Fallout 3

tyl0r_r
Hey everyone, how has this game held up since release? I am thinking of buying it this week. I love Oblivion and still play it but the dialog system looks better in Fallout. Is this true / can you ever make meaningful decisions? In Oblivion you were basically passive in dialog except for a few special quests.

Also, does the gameplay have a different feel than Oblivion? I like it, but after spending 100 hours in Oblivion I don't want exactly the same thing set in a different time period.

Next: should I go game of the year edition or get the regular one and save money / maybe get the lunchbox and bobblehead edition? (what I mean is how essential is the DLC / how many extra hours would it add roughly?)

THANKS!
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The gameplay is a lot different than Oblivion. I personally did not like Oblivion at all but love Fallout 3. As we mentioned several times, Fallout 3 has Vats and thats all I need to say. That alone makes it a much more enjoyable experience than Oblivion. Here is what vats looks like. If you like this video you will love Fallout 3. The video will start after a 5 second advertisement. http://www.gametrailers.com/player/usermovies/307956.html
 
Famine
VATS is governed by Action Points. To get more shots in VATS you need more Action Points:

Increase Agility (Intensive Training perk): +2 AP
Jet/Ultrajet: +30/40 AP
Some AGL/AP altering clothing: +5 to +25 AP
Action Boy perk (Lv 16): +25 AP

You get more mileage using VATS intelligently. Aim for body parts with a high hit chance (95% is as high as it goes). You should also concentrate your fire on one body part - head is best, but if your hit chance isn't great for heads, aim for legs or arms. Body shots do far less damage per shot. When a body part is crippled (there's a health bar under the hit chance - no bar = crippled), each shot you deliver is more damaging.

Also, use something better than a 10mm. 10mm rounds are only good for shooting Radroaches. You could put a thousand 10mm rounds into a Mirelurk's face at Lv2 for no end result. An Assault rifle will fire three times in one round of VATS, with three rounds each time - 9 rounds - and if delivered to a Feral Ghoul's face will, even at Lv2, put it down.

Take care not to waste VATS either. It's tempting to go into it, put all your VATS into the dude's face and job jobbed. Problem is that, sometimes, the collision detection is squiffy and, if you're near a wall, you can just empty your shots into literally nothing even with a 95% hit chance. Also, you might kill that guy - but what about the one next to him you didn't see?

My guy at Lv30 has all the AP extending perks he can get (along with an Agility of 10) and a great Perk called "Grim Reaper's Sprint" (Lv20) which fully restores all your AP if you kill something in VATS - which means I can be jumped by 15 Feral Ghouls and off them all inside VATS without any of them ever touching me.
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The best gun I have as far as damage goes is the 10mm sub machine gun. I have a laser pistol, laser rifle, hunting rifle, flame thrower, rocket launcher, fat man with no ammo to be found, and other misc hand combat weapons that I don't use. I have built the launcher which is pretty funny to use because shooting and killing someone with a teddy bear is just plain great. I hardly ever have ammo for the thing though because I am usually pushing the limit of weight carrying around my normal weapons, items, etc. I had the motorcycle gas tank and clutch lever and accidentally shot them at a ghoul and then when I went to pick them up the bus the things were laying in front of blew up and crippled my leg and I couldn't find the parts:ouch: It took me forever to find that crap too! I still have the pilot light so as soon as I find those 2 parts again I can make the other weapon and try it out.
 
The Assult Rifle and the Chinese Assult Rifle are very powerful. Once you find those you will do much more damage. I agree with the Rock-It-Launcher. I used that thing a LOT on my first playthrough. Just be careful you dont shoot out valuable items that you might need later.
 
You can go through the game from Lv1 to Lv20 with just a Hunting Rifle. Those things are superb. It's little wonder almost every Super Mutant capable of operating a firearm wields one...
 
+1 on the Hunting Rifle.

The 10mm submachine gun is useless at lower levels. Poor accuracy except at very close ranges, hard to find extras when you need to repair.

A Hunting Rifle is accurate out to good distances, does a lot of damage, and since every Super Mutant and Raider party has at least two or three of these, it's easy-peasy to repair and re-stock ammunition for.
 
I have had the opposite time with the two guns really. I have about 6 of the sub machine guns and about 700 ammo for it right now :)
 
At higher levels, I hardly bother with the 10mm sub, because Assault Rifles and Assault Rifle ammo is quite common then. From level 15-20, I didn't even touch it except when low on other kinds of ammo... and even then, I usually packed a silenced 10mm instead of a submachine gun... VATS hits from a hidden position (and the silenced 10mm ensures you stay hidden) always result in criticals.

Wandering load-out for me consists of a Hunting Rifle (for general long-range encounters), an Assault Rifle or Chinese Rifle, for power, a few grenades, a Silenced 10mm (for fun), a Plasma Rifle (saved for Enclave encounters... but not really necessary), and a Dart Gun (for bigger creatures... instant 0 leg health from 1000? Yes please). Everything else is superfluous (hell... even the Plasma Rifle is superfluous).
 
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Same here that 10mm machine gun was not as effective for me compared to the other guns in the game. But if you are enjoying the 10mm thats all that counts. Thats the beauty of this game, no 2 people will play it the same. :)
 
Chinese Assault Rifle and Plasma Rifle for all-purpose; Missile Launcher for groups; Sniper Rifle for long range; Combat Shotgun for close range, Sentry Bots, Super Mutant Overlords and Feral Ghoul Reavers; Alien Atomiser and Deathclaw Glove for not-wasting-the-ammunition on molerats, feral ghouls, radroaches and bloatflies.

None of which works in Point Lookout. Get hold of a Lever Action Rifle or Double-Barrelled Shotgun as soon as you can if you're out there.
 
I do rock the Missile Launcher sometimes, but it's a poor bet for packrats who didn't have the foresight to (d'oh) check the Strong Back perk before hitting top level (again... got to get that GOTY pack!).

Never could get good mileage out of the Sniper Rifle, I dunno... Hunting Rifle seems almost as good at long (not extreme) ranges, and is easier to keep in shape.
 
I have the combat shotgun and sawed off shotgun strapped to my back, I actually put the sawed off up because it was double barrel and took forever to reload etc.
 
The combat shotgun is awesome in the sewers and metros. The Sawed-off... pretty easy to get the "unique" sawed-off (from the "Nuka-Cola Challenge"), but despite its high damage per shot, the loading time is a killer if you're facing groups of enemies.
 
Combat Shotguns rule, but you need a huge supply of them because boy do they break - you can get something like 200 rounds through a 100% one before it breaks.
 
200? Sometimes it feels like just 50 shots have gone by before I'm looting corpses to refresh mine... :lol:
 
A good solution is the "terrible shotgun". It's damage is higher than any normal shotgun and can be repaired by any combat shotgun found in the wastes. It can be found in Evergreen mills inside the Raider compund.

Enter the raider compund and meet up with "smiling jack" a store owner inside of the compund (there's also a bobblehead to be found here). Simply relieve Mr.Jack of his life and take the "terrible shotgun" from his corpse.
 
niky
Never could get good mileage out of the Sniper Rifle, I dunno... Hunting Rifle seems almost as good at long (not extreme) ranges, and is easier to keep in shape.
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There is also a glitch regarding scope weapons which makes the hit detection pretty iffy, whereas with max small guns skill a hunting rifle in good condition will have a zero spread, literally zero not just exagerations. Get the unique hunting rifle, Ol' Painless, and you have an easily maintained, easy to find ammo for, reliable and very accurate weapon if you have high small gun skill. Similarly the more powerful Lincolns Repeater has a zero spread and takes hunting rifles for repair but takes the rarer .44 magnum ammo.
 
I don't relieve NPCs of their life, if I can help it... time to play bad, I guess... :lol: ...or try to pickpocket it (still trying to pickpocket the unique 10mm SMG off the girl in Underworld).

.44mag is such a pain to find. Used the Lincoln for a bit, then decided to just stock it, since I didn't want to use up all the .44mag cartridges in the wasteland just taking down Super Muties!

I found the Reservist Rifle fun... definitely a good upgrade from the common Sniper Rifle... but again... after a while, I simply fell back on filling that slot with a common Hunting Rifle instead.

Anybody here use the Wazer Wifle? :D
 
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Enjoying this thread and seeing how others approach the game. I noticed I tend to not take anything but weapons and ammo from enemies. This explains why my money is always pretty low. Anyway, I worked my way through Fort Bannister the other night so I decided to go back and loot the place for all it's worth. Down to the last fork and cup, I took everything. My place in Megaton is now nicely refurbished in pre war paraphernalia and I have a sizable weapon stash.

I think I might take on the slavers next in paradise falls as I'm in the mood to go down a dark path of destruction right now.
 
I have the laser pistol and rifle in my locker, I usually have the pistol on me to use. Whats funny is that the world is just huge and if I don't look at the map and just decide I want to just wander around and sight see I always end up going in circles....lol. MW2 is treating me badly tonight so I'm fixing to go into the wastelands for a bit. I am neutral right now but trying to be good but sometimes Its just really alluring to pick a lock and get into an armory or such and I do it and then of course I get negative karma...doh! Its hard not to do anything bad! Which is the opposite of what I did in Fable and Fable II, in those I was as bad as possible because having horns and flies around you was just so rad. Lord of the flies I am.
 
niky
I don't relieve NPCs of their life, if I can help it... time to play bad, I guess... :lol: ...or try to pickpocket it (still trying to pickpocket the unique 10mm SMG off the girl in Underworld).

.44mag is such a pain to find. Used the Lincoln for a bit, then decided to just stock it, since I didn't want to use up all the .44mag cartridges in the wasteland just taking down Super Muties!

I found the Reservist Rifle fun... definitely a good upgrade from the common Sniper Rifle... but again... after a while, I simply fell back on filling that slot with a common Hunting Rifle instead.

Anybody here use the Wazer Wifle? :D
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I have it, in my 3,200 weight unit weapons locker (I have a 3,600 weight clothing/armour locker too) but don't use it.
 
niky
Anybody here use the Wazer Wifle? :D
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I have it to, infact here's a list of the unique (or built) equipment I have, I don't have any DLC packs and I have only gone after those weapons which I want specifically, I don't just collect for the sake of it.

Weapons:
A3-21's Plasma Rifle
Dart Gun
Eugene
Experimental MIRV
Jack
Lincolns Repeater
Ol' Painless
Reservist's Rifle
Rock-it Launcher
Sydneys 10mm "Ultra" SMG
The Terrible Shotgun
Vampire's Edge
Vengeance
Victory Rifle
Wazer Wifle
Xuanlong Assault Rifle

Apparel:
Eulogy Jones' Suit
Ghoul Mask
Linden's Outcast Power Armor
Poplar's Hood
Ranger Battle Armor (Not sure if it's unique but best outside Power Armor)
T-51b Power Armor
T-51b Power Helmet
Tenpenny's Suit
The AntAgonizer's Costume
The AntAgonizer's Helmet
The Mechanist's Costume
The Mechanist's Helmet
Wanderer's Leather Armor
Note: Worryingly my prototype medic power armour seems to have gone walkabouts and so has Miss Launcher, not that I care for the latter. All of the above are also in tip top 100% condition.

My game plan overall was to use conventional weaponry, bullets over laser/plasma simply as thats my style, and to become a master in those areas in order to become a sneaky marksman type of player getting plenty of critical hits with my trusty rifles. As my money maker I'd collect and repair weapons and sell them at a higher value by having high repair skill. Finally I made it a habit to get a high lockpick and science skill to be able to access all areas in order to help my search for unique and special items.
 
Visited Fort Constantine earlier today and picked up the T-51b power armour. While there, I had a little shoot out with some Enclave solders and ended up with the Tesla armour. The Tesla armour is pretty cool. Probably the best looking armour in the game, however I found out quickly that using a Stealth Boy with this armour is useless.

I then went on a walkabout to Capitol Building and had fun blasting my way through the ruins of it. I was however a little disappointed there was no really big reward for my effort as there were some pretty intense battles with three way fights between the mutants, Talon company and me.

Oh and I came across my first few Deathclaws as well. Although fairly difficult to defeat if low on health, I did come across them when I was still fairly well rested so I came away from all my encounters alive.
 
If you've got power armor already, they're not that bad... They're a horrible challenge in your first few levels.

Yeah... the Capitol Building is quite a let-down... you'd expect to get some huge reward in there somewhere instead of just running around, blasting hordes of incredibly strong (giant Super Muties... indoors?!?) opponents.
 
I finally finished up my 3rd playthrough of Fallout 3 this weekend. The last character was neutral. Now I can finally put this game away for good. I put a total of 225 hours into this game between the 3 characters. Great game for sure! 👍
 
CAMAROBOY69 you certainly seemed to have gotten your moneys worth with the game.

I picked up The Pitt & Operation Anchorage expansion pack on Thursday night. Had a quick play but haven't figured out how to get to these two portions of the game yet but I'm sure the opportunity will present itself eventually.
 
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CAMAROBOY69 you certainly seemed to have gotten your moneys worth with the game.

I picked up The Pitt & Operation Anchorage expansion pack on Thursday night. Had a quick play but haven't figured out how to get to these two portions of the game yet but I'm sure the opportunity will present itself eventually.
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Make sure you get Broken Steel. Its easily the best DLC out of all of them by a longshot.
 
Well I recently decided to sell my copy of Fallout 3, why? Because if I ever want to play again I'll be after the DLC, so it works out better to trade in the old and buy the GOTY edition later if need be.
 
CAMAROBOY69
Make sure you get Broken Steel. Its easily the best DLC out of all of them by a longshot.
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Most definitely will. I finished up Operation Anchorage last night and it was great fun, certainly left me hanging for more DLC. I will probably take Dragonistic's approach and just purchase GOTY edition however and continue my save game with that copy as it seems cheaper to buy that at present then to buy Broken Steel/Point lookout DLC plus I then get to pick up Mothership Zeta as well, which after seeing the trailer to, I am quite interested to explore.
 
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Most definitely will. I finished up Operation Anchorage last night and it was great fun, certainly left me hanging for more DLC. I will probably take Dragonistic's approach and just purchase GOTY edition however and continue my save game with that copy as it seems cheaper to buy that at present then to buy Broken Steel/Point lookout DLC plus I then get to pick up Mothership Zeta as well, which after seeing the trailer to, I am quite interested to explore.
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Yes thats a good idea to just purchase the GOTY edition. That way you get all the DLC and its much cheaper. That should keep you busy for a good couple hundred hours for sure especially if you play through as good, evil, and neutral. 👍
 
i played through this game once when it first came out for ps3 and really enjoyed it. I just bought it again for the xbox 360 since it was a platinum hit and now only 19.99. Started the game again and really am just in the beginning stages of it. If i remember correctly the xbox360 graphics compared to the ps3 version does seem to be a bit smoother and less grainy.

My real question is are any of the downloadable content really worth the cost? I am still early on and low level so i have some time to work through the regular missions and level up, just wondering when i get to the point if it's worth the microsoft points for any of the add-ons. appreciate any input. do any of the add-ons expand on the actual story of the game? or are they just new areas/enemys/challenges?
 

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