Forum:Wasteland Rifleman Build

Hey all,

Build is as follows:
 * SPECIAL:
 * S: 4 (6 w/ Implant + Power Armor)
 * P: 5 (7 w/ Implant + Beret)
 * E: 8 (9 w/ Implant)
 * C: 1
 * I: 9 (10 w/ Implant)
 * A: 6 (8 w/ Implant + Small Frame)
 * L: 7 (9 w/ Implant + Intense Training)


 * Perks:
 * Lvl.2 - Intense Training (LCK)
 * Lvl.4 - Educated
 * Lvl.6 - Shotgun Surgeon (45 Guns)
 * Lvl.8 - Hand Loader (70 Repair)
 * Lvl.10 - Finesse
 * Lvl.12 - Comprehension
 * Lvl.14 - Jury Rigging (90 Repair)
 * Lvl.16 - Weapon Handling
 * Lvl.18 - Commando
 * Lvl.20 - Sniper (Per6/Agi6)
 * Lvl.22 - Better Criticals (Per6/Lck6)
 * Lvl.24 - Grim Reaper’s Sprint
 * Lvl.26 - Nerves of Steel (Agi7)
 * Lvl.28 - Toughness (1)
 * Lvl.30 - Toughness (2)

Character was modeled off of Haeravon's Character Creation FAQ with some alterations.

It will be primarily geared towards a "marksman" style of Guns-use and strong skill stacking (Spch/Lckpck/Sci/Rep/etc). Hand Loader and Jury Rigging are included for added self-sufficiency and access to the more powerful custom ammunition. Weapons handling was taken to cut down on SPECIAL points for STR. I'm not entirely happy with it, though. I don't like the fact that I'll be required to obtain some form of Power Armor to use the AMR and LMG. I'm not sure when a set will even be made available to my character. Also a bit apprehensive on taking Small Frame as a trait, though I don't plan on playing in Hardcore mode for my first playthrough.

Wish I could max out the 9 LCK, though I'd still receive the full +5 skill bonus even if I didn't. Considering further reducing END by 1pt. and foregoing the Regenerative Implant to boost either STR or LCK. I think AGI should be fine at 8, but it's an option as well. Curious about the possibility of reducing INT, as I hear it's effectiveness has been somewhat nerfed from previous games. The perk progression could use some tweaking, though I'm fairly content with the perks themselves. The build is still in the preliminary phase, of course, so it's all open to discussion.

Concerning the more VATS-related perks; Grim Reaper/Nerves/etc, I'm considering dropping. Perhaps not, though. I'm interested in your perspectives on how to handle that as well as the build in general. Thanks for reading!

Kawalsky 20:19, November 6, 2010 (UTC)

Looks like you've got yerself a sniperish build. Got some FNV experience on that so I'll speak a few thoughts.
 * You can safely reduce INT to eight, six, or even four, as the skill benefit from the stat has been cut in half from Fallout 3, drastically reducing its usefulness. Educated and Comprehension are the real skill engines for this build, and they both require INT 4. By lvl 20 with Educated and Comprehension, you should be approaching four to six maxed out skills.
 * Have to recommend against Shotgun Surgeon. Even with it, shotguns perform very poorly against many of the melee critters you'd most like to use them against, like Deathclaws and Giant Radscorps. They're ok versus Cazadors and raider punks, but I'd still say suboptimal due to small clip sizes and slow reload times.
 * Might want to cut starting END in favor of LCK and PER. Perception is particularly important for sniper builds, and when combined with ED-E sensors will allow you to engage any outdoor enemy at truly stand-off ranges. Don't bother with the Regen implant if you plan on boosting either Medicine or (especially) Survival to high levels.
 * Yeah, don't play with Small Frame on Hardcore unless you're a masochist (it's bad enough already).
 * With a sniperish build, consider cutting the VATS and AP related perks. VATS accuracy is atrocious at stand off ranges even with all the relevant perks. A very high Guns skill + crouching should give you very smooth firing to achieve headshots freehand. Of course VATS is quite useful for close combat, but not to the point of investing several perks in it with this build, imo. Your instincts are good with respect to dropping those perks.
 * Keep in mind that the Gobi Campaign scout rifle and Anti-materiel rifle can't be silenced, so it depends on your engagement style.
 * Hit the Gun Runners early, and hit them often. Also keep in touch with the weapons traders at 188 Trading Post, southeast of New Vegas. You need a steady supply of store-bought rounds to break down for ammo crafting.
 * Otherwise, looks good!

Zhukov 21:42, November 6, 2010 (UTC)

Very interesting build. It looks quite a lot like the "perfect" character build I made a while ago. (Perfect for me at least =P) I started with 2 more Strength, 1 Less agility and 1 less Endurance. Traits are Trigger Discipline and Good Natured for the sake of better skills or I would have skipped the 2nd trait. Implanting the same specials and skipping the regenerative implant as it is a complete waste of time and caps in my opinion. I'm not a VATS user though so I skipped Sniper, Commando, Nerves of Steel, Grim Reaper aswell as Weapon Handling. I will have 8 Str without which is plenty for me. Although I strongly considered going with 7 and throwing up an extra perception to pick up Four Eyes trait instead of Good Natured without losing Better Criticals. Spending my perks on an additional Luck training, Strength training, Hunter, Rapid Reload and Silent Running at the moment. Not sure if I should switch out Shotgun Surgeon for Strong back just yet but as a pack rat on Hardcore it's tempting as hell. If you want to burst through armor with a shotgun load up slugs - single bullet means single armor check. ;)

I don't plan on using a Remnants power armor like you unless I need +1 Str for carrying items. (Swap with Cass as needed whom carries my whiskey while she's at it =P) Instead I'm going for the medium Gannon Family Tesla Armor with Authority Glasses for looks and the 1st Recon Beret. 10 Luck/Finesse/Recon Beret will make sniper rifles perform critical damage with every shot and it seriously pumps up the damage from other weapons too. Gobi will be my main weapon through most of the game with non stop crits on JSP ammo and Better Criticals. ^^ You can Jury Rig snipers with Service rifles for cheap repairs and the Gobi has a better CND then a normal sniper to last a bit. Anti-Materiel will be used with Hand Load .50 Caliber rounds to plant the first shots from Sneak once I get 100 repair to make that ammo. Sneak criticals deal twice normal crit damage for massive damage results on the .50 Cal. And you can Jury Rig a .50 Cal with varmint rifles. On the other hand YCS does very very sweet normal damage aswell with a 2x critical mod and rapid reload. Moreso if you use True Police Stories heheh. It does slightly more damage then an Anti-Materiel on sneak crits with normal ammo but with Hand Loads .50 are way too awesome to be using YCS after that. Ratslayer will also crit each and every shot, together with Hunter perk and possibly hollow point rounds it will serve as my animal wiping rifle through the wastes. :P

This build will allow 100 E. Weapons, Explosives, Guns and Sneak. 95 Repair/Lockpick can be turned into 100 when I wish to fix/create items or pick locks through an vault utility suit. 80 Speech covers all persuasions in the entire game minus at the end as far as I know if not a magazine will fix that. Although I don't plan on pursuading anyone out of anything there since the final battle is where the fun is at. ;) 90 Science with the followers lab coat to reach 100. Survival and Medicine will be at 80 for checks, item creation and a great boost of healing which is very valuable on Hardcore mode. Stacking multiple different heal-over-time items at once is how you stay alive. ;P Magazines will max out these stats if needed for a while but I doubt it. Barter can be brought to 60 for persuasion checks with a magazine and a roving trader suit+hat otherwise sit at 30. (You get filthy rich even with 0 barter and no reputations) While Unarmed/Melee will be untouched and unused at 34. Getting all this will require each skillbook in the game including the one from sending power through the entire wasteland at HELIOS and having the intelligence implant before reaching level 3. But it's a lot of fun playing through since the build is pretty damn solid if you start implanting early. High strength, endurance, luck and at the start a nice amount of intelligence based skills is a great way to begin.

It's very much like your own with just enough Per/Agi for Better Criticals and Silent Running perks after getting the implants. The ability to get 10 strength, having the most skillpoints possible and a maxed out crit chance is my personal goal. So far it's doing awesome even with rather weak gear on Very Hard difficulty. I tagged Guns/Speech/Science at the start as a boost. Good luck with your characters!

I really typed wayyy more then I intended, lol. --PvtNiss 01:39, November 8, 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for the great advice guys, I sincerely appreciate the input.

I've done a bit of tinkering with the build; not too terribly much, but enough to reflect some of the suggestions you've both offered. Essentially I've reduced END by 1pt, placing it in LCK for the solid 10% crit chance. Additionally I've replaced Grim Reaper's Sprint with a rank of Intense Training (STR), to eliminate my previous concerns about having to rely on Power Armor, which had the dual effect of allowing my character access to the STR6 weapons much earlier in the game. Now I won't be waiting for Weapons Handling at lvl.16 before I'm able to use something as simple as a hunting rifle.

Shotgun Surgeon I've decided to leave in, as some websites I've visited cite some very convincing statistics which argue for its' use. Should be fun, in any case, as I plan on utilizing them extensively with handloaded magnum-ammo and slugs. My go-to for CQB and mid-range combat, if you will. I believe I'll still keep my starting INT at 9, as well. Perhaps I'm too entrenched in the mentality of the previous Fallout titles; and that may well be, but purposefully skipping out on skill-points just feels off. Plus I'd like to meet any high-INT checks that may come along.

As for the remaining three VATS-perks (Commando/Sniper/Nerves), I really just couldn't bring myself to cut them. I know, I know. Granted the build is for a sniper, but VATS plays an important role in close-quarters engagements, and FO:NV will force me into them regardless of my specialization, I'm sure. At any rate, the only replacements I had been interested in were more convenience-related perks than anything else (Strong Back/Silent Running/etc). I'm more in favor of some added lethality in VATS than being able to carry more kit or run while sneaking, despite it not being my primary method of engagement. Of course, it's still open to discussion.

Revised Build:


 * SPECIAL:
 * S: 4 (6 w/ Implant + Intense Training)
 * P: 5 (7 w/ Implant + Beret)
 * E: 7 (8 w/ Implant)
 * C: 1
 * I: 9 (10 w/ Implant)
 * A: 6 (8 w/ Implant + Small Frame)
 * L: 8 (10 w/ Implant + Intense Training)


 * Traits:
 * Small Frame
 * Good Natured


 * Perks:
 * Lvl.2 - Intense Training (STR)
 * Lvl.4 - Educated
 * Lvl.6 - Shotgun Surgeon (45 Guns)
 * Lvl.8 - Hand Loader (70 Repair)
 * Lvl.10 - Finesse
 * Lvl.12 - Comprehension
 * Lvl.14 - Jury Rigging (90 Repair)
 * Lvl.16 - Weapon Handling
 * Lvl.18 - Better Criticals (Per6/Lck6)
 * Lvl.20 - Intense Training (LCK)
 * Lvl.22 - Commando
 * Lvl.24 - Sniper (Per6/Agi6)
 * Lvl.26 - Nerves of Steel (Agi7)
 * Lvl.28 - Toughness (1)
 * Lvl.30 - Toughness (2)

Kawalsky 00:53, November 11, 2010 (UTC)