Importance of Crafting and Repair?

[Pinky]

Just started and got to the tutorial for crafting (the campfire bit). It seems ... uninspired. So, I was wonderig how important is it and repairing for playing the game. (Non-hardcore mode).

What other options are there to get ammo, stimpacks, food etc.? I'm assuming one option is shops, but are they few and far between, or all over the place? Or does looting provide more than enough ammo as an alternative?

There is just sooo much stuff in the wasteland, and the medicinal plants, hardly stand out. Seperating the good stuff from the junk just seems like a lot of hassle. I'm hoping to avoid the mindset that turns New Vegas into an inventory management game - or a find the rare plant game. Can it be done? - easily?

[Todd Howard]

I can honestly say I have never crafted a single thing ever in all of New Vegas except for the tutorial.

[shibewrath]

I personally, enjoy gathering things and crafting items, but its really easy just to use shops and looting. The only exception to that is making ammo. Breaking down one ammo type to make another is actually real neat. And killing enemies with Coin Shot is one of the most satisfying things you can do in that game. But really, shops and looting work fine. Having a variety of guns that take different types of ammo also comes in handy.

[Pinky]

__ ,That's good news.

Oddly, I don't mind a 'live off the land' crafting-survival game (I Played a lot of 'Don't Starve'), but a story questing FPS ... just doesn't seem like a good mix with it.

[shibewrath]

Originally posted by Pinky:

but a story questing FPS ... just doesn't seem like a good mix with it.

I like the live of the land stuff, because it fits with the setting. It's a post-apoc game after all, and making stuff like Healing Powder from plants that you scavenged for just seems to fit the setting well. As in terms of actual gameplay, it doesn't really help you.

[Kaiser]

Crafting ammo helps a lot as you can get a lot of it early on that way.

[Vassago Rain]

If you have high repair and survival, you don't need to visit shops a lot. There's lots of items and ammo types that you simply can't buy, ever, and can only be obtained through crafting.

Crafting is a very strong tool in this game, but not necessary.

[Pinky]

Hmmm, Maybe I'll look into enough crafting to keep myself stocked in my favorite ammo. as long as all I have to collect is other ammunition.

That will hopefully allow me to develop a character with a signature weapon. Like a gunslinger with a pair of six-shooters, or a stealthy sniper, or a armor clad heavy with a shotgun or minigun.

Plus it will allow me to get rid of the arsenal in my backpack, without replacing it with a greenhouse full of herbs and plants.

[shibewrath]

ED-E is a useful companion for crafting, once you reach certain story points.

[red255]

Originally posted by Pinky:

What other options are there to get ammo, stimpacks, food etc.?

Ammo wise, theres plenty of ammo, you just have your Hand Load or OverCharged energy rounds that are BETTER.

The Max charge rounds cut thru armor and the JHP rounds cut thru unarmored targets alot better. But you'll get plenty of ammo without crafting, its just GOOD ammo from crafting.

Stimpacks? I don't particuarly craft stimpacks, I did the healing poultices. if you want stimpacks do dead money, you get 1100 or so chips a day. a stimpack is 20 chips. 55 stimpacks a day. YAY.

Food. There are some decent heal-y items but I guess if I wasn't bored its not really that useful. The Big horn steak gives +3 strength with 100 outdoorsmen, so I kinda like having those around because you just chew on them and they carry themselves.

Theres some items you can use to repair your limbs but if you aren't hardcore you got those stimpack things.

Not sure why you are playing if you aren't on hardcore. you basically have infinite HP as long as you have stimpacks. only way to manage not hardcore mode I guess is to never use shops.

[Vassago Rain]

Originally posted by Pinky:

Hmmm, Maybe I'll look into enough crafting to keep myself stocked in my favorite ammo. as long as all I have to collect is other ammunition.

That will hopefully allow me to develop a character with a signature weapon. Like a gunslinger with a pair of six-shooters, or a stealthy sniper, or a armor clad heavy with a shotgun or minigun.

Plus it will allow me to get rid of the arsenal in my backpack, without replacing it with a greenhouse full of herbs and plants.

Repair lets you break down ammunition at reloading benches. You'll get lead, primers, brass, and powder, which you can then recycle to make other types of ammo. So you break down 10mm bullets so you can reload your .44 revolver brass with the 10mm's lead, large pistol primer, and pistol powder.

There's a very large selection of specific perks that let you be better at crafting X, Y, Z, Q, and possibly V.

Survival lets you turn flora and fauna into useful items. Merely having points in science grants you the ability to manipulate and recycle energy ammo.

[WHIPperSNAPper]

Is there a way to repair weapons other than holding the weapon and consuming a Repair Kit (which I can't seem to find at merchants anywhere)? Is there any way to repair armor? Or is the only way to repair that stuff to find a repairman with a Repair skill? If NPCs can repair weapons and armor with their Repair skill but you can't, then what good is the Repair skill (and why did I waste skill points on Repair)?

[Docsprock]

Repair is very important. Find a similar/same weapon or armor to repair your own. Repair kits can be made, and carried until needed. Extra armor and weapons are just unrefined repair kits.

[Todd Howard]

Originally posted by WHIPperSNAPper:

Is there a way to repair weapons other than holding the weapon and consuming a Repair Kit (which I can't seem to find at merchants anywhere)? Is there any way to repair armor? Or is the only way to repair that stuff to find a repairman with a Repair skill? If NPCs can repair weapons and armor with their Repair skill but you can't, then what good is the Repair skill (and why did I waste skill points on Repair)?

You can repair items with more of the same items. Also, it helps you pass speech checks, and lets you get certain perks, like Jury Rigging, which lets you repair somewhat similar items instead of only with the same item.

[kellyfoll]

Crafting is awesome. Helps a lot with those pesky meats which often detract from your strength and agility unless you go to a campfire and make them into steaks... almost makes me want a nice juicy gecko steak LOL. Just need some A1 sauce to go with. Maybe call it A-bomb-1 sauce or something heh. Plants weigh hardly anything and can always be sold if you get too much. Although a lot of the plants needed to make vital resources such as the Xander Root are rare and usually located near the den of some dangerous critter. But to me that increases the realism of the scenario where everything you do is dangerous and survival depends on being as resourceful as possible.

As for crafting ammo, I've noticed that when using a workbench to recraft energy ammo such as Microfusion Cells seems to not work as expected. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but it seems like I end up with a lot less ammo than I thought I'd crafted. Or maybe it just gets used up quicker than ordinary ammo. (I almost always use Plasma Pistol GRA or YCS)

I also wish there was the ability to craft trophies from any kill, including human enemies. Anyone know if there's a mod for that? Imagine a room filled with mounted heads of Legions, Nightkin, deathclaws, etc. I tend to collect "specimens." My room at Novac and also in the NCR safehouse are like freakin' museums. It would be awesome to be able to hang them on the walls.

[Vassago Rain]

Changing energy ammo types consumes X units to generate Y units.