Guns And Melee Build

[dwaynegand]

After playing through the game with multiple characters, I found ranged to be more effective and powerful than melee. Melee can be powerful, but the shorter range makes fighting certain enemies much more dangerous, even when you take cover and let them come to you.

So I've decided to try combining both styles in one character. This means taking both Bonus Rate of Fire and Bonus Hth Attacks, together with both Sniper and Slayer. I have done it before in the past in the first and second game. In the second game, due to the lower level cap, I've been unable to get Action Boy, as well as both ranks of Bonus Ranged Damage if making a burst-fire character. Back then, I didn't raise Sneak. Watching the training at the Brotherhood of Steel improves both Unarmed and Melee Weapons.

In the second game, due to the much higher level cap and the fact that certain npcs can train you in melee and unarmed, this seems to be a more viable option since I can get all the perks I need and then some. In previous playthroughs, as in the first game, I found certain encounters and battles to be much more difficult when going melee.

This results in a character that is much more versatile and can deal with any situation easily. Unarmed and Melee Weapons seem to be better off as secondary combat skills due to the shorter range and the fact that some of them don't even use ammo, making them good for ammo conservation purposes.

Has anyone else ever tried this type of character? Should I tag both Small Guns and Melee Weapons at the start? How high should I raise my combat skills if using targeted shots and if I'm not?

[tukkek]

I think my first playthrough might have been similar, starting with small-arms but then going melee once I had power-armor and the "nuclear" sledgehammer. Combat was pretty easy at that point, as far as I remember, and I wasn't even planning that or knew the game well.

(I probably kept my companions alive by save-scumming so that might have helped).

All in all, I wouldn't worry too much and I think any build will work fine, especially later on and doubly so if you have min-maxed it from the start like you are doing. Good luck!

[The Chosen Chad]

In my first playthrough, I liked the synergy my character had with a super sledge and a turbo plasma rifle.
The super sledge kept strong melee and centaurs far from me, and the Turbo Plasma Rifle just destroy anything on my way.

However, I doubt that this combo is any good to be frank in the first game, since you can just kill anything on sight and use a rocket launcher against swarms of dudes.
In Fallout 2, I found that the Haymaker is more viable and actually good with a guy who has Finesse and high luck since you can fairly consistently get crits with eye shots without the need for Sniper or Slayer at lower level. This synergize well with a sniper who has insane range and accuracy at long distance but can be quickly overwhelmed with guys swarming him. The Haymaker has high damage and 15% bonus crit chance, so a better alternative than carrying a Power Fist and its small energy cells.

[dwaynegand]

I just finished the game with a character using targeted blows. It worked out great. At the end of the game, I was fighting the toughest enemies from range while pounding weaker enemies or those who came too close to surround me with the Super Sledge. Of course, I could only raise Sneak up to 100%, Lockpick to 81% even when tagged, and Melee Weapons up to only 117% after putting in enough points into Unarmed to get Slayer. The Super Sledge in my opinion was better than the Power Fist for this character due to using Small Frame and having less carry weight, and Small Energy Cells take up more weight than .223 ammo for my .223 Pistol and Sniper Rifle, though not as much as Microfusion Cells for my Turbo Plasma Rifle.

[Gizmo]

By melee, you mean UNGA BUNGA?!!!!!!!!!! Oops. Wrong game.


Hahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!! Gods, I just HAD to throw that Dark Souls meme in there.

But, seriously. Ranged and Melee builds in Fallout 1 and 2 have the potential to make you OP as ♥♥♥♥ by the endgame. Though Sniper builds're probably better in the first game, whereas pistol and unarmed builds're better in Fallout 2.

[dwaynegand]

After several other attempts in the first game of making a hybrid character, I found that even with high intelligence, you don't have enough skill points to maximize the effectiveness of both ranged and melee combat to have 95% chance to hit the eyes with targeted attacks after raising other important skills such as Lockpick, Speech, and Sneak. So I've gone back to using only one style per build.

[Pilgrim of Darkness 💜]

You can use cover to wait for the enemies to come to you, then unleash a 6-hit combo with the Power Fist on their a$$es. And there's a perk that makes every punch critical. Unarmed = OP

[The Chosen Chad]

Only 6?
You are like a little baby hehe, Fast Shot + Bonus HtH Attacks = 1 AP per punch
Combine that with max strength and heavy handed and oh boy the 20 damage PER PUNCH.
Dont even need a crit, its overkill, and with the patched version you just need Bonus HtH Damage (2 ranks) and Action Boy (2 ranks) and you basically roll on EVRYTHING.

[dwaynegand]

But you can't make targeted hits, especially to the eyes. Single attack weapons just scream for targeted hits. Burst fire calls for Fast Shot.

[The Chosen Chad]

No need when you deal so much damage.
Eye shots are really cool in the second game, and Unarmed Fast Shot + Heavy Handed builds are really powerful early on till the end of the game

[dwaynegand]

I tried a build like that without Heavy Handed but taking Fast Shot, but the inability to inflict targeted shots, especially to the eyes hampered my damage until Slayer was taken, espicially when I was level grinding the deathclaws.

[tukkek]

Can't make a playthrough without a single positive karma = impossible to be evil.

Can't hit enemies in the eyes with hybrid build = impossible to play hybrid melee/ranged.

OP, you have something seriously going on that nobody in this game forum can help you with.

[The Chosen Chad]

Originally posted by dwaynegand:

I tried a build like that without Heavy Handed but taking Fast Shot, but the inability to inflict targeted shots, especially to the eyes hampered my damage until Slayer was taken, espicially when I was level grinding the deathclaws.

Why would you grind deathclaws anyway?
A power fist with all the perks I mentionned just wrecks anything really, and you can get it for free when you help the Brotherhood or the Gun Runners as far as level 9 or 12.
The Sniper and Slayer perks are not worth it since you already kill anything at mach 10 speed in this game.

Sad-82, OP is infamous for these type of threads. While really I have no issue with and it goes without saying that any help even for meaningless things like a metagaming discussion in a game relatively easy can be answered. Sometimes the thread written by OP is framed by the looks of "I cant do X so it must be impossible". When in reality, its very possible, but just not efficient should be the better conclusion.

[SaD-82]

Originally posted by The Chosen Chad:

Sad-82, OP is infamous for these type of threads.

You can't be infamous for asking questions.
But you can be infamous for answering them in a condescending way (especially if you don't answer them at all but rather insult a person).

The point being:
A forum lives through activity. Asking questions is activity.
And no matter what someone might think about certain questions: He has two options: Answering them or, well, stfu.
You answer those questions - in a pretty detailed way. So that people who asked something can follow your line of thought. That's the good way. That's the only way to act in a decent behaviour.
And by doing this the other part of what a forum is and should be, is fulfilled:

If someone, in the future, will visit this forum and stumble upon certain questions which he had asked himself, too, he then can read helpful comments. Detailed comments about certain game aspects. And he can learn something. Without the need to ask those questions by himself.

People like tukkek are cancer for any forum. If he can't answer a question or is not willing to - well, again: He should stfu and read something else instead. No need for his type of comments in any forum.

[The Chosen Chad]

Calm down, I never said it wasnt worth asking for, but please check for yourself other threads of OP. He/She doesnt really ask questions, rather, his question is asked then he follows his assumption and sometimes he even answer his own question in the original post.
Which can led to confusion to some.

I personally, dont see these threads as a new player asking for help but just a veteran player who wants to invite to the discussion by talking about a specific part of the game. Which is why I go on and put a message here.
You'll remark that Tuttek already responded to OP weeks ago, its not like his observation comes out of nowhere neither.

[SaD-82]

Originally posted by The Chosen Chad:

Calm down

Who says that I wouldn't be calm?
Why assuming things you don't know anything about?

Just ask yourself: What person are you?
A person who is excusing and tolerating cyber-bullying? Because, at the moment, this is what you're doing if you want to convince others that this disgusting behaviour of another person in this thread would be okay.
Or a person who doesn't tolerate and excuse such behaviour?

You, in contrast to him, answered the questions continually. You, in contrast to him, always were on the topic. No matter how many comments you were writing. You weren't insulting the OP. Why stopping there and now excusing and tolerating a break in forum etiquette and basic social behaviour? There is no reason for it.
Or is there?
No, there isn't.

And if I see someone bullying someone else, I will always call out this pathetic act. And this should do everyone. That's basic civil courage. Never tolerate bullying.