Talk: Fallout 3 character creation

Altering the flow

I altered the flow, putting everything in to a build or playstyle category. Rather than the seperate "commentary" category, that should be going into build prologue, because that is exactly what all that commentary concerned. Naturally, the build prologue will wind up being significant -- this IS a role-playing-game. I think the page reads easier now. Half this talk page needs to be incorporated into the article, the build section specifically. Pinkynperky04 18:25, October 28, 2009 (UTC)

I'd really love it if someone else would post their custom character. You don't have to follow my formatting, I was only throwing the lvl prerequisites on for my own benefit, at the time I was mixing and matching perks and wanted to take them near to when they became available, but still go after ones that helped in early-game play. So, please show the world your favorite character and feel free to flesh it out with pictures, a fictional background, or be serious about it and just give an explanation of the character's tactical advantages. AshRandom (Talk) 03:46, 6 January 2009 (UTC)

Updated as requested, feel free to merge more of my page into this one or use my charts for templates or whatever if you feel like it... I tried to be minimally invasive. Bloodwars 16:38, 7 January 2009 (UTC)

Looks great Bloodwars, finally some fresh ideas (btw, 3 intelligence is an interesting approach! ;) You don't mind if I name your three chars after you? I'm trying to keep the page divided up into individual characters, it'll help keep your caveats and explanations exclusive. AshRandom (Talk) 16:59, 7 January 2009 (UTC)

Whatever you want to do. I got everything I need for my use on my own page, so whatever you think is best for this page is cool with me. -- I cleaned up the links in my section and the See Also. Bloodwars 18:56, 7 January 2009 (UTC)

Omg Nux Matrix, that picture of Zardos cracks me up, every time! AshRandom (Talk) 16:24, 20 January 2009 (UTC)

Why do you need to raise skills to 45? 25 (x2) books = 50 skill + 10 from a bobblehead = 60 skill, meaning you should only have to raise each skill to 40, and it only needs to be THAT high if you don't use buffs or gear. Bloodwars 16:25, 21 January 2009 (UTC)

Yeah! What he said. Personally I shortchange small guns every time because of the Ranger Battle Armor. AshRandom (Talk) 22:08, 21 January 2009 (UTC)

I should make a new sniper/ninja-pyro for a completely non-VATS build (just take my sniper and switch the 6 VATS only perks for scrounger, ninja, pyromaniac, life giver, rad resistance, and either mister sandman (depopulation/free loot) or intense training (ST) to bump that to 10 too... lately i've been using MMM/bullet time/sprint mod. Sprint/bullet time use AP and I like them much more than the nerfed VATS. Bloodwars 09:34, 4 February 2009 (UTC)

Hey Bloodwars, what's the point of the 10 AG on your non-VATS build? Wouldn't it be more efficient to take away 4 of those skill points (leaving you 6 as a pre-req for Silent Running) and put them into either Cha (for better NPC disposition) or PE (for better detection radius)? Or even Intelligence? Sure, extra points in INT might be unnecessary... but at least they save you the trouble of finding all the skill books, allow you to achieve maximum power at an earlier level, might serve some purpose of a future expansion raises the skill level caps, and they're certainly far less unnecessary than extra points in AG for a build that doesn't use VATS. I understand you're still using those VATS points for alternate purposes thanks to the mods, but maybe put a note at the end of the section? JMHO. Some Sort 22:43, 4 February 2009 (UTC)

Yeah, it's for extra bullet-time or sprint time, and I thought the alternate AP use mod links between the build table and build summary was enough, but I'll see about going back and stating specifically that the 10 agility is for that purpose (it affects sprint mod speed also). I'd never waste points on charisma since it literally does nothing outside of perk reqs (the disposition is just the random npc audio clips, but has nothing to do with actual dialog choices or anything similar). Perception would be the next choice, though honestly the detection distance isn't usually a big deal if you play with sound. Bloodwars 00:24, 5 February 2009 (UTC)

Done, lemme know if that disclaimer/info note is what you had in mind. Bloodwars 01:16, 5 February 2009 (UTC)

Yeah, that looks a lot cleaner and clearer now. Two thumbs up. Are you sure that AG affects run speed, though? I've read that before, but there's no mention of it at all on the AG Wiki page, which has led me to regard any such rumors with a bit of skepticism. Some Sort 04:36, 5 February 2009 (UTC)

The Sprint Mod run speed formula is 100% + (4% x Agility) + (current weight / max weight)/40 - that's what I meant by affecting run speed. Bloodwars 10:42, 5 February 2009 (UTC)

Hey, can we clean the page up? that new "Commentary" section seems pretty disorganized and rambling, and contains incorrect information. Lincoln's Repeater is a sniper rifle that has 0 spread and DOES hit the crosshair... having 100 small guns is pretty important too though. Besides that, there's not a single "build" in there, just some un-fleshed-out ideas. Plus the sniper/brawler/FPS type builds are already posted, and the copied snippets from the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. don't give a compelling reason to keep them on this page. Bloodwars 17:07, 9 February 2009 (UTC)

I just moved all of this from Fallout 3 SPECIAL, considering it was mostly the same info. I'll get to cleaning it up here shortly. --Turbine2k5 17:23, 9 February 2009 (UTC)

Thanks. Sorry if I jumped on it too fast. Bloodwars 18:18, 9 February 2009 (UTC)

Sniper Playstyle .... Also, quest awarded perks such as Wired Reflexes and Ant Sight will help boost a player's efficiency using V.A.T.S.

I haven't tested this, but will Perception do anything for VATS accuracy? I thought it only gave skill bonuses and got things to show up on your compass. Dcruze 22:54, 16 March 2009 (UTC)

I think those were just 2 examples of perks the build uses but only the Wired Reflexes affects V.A.T.S.

Clean up

I suggest this:

• Make a link to this page on the SPECIAL page, making it clear (at the top?) that users are welcome to post their character builds here, but posting opinions on the SPECIAL page is to be avoided.

• Remove everything that is subjective from the Commentary section on this article, and post it in a section on the talk page so it doesn't end up getting lost. That way the users who posted the information can use that to make their own entries on the article. (in case they don't have it written down)

• Move the commentary to the top and merging/rewriting it with the existing content. A short, general description of what the different playing styles are would be appropriate here.

• Stress the point that this is a page for posting opinionated character builds, and they should add their own and not edit existing content (and preferably do so in a neat and tidy manner).

Thanks :)

Dcruze 18:19, 9 February 2009 (UTC)

That sounds good. I agree with all of it except for maybe the link on the SPECIAL page. I figure we should put the link in the toolbar under SPECIAL/Character creation? (BTW, sorry about the sudden cut and paste. I just wanted to separate the fact from the opinion. :P) --Turbine2k5 18:24, 9 February 2009 (UTC)

That works too, as long as they find it. Good luck. Dcruze 18:34, 9 February 2009 (UTC)

What about dividing the builds up into 2 parts based on if they use Broken Steel or not?

Hello can someone clean up the page? im new to wikis and when i added the warmonger and scavenger play styles I failed to do it properly, can someone help?

commentary section moved here, for now

Commentary

The attributes you select are arguably more relevant to your playstyle than your character. If you enjoy using V.A.T.S., for instance, you'll want a high Agility, since Agility provides Action Points for V.A.T.S. If you like melee, you'll want high Strength to increase your melee damage. If you want to play a stealthy character, you'll probably want a high perception. Also your SPECIAL stats determine which Perks you can choose, so if you want Mysterious Stranger then you must have a high Luck.

It may seem unintuitive based on conventions established in prior Fallout games and other RPGs, but the primary function of attributes (aside from determining perk eligibility) is controlling specific aspects of the game that are not really related to your character, such as the user-interface (V.A.T.S. and compass detection, for instance). To approach the issue from another angle, to improve one's ability to persuade NPCs or avoid detection, one will be much better off improving the relevant skill directly (Speech and Sneak respectively), rather than an the associated attribute.

Considering this, you may find these attributes appropriate (or not) for varying styles of play:

First-Person Shooter Playstyle

If you're a seasoned FPS gamer and you don't use V.A.T.S., you obviously won't want many points in Agility, though you should note that Light Step and Silent Running (which you may find useful for running and gunning) require six Agility. Luck will be the most useful attribute in combat, as it raises your critical effect chance with all weapons. You may want extra points in Strength so you can worry less about inventory management, and more points in Intelligence to raise your skills. You'll want to make sure to pick up Fortune Finder and Scrounger.

Sniper Playstyle

The traditional Fallout sniper will want to make extensive use of V.A.T.S., and should have an appropriately high Agility attribute. However, with the sniper rifles, the percentage to hit is oddly low, so most will make use of manual-aiming coupled with sneak attacks. With the focus on V.A.T.S., you'll want to plan for the following perks: Action Boy/Girl, Mysterious Stranger, Sniper, Concentrated Fire, Commando and/or Gunslinger, and Grim Reaper's Sprint. Make sure to pick up repair to take care of your weapon (see the special notes about V.A.T.S. regarding condition loss).

Extensive Guide:

Recommended S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Stats (initially):

5 Strength, 8 Perception, 5 Endurance, 1 Charisma, 6 Intelligence, 7 Agility, 8 Luck

Must Have Perks:

Commando and/or Gunslinger (Commando Recommended), Sniper, Finesse, Better Criticals, Silent Running, Action Boy/Girl, Concentrated Fire, Grim Reaper's Spirit, Wired Reflexes ([1])

Recommended Perks:

Black Widow/Lady Killer, Comprehension, Toughness, Bloody Mess, Scrounger, Strong Back, Chemist, Robotics Expert, Mysterious Stranger, Intense Training, Educated

Tag:

Small Guns, Repair, Sneak.

Skills:

Small Guns, Sneak

Armor:

Ranger Armor or Recon Armor (Ranger Recommended)

Weapons:

Sniper Rifle (or variants) Scoped Magnum Since Sniper Rifle ammo is hard to find, using the Hunting Rifle and Combat Shotgun is recommended.

Perfect Sniper Build (for VH)

I didnt really agree with the above build so I thought Id post my own. It should be noted that the Sniper rifles are very hard to hit with on long range because they simply dont hit in the middle of the crosshair when you aim manually you should aim at the torso instead to hit the head (maybe only on PS3). Make sure to grab Lucky shades or Ranger battle armor for +1 luck and finally Lucky 8-ball to raise your luck score to 10, if you know that you will use the Battle armor the whole time then you can put an extra point into strength or something (im not a too big fan of the looks)

S.P.E.C.I.A.L. (initial) Unlike what I thought when the game was new then Intelligence is basically useless, with comprehension perk you can raise sience up to 100 when you reach lvl 5 (read up on Big Book of Science ). I wrote N/A on strength final score in case you wish to use a perk I wouldnt, otherwise I put all left over perk slots in strength.

Strength 2 (N/A), Perception 9 (10), Endurance 9 (10), Charisma 1 (2), Intelligence 4 (5), Agility 9 (10), Luck 6 (10),

Perks (quest perks included) Ant Might, Barkskin, Survival Expert +3% critical chance, Intense Training Luck 1 (and Strength on rest), Educated (ASAP), Comprehension (Save all books until you get this), Bloody mess (optional, i know alot of people dislike it), Toughness, Scrounger (Sniper ammo is hard to come by), Commando, Finesse, Silent Running, Sniper, Cyborg, Better Criticals, Action boy, Grim Reaper's Sprint

Skills Tag Sneak, Small guns and Repair and max them out. Further you will want to get atleast 75 lockpick, 100 sience (only use books), 60 medicine and put any leftovers into speech. Depending on how many books you wish to track down then you can easily max out all of the skills mentioned, even before level 20, but the sience books will be enough to max all relevant skills.

My Weapons of Choice Ol' Painless Unlike Sniper Rifles this rifle fire exactly in the middle of the crosshair, Ive been able to do fatal headshots from twice the range than Sniper Rifle can effectively hit. A hint for aiming on the very max range is to enter V.A.T.S and aim for the head but do not fire, instead exit V.A.T.S and hold the aim button, you now have a perfectly aimed shot to splatter his brain (very hard to use on moving mobs). Victory Rifle A very good rifle once you have learned how to aim with it, but before that its pratically useless tbh. The Terrible Shotgun For finishing off the critters that get a jump on you.

Stealth / Thief Playstyle

Sneaking around new areas can be a usefull tactic.

A stealthy character will want a high Perception score to get the drop on his/her enemies. Relevant skills include Sneak, Lockpick, and Explosives. You can use that explosives skill to disable traps and use them against your enemies! Be sure to look at the Silent Running and Demolition Expert perks.

Brawler Playstyle

The brawler will want high strength and endurance to prevail in melee combat. Tasty perks include Ninja, Iron Fist, and Toughness, to name a few. In addition to high Unarmed and Melee Weapons skills, you'll want a high Medicine skill to get the most benefit from various chems (particularly stimpaks). Really, anything that increases your healing or smashing abilities will be useful.You may also find the Paralyzing Palm perk useful.

Diplomat Playstyle

A diplomatic character will want high Intelligence to give him/her access to extra special dialogue options. You'll want at least 6 points in Charisma to make sure you get access to the Animal Friend and Master Trader perks. And of course you'll want to dump lots of skill points into Speech to make sure your attempts at diplomacy are mostly successful. Be sure to grab Child at Heart and Lady Killer (for the gents) or Black Widow (for the gals) as soon as you can. You can also use Impartial Mediation to raise your speech by 30 if your karma is neutral, which, if you re a diplomat, it should be. Right?

Mix-and-Match Playstyle

Of course, you can combine any of the elements above to create your own unique style of play. You might want to explore some of the more esoteric perks like Cyborg or Cannibal for inspiration. A well-rounded style of play will probably want to focus more on skills, but a highly-specialized style of play (such as a Ninja) will probably want to focus on perk synergies that grant extra abilities. Feel free to explore!

The following guide gives some advice to keep you flexible for the first levels. It is written for novice players who do not want to commit to a specialized stile of play until getting a grip at the game.

Extensive Guide:

Recommended S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Stats (initially):

4 Strength, 5 Perception, 6 Endurance, 6 Charisma, 7 Intelligence, 6 Agility, 6 Luck

The reasoning behind these stats is the ability to learn as many perks as possible later on. Intelligence stands out a little in order to provide you with a bit of extra skill points to spend on each level up. The only weak spot is the Strength which is needed for carrying stuff and close combat. Additional points in Strength are easily gained early in the game by the Bobblehead - Strength in Megaton and the Ant Might perk.

Tag:

If not recommended by the G.O.A.T. tag the following skills manually (either by talking to the teacher or when leaving the Vault):

Explosives, Repair, Speech.

Additionally take the Bobblehead - Medicine from the Vault, so you will have all requirements to quickly finish the first simple quests in Megaton.

Your First Skill Points:

Feel free to experiment. In order to hack the first computers and pick the first locks try to boost your Science and Lockpick skills to 25 points. Other than that try to specialize on three to four skills that match your playing style. E.g. if you find yourself not repairing stuff don't boost this skill (and pick perks accordingly).

Your First Perks:

• Level 2&3: Either choose Daddy's Boy, Gun Nut, Little Leaguer or Thief depending on your gut feeling. Gun Nut is a solid choice for starters. If you already know you want to indulge in a lot of talking, invest one of your perks in Black Widow
• Level 4: Educated (more skill points)
• Level 5: Comprehension (even more skill points for each skill book; save them till you have this perk)

These perks will grant you additional skill points so you will be more flexible in your character development.

Move to forum namespace?

I'm not really fond of this being in the main namespace, it's not exactly canon/official information. How about making it a forum page? Or at least moving all the personal builds there and leaving general information here? Ausir 23:26, 17 March 2009 (UTC)

I'd prefer to keep it as it is, but you're the boss. Though maybe by having it as a forum post we could get some discussion about what is really the ultimate powerplaying character (not that it matters though, since you can complete Fallout 3 with one hand tied to your back and a limp :-P ) *shrug* Dcruze 11:30, 18 March 2009 (UTC)

D00d

http://www.geocities.com/kramwartap/MGS_sniper2.jpg

www.geocities.com/kramwartap/konami_artwork.html

srsly wai 2 steel stuff leik omgzzzz

Skill points

Why do none of these builds list which skills to pour your points into at each level? I'd love to see that, as I'm not one to do math to figure out where I need to put my skill points to be able to get a perk for a build.

 λ

^T 22:23, 25 May 2009 (UTC)

Use the Windows Calculator to do the math for you then

I did that for the build on my userpage. It's not a build for casual players, but everything is accounted for. You only need one book in Energy Weapons by level 25. PositronicSpleen 23:21, 25 May 2009 (UTC)

I did something similar to that, it gives you what your skills should be by level 30.--Master1337cheeZ 21:55, 4 June 2009 (UTC)

Master1337cheeZ's Tom Sawyer (With DLCs)

Sign your posts

• First of all I want to say overall excellent build but I'd like to ask you a few things so you can potentially improve it further.Chrsghoyt 13:12, 6 June 2009 (UTC)
• 1. Do you actually need Comprehension? I find it very easy to max all skills with Broken Steel without using a single skill boosting perk except maybe Cyborg. The one reason I can see to take this is for boosting unarmed skill past 100 but your character is obviously not an unarmed build.Chrsghoyt 13:12, 6 June 2009 (UTC)

A: I suppose it's really just a backup for those who can't manage all of those skills being maxed. I've revised my build and removed Comprehension.--Master1337cheeZ 14:53, 4 June 2009 (UTC)

• 2. Do you really think Party Boy is the strongest Perk pick you can make at that slot? If you find it very useful then by all means keep it but I find it to be a very weak Perk.Chrsghoyt 13:12, 6 June 2009 (UTC)

A: Well, when you hit level 30, you don't need any points in Intelligence (obviously) or Charisma because you've either completed almost everything the game as to speech checks being rare, so with the benefits of alcohol(+1 ST -1 CH -1 IN), the only thing you really need is the +1 to ST, With no addiction effects. I've revised my build and removed Party Boy.--Master1337cheeZ 14:53, 4 June 2009 (UTC)

• I was assuming you didn't need any additional Special after hitting level 30 since you can just hold off on the bobbleheads until after you get almost perfect and then everything is at 10 anyways.Chrsghoyt 13:12, 6 June 2009 (UTC)
• The build does not need for every single SPECIAL to be at 10, as only the ones needed are.--Master1337cheeZ 14:53, 4 June 2009 (UTC)

• My thought is just that if you are going to take Almost Perfect and have everything at 9 anyways then why not just wait on the bobbleheads and have everything at 10 for free. Especially if it can free up an extra Perk slot or 2.Chrsghoyt 13:12, 6 June 2009 (UTC)

• Yes but wouldnt that block getting some of the perks like better criticals?

Exactly my point. See, it's better to have a skillful character then one that just has skills and stats maxed.--Master1337cheeZ 14:53, 4 June 2009 (UTC)

Dream build

Ive been playing Fallout for a really long time, really really long and ive noticed one build that leaves me with the best gear, perks and stats. I got the idea after rasing my Intelligence to 9, then getting the bobblehead in Rivet City, My Agility would rest at 8 or 7 same as my perception while my strength and endurance rest at 4 with equal points between luck and charisma.

Final Build

SPECIAL 4846975

7 5 86

brawler/rogue combo

If I want to try out tanking and being a stealthy little bugger, where should I put my special/skill points, which skills should I mark (I'll have 2 saves before I leave the vault, in case the game doesn't ask to change my marked skills right before I first see the Wasteland), and which perks should my first five be? Since I will be a woman, black widow will be one of my top five perks regardless.

My first order of business will be finding all the skill books and bobbleheads I can find, just to get that out of the way.

Deletion

I feel that this page should be removed (or at least severly cut down), as it's little more than a glorified high score chart for various editors. Since we do not permit user stories in articles, I feel that we should enforce consistent rules across the board and give this page a thorough rewrite or flat out deletion. _Tagaziel ^(call!) 09:34, November 12, 2009 (UTC)

I'd be in favour of rewriting rather than deleting since it's one of the most visited articles (#40). -- Porter21 ^(talk) 10:06, November 12, 2009 (UTC)

How about rewriting an information article about how to plan a character build, and then moving all the specific build sections to a forum page? Could link to the forum page in the article.--Gothemasticator 10:19, November 12, 2009 (UTC)

That's an acceptable solution. _Tagaziel ^(call!) 12:05, November 12, 2009 (UTC)

Great. If no one has started by the time I get home from work tonight, I'll at least get started on rewriting the article then.--Gothemasticator 20:41, November 12, 2009 (UTC)

Done--Gothemasticator 12:49, November 13, 2009 (UTC)

Fallout 3 CharBuilder by dud - v1

Fallout 3 CharBuilder by dud - v1

I've just created this excel 2007 document, mainly because it annoyed me that none of the ones listed are "available". I thought perhaps it could be added to the page? If you think it's good enough that is... Hopefully it shouldn't contain any errors!

Let me know what you all think, thanks.

(The password to unprotect the sheets is dudio, for anyone who wants to mess about with it...)

The--dud 12:53, February 18, 2010 (UTC)

Perfect Character IMO

Perfect Character without using any skill books (Because they're unique and I want to collect them all), low Barter and EW

http://vault106.com/characters/Signupper

Just had some fun, my plans for my upcoming character I'm going to spend my christmas holiday on :) --87.100.231.178 22:23, December 21, 2011 (UTC) Sakkebaa