Forum:Super Hardcore Playthrough

Anyone ever done anything like this yet? I'm considering making one once I complete my character who has all unique items. Super Hardcore playthrough would be like this:

---Hardcore Mode On

---Very Hard Mode

---HUD removed

---No fast travelling (Unless you are doing an annoying quest which requires back and fourth movement such as the one where you hire new people for The Tops Theatre)

---No VATS (Not required but would make things much more interresting)

If I were to try something like this, I'd probably just get the Abilene Kid BB Gun and find a hut to live in and chill. I suppose somewhere around The 188 Trading post would be a good choice considering that area is quite good for safety, food, ammo, and company. not to mention it's a nice area to be around considering it is a good starting point for walking in any direction on the map if you think about it. (Except south west, that may be a long walk)

--OhMyParry 20:13, March 17, 2011 (UTC)

Something like, Yes! However - I just can't cut the mustard in VH Mode AND Hardcore. I'm sure others have managed it though. Best I've managed is Hard and Hardcore with no girly VATS - and that was touch and go on too many exhilarating occassions. Bloody good fun though I might add, also, I seldom fast travel or use VATS anyway. In my play through I ended up with just Lily as a companion (my last resort) because all the rest got slaughtered and even she managed to disappear half way between the Dam and the Encampment. I just can't carry sufficient ammo in VH Mode, even though I rely heavily on Melee and Unarmed for the most part, to soften up enemies before contact of the life threatening kind. So, okay, I'm pretty useless at VH Mode LOL - but I sure as hell took a lot of enjoyment from VH Mode prior to playing with Hardcore on. How did I ever enjoy FNV with Hardcore off? - I don't know is the answer. Once I'd turned it on I've since never wanted to turn it off - I must be reminiscing earlier Fallout :-) Anyway, good luck to you OhMyParry.  (P3dantic)  86.148.70.114 22:58, March 17, 2011 (UTC)

I don't think VATS influence too much in the game, usually I don't use it, specially if I'm playing a energy weapons/heavy guns courier. VATS depends of your player style, because your build will have to choose if he wants perks that benefit your strength, resistance to damage and weapons damage OR if you want perks that influence the game world around you. You can't have the both. I'm currently playing a courier that rely heavy on companions, starting with 8 charisma and 7 inteligence. LOL What needs to be corrected are another issues in my opinion.

Barter, for example. In FNV it doesn't matter if you have 1 or 45 points in barter, the game always favor you in prices, wich is utterly lame. You are in a hostile enviroment, with no standartize currency and fighting predatory competitors, like the Van Graffs and Crimson Caravan, and you always sell your stuff for 45% of the price, becoming rich in no time? This is lame, no wonder you see most builds with at most 50 in barter, because if you have 10 points in barter and sell 30 Sunset Sarsaparilla bottles, you get almost the half price for them (10 caps).

The other thing is the ammount of XP you gain hacking, killing and hunting, it's obscene. Killing a Freeside junkie or a mole rat gives the same ammount of XP than killing a Deathclaw. It's too much.

So for a real hardcore experience I think we need something like:
 * Hardcore mode on
 * Very Hard setting
 * a mod called Bartertown
 * This XP mod, use only the optional files, wich regulate how much XP you gain hunting, hacking, etc.
 * A mod that remove the dialog hints, telling how much you need to perform a check.

Bartertown will make the prices raise or lower accordling to your barter skill, so if you have 10 points in the skill, the selling price will be only 10% of the item (selling a fully repaired 10mm SMG will earn only 150 caps and a SS bottle only 0.2 caps, for example); the XP mod will only adjust the ammount gainned when hacking, hunting, NPC killing, etc, you don't to use the main files, wich makes the game very slower. So if you kill a Deathclaw you gain 35XP, but killing a Freeside junkie or a Mole Rat will earn only 5XP, the mod is very well balanced; and finally, the last mod removes the numbers and skill needed when performing a check, so no more [35/50 Speech] before the sentence.

And P3dantic, are you using the Pack Rat perk? Yes, you need 70 points in barter, but in hardcore mode this perk is gold and a must, not an option. ;) Brfritos 03:59, March 19, 2011 (UTC)

Yes, I have used Pack Rat in the past Brfritos. However, now I've played through so many times (one of the perks of working part-time only LOL) I know what I'm going to encounter (and what I need to take with me on each venture I set out on) and I'm able to live without it. I return to Novac regularly and simply restock with what I need, sleep, then head out again with ED-E as my weapons/munitions carrier. Sadly I don't play on 'MY' PC so the mods you refer to are a no-no at the present time. Hopefully by the time FNV GOTY Edition becomes available I'll get 'MY' PC back and I'll be back to the Nexus and modding my game some :-) Wow Brfritos - starting out with 8 Charisma? An implant and a nice shiny T51-b power helmet is gonna make your companions rock! LOL - I know, I've tried it. Have a great game!  (P3dantic)  86.148.70.114 11:16, March 19, 2011 (UTC)

Yea I've reconsidered. I tested this without hardcore and realized that you have to rely on the music in the background (without radio) to tell you if you are in danger or caution. And I always could use VATS to screen the area in front of me but because I introduced no vats to super hardcore, it is too damn hard. This would basically be a playthrough where you honeslty have no advantage over your enemy. (Remember, tested this without hardcore, and being the cautious person that I am, I barely ever moved a muscle everytime I enterred an area). Actually, all your enemies have an advantange over you considering they know where to find you most of the time and they don't need to eat or drink to stay alive, and lastly, they, for the most part, have auto aim. Any NPC with a cowboy reapeater or any weapon that is quick on the trigger and high in damage will just rip you apart.

And Oh Yeaaa, I've done the character who relies on companions, I followed Mr. House's questline, and wore Benny's suit the entire time. Only weapon I had was ThumpThump with like 5 grenades, and Maria with only about 23 ammunition into it. I let my companions do everything. However, i didn't get too far considering I thought Lily would be the new Fawkes and would be invincible but I was wrong, she got owned. Not to mention who annoying rambling everytime I crouch down. I hate all companions who don't shut up when you crouch... Boone, being the most badass companion, thankfully kept his mouth shut. (Except for his loud grunts whenever he is shooting as something)--OhMyParry 15:22, March 19, 2011 (UTC) I play hardcore on very hard and NO companions. This is very easy for me and no hud. 68.229.224.66 02:03, March 20, 2011 (UTC)

Sorry to ask, but how many points did you had in charisma, OhMyParry? I've found that unless you have 6 or more points in charisma is dangerous to let the fight be handled by companions, they will not perform satisfactory. I'm currently with 9 CH in level 12, doing the quest Come Fly with Me, ED-E killed a pack of four Feral Ghouls with only six shots! One of them he killed with only one shot. Veronica was with me and killed a Glowing One with three attacks of her default Power Fist (can't wait to give Pushy to her!). I finally saw her using the Scribe Counter move, she attacked the Glowing One, then she blocked the attack and immediatelly hit him one time and again another one, wich finally kill him. Playing with companions is an art, because you have to spend a good deal of attribute points in charisma. ;)

And yes P3dantic, can't wait to see how my companions will fight with 10 CH, +50% DT and +50% weapon damage! Imagine what Cass will do with All American with AP ammo in Quarry Junction. :D Brfritos 06:14, March 20, 2011 (UTC)

I just deleted the file that had this playthrough because I saved too far into the main questline and couldn't do anything more. But i believe I had 8-10 charisma. I got the perk which i think was called ferocious loyalty where they are stronger when you have low hp. Veronica is honestly the best companion in my eyes throughout my playthroughs. Lily was too slow and couldn't do much. Sure she had her mental breakdowns, and having that topped with my ferocious loyalty, she went nuts. But it wouldnt matter considering she went unconscious the moment she fell below the HP mark where she goes nuts. She was completely incapable of fighting multiple things at once. --OhMyParry 16:26, March 20, 2011 (UTC)

Veronica is one of the best companions ever in my opinion, she's well balanced in the use of energy weapons, unarmed/melee and extremelly usefull if you are a energy weapons build, since you can recycle ammo on the fly. Lily gives me a lot of let downs, I don't like her as a companion, but I like to do her quest. Also telling her to stop to take her medicine is the worst decision I've made, she became very powerfull, but also she don't obey your commands (if you tell her to wait, she doesn't). I like to mix my build with different types, so if I'm a frontal assault heavy energy weapons courier I like to have Cass armed with Brush Gun/All American with me; if I'm a lever-action cowboy oriented I like to have Arcade or Veronica; a melee type I like to use Boone, he waits and I charge :D.

BTW, I'm doing the math correctly, if I have 10 charisma and equip Veronica with the Remnants Power Armor she will have +50% DT, wich means that in the end she will have 28 + 14 = 42 DT?! :o Brfritos 03:50, March 21, 2011 (UTC)

Hi all, I have been playing New Vegas on the PC for a few months and I just got it for PS3 in order to get trophies, including the hardcore playthrough one. I want to make this as challenging/real as I can, so I will be using hardcore mode, very high difficulty, no chems, no VATS except to use paralyzing palm, no companions, no dead money. I will only use fast travel once at the beginning of the game to make getting my starting weapon (Chance's Knife) possible. The goal is to get to level 30 and be able to beat the main quest etc. Rad Child is the building block of the entire build- I'm going for it at level 4. I am using chance's knife for the small stuff, progessing to guns once enemies get tougher, and then adding energy weapons (tri-beam most likely) for the toughest enemies i.e. deathclaws. With Jury Rigging I can keep everything in good condition easily, and I'll have enough weapons variety that I won't have to worry about having enough ammo. If you want a full detail of the build, here is a link to the spreadsheet which contains my starting special, traits, which perks I'll take and how I'll distribute the level up points: It is subjuect to change, I'll just have to see how it works. Comments are welcome! To clarify: @level 8 I will take the luck implant so thats why all skills go up by one.--CrazyChameleon 22:41, March 22, 2011 (UTC) ---

I did this once. beat it.

Nice. Rad Child probably makes it doable more than anything else.--CrazyChameleon 21:14 March 24, 2011 (UTC)