 3, and you have Super Slam which is basically the same effect, you can ignore it this time. Ain't Like That Now is good for increased action point regeneration which stacks with Nerves of Steel. Explosives, Melee, and Unarmed do not allow you to target body parts, so perks that increase the chance to hit or damage specific body parts are useless with those weapons.
There are other VATS perks that increase accuracy with certain weapons or either accuracy or damage against specific body parts.
Characters that don't use VATS as part of their build will want to get both ranks of Implant GRX for a non-addictive Turbo effect that slows your enemies down, making it easier to hit them out of VATS. Chemist will increase the duration as it does for all chems. VATS is better for single-shot weapons and builds that use critical hits due to the 5% increase in critical hits. The bonus is a flat modifier added to your final chance after being calculated by your weapon's modifier. Weapons that fire off multiple projectiles per shot are much weaker in VATS because there is only one chance for a critical than out of it. These weapons include Shotguns, Multiplas Rifles, modded LAERs, Tri-beam Laser Rifles, etc. Automatic weapons also perform poorly in VATS due to the increased risk of firing off more rounds than necessary which can be wasteful, as well as requiring more APs to fire off. They also only have one chance for a critical in VATS per burst. Certain automatic melee and unarmed weapons also function differently in VATS. For these reasons, if your build focuses on automatics or any weapon that fires off multiple projectiles per attack, use Implant GRX instead of VATS. If you use VATS and need emergency slowdown effects, use Turbo.
Explosives provide excellent crowd control and can make a powerful build, but you will need to be more careful with this build due to the risk of collateral damage against neutral or friendly npcs. It may be necessary to bring a spare weapon along to safely deal with enemies that get too close and avoid friendly fire when other npcs are around. If you want to maximize the effectiveness of explosive weapons, get the following perks:
Demolition Expert (increases damage of all explosive weapons. All three ranks need to be taken.)
Hit The Deck (increases damage threshold against all explosives, including your own)
Splash Damage (increases blast radius of explosions)
Grenades are much easier on your carry weight than missiles, rockets, 40mm and 25mm grenades, and mini-nukes. If you use Thrown Grenades:
Heave, Ho!: (increases range of thrown weapons. Also works if using grenade launchers, grenade machineguns, and other weapons that fire arcing projectiles.)
If you want to have more explosive weapons available, get Mad Bomber to unlock craftable explosives. Nuka Chemist allows you to craft Nuka Cola recipes that are needed to make Nuka Grenades and thus gives you a reliable source. Adamantium Skeleton can also be good for characters who maximize the effectiveness of explosives.
If you build your character around the use of light armor and criticals, get the following perks to supplement your critical perks:
Light Touch (adds a flat 5% chance to your final critical chance score which is applied after calculating your critical chance with your equipped weapon)
Travel Light (increased movement speed, also affects sneaking)
Tunnel Runner (increased sneaking speed)
Note that you need to wear Light Armor for Travel Light, Tunnel Runner, and Light Touch to take effect. They also take effect if you wear no armor.
Like VATS, Light Touch adds a flat 5% bonus that is not affected by your weapon's modifier after all calculations have been made. Because of this, if you want to focus on criticals with automatic weapons, use Light Touch. Many automatics have very low critical modifiers that do not affect the flat bonus gained by Light Touch. You can make a Light Touch build using automatic weapons. Increased critical chance perks and traits won't have much benefit for your automatic weapon. If specializing in Energy Weapons, Set Lasers For Fun and Laser Commander can add a total of 14% which is also a flat bonus. Laser Commander only affects laser weapons, Set Lasers For Fun affects all energy weapons, but it requires you to use laser weapons in order to earn them. If you are not using laser weapons primarily for your build, you can switch to another type of energy weapon and still keep the benefit. Flamers deal practically no critical damage so using them in a Light Touch critical build using automatics is not recommended. Certain automatic weapons can still do decent critical damage.
Once you have all perks you need for your build, you can add other useful lower-priority perks. Strong Back and Burden To Bear both increase your carry weight by 50 pounds. Pack Rat is another great perk because it halves the weight of all items weighing 2 pounds or less. This perk becomes even more useful in hardcore mode as ammo has weight. Other valuable perks are those that increase damage against certain genders and enemies, VATS perks that increase accuracy as well as damage against specific body parts and your action point total, Living Anatomy for increased damage and seeing health and damage threshold of enemies, Quick Draw for increased draw and holster speed, and Rapid Reload for faster reloading times. For those who use chems, including those that increase damage dealt and reduce damage taken, there are perks that reduce the chance of addiction which can be helpful. Chemist can be useful even if you don't use Implant GRX. There are other perks as well to choose from, though depending on your build, you might not have enough perk slots available. Make a list of your planned characters and their perks so you'll know what to choose. Remember that at lower levels, you may need to choose certain low-level perks, as long as they would benefit you. To best maximize your effectiveness, focus on developing only one combat style. Don't add perks that improve hand-to-hand combat or explosives if you are using Guns or Energy Weapons. The same applies to Hand-To-Hand builds and Explosives builds. Choosing perks for other combat styles will take up too many perk slots and leave little room for defensive and utility perks, making your build less effective and fun. While many other players suggest specializing in everything, maxing all skills is more difficult in this game than in Fallout 3 due to the lack of bobbleheads, fewer skill books, and fewer skill points per level-up. Specializing your character is more effective and encourages replayability.
Don't forget that if you are playing as an imbecile, you won't be able to meet the intelligence requirements of Pack Rat, Educated, Comprehension, or Voracious Reader.
Next, I will record what companions work best for specific builds. Arcade is not on the list because he doesn't fight in the final battle if you complete his companion quest. Certain companions are better suited to a specific combat style. Veronica is best suited for Unarmed, but she can also use Energy Weapons. Boone is better with Guns even if he also has Melee Weapons tagged. Lily is obviously better with Melee weapons as her other skills other than Sneak don't increase. Cass can use both guns and melee but is better with guns. Raul is best suited with Guns. Rex can only attack melee range. ED-E is better suited for long-range combat. Give your companions better weapons of both long-range and melee so they will be better prepared for combat against tougher opposition, and don't forget about giving them better armor.
ED-E : When you get all the upgrades for him in the Divide, you gain a bonus to VATS accuracy, damage with laser weapons, and damage threshold. He can also allow you to repair your weapon or give you energy cells and fuel once a day. He is the better choice of non-humanoid companion for builds that focus on VATS, lasers, or critical light armor builds. A safe choice for automatic All Out builds and Energy Weapon users that took Meltdown.
Rex : Not as useful as ED-E, but he is good for melee support if you don't use VATS and lasers. He has his own tackle attack which can knock enemies down, useful for melee or unarmed attackers. Don't take him if you are an Energy Weapon user who chose Meltdown.
Boone : Only take him endgame if you are siding with NCR as he won't tolerate you working with the Legion, and completing a certain quest for Yes Man or Mr. House can cause him to leave you permanently. You can pair him up with ED-E to take advantage of his Spotter perk together with ED-E's Enhanced Sensors for the best extreme range sniping. Because of his hatred for the Legion, you won't be able to recruit him if you are traveling with Rex when his implanted brain is that of Lupa. He prefers to use rifles so equip him with those. Good for characters who need ranged single-shot support.
Cass : Since you gain a damage threshold when drinking whiskey without the negative loss to your stats as long as she accompanies you, she is the best humanoid companion for critical light armor builds. Make sure you maintain neutral or good karma before level 50 while she is in your presence so you can complete her companion quest, and after level 50, don't talk to her if you have bad karma. If you are branded a terrorist by NCR, do not part company with her. She has her own version of Shotgun Surgeon, so give her shotguns to use in combat with slugs.
Veronica : Like Rex, she is more useful for melee support when you fight from long range, punching out her foes. Make sure you have a very high reputation with the Brotherhood of Steel if you destroy them later in the game if you intend to keep her endgame. She can also use powerful Energy Weapons such as Gatling Lasers, making her a good choice for those who use single-shot weapons or chose Meltdown for their Energy Weapons.
Lily : Stealth Girl not only increases the length of stealth boys, but it also increases your sneak attack critical damage. She's a good choice for characters who need melee range support or if you do not have a high reputation with the Brotherhood of Steel when they destroy them. The only combat skill of hers that actually improves is Melee Weapons, so have her use that. If you have been branded a terrorist by NCR and do not have Cass as a companion, Lily is a great alternative. Don't take her if you chose Meltdown.
Raul : Both maintenance perks make him a great choice for characters who specialize in weapons that have low durability, high decay rates, or builds that use Built To Destroy. Guns is the only tagged skill he has that is useful for combat so have him use that. He is also one of the best choices of humanoid companions for a character that sides against NCR endgame.
You can also choose not to have a companion by endgame. There is a unique perk that you can get in Lonesome Road if you do not release ED-E from captivity before you confront Ulysses. The perk increases your damage by 10% and you gain a bonus of 10% in VATS, but both require you to have no companions in order to take effect. This perk is best for All Out characters who want to maximize their damage potential. Of course, one of ED-E's upgrades increases your laser damage by 5 per shot, so if you use laser weapons, having him as a companion is better for your overall damage than getting the Lonesome Road perk.
Lastly, like all RPGs, the farther you get from where you start, the tougher the enemies become. So follow Sunny's advice, follow the roads, don't stray too far away from them, do quests to level up in your area, and explore nearby locations. Pick up and read those skill books. Sell excess weapons and other loot to raise money.
For the best game performance and enjoyment, install the YUP patch. It is also recommended that you install other mods that may benefit the game, such as bug fixes and anti-crashes. A list of mods to recommend that go well with YUP can be found on the page for it at Nexus. You might also want to get the Killing Karma Rewards Removed mod to get rid of the karma gains from defending yourself against feral ghouls, fiends, and escaped convicts, making it easier to play an evil character and get the Ain't Like That Now perk.
In the future, I'll post how to make each build.
In my opinion, this is the best Fallout game so far. It's also my favorite. Maybe because there are so many different types of characters you can make. Thanks to all the unique perks that benefit certain combat skills and the use of certain weapons, there are so many builds to make.
New Vegas feels much more like a Fallout game than Fallout 3 due to the return of traits, a reputation system, more low-intelligence dialogues, and a setting closer to the original setting where the franchise began. Thanks to the fact that you can join one of four endgame factions, this game has incredible replayability.
Unlike Fallout 3, New Vegas has a much greater range of specialization for your character, adding to replayability. There are three major archetypes of builds.
Critical - Focuses on inflicting as much critical damage as often as possible. Luck needs to be maxed for the highest critical chance, together with certain perks, equipment, and traits. Single-attack weapons with high critical chance and critical damage work best, especially if they also deal high damage. This build has the highest potential for critical chance with the right weapons. Optionally taken, Light Touch and VATS give you an even higher potential for critical hits due to adding a flat 5% each to final chance calculations. Perks, equipment, and traits that increase critical chance and damage are the bread and butter of this build. Chems that increase attack speed can give you an extra edge in combat.
Quickshot - The goal is to attack as fast as possible to inflict damage in a short matter of time. While criticals can help supplement the damage, they are not the main focus of this build, but are more than welcome since the faster you attack, the more criticals in a shorter period of time you can inflict. Some chems and consumables increase attack speed as well, giving this build the potential for the fastest attacks. Weapons with fast attack speeds and high damage per shot and second, not including automatics, work best with this build. For Automatics, use the next archetype.
All Out - This build focuses on inflicting as much raw damage as possible per attack, but does not depend on criticals to add damage. Automatics, explosives, and hand-to-hand with the Heavy Handed trait is the way to go. These builds have the strongest damage potential outside of critical hits or speed. The higher the damage per shot or per second, the more damage that will be added to each attack, the better.
If desired, these characters can be built as either one or both of these variants:
Wild Wastelander - Takes the Wild Wasteland Trait. This is primarily for a unique gameplay experience. You can make use of any combat skill. Though there are several weapons that appear only if you take this trait, Unarmed has the one that is most practical for use as the others have ammo that is very rare and thus you can't use the weapon anymore once they run more. Also beware that certain weapons are unobtainable if you take this perk, such as the YCS/186 which is replaced by the Alien Blaster.
Imbecile - Intelligence is less than 4. For a humorous gameplay experience. Can also make use of any combat skill, but remember that you will not be able to get Pack Rat which can reduce the weight of ammo in Hardcore mode, so you won't be able to carry as much ammo for your weapons. Builds focused on maxing their critical chance won't be able to get Comprehension and Voracious Reader. The Educated perk is also unavailable. Imbeciles will also not be able to max all their skills, even if they find all the skill books.
When deciding what kind of character you will make, first choose one of the three archetypes above. If you chose Critical, Quickshot, or use criticals with All Out, decide whether or not to use light armor as there are perks that benefit it. The best choice of armor for either choice increases the chance of critical hits. If you are using automatics, there are other armor choices that benefit the build but do not increase the critical chance. Then choose your primary combat skill. Regardless of your choices above, do you want to make heavy use of VATS? Although not as strong as it was in Fallout 3, it can have its uses such as increasing your accuracy, the chance of critical hits, or slightly reducing the damage you suffer from enemies. It also increases your damage with melee weapons.
Like Fallout 3, it is possible, though more difficult here, to max all your skills by the level cap. In Fallout 3, it was very easy to make a Jack of All Trades type character that could maximize effectiveness in all forms of combat, this was due to all those skill books, making it easy to max your skills, even with low intelligence. In New Vegas, this is no longer possible, due to perks being gained every couple of levels instead of every level, and the fact that there are so many specialty perks, you won't have enough perk slots to choose them all or most of them. There aren't as many skill books, though they do give a couple more skill points each. High intelligence and certain perks are required in order to max all skills by level 50. You also do not gain as many skill points per level as you did in Fallout 3. There is also no way to max all your stats as you could in Fallout 3 due to the absence of the Almost Perfect perk.
Still, due to the higher perk rate, you only get twenty-five perks from leveling up compared to Fallout 3's 29. If New Vegas allowed you to get a perk every level, making a Jack of All Trades character that maximized the effectiveness of ranged, melee, and explosive combat would be a different story. Since you don't get as many perks from leveling up this time, you won't have enough perk slots to fully develop the ranged, melee, and explosive combat styles. So pick one style and develop a character around it. Try to get all of your non-combat skills maxed no matter what as they are all useful, though Sneak might not be as useful if you do not use criticals. Certain other skills are useful as they allow you to pass certain skill checks in dialogue. If you have low intelligence, try to max your primary combat skill as you probably will only have enough skills points to max it together with your non-combat skills. Raising Explosives is also good as it allows you to disarm mines before they blow up in your face. In the end, specializing in one combat skill and developing it to its maximum effectiveness is much more effective than spreading them too thinly. With higher intelligence, you can max more skills than you could with low intelligence, and if you play right, you can max them all. This of course is impossible to do if you are an imbecile. Regardless of your intelligence, realistically you should develop one combat style and build a character around it, though if making a hand-to-hand character, getting certain perks requires investment in both Unarmed and Melee Weapons. Only raise certain skills high enough to qualify for perks. You can also raise certain skills to 90 and then read a magazine if you need to pass a check, or 80 with Comprehension. This can also help you save on skill points.
For Fallout 3 characters who enjoyed playing a sneaky assassin wearing Chinese Stealth Armor, there is no armor that has a stealth field when sneaking in this game. Due to the limited amount of Stealthboys you can find, it is much more difficult to sneak around without being visually detected, even with Silent Running. This means that you'll have a harder time inflicting melee ranged sneak attack criticals unless you use certain perks, implants, chems, or drugs. Any character can do this, though light armor characters have the potential for the fastest sneak speed. Like Fallout 3, there are times when you will be forced to attack out of stealth.
Only choose perks that benefit your build's effectiveness and combat style. A good example is the Cowboy and Grunt perks. These two perks affect the damage of specific weapons, so if you choose either of those perks, you'll have to restrict yourself to using certain guns, explosives, and melee weapons. Same with Pyromaniac where you'll have to limit yourself to using fire-based weapons. If you are making a character that uses criticals and automatics, don't get traits or perks that increase critical chance due to your weapon's low modifier reducing it, Light Touch is the sole exception. If you are making a build that does not rely on critical hits, don't get perks that increase your chance of criticals or their damage. If you choose to use either guns or energy weapons, pick one and choose the perks that benefit your ability to create better ammo or increase your combat effectiveness with certain weapons, such as Shotgun Surgeon for Guns and Laser Commander for Energy Weapons. You won't have enough perk slots to maximize the potential for Guns and Energy Weapons.
Some of the DLC's also limit what you can carry, especially when you first enter Honest Hearts. Dead Money strips you of your inventory and you don't get it back until after you finish. High skills in Guns, Melee Weapons, or Unarmed help in Honest Hearts and Dead Money. Old World Blues and Lonesome Road allow you to keep your inventory but save Lonesome Road for last.
As in Fallout 3, you should choose weapons for your build that deal good damage and are easy to maintain, though here in New Vegas you can craft Weapon Repair Kits to help maintain weapons. The Jury Rigging perk can help make repairs easier, but certain weapons can only be repaired with an identical weapon even if Jury Rigging was taken. That's what you need Weapon Repair Kits for. Having Raul as a companion can also reduce the decay rate of your weapon as can one of ED-E''s upgrades from Lonesome Road which can repair your weapon once a day. It is recommended that you only carry a few extra weapons to handle any situation, but due to the weight of ammo in Hardcore Mode and other important items you'll be picking up, including food and water, your arsenal won't be as expanded as it was in Fallout 3. Only limit yourself to a few weapons, and be sure to restrict how many heavy weapons you carry in your endgame arsenal if you use any.
Due to carry weight concerns together with other useful items you may need to carry, such as crafting items, food, water, supplies for medical or repair, ammo in Hardcore mode, and the armor you wear, it is recommended that you do not carry too many weapons. Sell what you are not using. If you are ranged, carry at least one pistol, one rifle, and at least one weapon that either has very powerful damage per shot or can chamber armor-penetrating bullets. The pistol will be good for taking on weaker opposition to conserve ammo or for closer range, though you need the rifle for fighting at a longer range and dealing more damage. If you build around the use of shotguns or automatics, a shotgun or automatic is all you need. If you focus exclusively on critical hits and damage, choose weapons with a good critical damage modifier and high critical damage.
While Unarmed and Melee Weapons require investment in both to get the appropriate perks, it is recommended that you choose one over the other to maximize.
Thankfully, there are no Overlords, Albino Scorpions, or Behemoths in the Mojave, unlike Fallout 3. Reavers are much more fragile here than they were in the Capital Wasteland. The game however does have its own nasties of comparable difficulty. The five legendary creatures, Marked Men, some robots including Robo-Scorpions, Cazadores, Nightstalkers, some super mutants, and Deathclaws are among the most dangerous and toughest to face. For these enemies, it is recommended that you include in your arsenal at least one powerful weapon with high damage per attack.
If critical hits are part of your build, it is also a good idea to carry a scoped weapon for extreme ranged sniping. Good choices include the Trail Carbine (for which you can buy a scope), Christine's CoS Silencer Rifle, Anti-materiel Rifle, and YCS/186.
Check the table at the Fallout wikia for New Vegas to get all the info you need on choosing the best weapon for your build.
Depending on your build, the only stats worth maxing endgame for certain builds are Strength, Endurance, Intelligence, Agility, and Luck. Strength for melee weapon damage and carry weight. Endurance for health, resistance to radiation, poison, number of implants, and how long you can stay underwater. Intelligence increases skill points per level up. Agility increases reload, draw, and holster speed. And Luck affects criticals, gambling at casinos, and increases all skills. Higher strength also allows you to use a wider variety of weapons. The Minigun and its unique version are the only ones that require max Strength.
As in Fallout 3, only set certain stats to what you need to qualify for perks plus the implant and the bonus point you get from completing Lonesome Road, any more is a waste. If you want to max Strength, Endurance, Agility, or Luck set your stats to what you need to max them with bonuses from implants and equipment. Playing as an imbecile with less than four Intelligence will give you more extra points.
When setting your SPECIAL stats, here is how to do so according to my notes for maximum effectiveness:
Strength - 5 to 7 is a good starting value. The implant raises it by one. So does wearing T-51b Power Armor. There are some good perks that require a minimum strength of 5 even if you are not engaged in melee combat, such as Strong Back, so starting with average strength can be more beneficial than just what you need to use your weapons with all bonuses, which could hamper you in the long run until then. Or you could always get Weapon Handling. Getting the Reinforced Spine during Old World Blues increases your strength by two. But only the implant helps qualify for perks. To know how much you should start with, subtract 2 from ten for Reinforced Spine from Old World Blues, 1 for the implant, another 1 if planning to wear T-51b Power Armor, and finally 1 if planning to use the Lonesome Road bonus point here, for a maximum of 5 points. Low Critical builds can best use the stat point bonus from completing Lonesome Road here or in Endurance. Melee Weapon users need to max it for increased damage. Unarmed does not gain any damage bonus from Strength. Low-intelligence characters will have more spare points, and this is a good place to spend some, and they will want to have it maxed by endgame for more carry weight as they can't get Pack Rat.
Perception - 6 is needed for Better Criticals, which is all you need Perception for. Keep it at the default 5. If not using criticals, feel free to lower it. Having ED-D as a companion gives you the same effect as having this stat maxed. So don't take it any higher than 6.
Endurance - Endurance is a much more important stat in New Vegas than in previous Fallout games. Starting with 9 can allow you to get all implants, though you can max Endurance by starting with 8, getting the implant, and wearing either the normal Valence or the unique Atomic version. 7 or 8 is recommended for any character as the more implants you can have, the better.
Charisma - Charisma is the least important stat as usual. This time, its most important effect is upon your companions, increasing the damage they deal and their damage threshold. Feel free to keep it at 1 and use chems to give yourself a boost to Charisma to affect the companion nerve which is a better idea.
Intelligence - As always, Intelligence is one of the most important stats. A minimum of 4 for normal intelligence builds. For the imbecile, you should set it to 3 or fewer. If you do not want to be an imbecile, you may also choose to set it as high as 9 for more skill points if you have enough stat points. Remember that if you are an imbecile and get the intelligence implant, you won't be a dimwit anymore. 5 is needed for Pack Rat. 7 is needed for Voracious Reader, which is good for Critical builds and goes well with Comprehension. If built around criticals, set it to a minimum of 6 and get the implant.
Agility - Remember that you get an extra point of Agility if you take Small Frame, take that into consideration when setting this stat. You need 6 for Silent Running and 7 for Slayer which is good for hand-to-hand combat characters. VATS characters need 7 for Nerves of Steel. Light Armor characters need 8 for Tunnel Runner for increasing sneaking speed, so start with 6 if taking Small Frame and the implant, or else 7 with just the implant. Agility also raises reload speed as well as the draw and holster speed of all weapons, though the bonuses are minimal, thus the points that could have been spent maxing it by endgame will be better spent elsewhere. Low-intelligence characters, however, will definitely have enough points to max this by endgame and have points to spend elsewhere.
Luck - 7 to 9 for builds that benefit from critical hits. Those who do not can go lower than that. You can have it maxed by endgame for a higher critical chance, better gambling, and a bonus to all skills. Lucky Shades can give you an extra point. Remember that points granted by equipment do not let you qualify for Better Criticals. 7 is for critical builds getting the implant, wearing Lucky Shades, and using the Lonesome Road bonus on Luck. If you don't want to bother getting a positive relationship with the Legion to gain the Lucky Shades, you can start with 8. Any character can benefit from maxed luck for more successful gambling to help earn money and for a bonus to all skills, even those who do not focus their build on criticals.
You can get implants to raise a stat, how many you get depends on your endurance stat. 5 allows you to have five implants for example. You can also get a free point in Agility if you take the Small Frame Trait. Finishing Lonesome Road grants you an extra stat point that you can put into any of your stats, depending on your build, it is best put into Luck, Endurance, Agility, or Strength. For critical builds, you can wear Lucky Shades to increase your Luck, but you need to have a high reputation with the Legion in order to get them. Remember that stat increases you get from equipment do not allow you to qualify for perks.
As in previous games, you can change your gameplay experience by varying your stats, as long as you set them to qualify for perks because drugs will not help you do that as they could in games before Fallout 3.
To best optimize your character's stats, first determine whether you'll be using critical hits. Then decide if you want to be of normal intelligence or stupid.
First, dump Charisma. Set Endurance to 7. If building your character around the usage of criticals, set Luck to 7 if planning to get the Luck Shades to help max it by endgame, or 8 if you do not. If ranged, set Agility between 5 to 9, all depending on whether or not you plan to use light armor, use the bonus from Small Frame, or if you want to have this maxed for the highest reload speed. If going hand to hand, set Agility to between 5 to 7, depending on if you are using Light Armor and/or Small Frame. If you have a point left over, raise Endurance to 8. Set Strength to 7 if going melee or 6 if going unarmed. If not using Criticals, feel free to set Perception and Luck a bit lower. Put your leftover points into Intelligence.
If being Stupid, keep Intelligence between 1 to 3. Having 2 or fewer can give you access to super special dialogue which can be useful, while 3 is the maximum level to remain an imbecile. Follow the same setup as above depending on your attack style. It may be a good idea to max strength and have as high a carry weight as you can because you won't be able to get Pack Rat. Remember to consider the bonuses you'll get to certain stats during the game and you may not have to get certain implants depending on how you set your stats.
After setting your stats, choose your traits. Some are more worth taking than others. Traits are another reason why you should specialize around one style for maximum benefit and effect. The best traits are:
Small Frame - increased agility at the cost of more fragile limbs. Take this into consideration when you set your Agility stat at the start of the game if you plan to get it later and qualify for perks. There is a challenge that can make your limbs harder to break if you get it, nearly negating the penalty of this trait. Note, that if you take Small Frame at the start and get perks that you meet the agility requirement for, you can swap it for another trait and still keep those perks. In hardcore mode, the increased damage to limbs and quicker crippling can make the game more challenging, but you can easily fix them using a doctor bag. There are also two perks that increase the resistance of your limbs, one for free, and the other you can choose. Good for builds that can't make use any other other trait below.
Silled - increases all skills at the cost of reduced experience. Considered by many to be the best trait, much more useful than the early games. However, it is best taken at the start of the game and then switched out for better perks that would be more useful for your build.
Good Natured - increases Speech, Medicine, Barter, Science, and Repair by five points, at the cost of reducing all combat skills by five points. Another good trait to choose at the start together with Skilled, swapped out for another trait in Old World Blues.
Fast Shot - increases your attack speed and reduces AP costs with Guns and Energy Weapons, but reduces accuracy by increasing weapon spread. In earlier versions and certain consoles, this capped your accuracy in VATS at 76%, taking accuracy perks such as Gunslinger, Sniper, and Commando fixed that. On PC however, Fast Shot does not reduce your accuracy. Fast Shot is great for increasing your attack speed with Guns and Energy Weapons and allowing you to get off more shots in VATS. The increased attack speed does not affect fully automatic weapons such as Miniguns, Flamers, and Gatling Lasers. It's the most important trait for the Quickshot build, as long as you use either Guns or Energy Weapons. It's also great for critical builds because it allows you to inflict more criticals in a shorter amount of time, increasing your overall damage.
Trigger Discipline - the exact opposite of Fast Shot. It increases your accuracy by reducing weapon spread. The trait also increases accuracy with Guns and Energy Weapons in VATS. But it also increases AP costs in VATS for those two weapon categories. Better for fully automatic weapons such as Miniguns, Gatling Lasers, and Flamers as they receive the benefit of reduced spread, while not being affected by the reduced attack speed. If you choose this trait, you should not use any single-shot long-range weaponry as their attack speed will be reduced.
Good Natured - increases all non-combat skills at the cost of reduced combat skills. Like Skilled, it is mainly taken at the start of the game and changed to another trait later on in Old World Blues.
Built To Destroy - increases critical chance at the cost of increasing the rate of decay for all weapons. This is the most important trait for any build using critical hits, unless they use automatics. Also good for hand-to-hand builds using criticals as part of their arsenal due to the lack of other good traits to use with those builds.
Heavy Handed - increases damage with melee or unarmed weapons at the cost of reduced critical damage. Perfect for All Out Hand-To-Hand builds.
Loose Cannon - increases throwing speed while reducing distance. Good for throwing grenades, spears, and other thrown melee weapons, especially when VATS is used as this trait reduces AP costs. It's the equivalent of Fast Shot, but for throwing weapons. This trait is ideal for Demolitionists that use grenades, especially if they use VATS.
Wild Wasteland - adds lots of strange content to the game to change your gaming experience, but some weapons become unavailable as they are replaced by specific weapons found only when you take the trait. This is mainly for unique gameplay experiences. Can be built for any type of combat.
You can change your traits during Old World Blues if you find the update for the Autodoc. At the start of the game, I recommend you choose Skilled and Good Natured for the skill boosts unless you are making a Wild Wastelander. This way, you start off with higher skill levels. Once you become stronger and more skilled, you can change your traits at the Autodoc in Big Mountain. So choose either Skilled together with Good Natured or Wildwasteland at the start, and change your traits in Old World Blues to what your build needs.
The best armor in the game for builds that use criticals either the Elite Riot Gear or Ulysses' Duster. Both armors increase your critical chance by 5% as does the best helmet which is the 1st Recon Beret, which you get from Boone after completing One For My Baby to his satisfaction.
All Out builds do not depend on critical hits as much as the Critical build, nor are they inflicted as much and as often in Quickshot builds. For this reason, the best armor for the All Out build is T-51b Power Armor. The best helmet is the Space Suit Helmet due to the fact that you can wear it with a very good accessory mentioned in the next paragraph.
The Atomic-Valence Tri-Radii-Oscillator can be worn as a helmet for more damage threshold, the bonus to Endurance, and the healing effect. According to the Fallout wikia, you can wear it over certain helmets that do not take up the eyeglasses slot, but you cannot wear it with Lucky Shades according to the Fallout wikia. You also cannot wear it with helmets that also take up the glasses slot, such as any power helmet, but you can with hats and space suit helmets. Since you can find two of them, you may want to give one to your endgame companion. The normal version, the Valence Radii-Accentuator can be worn with Lucky Shades though. Like the unique variant, it gives you a bonus to Endurance, some more damage threshold, and healing ability. If you wear Lucky Shades, wear the normal variety. If you do not, go with the unique variant.
Due to a wider range of perks than in previous Fallout games to benefit different combat styles and the fact that you get a perk every two levels, you will no longer have more perks than you truly need for your build. This means that perks that you may have been forced to pick in Fallout 3 when you had no others to benefit your build are now useless. You also can't get as many as you could in Fallout 3.
All builds should get the following perks:
Bloody Mess (increased damage of all attacks)
Them's Good Eating (chance to find good food items on dead enemies and create the best healing items in the game)
Jury Rigging (easier repairs for equipment)
Both ranks of Toughness (increased damage threshold)
Silent Running (improved sneaking ability which can help reduce the damage you take)
If you want to focus your build on the maximum potential of critical hits and damage:
Just Lucky I'm Alive (further increases the damage of critical hits. Neutral karma is required at level 50. The best level 50 perk for the critical build.)
Better Criticals (increased damage of critical hits)
Finesse is another useful perk for critical builds as it increases your critical chance by 5%, stacking with other bonuses from equipment, traits, and other perks. If you are making your character around automatics and criticals, don't take Finesse because those weapons have very low critical chance modifiers that will reduce your critical chance and you won't see any benefit. Quickshot builds can also benefit from Finesse and Better Criticals.
A good combo for those that want to maximize their critical chance is Comprehension and Voracious Reader. Voracious Reader allows you to craft an unlimited supply of magazines, but mainly the True Police Stories which grants a bonus of 5% to your critical chance, 10% with Comprehension. 7 Intelligence is required for Voracious Reader, so you can start with a minimum of 6 Intelligence and get the implant. This combo is most effective with weapons that have a critical modifier of 2 or more. Quickshot builds can also gain some benefit from this combo because they attack faster and thus have a higher chance of inflicting criticals. Don't bother if you are playing an All Out build.
If you want to focus on attack speed:
Ain't Like That Now (further increases your attack speed. Stacks with Slayer and Fast Shot. Does not work with automatic ranged weapons or automatic melee weapons. Evil karma is required at level 50 and is the ultimate perk for the Quickshot build.)
If you want to focus on increased damage per attack:
Thought You Died (further increases your damage per hit. Good Karma is required at level 50. A perfect fit for the All Out build)
There are other perks that increase damage against specific targets or in VATS, though depending on your build, you might not have enough perk slots available to take them.
Just Lucky I'm Alive works best with weapons that deal high critical damage and damage per shot, and stacks with Better Criticals. Ain't Like That Now stacks with Fast Shot for Guns and Energy Weapons (not including automatics) and Slayer for Unarmed and Melee Weapons, it works best with weapons that have quick attack speed, stacking further with chems such as Rushing Water. Thought You Died is the perk of choice for All Out builds, the increased damage adds up with automatic weapons and stacks with Heavy Handed for hand-to-hand weapons, but it isn't as useful for single shot ranged weapons because the final total damage isn't as high as the increase from higher attack speed from Ain't Like That Now. If using weapons deals high critical damage per shot, high critical damage, and a good critical chance modifier, take Just Lucky I'm Alive. Weapons that deal poor critical damage per shot (not including projectiles), a low critical modifier, but having fast attack speed are better used with Ain't Like That Now or Thought You Died depending on whether or not they are automatic or if you are using Heavy Handed or not. For example, single-shot weapons such as shotguns are best used with Ain't Like That Now due to low critical chance and critical damage, while automatics such as Gatling Lasers are better off used with Thought You Died due to their automatic fire mode and low critical damage and critical modifier, but Pacienca is fantastic with Just Lucky I'm Alive due to high critical chance and critical damage. Weapons such as Ballistic Fist, Saturnite Fist Super-heated, Anti-materiel Rifle, Old Glory, and many more can also be great for Just Lucky I'm Alive even if the critical modifier isn't very high. This is due to them dealing very high critical damage, though you may need to inflict sneak attack criticals for maximum results. Weapons that have only a few shots before reloading or have slow attack speed are also better off used with Just Lucky I'm Alive. Critical builds can use Rushing Water for increased attack speed and gain part of the benefit of Ain't Like That Now. Grenades also have a final higher damage with increased attack speed than they do with increased damage percentages.
If you choose to specialize your character in Guns, get Hand Loader which allows you to craft better ammo. If you build around the use of shotguns, take Shotgun Surgeon which allows you to ignore ten points of Damage Threshold (better for slugs) and And Stay Back which gives a chance of knocking your foe down when using shotguns (buckshot and magnum are better for this). Grunts and Cowboys have ranged, melee, and explosive weapons that are affected by the perks.
If you choose to build your character around the use of Energy Weapons, decide whether or not you want to use mainly lasers. If you do want to use laser weapons, get Laser Commander which increases your damage and critical chance when using them. Also, get Vigilant Recycler which allows you to craft better ammo. If you do not use lasers, choose between fire or plasma. Pyromaniac is for those who want to use flamers or incinerator-type weapons, but those weapons deal poor critical damage and are not suited for critical or quickshot builds, but are good for All-Out. Pyromaniac also affects certain unarmed and melee weapons as well, both of which can be good for Pyromaniac builds that focus on critical hits and damage or increased attack speed. Fire ammo for certain weapons is not affected, but the Sonic Emitter Tarantula is affected by Pyromaniac and also gains a bonus to Laser Commander, a good weapon for Pyromaniacs who develop around critical hits and damage or increased attack speed.
One perk you should be careful with as an Energy Weapons user is Meltdown. The resultant blast caused by enemy deaths from Energy Weapons can cause chain reactions but can cause self-harm, friendly fire, and of course collateral damage to neutral npcs. The damage is also dependent on your weapon, the stronger the better. If you choose this perk, do not use Energy Weapons in close-range combat, nor should you have your allies fight in melee range.
Remember that if playing an Energy Weapons user, there is a bonus perk that can also increase your critical chance by up to 4% if you achieve both ranks, but it requires you to use lasers to get it. The perk affects all Energy Weapons. Laser Commander also increases your critical chance by 10%. Like Light Touch and the bonus in VATS, these are added to your critical chance after being multiplied by the modifier of your weapon.
Unarmed and Melee Weapons are also much more powerful than they were in previous games and thus they can make a very effective build on their own. If you develop your character around the use of Hand To Hand Combat, get these perks:
Super Slam (chance for melee and unarmed weapons to knock down foes, rendering them helpless.)
Piercing Strike (your melee and unarmed attacks ignore fifteen points of the enemy damage threshold)
Slayer (increased attack speed with melee and unarmed attacks. Good for builds that focus on increasing attack speed)
Super Slam has a chance to knock down enemies. However, Super Slam doesn't work with automatic melee ranged weapons such as the Ripper, Chainsaw, Industrial Hand, or Thermic Lance, nor does Slayer or Ain't Like That Now increase their attack speed. Although the Industrial Hand, Ripper, Chainsaw, and Thermic Lance ignore the damage threshold of your enemies, it isn't applied correctly, but Piercing Strike fixes that. You can carry a single-strike weapon together with an automatic striking weapon if you choose. Chems are needed for improving damage and survivability against tougher opposition.
Other Hand-To-Hand perks to consider are Stonewall which grants a bonus to the damage threshold from melee damage inflicted upon you and prevents knockdown, Purifier to increase damage against abominations such as Deathclaws, Ninja to increase critical chance and sneak attack damage of melee and unarmed attacks, and Unstoppable Force to quadruple damage against enemies that block. However, you might not have enough perks slots to get some or all of them depending on your build.
If you want to build your character around heavy usage of VATS, get the following:
Math Wrath (reduced action point cost)
Nerves of Steel (increased action point regeneration)
Grim Reaper's Sprint (replenishes twenty action points when you kill in VATS)
If using VATS, there are many other perks to choose from. Energy Weapon VATS users specializing in plasma should take Plasma Spaz which reduces the action point cost of plasma weapons, stacking nicely with Math Wrath. Paralyzing Palm was very useful in Fallout 3, but since enemies don't have as much health as they used to in Fallout 3, and you have Super Slam which is basically the same effect, you can ignore it this time. Ain't Like That Now is good for increased action point regeneration which stacks with Nerves of Steel. Explosives, Melee, and Unarmed do not allow you to target body parts, so perks that increase the chance to hit or damage specific body parts are useless with those weapons.
There are other VATS perks that increase accuracy with certain weapons or either accuracy or damage against specific body parts.
Characters that don't use VATS as part of their build will want to get both ranks of Implant GRX for a non-addictive Turbo effect that slows your enemies down, making it easier to hit them out of VATS. Chemist will increase the duration as it does for all chems. VATS is better for single-shot weapons and builds that use critical hits due to the 5% increase in critical hits. The bonus is a flat modifier added to your final chance after being calculated by your weapon's modifier. Weapons that fire off multiple projectiles per shot are much weaker in VATS because there is only one chance for a critical than out of it. These weapons include Shotguns, Multiplas Rifles, modded LAERs, Tri-beam Laser Rifles, etc. Automatic weapons also perform poorly in VATS due to the increased risk of firing off more rounds than necessary which can be wasteful, as well as requiring more APs to fire off. They also only have one chance for a critical in VATS per burst. Certain automatic melee and unarmed weapons also function differently in VATS. For these reasons, if your build focuses on automatics or any weapon that fires off multiple projectiles per attack, use Implant GRX instead of VATS. If you use VATS and need emergency slowdown effects, use Turbo.
Explosives provide excellent crowd control and can make a powerful build, but you will need to be more careful with this build due to the risk of collateral damage against neutral or friendly npcs. It may be necessary to bring a spare weapon along to safely deal with enemies that get too close and avoid friendly fire when other npcs are around. If you want to maximize the effectiveness of explosive weapons, get the following perks:
Demolition Expert (increases damage of all explosive weapons. All three ranks need to be taken.)
Hit The Deck (increases damage threshold against all explosives, including your own)
Splash Damage (increases blast radius of explosions)
Grenades are much easier on your carry weight than missiles, rockets, 40mm and 25mm grenades, and mini-nukes. If you use Thrown Grenades:
Heave, Ho!: (increases range of thrown weapons. Also works if using grenade launchers, grenade machineguns, and other weapons that fire arcing projectiles.)
If you want to have more explosive weapons available, get Mad Bomber to unlock craftable explosives. Nuka Chemist allows you to craft Nuka Cola recipes that are needed to make Nuka Grenades and thus gives you a reliable source. Adamantium Skeleton can also be good for characters who maximize the effectiveness of explosives.
If you build your character around the use of light armor and criticals, get the following perks to supplement your critical perks:
Light Touch (adds a flat 5% chance to your final critical chance score which is applied after calculating your critical chance with your equipped weapon)
Travel Light (increased movement speed, also affects sneaking)
Tunnel Runner (increased sneaking speed)
Note that you need to wear Light Armor for Travel Light, Tunnel Runner, and Light Touch to take effect. They also take effect if you wear no armor.
Like VATS, Light Touch adds a flat 5% bonus that is not affected by your weapon's modifier after all calculations have been made. Because of this, if you want to focus on criticals with automatic weapons, use Light Touch. Many automatics have very low critical modifiers that do not affect the flat bonus gained by Light Touch. You can make a Light Touch build using automatic weapons. Increased critical chance perks and traits won't have much benefit for your automatic weapon. If specializing in Energy Weapons, Set Lasers For Fun and Laser Commander can add a total of 14% which is also a flat bonus. Laser Commander only affects laser weapons, Set Lasers For Fun affects all energy weapons, but it requires you to use laser weapons in order to earn them. If you are not using laser weapons primarily for your build, you can switch to another type of energy weapon and still keep the benefit. Flamers deal practically no critical damage so using them in a Light Touch critical build using automatics is not recommended. Certain automatic weapons can still do decent critical damage.
Once you have all perks you need for your build, you can add other useful lower-priority perks. Strong Back and Burden To Bear both increase your carry weight by 50 pounds. Pack Rat is another great perk because it halves the weight of all items weighing 2 pounds or less. This perk becomes even more useful in hardcore mode as ammo has weight. Other valuable perks are those that increase damage against certain genders and enemies, VATS perks that increase accuracy as well as damage against specific body parts and your action point total, Living Anatomy for increased damage and seeing health and damage threshold of enemies, Quick Draw for increased draw and holster speed, and Rapid Reload for faster reloading times. For those who use chems, including those that increase damage dealt and reduce damage taken, there are perks that reduce the chance of addiction which can be helpful. Chemist can be useful even if you don't use Implant GRX. There are other perks as well to choose from, though depending on your build, you might not have enough perk slots available. Make a list of your planned characters and their perks so you'll know what to choose. Remember that at lower levels, you may need to choose certain low-level perks, as long as they would benefit you. To best maximize your effectiveness, focus on developing only one combat style. Don't add perks that improve hand-to-hand combat or explosives if you are using Guns or Energy Weapons. The same applies to Hand-To-Hand builds and Explosives builds. Choosing perks for other combat styles will take up too many perk slots and leave little room for defensive and utility perks, making your build less effective and fun. While many other players suggest specializing in everything, maxing all skills is more difficult in this game than in Fallout 3 due to the lack of bobbleheads, fewer skill books, and fewer skill points per level-up. Specializing your character is more effective and encourages replayability.
Don't forget that if you are playing as an imbecile, you won't be able to meet the intelligence requirements of Pack Rat, Educated, Comprehension, or Voracious Reader.
Next, I will record what companions work best for specific builds. Arcade is not on the list because he doesn't fight in the final battle if you complete his companion quest. Certain companions are better suited to a specific combat style. Veronica is best suited for Unarmed, but she can also use Energy Weapons. Boone is better with Guns even if he also has Melee Weapons tagged. Lily is obviously better with Melee weapons as her other skills other than Sneak don't increase. Cass can use both guns and melee but is better with guns. Raul is best suited with Guns. Rex can only attack melee range. ED-E is better suited for long-range combat. Give your companions better weapons of both long-range and melee so they will be better prepared for combat against tougher opposition, and don't forget about giving them better armor.
ED-E : When you get all the upgrades for him in the Divide, you gain a bonus to VATS accuracy, damage with laser weapons, and damage threshold. He can also allow you to repair your weapon or give you energy cells and fuel once a day. He is the better choice of non-humanoid companion for builds that focus on VATS, lasers, or critical light armor builds. A safe choice for automatic All Out builds and Energy Weapon users that took Meltdown.
Rex : Not as useful as ED-E, but he is good for melee support if you don't use VATS and lasers. He has his own tackle attack which can knock enemies down, useful for melee or unarmed attackers. Don't take him if you are an Energy Weapon user who chose Meltdown.
Boone : Only take him endgame if you are siding with NCR as he won't tolerate you working with the Legion, and completing a certain quest for Yes Man or Mr. House can cause him to leave you permanently. You can pair him up with ED-E to take advantage of his Spotter perk together with ED-E's Enhanced Sensors for the best extreme range sniping. Because of his hatred for the Legion, you won't be able to recruit him if you are traveling with Rex when his implanted brain is that of Lupa. He prefers to use rifles so equip him with those. Good for characters who need ranged single-shot support.
Cass : Since you gain a damage threshold when drinking whiskey without the negative loss to your stats as long as she accompanies you, she is the best humanoid companion for critical light armor builds. Make sure you maintain neutral or good karma before level 50 while she is in your presence so you can complete her companion quest, and after level 50, don't talk to her if you have bad karma. If you are branded a terrorist by NCR, do not part company with her. She has her own version of Shotgun Surgeon, so give her shotguns to use in combat with slugs.
Veronica : Like Rex, she is more useful for melee support when you fight from long range, punching out her foes. Make sure you have a very high reputation with the Brotherhood of Steel if you destroy them later in the game if you intend to keep her endgame. She can also use powerful Energy Weapons such as Gatling Lasers, making her a good choice for those who use single-shot weapons or chose Meltdown for their Energy Weapons.
Lily : Stealth Girl not only increases the length of stealth boys, but it also increases your sneak attack critical damage. She's a good choice for characters who need melee range support or if you do not have a high reputation with the Brotherhood of Steel when they destroy them. The only combat skill of hers that actually improves is Melee Weapons, so have her use that. If you have been branded a terrorist by NCR and do not have Cass as a companion, Lily is a great alternative. Don't take her if you chose Meltdown.
Raul : Both maintenance perks make him a great choice for characters who specialize in weapons that have low durability, high decay rates, or builds that use Built To Destroy. Guns is the only tagged skill he has that is useful for combat so have him use that. He is also one of the best choices of humanoid companions for a character that sides against NCR endgame.
You can also choose not to have a companion by endgame. There is a unique perk that you can get in Lonesome Road if you do not release ED-E from captivity before you confront Ulysses. The perk increases your damage by 10% and you gain a bonus of 10% in VATS, but both require you to have no companions in order to take effect. This perk is best for All Out characters who want to maximize their damage potential. Of course, one of ED-E's upgrades increases your laser damage by 5 per shot, so if you use laser weapons, having him as a companion is better for your overall damage than getting the Lonesome Road perk.
Lastly, like all RPGs, the farther you get from where you start, the tougher the enemies become. So follow Sunny's advice, follow the roads, don't stray too far away from them, do quests to level up in your area, and explore nearby locations. Pick up and read those skill books. Sell excess weapons and other loot to raise money.
For the best game performance and enjoyment, install the YUP patch. It is also recommended that you install other mods that may benefit the game, such as bug fixes and anti-crashes. A list of mods to recommend that go well with YUP can be found on the page for it at Nexus. You might also want to get the Killing Karma Rewards Removed mod to get rid of the karma gains from defending yourself against feral ghouls, fiends, and escaped convicts, making it easier to play an evil character and get the Ain't Like That Now perk.
In the future, I'll post how to make each build.
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