To max or not to max, that is the question (Manually maxing skills)

[-$ilver-]

I am speaking of the base game, no DLCs and no mods. So I am trying to make my lock picking skill be as high as possible, as quickly as possible. But a few things are worrying me now... I am close to it, say about at 80 now (65 I think if I roll back a save...) and I assume you can only take it to 100 max anyway. Magazines give you +10 to the skill temporarily on their own and then if you get the Comprehension perk you gain an additional +20 temporarily and when reading books you get 4 skill points added to a specific skill instead of the regular 3.

So in the long run, provided I do find all these books and magazines, when it is all said and done I really do not need to raise my skills any higher than say 80 (Or even 65), correct? Provided I have the Comprehension perk and or skill magazines I will always be able to open high level locks with a lock picking skill of only 80. And even if I can find the books, those extra three to four points in the lock picking skill will get me to 100 anyway, right, at least from 84?

Or am I understanding it wrong? The way the wiki describes it, you can not max everything out, but close to it without the DLCs and extra skill points to spend. I am only several levels in and I feel otherwise, or at least to any of the skills I really care about anyway. And again this is only if I can find them all and I wont be cheating to do so. I just want to make sure I am understanding this right and I do not put too many points into something I can otherwise max out anyway and waste either those precious leveling points or those extra freebie book points.

Doing some calculations since at least for Tumblers Today there are seven books, with Comprehension perk that would be an additional 28 points free so I should not cap my points manually past 72 correct? 72+28=100 Thank you. ^^!

[Fumo Bnnuy n Frends]

certain things like lockpick and science you can pretty much cap at lvl 80 and leave it be

others like weapons and sneak you WANNA cap at lvl 100


sure you can leave at lvl 80 and use magazines but what's the point lol. You actually use sneak/guns/explosives more if you have a setup for that.


Theres also ways to inc. them as well:
-things like science, survival, and repair you can get skillbooks and inc. 4 every book, about 12 free pts since i think theres 3 of each book type in the base game (no DLC)
-you can actually inc. them with clothing. Things like follower's labcoat give a +10 medicine and science boost. Pretty sure not for lockpick but others
-consumables like party time mentats and absentine can give extra perception or intelligence buffs which would further inc. the skills (although if you got the 10 max intelligence then it doesn't help, but it would on perception bonuses).

[-$ilver-]

I guess when it is all said and done, if you found all books for lock picking and were getting the +4 to put towards the skill I guess combined with the magazines of +20 temp, you would really only need to get it to 52, as Comprehend will give you +20 temp to lock picking and the 4 extra points per book, which there are a total of seven in the game. 52 manually put into lock picking, plus 28 extra points for all books, plus +20 temp a magazine equals 100. But that is over thinking and assuming you will find it all and play a perfect game, in the mean time there are probably locks you need to unlock to get some good stuff, but then again maybe not. Wasted points makes baby Jesus cry.

[Bomb Bloke]

Remember that SPECIAL matters - boosting your stats also boosts your relevant skills. If you bring Lockpicking to 80 and then later raise Perception, you'll overshoot.

Likewise, wearing SPECIAL-boosting clothing such as a hat may make you think you have more Lockpicking points than you actually have. Whether that matters depends on whether you ever want to take the hat off.

And by all means use drugs (such as mentats) alongside your magazines. Doctors can completely cure you of addiction at any time, and the cost in caps is quite minimal.