Fallout 4 Ironman aka permadeath (or Bronzeman option for the less foolhardy)

[henrywiddas]

Welcome to my guide to playing Fallout 4 in a way that will give you an experience similar to what surviving in a post-nuclear Boston would be really like.

Just follow these simple steps and you will become one with the Wasteland (can I still call it that if it's the Commonwealth?).

Step 1: Boost difficulty to Survival Mode - download beta now that it's available :)

Step 2: Do allow yourself the use of VATS and companions

Step 3: When it gets dark find somewhere to sleep for a few hours and don't stop looking until you find somewhere

Step 4: Eat and drink at least twice a day, don't allow yourself VATS if you can't do this

Step 5: Never use the map on the Pipboy (that means no fast travelling too)

Step 6: Turn off the aiming cursor IGNORE THIS STEP - see below. (That is unless you are an insanely good shooter)

Step 7 (OPTIONAL - I'VE STOPPED USING THIS MYSELF): Listen to the Classical Radio station when in Stealth Mode (also see Step 17 for a different option)

Step 8: If you die, then that's it, you have to restart the game from the beginning (see Step 13 for an adjustment to this step for Bronzeman that makes life a little easier)

Step 9: Only ever use your latest save file, no returning to earlier saves

Step 10: Pick a person you know (possibly yourself) to play as and when choosing their SPECIAL skills make them what you think they would actually be - no min/maxing

If you follow these simple rules I can guarantee you will feel the Fallout vibe more than most.

The only other thing to do is let me know how you get on in this discussion if using this method.

I'll be updating my own progress as well, so far I've just made it to Level 2 with my first character so I'm pretty sure this method is do-able...

UPDATE: By the way, an update to my method that I forgot to mention is....

Step 11: The player should go in blind, no looking at forums/youtube/walkthroughs etc for tips

UPDATE 2: Having died four times now in very early game, I've decided to alter my method to make it a little easier, do NOT turn of the aiming cursor, it makes aiming too hard lol

Also I'm going to add another Step I forgot to mention:

Step 12: Disable the floating flag that shows you where to go in the next quest in Display Options PLUS Do not pick the VANS perk that shows you where to go quest-wise in VATS. And finally, never have a quest "enabled" in the Data section on your Pipboy as that will tell you where to go on the compass I think.

UPDATE 3: Having just died stupidly, falling off a tree I'm thinking allowing myself a life for every time I level up may be a better way to work this ironman, by dumbing it down to 'bronzeman'.

Step 13: Award yourself a "life" for every time you level up but if you run out of these lives you have to consider that playthrough over and must restart. i.e if you die at level 1 that's it, if you make it to level 2 before dying then you can afford to die once before progressing to level 3. And so forth. ie. Get to level 4 without dying and you have 3 spare lives.

UPDATE 4: Having thought about it I'm going to stick with Ironman over Bronzeman as the adrenalin kicks from the former are greater :)

Step 14: Download the "No enemies or locations on compass" mod, it really adds to the immersion and the feeling of being completely lost near a massive motorway underpass in heavy rain at night with Boomers on your right and killer robots on your left can't be beaten.

Step 15: Download the "Darker nights" mod and use the darkest settings, having to use your pip boy light at night makes things so much more spooky than the vanilla game in which night barely gets any darker.

Step 16: Download the "True storms" mod for much heavier rain, beefed up storms and heavier fog. Really makes the world seem much more intimidating, as do the two mods above.

Step 17 (optional): Not law friendly this one, but another mod "Retro Radio for Classical Radio" - switches the classical radio for 80s-esque future synth tracks - Tihs should only ever be tuned in when ready to do battle with a melee weapon or when wearing the power armour.

Step 18: Since it's not enforced ironman mode it is acceptable to revert back to a recent autosave if the death was caused by a bug (i.e. grenade thrown by the player hitting an invisible wall that kills the player instantly), even if doing a permadeath run. otherwise a PC would likely get thrown at a wall in frustration.

Step 19 (optional): To add realism, consider using a self-imposed weapon encumberance:
#1) 1 Pistol for use as a side arm (as if in a holster)
#2) Up to 2 Primary weapons (as if you are carrying them via a rifle sling)
#3) 1 Melee weapon (as if you have it holstered on your person)
For scavenging I'm going to allow myself to carry other weapons but only use those 4 named above for a battle - of course the selected 4 can be changed back at a settlement base - maybe rename the wepons you are going to use for battle to avoid confusion about which can be used i.e. name them John, Paul, George and Ringo.
(This Step 19 is courtesy of an idea raised by SmokeMcCloud)

and finally...

well two things, my favourite new mod is: Fallout 4 Enhanced Color Correction - F4ECC - 1.2 (make sure it's version 1.2, the less dark option)

and then all you need to do to beat the game is simple...

1.) scan ahead for landmines (those lunchbox mines sting a little...) do this by going into VATS - it will flag up nearby explosives.

2.) plan every battle so you are CERTAIN you will win. that means SCOUTING if in unfamiliar territory. no thinking "i'm 90% ok, maybe this massive mosquito isn't legendary" or "i'm a tough guy, no need for power armour, walking through this abondoned town...hey...is that a nuke flying towards me?". getting caught by surprise or underestimating the enemy means death a lot of the time in my personal experience

[Shahadem]

Originally posted by Voltron Zero:

For the complete Tony Stark experience start the game with 10 INT, 10 CHA, 3 STR. Proceed to upgrade your Power Armor building skills and crafting and ALWAYS select the Sarcastic reply no matter what.

Except Tony's Iron Man suit doesn't run out of juice after just 5 minutes. His power core gives him at least several weeks worth of power. Plus Tony BUILT his power core and armor, in a cave, FROM A BOX OF SCRAPS!

Also his Iron Man suit is nearly indestructible, even against a tank and even when getting hit by a jet at super sonic speeds whereas your power armor breaks away after just a few low caliber bullets.

But you can't build either from scraps and the fusion cores you do find last all of 5 minutes. So this needs mods to make it a more immersive story.

[Fiddlersreach]

Henry,
I salute you not just for a very interesting concept, but the fortitude for sticking with it for a month.
I am a terrible shot, the insides of barns feel safe when I am shooting :).
Even on normal I have died several times, especially to legendaires, and the worse are the Damm Stingwings!!! They zip arround and I empty my inventory of ammo before dying.

Keep sharing your updates please.
Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays to you, and All here.
Fidd

[henrywiddas]

@Shahadem That is the funniest thing I've read on the Fallout forums in ages, and the funniness comes from the absolute truth of it lol

I was running around in my power armour and noticed the juice was going down at triple speed and even walking from red rocket garage to the Abernathy farm knocks off 5% power.

As a result I've tried to fight my battles without power armour and have ended up dead.

@Fiddlersreach Thanks for the support, I'll keep on trucking with this method, as still enjoying it. I know what you mean about the stingwings, I've been slaughtered by those a few times.

++

In regard to my latest character who has now died twice, I feel I'm not being true to myself if I continue with them so will be restarting afresh. As I delete my save files there will be a tear in my eye but I must stay true to the way of Tony Stark

[Deagle]

Oh Look it's another ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ British guy who has t boost his ego by playing games using these pseudo challenges.

[chris.boney]

Originally posted by Joeman:

Oh Look it's another ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ British guy who has t boost his ego by playing games using these pseudo challenges.

first of all,, nationality has nothing to do with it..
and most of all,, when youve played games all your life,, and your older than all of the rugrats put together,, And,, you have a pc and a game thats like a box of lego,, like FO4,, "pseudo" challenges is where the challenge is at.
its just most of us dont post threads about it.

this post was ok. nothing wrong with it..

[chris.boney]

@ OP -

not sure if the storms mod edits storm damage. i dont think it does.
check out the "Deadly Radstorms" mod and put the whole of the map into a perpetual nuclear rad storm. for anything upto 100 rads damage per lightning strike. (without a hazmat suit).
so carrying a hazmat suit is kind of compulsory, (your gonna die without 1) if you not gonna use any anti rad skills.

the whole map in a 24-7 radstorm?? man,, epic..
im getting nausious freak-out frights like its,, almost,, stalker times once again..
makes the map feel a little closer to post nuclear detonation. a little earlier than 200+ years later.
maybe 100? 125?.

Epic.

[chris.boney]

another "psuedo" challenge mod -

Survival Enemy Damage mod.
and Player Damage mod.

basically increase the damage that enemies do on survival mode.
and either keep your damage settings normal, or decrease the power of your guns.

mods defenately make the game more interesting.
im a great fan of making single player games "personal".

nj op.

[henrywiddas]

permanent rad storms sounds amazing lol

probably the feature i'm enjoying the most at the moment is not using the map and disabling the locations on the compass, the feeling of being lost in this bad azz wilderness is priceless, especially when i was running away from a power armour-suited raider in the pitch dark and with some unknown animal chasing me too

not sure i have stomach for making enemies more powerful than they are in survival mode but may do on a second playthrough if i ever get that far

also i can't recommend the "Retro Radio for Classical Radio" mod enough, it really changes the whole vibe of the game in a good way but maybe only tune in when wearing power armour.

i imagine the 80s retro new-age synth music will go well with radstorms lol

[bukkie661]

Originally posted by henrywiddas:

permanent rad storms sounds amazing lol

probably the feature i'm enjoying the most at the moment is not using the map and disabling the locations on the compass, the feeling of being lost in this bad azz wilderness is priceless, especially when i was running away from a power armour-suited raider in the pitch dark and with some unknown animal chasing me too

not sure i have stomach for making enemies more powerful than they are in survival mode but may do on a second playthrough if i ever get that far

also i can't recommend the "Retro Radio for Classical Radio" mod enough, it really changes the whole vibe of the game in a good way but maybe only tune in when wearing power armour.

i imagine the 80s retro new-age synth music will go well with radstorms lol

Yep. I recommend 'Flog of Seagulls' and other depressing suicide-bands of the 80's brittish music-scene.

[bukkie661]

Originally posted by Jinkaru:

You are either:

1) Playing way too much Pillars of Eternity.

2) Autistic to near dangerous levels.

3) Extemly bored.

4) Excessivly nerdy.

5) (and most likely) All of the above.

Weird, I just see a guy enjoying his game his way. Admittedly, Henry is getting more mileage out of FO4 than most people here.

[henrywiddas]

I like the idea of being excessively nerdy but i'm not that cool or intelligent, i'm just addicted to Ironman as it makes everything more intense gaming-wise

my next project will be to play the three witchers back to back with one save file so if i die in the end boss battle of witcher 3 i'll have to restart witcher 1

now that would be a laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaugh :)

[bukkie661]

Originally posted by henrywiddas:

I like the idea of being excessively nerdy but i'm not that cool or intelligent, i'm just addicted to Ironman as it makes everything more intense gaming-wise

my next project will be to play the three witchers back to back with one save file so if i die in the end boss battle of witcher 3 i'll have to restart witcher 1

now that would be a laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaugh :)

I did that with Mass Effect... Oh Commander Hellouise Shepard, how I miss you! ^^

[henrywiddas]

It is done, I've wiped my level 9 character Claire (who died twice - death by legendary and death by grenade bouquet) and am starting afresh with Tora (she has lovely ginger hair and is a tad overweight. Hopefully her feisty attitude and charming nature will see her break the level 10 barrier!)

I've started her with 4 in all special stats so a bit of a blank canvas to build my new character.

Let the wasteland wasting commence!

Salty comments welcome but I'm especially interested in hearing from other ironman enthusiasts, I don't want to be the only nutcase doing this

[McCloud]

Still rockin it Henry! Keep up the great posts about your adventures.

[henrywiddas]

GEMMA: LEVEL 2

got to the rocket garage last night and was edging close to level 2 and thought killing those mole rats that appear out of the ground in the forecourt there would level me up.

unfortunately they must have sensed i was ready with my 10mm handgun and decided to stay below ground. weird that as on all my previous playthroughs about 5 of them come up to greet me after i befriend dogmeat...

i levelled up instead by cooking up some tasty grilled radroach and chose the lone wanderer perk although at some point my character, Gemma, hopes to start a relationship with her robot butler :)