Fallout 4

[Monoriu]

Cool.  In that case I won't worry about it too much, and will proceed with my plan to max out Intelligence. 

[Caliga]

Mono, I wouldn't waste that much time on this.  This Fallout game seems to have less content where stats matter, from what I've seen so far.  You can easily shoot your way through every situation.  It's a little bit disappointing, actually.

[Razgovory]

Yep.  It's not a hard game.

[Monoriu]

Mono, I wouldn't waste that much time on this.  This Fallout game seems to have less content where stats matter, from what I've seen so far.  You can easily shoot your way through every situation.  It's a little bit disappointing, actually.

For me, the enjoyment of this kind of game comes from building up the most powerful character, collecting the best weapons and armour, and finding the best bonus items 

[Razgovory]

Has anyone done the mainquest yet.  I mostly walk around exploring fighting crabs, people and crab-people.

[Monoriu]

I am still very early into the game, but the list of potential followers on the wikis is very depressing.  I always want a female follower, and I thought I was going to get another Lydia from Skyrim. 

Instead I only see a violent drug-addict and an intrepid reporter hell bent to overthrow the government.  Traits that I really, really don't want to see. 

[grumbler]

I am still very early into the game, but the list of potential followers on the wikis is very depressing.  I always want a female follower, and I thought I was going to get another Lydia from Skyrim. 

Instead I only see a violent drug-addict and an intrepid reporter hell bent to overthrow the government.  Traits that I really, really don't want to see. 

You can "make" a third female follower, Curie.  Just get the robot in Vault 81 (quest required) and follow the robot's own quest line.  French accent thrown in for free.

[Monoriu]

Which perks are the best to have?  I am level 13 and so far I have picked -

Toughness (increased damage resistance) - rank 2
Medic (stimpack and radaway bonus) - rank 1
Gun nut (gun mods) - rank 1
Hacker (expert terminals) - rank 2
Locksmith (expert locks) - rank 2
Gunslinger (pistols do more damage) - rank 2

Also picked some stat bonuses, mainly to perception and agility.

Perks that I want to pick next:

Armourer - armour mods
Rifleman - rifles do more damage (but I don't really use a lot of rifles.  Are shotguns rifles or pistols?)
Reractor - resistance to energy weapons (useful but somewhat situational)
Life giver - more hp (always nice to have more hp)
Action boy - faster ap regeneration
Bloody mess - more damage in combat

Long-term goals -

Strong back - more carry weight (handy and allows heavy weapons but requires 6 strength.  I have 3)
Concentrated fire - increased accuracy when aiming for the same body parts.  This sounds like it has the potential to be a game-breaking power, but it requires 10 perception.  I have 7.  Doable but takes a lot of time. 
Lady killer - more damage to female opponents.  I actually face a quite a few female raiders.  Useful but obviously bloody mess is a lot better.

[Razgovory]

Hacker, locksmith, gun nut and armorer are all good.  Try to max those out.  I'd ignore the life giver and action boy perks.

[11B4V]

Raz pretty much nailed that.

For the others thiink about your style of play and go from there. I.e. I always try to max out sneak and perks related to those. Being able to sneak while running and not setting off mines suits my play style. The ninja perk is another favorite that allows more damage from sneak attacks.

This fallout has weapon/armor mods so you can't ignore gun nut, armored,and science for energy weapons.

Get at least a rank in explosives to make the bottle cap mines.

I digress but mines are one my favorite weapons since fo3. I use them with a high sneak to place then bait tough creatures, when heavily out numbered, and to cover flank and rear approaches to my position when I start my shenanigans.

[grumbler]

Which perks are the best to have?  I am level 13 and so far I have picked -

Toughness (increased damage resistance) - rank 2
Medic (stimpack and radaway bonus) - rank 1
Gun nut (gun mods) - rank 1
Hacker (expert terminals) - rank 2
Locksmith (expert locks) - rank 2
Gunslinger (pistols do more damage) - rank 2

Also picked some stat bonuses, mainly to perception and agility.

Perks that I want to pick next:

Armourer - armour mods
Rifleman - rifles do more damage (but I don't really use a lot of rifles.  Are shotguns rifles or pistols?)
Reractor - resistance to energy weapons (useful but somewhat situational)
Life giver - more hp (always nice to have more hp)
Action boy - faster ap regeneration
Bloody mess - more damage in combat

Long-term goals -

Strong back - more carry weight (handy and allows heavy weapons but requires 6 strength.  I have 3)
Concentrated fire - increased accuracy when aiming for the same body parts.  This sounds like it has the potential to be a game-breaking power, but it requires 10 perception.  I have 7.  Doable but takes a lot of time. 
Lady killer - more damage to female opponents.  I actually face a quite a few female raiders.  Useful but obviously bloody mess is a lot better.

Here's my take on it: it's better to get more damage through guns than through perks (and the same in reverse for armor), so emphasize gun nut, then armorer.  Have those at the max level your overall level allows.  The get your lockpick and hacking skills to the max your level allows, because higher-level barriers have higher-level loot.  Then one where you scavenge high-level parts from guns and armor is also a must. Damage resistance is probably one you can pick when there isn't anything better. Bloody mess is very good.  Sneak is very good, because it helps against traps and mines, plus makes you harder to spot (and thus combat easier to get out of if the fight goes poorly).  Pistol skill is good.  Rifle is less so, because rifles already do a lot of damage, but you can pick this one if you don't see anything else that's a priority.

Don't bother with the stimpack reinforcing one, as you'll gain most health back due to food.  Lifegiver isn't usually needed - you can back out of combat, generally, if health becomes an issue.  If you aren't interested in settlement management, then the local leader perks aren't needed, but they can save you a lot of time by consolidating your junk storage across settlements.  I have never done anything with melee weapons or the blacksmith perk, because Gen Cho's Revenge works just fine without any of that stuff.

When you qualify, the swimming perk is very useful.  Also useful is the scrounger perk, though you don't get much high-level ammo.  I found Science! more useful for advanced kinetic weapons mods than energy weapons, because the latter use ammo that is too rare to use every day.

Anyway, that's about how I build.  I do use settlements a lot, so I go for local leader pretty early.

[Monoriu]

Thanks for the replies.  I don't sneak.  I just confront each enemy head-on.  So I want the hp and ap bonuses.  But I agree that I rely on stimpacks too much, and need to conserve them.  Most food have radiation though, so I don't quite understand how I can get back most of my health through food.  My latest strategy is to use beds a lot more. 

Ammunition is a big concern.  They are hard to find and expensive.  Very often I sell a whole bunch of junk and raider armour just to get a few bullets back.  That forces me to use the .308 type guns, which don't do a lot of damage per hit.  At one point I had like 1,500 .308 bullets, but after a few operations I am now down to 600 

[MadBurgerMaker]

You can cook food to gain health without rads. 

[11B4V]

Thanks for the replies.  I don't sneak.  I just confront each enemy head-on.  So I want the hp and ap bonuses.  But I agree that I rely on stimpacks too much, and need to conserve them.  Most food have radiation though, so I don't quite understand how I can get back most of my health through food.  My latest strategy is to use beds a lot more. 

Ammunition is a big concern.  They are hard to find and expensive.  Very often I sell a whole bunch of junk and raider armour just to get a few bullets back.  That forces me to use the .308 type guns, which don't do a lot of damage per hit.  At one point I had like 1,500 .308 bullets, but after a few operations I am now down to 600 

There are some great food recipes that restore a lot of health.

Oh and I sneak everywhere unless in a safe zone.

[Monoriu]

You can cook food to gain health without rads.

How come I didn't realise this earlier?   

Thanks.