Random Encounters in this game suck

[Cerazor]

I enjoy getting rushed down by 6 guys with shotguns, that fill all of me and my npc's with lead at point blank range.

[ZumZoom]

You can always run away. That is if you have 8+ action points or a perk for extra movement.

[Bluebeak]

yeah just run away until you get some really solid gear/companions

[The Great Cornholio]

9/10 raider encounters you should run from unless you're high level and geared. 10 Agi and bonus move help a lot for running away. Animal encounters are great for leveling.

[climbingeastofwinter]

The game is set in an unforgiving lawless wasteland. Until you have the skills and equipment (and friends?) to take care of yourself, you exist in a state of constant mortal danger.

[JackSamEss]

Guys, guys, everyone back off. OP wasn't asking for advice and clearly stated they enjoy getting rushed down by 6 guys with shotguns.

We've all read the outdoorsman manuals and should be perceptive enough to never even start close to a bunch of lawless hooligans with shotguns, flamethrowers, or fancy lightbringers.

[Bluebeak]

Originally posted by JackSamEss:

Guys, guys, everyone back off. OP wasn't asking for advice and clearly stated they enjoy getting rushed down by 6 guys with shotguns.

We've all read the outdoorsman manuals and should be perceptive enough to never even start close to a bunch of lawless hooligans with shotguns, flamethrowers, or fancy lightbringers.

In these circumstances the main character is most likely ambushed by a group of lawless hooligans, it's unlikely they'd just walk up to them.

[Disgruntled Cuttlefish]

Raise Outdoorsman skill - actual effectiveness caps around 100% I think I read, or maybe even slightly lower? Anyway, there are numerous Scout Handbooks around that increase your Outdoorsman. Of the early game locations, one can be stolen off of a child in Klamath, and there are 3 in Redding which is southwest of the Den, which is southwest of Klamath. Otherwise you can raise it fairly rapidly anyway off the get-go and it helps a lot to give you the decision on if you want to encounter people, also it may affect placement andsuch? Including how high your character's perception is which affects strategic starting placement of enemies based on higher or lower chance in encounters, more often you will have easier situations to deal with. Outdoorsman is the most underrated skill in this game.

It is an ideal strategy to raise Outdoorsman early in the game then.

[climbingeastofwinter]

It can be pretty useful, for sure. "Do you want to encounter an Enclave patrol?" Hehehehe.

[Cerazor]

I like how that one quest just pits you against 12 Wolves.

[Disgruntled Cuttlefish]

Originally posted by Cerazor:

I like how that one quest just pits you against 12 Wolves.

I wasn't aware there were 12 but.. it's just difficult to keep all of the brahmin alive, sometimes.

My suggestion for the Guard the Brahmin quest in Modoc is to, one, have your party members' distance on follow close and their combat distance "stay near me" usually unless it's not needed and they're only using melee/unarmed for now like maybe Sulik.

And then initiate combat before the bulk of the wolves reach near the Brahmin, start picking them off and hurting them before theystart combat themselves and reach near the herd.

I know it sounds silly maybe but if you've got a hand grenade or molotov cocktail, I'd throw that sucker at the group of them when they start running in before they get near the brahmin.

Originally posted by The Great Cornholio:

9/10 raider encounters you should run from unless you're high level and geared. 10 Agi and bonus move help a lot for running away. Animal encounters are great for leveling.

Yeah this also in addition to what was said about Outdoorsman skill.

Most of those encounters early on are death sentences of course. I like this game for that and it's not just a few pushover "raiders" running at you randomly that your lone character can kill so easily like in some newer titles. It's realistic to think that bands of armed human enemies should be some of the most difficult opponents even considering all of the grotesque creatures and such. I guess people are still the nastiest of them all!

But also, realistically just for the sake that humans/humanoids are on a different level and can use their intelligence to be more of a threat than any one creature could ever be.

Yeah some encounters you can get by with just you and Sulik with spears and knuckles early on and you can get lots of experience against weaker creatures.

Something to look out for are the big groups of lower tier deathclaws in the caves (run away from it if you do not have decent enough firepower, considering weapons and party count, to kill them rapidly enough even considering they are lower tier). For the encounters with caves that you can access, sometime they'll have the group of Lesser Deathclaws, they are one of the very best sources of experience for when you don't have really higher grade equipment but also NOT just sharpened spears and stuff. You will at least need some decent guns/ammo or better melee/armor ideally but nothing special, just you, VIc, and Sulik with decent stuff, or by that I also mean the .44 magnum helps if you and/or Vic are equipped with it. The .44 magnum is the best early game weapon and can take a head clean off.

Actually I made it sound like the Lesser Deathclaw cave encounters are easier than they are. It's just they are way, way easier than the Tough ones you encounter elsewhere, or "normal" ones I guess even. You'd still best have metal armor at least to be safe or, if not, have decent enough firepower considering your party count and weapons each have, so as to not let many of the lesser deathclaws harm you much and get near you/party. All things considered they are fairly easy though (they have much less HP compared to other deathclaws) and you can get thousands and thousands of experience from clearing out a single cave, although you can also gain a lot that way with the other animal encounters just not as much.

[dartvader316]

This game is random based ♥♥♥♥.

[psychotron666]

It's called the outdoorsman skill and perception. Without it, run away, with it, you can quite literally pick and choose what encounters you run into, and get better positioning with perception.