Pure dmg unarmed or melee

[Malmsteen]

Hello, my fellow couriers.

All the time I've spent on Fallout (new vegas) I've always used guns. Now I'm trying to go for something new, fresh: up close and personal combat.

so far I've only found builds that include criticals and sneak... anybody know any that are all out stable damage instead?

Edit: I only the dead money and honest heart DLCs

[Boss]

It depends on your difficulty (and if you're on hardcore) but you don't have to play sneaky with a pure unarmed build. You can find boxing tape inside Jean Skydiving (in a safe) and Spiked Knuckles inside the safe in the Vikki & Vance Casino in Primm (you get some karma loss though). Especially the spiked knuckles will be a great help in the beginning.

Strength has no effect on unarmed damage but some perks that require a certain Strength skill are really useful. You definitely want Stonewall and Super Slam so make sure your Strength is at least 6.
If you lower your Charisma to 1 then you can raise your Endurance to 9.

Get all the perks that raise your DT, use a hotkey for stimpacks and try not to eat too many bullets before you reach an enemy. It's definitely a fun way to play!

[Malmsteen]

Originally posted by Bas:

It depends on your difficulty (and if you're on hardcore) but you don't have to play sneaky with a pure unarmed build. You can find boxing tape inside Jean Skydiving (in a safe) and Spiked Knuckles inside the safe in the Vikki & Vance Casino in Primm (you get some karma loss though). Especially the spiked knuckles will be a great help in the beginning.

Strength has no effect on unarmed damage but some perks that require a certain Strength skill are really useful. You definitely want Stonewall and Super Slam so make sure your Strength is at least 6.
If you lower your Charisma to 1 then you can raise your Endurance to 9.

Get all the perks that raise your DT, use a hotkey for stimpacks and try not to eat too many bullets before you reach an enemy. It's definitely a fun way to play!

well so far I've been playing on very hard and hardcore, so I figure all efficient characters should be able to handle themselves on that difficulty... and what you said makes sense, but for unarmed should I invest in luck and vats? btw, thanks for the answer

[crex]

I've personally always been a fan of luck, but thanks to Heavy Handed a low-luck Unarmed or Melee character can do really well. Also if you're going Unarmed make sure to have 6 Agility, and increase it to 7 with an implant by level 24 - the Slayer perk will make you God-King of the Wasteland, especially with Super Slam.

Also, you should really think about getting GRA and OWB.

[Law]

Definitely get GRA.
http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Two-Step_Goodbye_(GRA)

In terms of builds, something like this? http://puu.sh/2aF8F (it's a screenshot) (edit: after reading the first post, I guess lower strength and put endurance up. I don't really play melee characters)

Endurance should be enough for implants (Subdermal, Regen, any stat ones you want). Although it doesn't really mean much because it isn't hard to mess up a New Vegas build.

Don't bother with "Very Hard" mode. It just turns things into bullet sponges. If you want actual difficulty try an overhaul like Project Nevada or jsawyer.esp.

[Malmsteen]

Originally posted by Kass:

I've personally always been a fan of luck, but thanks to Heavy Handed a low-luck Unarmed or Melee character can do really well. Also if you're going Unarmed make sure to have 6 Agility, and increase it to 7 with an implant by level 24 - the Slayer perk will make you God-King of the Wasteland, especially with Super Slam.

Also, you should really think about getting GRA and OWB.

yea I've been a great fan of luck as well, that's why I don't want to use it now: want to do something completly different. and yea I'll get the DLCs when the next discount season comes up. thanks!

[Malmsteen]

Originally posted by Special Agent Fox Mulder:

Definitely get GRA.
http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Two-Step_Goodbye_(GRA)

In terms of builds, something like this? http://puu.sh/2aF8F (it's a screenshot) (edit: after reading the first post, I guess lower strength and put endurance up. I don't really play melee characters)

Endurance should be enough for implants (Subdermal, Regen, any stat ones you want). Although it doesn't really mean much because it isn't hard to mess up a New Vegas build.

Don't bother with "Very Hard" mode. It just turns things into bullet sponges. If you want actual difficulty try an overhaul like Project Nevada or jsawyer.esp.

yea I might look into project nevada. thanks for your post, your link helped a lot!

[A New Player]

Try not using heavy armors and get the perk "Travel Light" which allows you to close distance without getting shot too much, also try making some rushing water, which I found to be very helpful when you need a quick boost.

[crex]

I think armour is more a personal choice than anything else. I personally use power armour so that I take as little damage as possible when closing the gap, and Legion Assault covers a decent amount of distance anyway. So yeah, any armour is a viable option really, depends on situation more than anything else.

[A New Player]

Originally posted by Kass:

I think armour is more a personal choice than anything else. I personally use power armour so that I take as little damage as possible when closing the gap, and Legion Assault covers a decent amount of distance anyway. So yeah, any armour is a viable option really, depends on situation more than anything else.

The way I see it is that the slower you are, the more hits you take, which makes DT not as important, especially when there are grenade rifles and such. Also Legion assualt seems to cover the same distance, but since for some reason fast weapons swing really slow for me, it actually slows me down.

[crex]

Well, no matter how many hits you take DT is gonna be important. I just find that when running towards my enemies in power armour I end up with a lot more health than with light armour.

[Malmsteen]

Originally posted by Kass:

Well, no matter how many hits you take DT is gonna be important. I just find that when running towards my enemies in power armour I end up with a lot more health than with light armour.

I agree, it's down to personal preference, but I'm going for power armor too, since I got owned fast with light armor on early game and I'm kinda enjoying the "brute force" style

[nightshift]

I was always a fan of unarmed combat, but most importantly to be fast. The combination of the two is often the best route and I'm glad this game follows that.
Do you need power armor? Hell no, it only slows you down. Does it look stupid on anyone besides an idiot with gatling laser? YES. Who cares about DT when you can be faster? Speed gives me a lot more comfort especially while sneaking (Silent Running is a must). Use light armor and perks like Travel Light and Tunnel Runner. Light Touch is welcome too. And it just feels a LOT better when I have a character who is DEDICATED to his chosen role (which in this case happens to be something like a desert ninja) than getting that slow and clunky power armor just because the DT which doesn't even means anything against Deathclaws. But especially if I loose one of the prime ability that defies my character. Which is to be fast. That is the thing I want to excel in over protection. And besides... with all those speed and perks while still having a fairly good DT + extra ability and/or skill points, light armor gives so much more than heavy.

But enough of that. I choose Logan's Loophole to gain maximum efficency with drugs like Psycho and Turbo. Perks further enchancing the lengh of these (like Chemist, Day Tripper and Fast Times) is great to have + I plan to take Implant GRX at lvl 30 to enjoy my free daily Turbo doses. With all that previously mentioned perk goodness, light armor and turbo, do you know how awesome my lightning fast unarmed char against crowds of enemies (especially with the Slayer perk)? I close distance in a moment and send people flying all around me. Of course I usually sneak attack as much as possible, especially against single targets.
My other Trait was Hot Blooded since that's perfect for unarmed characters since these combatants don't rely on either Perception or Agility but the extra damage bonus comes handy (Agility doesn't influence walking speed either). And just to maximize the efficency and fun factor of this trait, I combined it with 6 charisma (5 plus the implant of course) and added Ferocious Loyalty. My high Charisma gives Cass more defense and attack prowess while we are both high on whiskey and she recieves only half damage when the perk is active. It is much appreciated by her gunning at close distance with the Big Boomer and keeps her safe on Hardcore mode.
Or if you plan to play solo you can ditch Hot Blooded, can lower your Charisma too (not too much as I think it's cheap to go below 4 (with implants) on any stat. You can get another trait, like Wild Wasteland and take the perk Rad Child instead of Ferocious Loyalty. That of course cannot go among with Hot Blooded trait but with all the above (and like lvl 2 radiation sickness), it makes you literally unkillable.

So there you have it. My character with the right perks requires careful planning from lvl 1 to 30. First it was hard, since I had to choose tag skills like repair, had to get those implants early and spending my skill points really carefully, taking my perks in a strict sequence, but it was manageable and after all the fuss at the early levels, it totally worth it.

[Dosbilliam, Boring but Practical]

Or you could have just gone with an AMR, taken the enemy out from a distance, and not needed to put in all that effort.

[A New Player]

Originally posted by Dosbilliam (Big Friendly Egun):

Or you could have just gone with an AMR, taken the enemy out from a distance, and not needed to put in all that effort.

Using the AMR is like using cheat codes, it can practically 1-shot anything and requires no skill whatsoever, and just ruins all the fun of the game.

[Dosbilliam, Boring but Practical]

Originally posted by A New Player(Do not add):

Originally posted by Dosbilliam (Big Friendly Egun):

Or you could have just gone with an AMR, taken the enemy out from a distance, and not needed to put in all that effort.

Using the AMR is like using cheat codes, it can practically 1-shot anything and requires no skill whatsoever, and just ruins all the fun of the game.

Try manual aiming for a headshot against 3-5 Deathclaws. Even if they don't know you're there, they will after killing the first one.