Builds: Strong Explorer

Strong Explorer									PvE
A tough Treasure Hunter who can fight off raider gangs solo, open tough locks, find and carry lots of loot, explore Caves, beat Deathclaws, lead up to 3 Companion followers, and get around on The World map with ease.
Hit Points:	255		3		Target Level:				40
Implants:	IN at Level 30
	SPECIAL				Level Perks
	R	L	D	C	Adrenaline Rush
Strength:	5	5	8	8	Toughness
Perception:	1	1	1	1	Even Tougher
Endurance:	10	10	10	10	Lifegiver
Charisma:	1	1	1	1	Lifegiver
Intelligence:	8	8	8	9	Bonus Rate of Attack
Agility:	10	10	10	10	Action Boy
Luck:	5	5	5	5	Action Boy
R=This is what you set up at registration L=This is how it should look after leveling, with all perks D=This is when in use after Level 24, on all intended drugs C=This is the final version, with intended drugs/implants
Traits:	Fast Shot Good Natured
Tag Skills:	Small Guns 181, for BRoA Lockpick 150, maxed for finding loot Outdoorsman 175, maxed for smoothest travels
Other Skills:	Doctor 100 - fix crippled limbs First Aid 136 - you'll need it Traps 150 - fun with bombs! Science 120 for Dismantler Repair 120 for Mr. Fixit Speech 150 by Level 40
Weapons:	Assault Rifle and H&K CAWS or Combat Shotgun H&K P90c and M79 Grenade Launcher
Drugs:	Buffout adds 2 to ST Nuka-Cola companion drug to Buffout Psycho toughens you up Beer gets you a little tougher
Crafting Professions:	Small Guns 2 Big Guns 2 Energy Weapons 2 Armorer 2 Doctor 2 Demolitions 2
Details			Support Perks
Mode:		PvE	Awareness
Action Points:		12	Boneyard Guard at Level 1
Armor:		CA	Gecko Skinning
DR:		15	Snakeater
DT:		5	Ranger
Sight:		23	Swift Learner
Armor Class:		15	Educated
Melee Dmg:		1	Strong Back at 6
Sequence:		2	Pack Rat at 6
Poison Resist:		80	Treasure Hunter at 9
Rad Resist:		60	Light Step at 9
Head Crit Res:			Dead Man Walking at 12
Crit Resist:			Pathfinder
Crit Chance:		10	Explorer
Carry Weight:		139	Scout
Party Points:		160	Faster Healing at 15
Healing Rate:		12	Rad Resistance at 15
			Mr. Fixit at 21
			Dismantler at 24
			Demolition Expert at 27
			Magnetic Personality at 40
			Speaker at 40
			Sex Appeal at 40
Build by:		Henry in Feb 2017
Based on:		(new/original)

An effective starting Character meant to explore the map, recruit and lead up to 3 Companion Followers, and start climbing the wasteland's long learning curve. Level 40 is easier to reach than you think, and is only needed to get enough Party Points for more Companion Followers. A Character with this build is very functional long before reaching Level 40.

Small Guns has the widest variety of weapon options. You'll love the H&K P90c for it's fast firing rate, and the 10mm AP ammo. The Assault Rifle is strong now, and try the H&K CAWS shotgun - highly effective on all targets, but even a Combat Shotgun does some knockdowns and knockback crits. Shotguns have an EMP ammo option for fighting robots. Play with the M79 Grenade Launcher too, for big splash fun. Use any of the excellent pistols in this category, including the Desert Eagle .44, the 14mm Pistol, or the .223 Pistol. Gauss weapons are also included in Small Guns.

Exploring Caves can be rewarding but deadly. This guy Drugs up and explores confidently. Same with hunting Footlockers and finding Blueprints. Recruit a Companion follower to bring some backup (it's best to get the Speaker perk first). Recruit up to 3 of them later with Speech 150 and Magnetic Personality. This is all possible by Level 40. Lead them on the map, level them up, and you're more likely to find Special Encounters as you go. Establish a private base and station your Companions there to guard it, or bring them with you while you're off exploring.

NOTE: This build is not intended for the harder fights in this game, like Town Control or any PvP fights, or any of the tougher PvE challenges like Slags in Warehouse or Dayglow, or mutants at Ares Rocket Silo, or Raiders in Vault 4, etc. But go locker hunting anywhere and defeat gangs of raiders single-handedly in Real-Time, or hit The Glow too, or many other Quests.

Your Strong Explorer will get all crafting professions, which allows him to make his own fresh tier 2 gear, ammo, Armor, Drugs, and explosives. He gets a lot of Support Perks too and becomes more and more useful as a support character while you grow your army of other characters. You'll be glad you were on this character when you find the Ruined Military Bunker or the Vertibird!

NOTE: At Level 30, he can get an IN implant for more SP per level.

NOTE: All builds benefit greatly from getting the combat Implants so this build does not reflect any stats from them. In addition to the ones indicated in this build, it's up to you to decide if you want to add theses:

• Nemean
• Dermal
• Phoenix

Leveling

Firstly, make sure you get Boneyard Guard on all characters, prior to distributing any Skill Points. (Ignore this if starting at Lander's Point.) Next you'll want to make sure you get Educated as soon as possible, so you need Science 100 for that, but read 10 science books if you can before you put points into Science. Your Science needs to be 100 to get Educated. After that, focus mainly on getting Small Guns skill to 180 in time to get Bonus Rate of Attack by Level 18. To go hunting lockers sooner, get Even Tougher, Traps to 50 and get Light Step. Then get Doctor skill up to deal with broken limbs.

Strengths and Weaknesses

The first thing that stands out as a problem with this build is PE 1. Oh no! You're blind! Well no, you're not blind. If you want to put some Luck points into PE, okay, but you just lose them as soon as you use Psycho and Beer. Having PE 1 could also be considered a good thing, since it gives you a very low Sequence which means you start into random encounters very close to enemies - thus you have less distance to cover if you want to fight them up close. PE 1 also works well when exploring Caves since you simply don't need much Sight range in such close quarters anyway. Sacrifice some IN and LK to raise PE though, if you prefer.

That said, some people have reported really hating PE 1, which is truly terrible for any PvP activity. For PvE activity however, you should become skilled with your fighting characters enough to beat most NPC enemies even with such a short Sight range. There are some places though, where PE 1 will make things really tough, even against PvE challenges. Remember: this build is presented here as a strong way for newer players to start the game and explore. It's not an end-all build, so plan to climb the combat learning curve, and experiment with more combat-optimized builds that may in deed have much higher PE.

Apply the following principle: That which does not kill you, makes you stronger. Tough out PE 1 for a while, and later you'll feel spoiled with a longer Sight range.

Related

This is the build featured in this Startup guide: Guide 103: Intro.

Alternate Versions

If you do Luck 3 instead of 5, and put those 2 points into ST, and also swap Fast Shot with Heavy Handed, you will have max Strength 10 on Buffout and Psycho and can have a lot of fun with a Mega Power Fist. Combining ST 10 with a MPF and Heavy Handed means you can walk right up to the toughest enemies and do knockdown crits one after another, over and over until that enemy is beaten. They barely have any chance to do damage to you because they spend their AP trying to stand back up. Players have used this to fight and beat 2 or even 3 enemies at a time. So if you want to add HtH to your Strong Explorer's fighting options, register ST 7, swap Fast Shot with Heavy Handed, and plan to carry a MPF in slot 2.