Forum:"Jack Of All Trades" Type Build?

I've literally spent 90% of the time playing Fallout: New Vegas since it's been out, JUST on making a decent build for my character. With so many choices & so few points to distribute to my attributes/skills etc, I can't decide what to stick with.

My current build, which I had decided to stick with for the time being is as follows:

* Strength - 7 (Will be 8 with implant, so that I can use all pistols & rifles proficiently) * Perception - 1 * Endurance - 3 (Kept it at 3, so that I can have 3 implants for Strength, Agility & Luck) * Charisma - 1 * Intelligence - 10 (Maxed it out, so that I could get extra skill points from as early as possible) * Agility - 9 (Will be 10 with implant) * Luck - 9 (Will be 10 with implant)

I'm more of a "Offense is the best type of Defense" type player than a person who prefers to have loads of health & high armour etc, which is why my Endurance is so low. I would have even lowered it to just 1, if it wasn't for the 3 implants I need. I also love conventional guns such as pistols & rifles/sniper rifles etc as opposed to energy weapons, miniguns, flame throwers, explosives etc, therefore I checked what the highest strength requirements of the pistols & rifles are ingame, and it seems it's 8 (with 9+ needed for heavier weapons such as miniguns etc which I won't be using). I kept both Perception & Charisma at 1, as I heard that Perception isn't really that great, and neither is Charisma for some reason :S

Now the only problem is I can't think whether I'd be better off with this build or just an absolutely simple build such as keeping every single Attribute the same level. Or perhaps increasing Intelligence to 10 (so that I get the extra skill points when levelling) and keeping all other attributes at 5. That would give me an "all round" type of build, with nothing being so low that it holds me back ingame.

What do you guys think is the better choice? To go with the build I outlined above, or to go with an "all round" type build instead (as shown below), so that I'm not limiting myself to some things? I guess if I had an all round type build, I wouldn't be able to do things such as hacking high level computers or lockpicking high level safes etc, but I'd be able to have more speech options available to me & I'd be more perceptive of enemies in my area, etc. Basically (as the saying goes) I'd be a "Jack of all trades, master of none".

"All Round" Type Build:

* Strength - 5 * Perception - 5 * Endurance - 5 * Charisma - 5 * Intelligence - 10 * Agility - 5 * Luck - 5

Thanks.

i usually use the all around build, but honestly perception is just helpful for aiming, since apparently it helps you aim, but your build sounds fairly good, id also get the endurance implant so you'd have 3 points to spend through implants and still have moderate endurance, as for req 8 str for most stuff you can easily get the perk that lowers str req down by 2 points for all weapons. Toolazytomakeaaccount 05:53, November 1, 2010 (UTC)

I hav a few tips to help:
 * You said about using pistols, so i found the 9mm and .357magnom revolver where quite good choices with mods for low level.


 * Whereas a higher level (for more strength and guns skills to use the better weapons more effectivly) i used the 100mm and .44magnum with mods.(barter skill will help for better deals on mods (not essential) and ammo, plus spare guns to repair them with, so i found a good repair skill and jury rigging for repairing and high luck or the scrounger-like perk for more ammo, guns and cases on bodies and containers)


 * For low level rifles the varmint rifle you get of sunny smiles and service rifle off ranger jackson were good, they used the same ammo type and the mods were cheap(high sneak and luck also helps in crit and sneak crit chance).


 * High level rifles i had were the hunting rifle (good sniper with scope and extened mags) and the sniper rifle with a silencer. they make good, easy kills if u find a high up place, combined with high sneak, silencer and high damage you can get easy kills with a sneak crit hit :) high agility means more vats action points and sniper ir commando perk make vats sniping good, but i prefer manuall sniping with scopes.


 * For armour i had ranger combat armour (ncr) as i had a ncr quest line. good legion armour was centurion armour and non faction i had reinforced leather armour combined with toughness perk twice (DT+6) and if u do birds of a feather you get van graff combat armour which is better then normal combat armour and lucks nicer too :) to obtain the first two sets of armour go tocamp forlorn hope and cottenwood cave (high level) and start sniping and looting. for leather armour you get it easily by looting viper gangers near nipton and complete birds of a feathe for van graff armour.


 * High barter lets you get more stimpaks cheap so charisma would be good, also for bigger rewards in dialouge and speech checks

Hope the tips help but as for special attributes i had a jack of all trades which was simply

Strength-6 Perception-6 Endurance-6 Charisma-6 Intelligance-6 Agility-5 Luck-5

Simply to make it ok at everythink
 * If u look at the special attributes on the pip-boy it tells you wat skill they boost when changing that specific attirbute which should help u dicide what special setup to have as that affects the skills set up and my tips should will hopefully help your skill setup and playthrough

hope it helped :D

I have a character build that might be helpful to you. My character build is basically a jack of all trades, sure you'll be a master of none at first, but your character's stats will become a lot better later in the game. At the begining of the game I distributed my attribute points like this,

Strength-6 Perception-6 Endurance-6 Charisma-6 Intelligence-6 Agility-5 Luck-5

Afterwards I had picked the following traits,

Small Frame (You'll gain one agility point increasing your agility to 6.) Wild Wasteland

Then I selected three of my lowest skills to be my tag skills, which for me happened to be Barter, Guns, and Sneak.

Then I picked the following perks,

Level 2: Confirmed Bachelor Level 4: Educated (This perk will give you 2 more skill points everytime you level up, giving you a total of 68 more skill points by the time you reach level 35.) Level 6: Comprehension (I grabbed all of the skill books including all of the skill books in Dead Money. The skill books I grabbed before I was able to select this perk, I kept in my inventory and used them after I got the perk. Each skill book will give you 4 skillpoints when you have the perk. If you use them all you'll get a total of 260 more skill points divided between all of your skills.) Level 8: Intense Training (I added another point to my luck and increased it to 6.) Level 10: Intense Training (Strength increased to 7.) Level 12: Intense Training (Perception increased to 7.) Level 14: Intense Training (Endurance increased to 7.) Level 16: Intense Training (Charisma increased to 7.) Level 18: Intense Training (Intelligence increased to 7.) Level 20: Intense Training (Agility increased to 7.) Level 22: Intense Training (Luck increased to 7.) Level 24: Intense Training (Strength increased to 8.) Level 26: Intense Training (Perception increased to 8. Afterwards, I bought all 7 attribute implants, which increased all of my attributes by 1.) Level 28: Here and Now (This perk instantly leveled my character up to level 29, giving me the skill points a lot faster if I didn't take the perk.) Level 30: Tag! (This perk will increase the skill that you choose to increase by 15 points. I increased the skill with the least amount of points, for me the skill happened to be explosives.) Level 32: Swift Learner Level 34: Swift Learner

When I level up, I increase my lowest skills so that every skill will be about the same amount. You don't have to follow this strategy to the letter, but you might want to take the Educated, Comprehension, and Intense Training early in your playthrough and take the Tag! perk sometime later in your playthrough.If you do this then your stats will look similiar to my current stats with no temporary attribute or skill increases including clothing and armor.

Attributes:

Strength-9 Perception-9 Endurance-8 Charisma-8 Intelligence-8 Agility-8 Luck-8

Skills:

Barter-87 Energy Weapons-88 Explosives-95 (Check the Duck and Cover! page for a detailed description of how to get the skill book in Dead Money out from underneath the bed.) Guns-87 Lockpick-86 Medicine-86 Melee Weapons-86 Repair-86 Science-86 Sneak-86 Speech-88 Survival-86 Unarmed-86

If you have skill magazines you'll be pretty much ready for anything.

I hope this helps you. :)

Bleargh, 10 INT...You people need to try a 6 charisma build and pick the two levels of Animal Friend. First your companions will kick ass and second is too much fun doing the quest Booted, then a bunch of Nightstalkers appears from the nearby cave and maw the Legionaries (and every other unfortunate person around, like traders and NCR patrols). Also, when in Nipton you attack Vulpes Inculta and enter the Nipton Hall, EVERY Legion mongrel will attack Legionaries, since they will follow you inside. LOL

I think that a 7 start and a INT implant, resulting in a 8 INT is more than enough. But this is me. Brfritos 06:17, February 28, 2011 (UTC)

I tested one of your ideas, having a high Luck, run to the casinos for the money, then buying the implants (usually I collect the Snowglobes and then sell them to Jane, but this jumps me to level 5 or 6). So I build a character for using in Dead Money too, it's a work in progress, but I will use Guns and Unarmed (I like melee/unarmed :D). So this is my SPECIAL from the start:


 * Strength-6
 * Perception-5
 * Endurance-7
 * Charisma-3
 * Intelligence-7
 * Agility-5
 * Luck-7

I picked the Small Frame trait (+1 AG) and plan to buy every implant, except Endurance and health regeneration. I'm not planning to use heavy weapons and this won't be a stealth courier, although it can be played if you wish. I'm still deciding if I pick an Intense Training level for Charisma or not, companions with 5 CH are strong as hell and I like them (when I don't take companions with me I lower charisma to 1 and the attribute stay there LOL). I rarelly use VATS for guns, so I will suplement Agility with Rapid Reload and pick Weapon Handling for Ballistic Fist.

Anyway, I planned different, because I usually play a double/triple agent with every faction and I like to own Lucky Shades, wich requires access to Caesar's Legion safehouse. So I run for the Strip, buyed the Naughty Nightwear from Ralph - wich turned my Luck to 8 - then make my way to the Atomic Wrangler. When I gainned 4000 caps I run to the Strip Gate, make the credit check with the greeter, but instead entering the Strip I went to the Medic Clinic and buyed the Luck implant, wich turned my Luck to 9. Only then I entered the casinos, wich make me rich in no time. Oh yes, I avoided every town, settlement and combat possible, but in the end when I reached Freeside Gate North I gainned level 2, but I think 0.5 skill point won't make a difference in the end. What do you think?

BTW, as soon as I entered The Tops the quest They Went That-A-Way was completed. This happened to you too? If yes, I will still be able to go to Boulder City and resolve the situation with the Great Khans, wich gives me reputation with them and the NCR, so I can access the Khans armory and the NCR quartermaster earlier in the game or not? Brfritos 06:47, March 1, 2011 (UTC)

I think it's not a bad idea to start with everything at 5 and add the extra points to your Intelligence until its 9

after that, I spend the last point on either Luck or Endurance - before I knew that implants depended on Endurance, I spent my points on Luck though

another thing to consider is, which perks do you hope to pick up in the future? and spend your points there

Charisma is important, are you going to use companions? if yes - then spend points here, if not - drop it to 1 and use Party Time Mentats + Naughty Nightwear and get your Barter/Speech to about 50 - this will ensure that you pretty much pass every speech check in the game

one of the most important perks to take as soon as its available is Comprehension, yeah you only get 1 point now per Skill Book ... but this includes Magazines ... which means that now instead of 10 skill points per magazine you actually get 20 ... this can help you out a lot when needed, and you don't have to waste your precious skill points on skills you really don't want to max out

also, in the begining - personally, I think that "Good Natured" is an awesome trait - it modifies some of the important skills, while you DO sacrifice 5 points of EVERY combat skill ... but chances are you are not going to rely on ALL combat skills - you gain a lot more then you loose

the other great trait is "Built To Destroy" - yeah your weapon degrades a little bit faster, but that extra 3% + all the other Critical improvements DO work and do WONDERS - I manage to do some pretty good damage with Albienne Kid's BB Gun - to a point of killing certain "human" enemies just by hitting their limbs and even headshots

also, I tend now NOT to take perks like Sniper or Gunslinger or Cowboy, I tend to spend my points on Intense Training to get my SPECIAL up to where I think I need it

also consider if you are going to use Big Guns or not, if you do - spend a lot more on your Strength

it appears that, while in FO3 Charisma was simply NOT as important, in New Vegas the least used SPECIAL is actually Perception ... because all other stats give some hefty improvements to your character's abilities ...

BTW people, anyone tried the Light Touch perk? My gosh, this thing turns you into a critical killing machine! LOL I started Dead Money at level 12 for picking the armors, it's not hard if you planned your build right. Brfritos 20:03, March 3, 2011 (UTC)

I just completed my first (Vanilla Only) 'Jack of all Trades' build and it works very well indeed.

Started out with:

Strength: 4, Perception: 5, Endurance: 6, Charisma: 5, Intelligence: 10, Agility: 4 (5 with trait), Luck: 6.

and took Good Natured and Small frame traits.

Bought six implants: Strength, Perception, Charisma, Agility, Luck, and Sub Dermal Armour.

Ended up with:

(Of course I collected 4 of each skill book, and 5 Science skill books, to achieve this)

Strength: 8 - Melee 75. Perception: 6 - Energy Weapons 100, Explosives 75, Lockpick 80. Endurance: 6 - Survival 55, Unarmed 100. Charisma: 6 - Barter 50, Speech 100. Intelligence: 10 - Medicine 75, Repair 76, Science 80. Agility: 6 - Guns 75, Sneak 80. Luck: 7 -

Perks taken in the following order:

Intense Training(1) Strength, Educated, Comprehension, Intense Training(2) Strength, Animal Friend(1), Silent Running, Intense Training(3) Strength, Better Criticals, Piercing strike, Toughness(1), Toughness(2), Tag! Energy Weapons, Laser Commander, Stonewall, Strong Back.

The Build Idea was: (including attaining all 4 unarmed special attacks)

Long Range attack = Energy weapons (Ultimately YCS/186) Medium Range attack = Explosives (Ultimately Annabelle, Thump Thump, and all Grenades) Long Range Sneak attack = Guns (Ultimately Fully Modded Sniper Rifle) Medium Range Sneak attack = Projectile (Love those spears - LOL) Close Quarters(Brawling or Sneak attack) = Melee and Unarmed (Ultimately Ballistic Fist) (Incidentally, Ballistic Fist works just fine with only STR:8) Health(Survival)= any Water, Sunset Sarsaparilla, Stimpacks, and nothing more than Desert Salad. Make a ton of Weapon Repair Kits, Doctors Bags, Stimpacks, and Anti-Venoms.

I have to say it was a complete success, if not a little boring being able to easily contend with anything. The build is/was so successful that I upped the difficulty level and still don't know what to spend the spare 180k+ caps on next :-) Thank you all for inspiring me to try this.  (P3dantic)86.148.70.114 17:00, March 17, 2011 (UTC)