Fallout: New Vegas Hints

An Ultimate Character Build

• When you create your character, give him the following attribute values, tag skills, and traits.
  
  Strength: 7
  Perception: 5
  Endurance: 9
  Charisma: 1
  Intelligence: 6
  Agility: 5
  Luck: 7
  
  Tag skills: Guns, Repair, and Lockpick
  Traits: Good Natured and Small Frame
  
  
  When you level up, choose the perks listed below.
  
  Level 2: Confirmed Bachelor (male character) or Black Widow (female character)
  Level 4: Educated
  Level 6: Comprehension
  Level 8: Bloody Mess
  Level 10: Finesse
  Level 12: Toughness
  Level 14: Jury Rigging  [Repair 90]
  Level 16: Better Criticals  [Perception 6]
  Level 18: Action Boy / Action Girl
  Level 20: Action Boy / Action Girl (2)
  Level 22: Grim Reaper's Sprint
  Level 24: Toughness (2)
  Level 26: Hand Loader
  Level 28: Math Wrath  [Science 70]
  Level 30: Laser Commander  [Energy Weapons 90]
  
  
  Below are some tips and notes on playing with this character.
  
  * Play on Normal difficulty or lower, and don't turn hardcore mode on. Higher difficulty levels and hardcore mode just make the game far more tediously difficult without giving you anything for it (except an "achievement" if you play all the way through the game with hardcore mode on).
  
  * The Good Natured perk takes 5 points away from your combat skills, so when you level up to level 2, be sure to put at least 5 points (maybe more) into Guns. The idea is that Guns will be your primary combat skill at first, and Energy Weapons will join it as a major combat skill later on. Keep that in mind when you allocate your level-up skill points on future level-ups.
  
  * Also keep in mind that your Repair skill will have to be 90 by the time you reach level 14 to get the Jury Rigging perk when it's listed. If that's too much trouble, you can put it off until later, and shift the Toughess (2) perk into its place (or Hand Loader if your Repair is at least 70). However, it should be doable, especially if you get some of the Repair skill books before you reach level 14.
  
  * Your high starting Endurance will ensure that you'll be able to buy all nine of the implant perks. Just be sure to buy the Perception implant before you reach level 16. If you don't, you won't be able to take the perk I have listed for that level. It should be easy to afford all of the implants early in the game by selling off lots of loot and winning the limit at blackjack in all five of the game's casinos.
  
  * You should not only go after skill books, but should also save up the much more common skill magazines. After you get the Comprehension perk, each skill magazine will give you a temporary +20 to its related skill. That means that aside from qualifying for advanced level-up perks (like Jury Rigging and Laser Commander), there's never any reason to take a non-combat skill past 80. In fact, lesser values are often good enough. For instance, most locks in the game require a Lockpick skill of 75 or less. That means you can stop putting points into it at 55, and use skill magazines whenever you need to pick open a hard lock. (And do quicksave first in case what's past the lock wasn't worth using up the magazine.)
  

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