Illness in Survival Mode

[dxmc]

I spent over 200 hours playing the normal game and now, for a second playthrough. I thought I'd try survival mode but I'm really having problems with this. In 16 hours I've accomplished almost nothing, just getting Garvey set up in Sanctuary, one minor settlement quest, and I've gotten to Diamond City.

The main problem is that I seem to get ill or infected constantly, and antibiotics are few and far between. So I just seem to be stuck in an endless loop. I get cured by the doctor, set out to try some quest, but just get infected or ill again within minutes and have to return to Diamond City to get cured again. I get that it's supposed to be realistic but the way thev'e designed it it's just punishing, not challenging.

Does anyone have any good tips on how to deal with constant illness ? I can deal with the combat, although it's extremely unbalanced, but the illness/infection mechanic is just making this unplayable.

[The Ans51]

At the beginning of the game it is very annoying but when you pick some perks and gain levels it get easier.

You just have to avoid any face to face combat with ghouls and molerats ect. because they spread illness or try to sleep as much as possible on beds because sleeping bags and mattresses can cause parasites ect... Also try to cook your food and water before eating it and buy or craft Herbal stimulant, Herbal antimicrobial, Herbal anodyne because those boost your immune system so you don't get sick so easily.

[dxmc]

Yeah, I think if I get that perk that lets you craft antibiotics this would be a lot easier. I picked up a few points in the lead belly perk, which seemed to help. But you really need a different set of perks than in the regular game, I didn't really think of that at first.

[showler]

Build the radiation cleansing arch.

Sleep in your own bed under shelter.

[Hobo Misanthropus]

Make sure you're fed before sleeping, END Influences your resistance to illnesses.

Certain Illnesses aren't really worth curing, and auto-resolve on their own. The ones you should definitely cure ASAP early game are:

Weakness (20% Additional Damage taken)

Infection (Damage over Time, 20HP per game hour I think?)

Fatigue (Induces rapid tiredness which can compound in debilitating effects)

Other diseases like Insomnia, Lethargy, parasites aren't really that big a deal. All illnesses aside from Parasites will heal themselves after about 1 week in game time, unless you have < 3 END.

[smnsechler]

Putting points in endurance helps. And the well rested perk gives you a bonus to endurance so that helps as well. Animals, bugs and ghouls were mentioned as carriers but I've also got ill from being in water. Try to avoid contact with those as mentioned above.

[Hobo Misanthropus]

Originally posted by smnsechler:

Putting points in endurance helps. And the well rested perk gives you a bonus to endurance so that helps as well. Animals, bugs and ghouls were mentioned as carriers but I've also got ill from being in water. Try to avoid contact with those as mentioned above.

"Expsoure" can cause illness too, this includes any and all radiation sources, as well as RAIN.

[dxmc]

Thanks everyone, appreciate the tips.

[Murissokah]

Originally posted by Hobo Misanthropus:

Make sure you're fed before sleeping, END Influences your resistance to illnesses.

Do you have a source for this? Because assumed that would be the case but it didn't seem to make a difference. I then went googling and everything I read so far says END does nothing against diseases. My experience so far seems to confirm this, as I've been raising my END from 5 to 9 and if a Ghoul looks at me funny I'm diseased.

[The Inept European]

Yes END is at most a minor factor that can be ignored. It might be in the Wellness calculation, I don't remember, I would have to check the script.

It's perfectly possible to avoid disease almost entirely just through behaviour.

Get plenty of sleep. Eat and hydrate before you sleep. Stay out of the rain. Don't swim. Don't let critters mêlée you. Avoid using chems. Eat only cooked food you made yourself.

If you do those things you will be fine. It's mainly about adapting your behaviour away from habits you learned in non-Survival. Which is generally true of Survival, across-the-board, not just in relation to avoiding diseases.

If you get a disease you can just ride it out. Stockpile clean food and water ahead of time. Have a water pump near to your bed. Sleep 24 hours a day until the disease is gone. Even Infection won't kill you.

[The Inept European]

Yeah I don't think there's much effect from END at all. Possibly an indirect effect via the amount of max HP you have. Possibly not at all.

If you want a long read, here's all my research on Disease from last year.

https://steamcommunity.com/app/377160/discussions/0/1639787494957824281/

[The Inept European]

Here are two wiki links. I have tried to fix most of the bad information in them. But it may have been edited since then.

https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/Survival_mode

https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/Condition#Illness

[The Inept European]

Ok actually I can see two ways in which END could help, reasonably directly. Not in your chances of getting a disease, but in how dangerous some diseases are after you have contracted them.

The Weakness disease causes you to take more % damage, and the Infection disease causes fixed HP damage at intervals. So higher END, giving higher HP, will make these diseases more survivable, particularly Infection which is definitely the most dangerous disease.

[Murissokah]

Thanks for the research, this confirms my personal experience.

I had mistakenly expected, as others might have, that END would factor into how likely you are to get sick or how long diseases would affect you. It does none of those things.

The indirect effects of END are mixed, in my opinion. Infection will be less threatening as it is a flat damage source, but weakness will hurt you more as you have more to lose from the increased damage (amplifying damage is like reducing your HP in a % basis).

It sucks in a special way if you are making a melee character because you will get diseased a lot. Doesn't help that through perks you can become resistant to shots to the face and eat radiation for health but you can't avoid diseases, wish there was a mod for that. I was going for a hulking barbarian but it feels more like hypocondriac body builder with all those antibiotics and remedies.

[danconnors]

I always try for a reasonably high endurance. Mainly because I am able to travel faster. I always play survival, and I swim most of the way to most destinations--to reduce the amount of fighting I have to do. If I am swimming naturally I want to swim as fast as I can, so early on I get the swimming perk--+25 percent swimming speed. The high endurance increases the length of time I can fast swim, and reduces the length of time it takes me to regain my endurance.

Plus the endurance gives you access to health benefits like adamintium bones, so you can increase your carrying capacity by not having to strengthen your leg armor--another health benefit. I automatically do all this without even thinking about it now--one reason the game's become so boring. I'm trying to put some hours in other games lately so, hopefully, I'll forget all this; the game will become harder; and it'll be more interesting.

[The Inept European]

Originally posted by Murissokah:

Thanks for the research, this confirms my personal experience.

You're very welcome.

I agree the role of END is counter intuitive. I think the SPECIAL video even says it helps with diseases, but it really doesn't. Not even via Perks.

It does help directly in Fallout 76, reducing disease probability.

I hadn't thought about the melee issue but you are right. Melee characters are going to get bit and there's no compensating Perk. Though you can see that if there was such a Perk it would be a Survival only Perk, unless it had other affects in vanilla.

Carry lots of chems I guess. A legendary armour effect (disease resistance or immunity) would have been nice. Even PA doesn't reduce your chance of infection from a bite. Even if you sustain zero damage, I believe.