Planned Builds

[dwaynegand]

I've got four builds planned for Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition. There are two versions for each build, one that plans to get Almost Perfect, and one that doesn't. The builds are:

Critical Full Frontal Assault - attacks out of stealth maxing chance of critical hits
Assassin - attacks in stealth
Low Critical Full Frontal Assault - focuses on high damage per second weapons
Pyromaniac - same, but uses weapons affected by Pyromaniac

Due to the near lack of perks that benefit certain combat skills (there are much more in New Vegas), it's possible to make a jack of all trades character that can make use of all skills. And due to getting a perk every level, you can get more perks than you actually need. All builds use both melee and ranged combat. All builds get the following perks:

Bloody Mess - more damage
Strong Back - more carry weight
Toughness - increased damage resistance
Cyborg - same as Toughness, but also bonus to resistance and Energy Weapons skill
Iron Fist (3) - increased unarmed damage
Demolition Expert (3) - increased damage with grenades
Quantum Chemist - allows unlimited number of Nuka Grenades to be constructed
Comprehension - more skill points from reading books
Robotics Expert - really helpful during Who Dares Wins
Paralyzing Palm - best used for Reavers, Overlords, and Albino Scorpions

The first two builds make use of V.A.T.S much more than the last two, so they'll also get:

Action Boy/Girl - more action points
Nerves of Steel -actions points regenerate faster
Grim Reaper's Sprint - all action points replenished from a kill in V.A.T.S

There's also Sniper, Gunslinger, Commando, and Concentrated Fire, but I think those perks are better in New Vegas due to the Fast Shot Trait. Here, I think they can be ignored as all you need to do is get closer or use manual aim.

The Critical Full Frontal Assault build gets Finesse for increased critical chance. The Asssassin gets Silent Running for increased sneaking ability. Both builds also get Ninja for increased critical chance and sneak attack damage with melee or unarmed. The Pyromaniac gets Pyromaniac for increased damage to fire weapons. Obviously, those who wish to be perfect get Almost Perfect.

All builds use a melee weapon to save ammo against weaker foes, an unarmed weapon to apply Paralyzing Palm, grenades for deal with crowds of enemies gathered together, and several other guns.

This is how I plan to set my stats for each:

Strength - 3 or 4 for either build focusing on criticals, 7 or 8 for non-critical builds, even those planning to take Almost Perfect. 5 is needed for Strong Back. 3 if planning to get the bobblehead and Ant Might. If going critical and planning to get Almost Perfect, set to 5, 4 if planning to detonate the bomb in Megaton.

Perception - 4 or 5 for either critical build, 4 for all low critical builds, even those planning to get Almost Perfect, since you won't be getting the critical perks such as Better Criticals which you need 6 for, even when you get the bobblehead. 4 is for those getting the bobblehead and Ant Sight. 5 or 6 for critical builds who plan to get Almost Perfect, 5 is for if you choose to get Ant Sight, otherwise start with 6.

Endurance - 4 or 5 for critical builds, 7 for low critical builds, even those planning to get Almost Perfect. 5 together with the strength requirement above for Strong Back. 5 or 6 for critical builds who wish to get Almost Perfect.

Charisma - All leftover points go here.

Intelligence - minimum of 4 for Comprehension (and Educated). You can start with 9 for more skill points if you want an easier time maxing all your skills or if you want to get Almost Perfect.

Agility - 6 for critical builds, 6 is needed for action boy, 7 for Nerves of Steel which you can get after getting the bobblehead. 4 for low critical builds because V.A.T.S isn't as important for them. Critical builds who choose to get Almost Perfect need to start with 7.

Luck - 5 or 6, 6 for better criticals which is mandatory for critical builds, 4 for low critical builds. Obviously, critical full frontal assault builds will want to max it by the end of the game with equipment and the bobblehead for the highest chance to land critical hits. For those who don't wish to get Almost Perfect, you'll need an initial score of 7, then acquire the Lucky 8 ball, the bobblehead, and wear Ranger Battle Armor for another point of luck. Why start with 7 instead of 6? You can't wear Lucky Shades together with the Ledoux Hockey Mask. Otherwise, start with 6 if planning to get Almost Perfect. Low critical builds planning to get Almost Perfect can start with 5. And remember that if you install the unofficial patch, you can no longer use the Lucky 8 ball to qualify for perks.

Endurance and Strength have to be higher for the low critical build to make the tough responses during Wasteland Survival Guide to get the damage resistance bonus from getting the survival guru bonus. Ant Might is more important for this build. The other builds can get either Ant Might or Ant Sight depending on their Strength, Perception, or if they plan to detonate the bomb in Megaton.

I've also listed the best armor and weapons for each build in my notes and how much to set each S.P.E.C.I.A.L stat.

I could use some feedback on what looks right so far or what I should change.

[dwaynegand]

I've got two more ways to make each build. So for each, there are four:

-without VATS or Almost Perfect
-VATS without Almost Perfect
-Almost Perfect without VATS
-Almost Perfect with VATS

All builds will also get Silent Running to increase sneaking ability due to the fact that you do not want to alert your enemies to your presence. In previous playthroughs, this resulted in you taking a lot of damage. Both the Critical Full Frontal Assault and Assassin get Finesse as there are times when the Assassin will also need to attack out of stealth. While the Full Frontal Assault build also benefits from sneak attack criticals, the Assassin will be unmatched in sneak attack kills due to wearing Chinese Stealth Armor. The Full Frontal Assault build will not be able to do this do to limited number of stealth boys and the armour choices depending on whether or not you use VATS or get Almost Perfect.

Due to difficulty I had in past playthroughs with critical builds, all builds will include the use of a Gatling Laser to deal with the toughest opposition, including Feral Reavers, Super Mutant Overlords, Behemoths, etc.