Sniper Character

[DwayneGAnd]

I beat both Fallout 1 and 2 with a sniper character. Unlike the burst fire character who focuses on fire off many rounds to cause as much damage as possible, the Sniper only fires one shot per attack, making it as deadly as possible by targeting specific body parts.

Being able to pick off your targets easily and shoot them in the eyes for the best damage on your criticals means having to invest heavily into your main combat skills. This is much easier in Fallout 1 than 2 due to rising skill point costs in Fallout 2, meaning that you won't actually be able to accurately have 95% chance of hitting their eyes at the longest range until you actually read the hint book at the end of the game. So until then, you limit yourself to medium range combat, using non-targeted shots at extreme long range.

Small Guns and Energy Weapons are the primary combat skills to be tagged. Speech is the third skill to tag.

Here is how I made this character:

Fallout 1

Traits: Gifted and Small Frame

S-6 (got the strength implant and wore power armor to get max strength)
P-7 (got the implant for sniper)
E-4 (took buffout to get strong back)
C-4 (got the upgrade from the wandering tinkerer)
I-9 (got the implant)
A-9 (got the implant)
L-9 (got the bonus from chuck in the boneyard)

Perks: Awareness, Strong Back, Better Criticals, Action Boy (2), Sniper, Bonus Rate of Fire.

I leveled up to 21 by killing the deathclaws at the boneyard nest.

Endgame Weapons

Sniper Rifle - For extreme long range attacks
Turbo Plasma Rifle - For stronger enemies such as deathclaws, super mutants, and robots
Alien Blaster - For when stronger enemies get too close
.223 Pistol - For use against the weaker enemies for ammo conservation purposes

Fallout 2

Traits: Gifted and Small Frame

S-5 (advanced power armor and module)
P-7 (module to get sniper)
E-4 (took buffout to get strong back)
C-6 (wore mirrored shades and got the module)
I-9 (got the module)
A-9 (got the bonus from the EPA from the restoration project)
L-8 (got the bonus in NCR from the hubologist)

Perks: Awareness, Strong Back, Better Criticals, Living Anatomy, Bonus Rate of Fire, Action Boy (2), Sniper, Pack Rat, Sharpshooter, Quick Pockets

Endgame Weapons

Gauss Rifle - Long Range attack weapon of choice
Pulse Rifle - For use against stronger enemies
Alien Blaster - When stronger enemies come close enough
.223 Pistol - For use against the weaker enemies to conserve ammo

I easily cleared out the military base and the cathedral with this character. Taking out the entire oil rig was a bit harder than with the burst fire character. I took down Frank Horrigan by crippling one of his arms so that he had to switch to his knife, and then shot him in the eyes with my pulse rifle and alien blaster to finish him off.

My npcs were Sulik, Vic, and Cassidy. Sulik used the Mega Power Fist, Vic used the Gauss Pistol (he can attack three times in one turn at his highest level with this weapon), and Cassidy had the Pulse Pistol.

After hitting level 24, I leveled up west of EPA until about level 33 and then went to the oil rig.

I also leveled up unarmed to be able to get the Prizefighter perk in New Reno in order to get the damage resistance bonus.

Edit: I'm going to be playing through all four builds again seeing as how I made changes to my guide on the thread Tips for Newbies From A Former Newbie. Maybe this way I'll make my characters even better without feeling like I'm wasting stat points. Check back at a later date to see my results.

 

[DwayneGAnd]

For Fallout 1, here is how to set your SPECIAL if you want to get the recommended perks without having to use drugs for qualification, assuming you take both Gifted and Small Frame, as well as get the maximum amount of action points and as many skill points as possible, without using drugs:

S-6
P-7
E-5
C-3
I-9
A-9
L-9

For Fallout 2:

S-5
P-7
E-6
C-4
A-9
I-9 (NCR) or 8 (Hubologist)
L-8 (NCR) or 9 (Hubologist)