Category:Builds: Difference between revisions

I want a tanky tough fighter who can use combat shotguns and SMGs, but who can also stand his ground in a fist fight. I'll tag Small Guns and Close Combat as 2 of his 3 tag skills. He doesn't need to be smart or carry much weight, so maybe he can have ST 1 and IN 1, but i know he should have maximum EN for high Hit Points, and i want to move fast and see targets from really far away, so PE 10 and AG 10. Hence we begin with...

• 1.10.10.1.1.9.8, Small Guns, Close Combat

I'll be drinking Nuka-Cola everywhere i go, to get my AG up 1 point to 10. A free point just for drinking soda? Easy! Then i find out that Adrenaline Rush is a good perk that adds Damage Resistance during a fight, but it requires ST 5, and i find out Heavy Handed is popular for fist-fighters. So i will change the build to this:

• 5.10.10.1.1.9.4, Heavy Handed, and Small Guns, and Close Combat

Next, i review the weapon range limitation of shotguns and SMGs, realize it's really short and that my planned PE is overkill for this job. I also decide i really like the idea of bringing NPC followers along into PvE battles, and further reading tells me i can have up to 4 Companion Followers, but only with max Speech 300 and a minimum of 3 Charisma. Furthermore, Intelligence 1 will take too long to ever get my Speech to 300. I know i can't have everything, so it's time to make some tough decisions. Let's drop PE to 1 temporarily and i'll back-fill with whatever points i have left over:

• 5.1.10.3.4.9.8, Heavy Handed + Good Natured for additional Party Points, and Small Guns, and Close Combat, and Speech

I chose Heavy Handed early on, so i can do a lot of knockdowns when playing fist-fighter, and i think i'll use the Mega Power Fist for this, but it turns out it only works best with maximum Strength. I find a drug called Buffout which boosts ST by 2, but reduces AG by 1. So if i still want AG 10 in combat, i'll need to make some changes:

• 8.1.10.3.4.10.4, Heavy Handed + Good Natured and Small Guns + Close Combat + Speech

Psycho also gives 1 point of ST, but reduces PE by 2 (ouch!), unless...unless your PE is already 1! ah-Ha! Beer gives a little more DR but also drops PE by 2 more points, that is again unless your PE is already 1. So i can recover a point and be much tougher by using Psycho. Bruiser looks good for additional Stength but the AP cost is too high - i will be too slow in combat. Right now, this build is looking pretty good, except for my terribly low Perception which leaves me feeling blind in combat, and doesn't even allow me to make use of my weapon's full range. Cigarettes will boost PE by 1 point, but i won't see that since it's cancelled by using Psycho and Beer (-4, +1, still is -3). Well maybe i should re-think this followers idea. If i'm okay with only getting 3 Companion followers instead of all 4, i can swap my Speech tag skill for First Aid, and then i don't need CH 3 anymore:

• 7.1.10.1.4.10.7 Heavy Handed + Good Natured and Small Guns + Close Combat + First Aid

And finally, to get decent PE i can drop my Luck down, and even drop my Intelligence by 2 points and use Mentats to get quests that require IN 4:

• 7.9.10.1.2.10.1 Heavy Handed + Good Natured and Small Guns + Close Combat + First Aid: Buffout, Nuka-Cola, Psycho, Beer, Cigarettes (and Mentats when needed)

On Drugs, i'll have 10.6.10.3.4.10.1, so i'll do max knockdowns with a MPF, and be able to see just beyond my typical weapon range! Not bad. Oh no! I forgot my Perks!

• Adrenaline Rush, Toughness and Even Tougher are the obvious first 3 choices for tanky fighters, and 2x Lifegivers yield a standard amount of HPs
• The Level 18 perk is almost always Bonus Rate of Attack, which leaves 2 more perks; In Your Face! is a strong choice for a fist-fighter

The last perk could be Action Boy for 1 more Action Point which equates to a 10% speed bonus in combat. Or it could be another Lifegiver for more HP, or pretty much whatever you want to try.