In Skyrim, Bethesda allowed you to attain Legendary levels in perks, which meant that you could continue to focus on the ones that gave your character some specialization. Although, eventually, with enough game-play, you will run into the same "now what do I cap?" issue.
But I still had TONS of hours in Skyrim. And Fallout: New Vegas. And Oblivion. And Fallout 3. So clearly, I never ran out of things to explore!
I'd ballpark attaining all of the perks at something on the order of 1k hours' play on a single character. I wouldn't worry overmuch about all of your characters becoming homogenous. ;)
Besides, some will do crazy stuff like massacre-on-accident the roaming merchants, not rescue certain hard-to-save-NPCs and intentionally not recruit very many settlers since their robotic mini-onions are far easier to provide defenses and weapons for.
Don't know anyone like that, nawp, nawp, nawp.
I finally downloaded the dlc, but I had to start a new character for it. My current main was a Lone Wanderer, and wouldn't use companions robot or otherwise. My original main would have been perfect, but I don't play her anymore.
So, instead I began the story of Sophia, charismatic genius. :P
I finally downloaded the dlc, but I had to start a new character for it. My current main was a Lone Wanderer, and wouldn't use companions robot or otherwise. My original main would have been perfect, but I don't play her anymore.
So, instead I began the story of Sophia, charismatic genius. :P
Is she a Girl Genius?
Is she a Girl Genius?I finally downloaded the dlc, but I had to start a new character for it. My current main was a Lone Wanderer, and wouldn't use companions robot or otherwise. My original main would have been perfect, but I don't play her anymore.
So, instead I began the story of Sophia, charismatic genius. :P
Nah, as much as I like Kaja Foglio's style, I was going a little more down to earth. Kind of earnest and friendly, but entirely too willing to elaborate on the minutiae of the ZX-7 circuit board's improvements compared to the X-93.
I finally downloaded the dlc, but I had to start a new character for it. My current main was a Lone Wanderer, and wouldn't use companions robot or otherwise. My original main would have been perfect, but I don't play her anymore.
So, instead I began the story of Sophia, charismatic genius. :P
My main is a Lone Wanderer too. He builds automatrons, names them from a list with middle initials for role designations and settlement names as their last names. Joe F. Starlight is a farmer-bot at Starlight Drive In. Josh M. Rocket is a guard-bot at Red Rocket. Bob Covenant is a scavenger-bot at Covenant. Etc.
My main is a Lone Wanderer too. He builds automatrons, names them from a list with middle initials for role designations and settlement names as their last names. Joe F. Starlight is a farmer-bot at Starlight Drive In. Josh M. Rocket is a guard-bot at Red Rocket. Bob Covenant is a scavenger-bot at Covenant. Etc.I finally downloaded the dlc, but I had to start a new character for it. My current main was a Lone Wanderer, and wouldn't use companions robot or otherwise. My original main would have been perfect, but I don't play her anymore.
So, instead I began the story of Sophia, charismatic genius. :P
Wait, you can make essentially robot settlers?
Aria might get some use from the dlc yet.
My main is a Lone Wanderer too. He builds automatrons, names them from a list with middle initials for role designations and settlement names as their last names. Joe F. Starlight is a farmer-bot at Starlight Drive In. Josh M. Rocket is a guard-bot at Red Rocket. Bob Covenant is a scavenger-bot at Covenant. Etc.I finally downloaded the dlc, but I had to start a new character for it. My current main was a Lone Wanderer, and wouldn't use companions robot or otherwise. My original main would have been perfect, but I don't play her anymore.
So, instead I began the story of Sophia, charismatic genius. :P
Wait, you can make essentially robot settlers?
Aria might get some use from the dlc yet.
Yes, indeed! I have screenies in the above link showing some, including overhauled Codsworth and Curie.
Yes, indeed! I have screenies in the above link showing some, including overhauled Codsworth and Curie.My main is a Lone Wanderer too. He builds automatrons, names them from a list with middle initials for role designations and settlement names as their last names. Joe F. Starlight is a farmer-bot at Starlight Drive In. Josh M. Rocket is a guard-bot at Red Rocket. Bob Covenant is a scavenger-bot at Covenant. Etc.I finally downloaded the dlc, but I had to start a new character for it. My current main was a Lone Wanderer, and wouldn't use companions robot or otherwise. My original main would have been perfect, but I don't play her anymore.
So, instead I began the story of Sophia, charismatic genius. :P
Wait, you can make essentially robot settlers?
Aria might get some use from the dlc yet.
I tend to prefer alt-Curie, but that's great news.
1k hours total playtime and a combination of laziness and diligent scrubbing of save games wipes out so so ... SO .. much. Imma fix this, sort of, on a new playthrough. facepalms himself
All in all, the first DLC was short but enjoyable. I liked the story and the ability to build robots is a plus.
I haven't finished it yet. Started off with a new character, but I keep getting sidetracked by main storyline stuff, plus the other faction quests that I know would provide me with helpful gear (Railroad for ballistic weave).
At level 15-18, those random Rust Devil patrols have been tough! Usually about 6, up to 5 of which have been robots, and often at least 1 or 2 that are higher level enough that they have skulls next to their names.
I'm now level 20, just started the Railroad quests to open up the ballistic weave asap, and still haven't gotten over to the General Atomics factory. Just trying to get across Boston has been rather brutal with all the various factions scattered about every few blocks.
For console players: I'm noticing quite a bit of lag on my frame rate since downloading the dlc. Anyone else having any issues?
I haven't finished it yet. Started off with a new character, but I keep getting sidetracked by main storyline stuff, plus the other faction quests that I know would provide me with helpful gear (Railroad for ballistic weave).
At level 15-18, those random Rust Devil patrols have been tough! Usually about 6, up to 5 of which have been robots, and often at least 1 or 2 that are higher level enough that they have skulls next to their names.
I'm now level 20, just started the Railroad quests to open up the ballistic weave asap, and still haven't gotten over to the General Atomics factory. Just trying to get across Boston has been rather brutal with all the various factions scattered about every few blocks.
For console players: I'm noticing quite a bit of lag on my frame rate since downloading the dlc. Anyone else having any issues?
If you're striving for the "happy ending" (3 of 4 factions more-or-less not killing each other on sight), hold off on starting the Railroad until after you've completed Act 1 of the Main Quest.
RE: lag/frame rate drop, the same thing happened with the 1.3 patch if memory serves across all platforms. Not much to do other than maybe toggling things down a notch or two that I'm aware of.
Why would starting the Railroad before Act 1 affect that ending? You should be able to meet them and safely do their non-Institute related quests at any time (i.e., it's safe to do Tradecraft and any of the sidequests like the Jackpot and MILA quests).
You just can't finish the Railroad's Institute-related quest "Underground Undercover"--which shows up after act I of course, and that's because you're eventually forced to do the Institute's quest "Mass Fusion," which pits you against the Brotherhood. (You can even safely do Railroad quests until you're handed Mass Fusion, however--then just don't do that quest. Likewise with the Brotherhood, just don't go past Blind Betrayal.)
Easiest thing is just do the Molecular Level with the Minutemen and tell the Railroad you want to work against the Institute with the Minutemen; Desdemona will get stuck in a complain loop but you'll remain friendly with them. They'll still let you do their sidequests (you can't turn quests into Desdemona, but you can to Carrington, PAM, and Tinker Tom). Once you finish the main quest, Desdemona will also let you turn quests back in to her again.
Why would starting the Railroad before Act 1 affect that ending? You should be able to meet them and safely do their non-Institute related quests at any time (i.e., it's safe to do Tradecraft and any of the sidequests like the Jackpot and MILA quests).
You just can't finish the Railroad's Institute-related quest "Underground Undercover"--which shows up after act I of course, and that's because you're eventually forced to do the Institute's quest "Mass Fusion," which pits you against the Brotherhood. (You can even safely do Railroad quests until you're handed Mass Fusion, however--then just don't do that quest. Likewise with the Brotherhood, just don't go past Blind Betrayal.)
Easiest thing is just do the Molecular Level with the Minutemen and tell the Railroad you want to work against the Institute with the Minutemen; Desdemona will get stuck in a complain loop but you'll remain friendly with them. They'll still let you do their sidequests (you can't turn quests into Desdemona, but you can to Carrington, PAM, and Tinker Tom). Once you finish the main quest, Desdemona will also let you turn quests back in to her again.
As I understand it, knowing about the "hidden base" you encounter in Tradecraft is what screws it up.
LOL My God, Crippling makes Deathclaws almost sad!
On my new guy, only level 18, I picked up a Crippling 10mm pistol - just a basic model. After a little travel toward Parsons Insane Assylum (I got the Secret of Cabot House quest early because I organically was guided toward Bunker Hill before I'd even hit Diamond City), I was surprised by a Deathclaw.
On reload, having little else in my arsenal at the time, I tried out the Crippling 10mm and - whoa! - poor thing couldn't move after a few rapid fire shots!
The Mercs at Parsons finished it off for me, but I was very pleased with my drop after this! Now to mod it out - full auto, better power - sweet!
I do not like the new Hardcore Survival Mode. I was so dissapointed in it that I oped out of the Beta.
Fallout 4 - Beta Survival Mode Overview.
No surprises there.
Disappointing that they bundled it all together into an All or Nothing option.
A lot of people I know felt the No Fast Travel was more pain than worth it, and something they could opt to do on their own.
Overall, they give you less choice rather than more.
I'll have to wait for the official version, but this is both what I expected and wasn't hoping for.
Time for modders to make the game what people want to play.
Yeah, I just don't have the time to play without fast travel or limited saves. It isn't about "challenge" it's about the amount of actual time I have in front of the computer to play. If I have to replay 2 hours of progress because I couldn't find an effing bed---or more likely, because the game crashed--and that 2 hours of "progress" was slogging from Somerville Place to clear Taffington Boathouse for them, or from County Crossing to clear Faneuil Hall for them (two actual quests I was handed recently) then it ain't worth it.
Wonder if they will change any of the options based on beta feedback.
If enough feedback indicates the same/very similar objections ...
I've only rarely had the game crash on me, even during the previous beta releases. Maybe I've just been lucky.
My current Evil Plan is a deliberate conquest of all unoccupied-by-friendlies settlements, Railroad be damned, prior to engaging the new Survival difficulty.
For those on PC, here's a simple .txt file one can execute prior to engaging in the new Survival mode, hidden behind a spoiler tag.
player.additem 001BF72E 10000; Adhesive
player.additem 0006907A 10000; Aluminum
player.additem 000AEC5C 10000; Asbestos
player.additem 000AEC5B 10000; Ballistic Fiber
player.additem 000AEC5E 10000; Ceramic
player.additem 0006907B 10000; Circuitry
player.additem 000AEC5F 1000; Cloth
player.additem 0006907C 10000; Copper
player.additem 000AEC60 10000; Cork
player.additem 0006907D 10000; Crystal
player.additem 001BF730 1000; Fertilizer
player.additem 00069087 10000; Fiber Optics
player.additem 000AEC61 10000; Fiberglass
player.additem 0006907E 10000; Gears
player.additem 00069085 10000; Glass
player.additem 000AEC62 10000; Gold
player.additem 000AEC63 10000; Lead
player.additem 000AEC64 10000; Leather
player.additem 00069086 10000; Nuclear Material
player.additem 001BF732 10000; Oil
player.additem 0006907F 1000; Plastic
player.additem 00106D98 10000; Rubber
player.additem 00069081 10000; Screws
player.additem 000AEC66 10000; Silver
player.additem 00069082 10000; Spring
player.additem 000731A4 10000; Steel
player.additem 000731A3 10000; Wood
player.additem 000F742E 12; Carrot
player.additem 000330F8 12; Corn
player.additem 000EF24D 12; Gourd
player.additem 000D981D 1000; Tarberry
player.additem 00033102 12; Mutfruit
player.additem 000E0043 12; Razorgrain
player.additem 0009DCC4 12; Tato
Stand next to the conquered joint's workshop, ~, bat whateveryounamedthisthing, ~ out then transfer all the junk and toss the aid crop items into said workshop. Now you have enough crops for your farm-bots to keep you going after a few days and enough materials for most needs so that you can worry about looting only ammo, chems, chow, water and any miscellany you care about.
I like soap, toothpaste and "clean" items to hoard.
They ninja'd in a major nerf to carry weight as part of this. Ouch.
I like the new survival mode personally, even if I continually get stomped in it. Maybe I'm a glutton for punishment and don't mind walking everywhere (something I try to do anyway). My only wish is that they had temporary saves that delete themselves when you load them, allowing you to exit the game anywhere.
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I've only rarely had the game crash on me, even during the previous beta releases. Maybe I've just been lucky.
Crashes have only been rare for me too, but they still suck when they happen. And I certainly know of other players who have frequent crash issues. Usually has to do with a particular hardware combo--as is almost always the case, the game works with some PC builds better than others, even if all system reqs are technically being met and drivers updated. Hell, I've heard about crashes happening on XBox and PS and they all have the same configuration.
Regardless, it sucks to lose progress. Bethesda players are used to having to save frequently for what are usually inevitable crashes. The save limitations stops them from doing the one thing that protects them from this problem.
I like the new survival mode personally, even if I continually get stomped in it. Maybe I'm a glutton for punishment and don't mind walking everywhere (something I try to do anyway). My only wish is that they had temporary saves that delete themselves when you load them, allowing you to exit the game anywhere.
Temp saves would be a great idea. I'd play survival mode if it weren't for the savegame limitations. I have no issue with the eating, sleeping, diseases, harder combat etc. Stuff that makes it harder for my character, essentially, sounds interesting and fun to play. What I don't want is stuff that makes it harder for ME, as the player, to play on a meta level--i.e., that impinges upon my time in an unfun way. If I've only got 20 minutes before I leave the house, and I know I can either take those 20 minutes to walk to the place where my quest is but then have to stop before I can complete the quest, or just fast travel to that place and finish the quest, I know what I would personally prefer to do (which yes, may be different from what someone else might prefer--welcome to Fallout, which is supposed to provide the player OPTIONS, not take them away).
I don't just sit at home and play video games all day. I have a full-time job, freelance work for Paizo, friends, family, a religious community, a community chorus, and other hobbies like miniature painting to put time into. Bethesda clearly made this "survival mode" for the people who do nothing but game, not for people with other things in their life as well.
+1
If they simply did what FO:NV did with needing to eat, drink, and be merry, I'd be happy.
Making several of these optional would be far better so those who want the feature can play it, and those who don't can add in the ones they do want. Player option/customization is a more attractive design philosophy.
(Lower weight capacity, plus weighted ammo? Didn't expect that.)
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The biggest difference between Fallout New Vegas's Hardcore mode and Fallout 4's is that NV made theirs to help the world immersion while Fallout 4's is made to just make the game harder.
(Lower weight capacity, plus weighted ammo? Didn't expect that.)
Seems like they grabbed that from the JE Sawyer mod for Fallout: New Vegas, which adds the same thing. (Well, ammo having weight is in F:NV's hardcore mode, but IRRC the Sawyer mod makes it even heavier.) But the thing is Sawyer made that for F:NV, where even though looting stuff for crafting can be important, it's nowhere near as a major part of gameplay as it is in F4.
Seems like whenever they take something F:NV, it's the wrong stuff. Okay, with the notable and welcome exception of better companions with good dialogue, personal quests, and perks they can give you.
Oh well. All my griping aside, I'm having fun with F4 as is so it's not like I'm missing out on anything.
What gets me is they tout the settlement building as a CENTRAL part of Fallout 4 but now they nerf the carry weight limit for both you and your companions which then holds back settlement building.
I also do not like that stimpacks weigh something or the fact that rad away makes you more vulnerable to diseases.
Another issue is that missiles weigh 7 pounds and mini-nukes weigh 25. So much for using the missile launcher or the Fat Man.
On the plus side, deep pocketed armor adds +10 pounds per limb and +20 pounds for the chest. An extra 60 pounds of carry weight does help. Strong Back 2 will still be needed for Survival Mode, but the deep pockets helps.
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Lead Belly all the way (the 3rd and final perk can be acquired as early as 17th level) should greatly aid in dealing with dehydration and starvation on the hoof. Toss in Aquaboy/girl 1 and you're able to ignore environmental water, drink said water and eat the flesh of your enemies, especially once you cook them. Leaven your larder with the widely varied assortment of wild veggies, carrot flowers and the like littering the world your food needs seem likely to be easily dealt with.
This leaves quality sleep as a primary hurdle, although you have a good chance of being able to acquire a save via random sleeping bag/mattress/bed on the hoof without too much difficulty.
If you're willing to go Cannibal, you should be able to eat the assorted bipedal field rations throughout the setting.
Now, what kinds of nasty diseases and parasites are awaiting you from such fare ...
Corpses have clouds of flies buzzing about them after a short amount of in-game time passes. Might want to steer clear of them. Loot quickly.
Regarding carry weight, Lead Belly effectively eliminates ~60 pounds or so of the amount of high-weight water and food (at least based on my and Sharoth's typical gear loadout pre-Survival 2.0), replacing most of the carry weight lost upon entering Survival 2.0.
With the assortment of 0.1 pound food items in the game, almost all of which are scrounged, you can probably budget about 20 pounds for all of your remaining Aid items, freeing up "carry weight budget" for armor, weapons and ammunition. I'm guesstimating roughly half of one's carry weight gets gobbled up by one's running around gear loadout. Lower weight weaponry is more valuable in many respects as many pack quite a punch, especially swords and many energy weapons, permitting allocation of carry weight budget towards more ammunition or more loot.
Stimpaks having weight is something that many probably anticipated. The loss of carry weight was not.
IMO Bethesda will be best served regarding Survival 2.0 with setting expectations very clearly upfront. Going in eyes open makes the decision to play in these conditions less unfair by the simple virtue of "we let you know what this is before your character was eaten from the insides by radworms".
Lone Wanderer perks suggestion (starting SPECIAL 4/5/5/6/6/1/1), END +1 = END 6 from You're SPECIAL! book in Sanctuary:
(in order)
- (2nd) Lone Wanderer 1
- (3rd) Gun Nut 1
- (4th) END +1 = 7
- (5th) Aquacritter 1
- (6th) Armorer 1
- (7th) Blacksmith 1
- (8th) Adamantine Skeleton 1
- (9th & 10th) Demolitions Expert 1 & 2
- (11th) INT +1 = 7
- (12th) Local Leader 1
- (13th) Gun Nut 2
- (14th) Armorer 2
- (15th) Adamantium Skeleton 2
- (16th) Blacksmith 2
- (17th) Lone Wanderer 2
- (19th or 18th) INT +1 = 8
- (18th or 19th) Local Leader 2
- (20th & 21st) Lead Belly 1 & 2
- (22nd) Demolitions Expert 3
- (23rd) Lead Belly 3
- (24th) Science 1
- (25th) Gun Nut 3
- (26th) Armorer 3
- (27th) Adamantium Skeleton 3
- (28th) Science 2
- (29th) Blacksmith 3
- (30th) Science 3
- (31st - 33rd) <perks of choice>
- (34th) Demolitions Expert 4
- (35th - 38th) <perks of choice>
- (39th) Gun Nut 4
- (40th) Lone Wanderer 3
- (41st) Armorer 4
- (42nd) Science 4
- (43rd) Proceed with evilly plotting.
The AGL of 1 is pure pain for quite a while, so this doesn't do much good for those who're sneaky types using VATS almost exclusively in combat. It works just fine for melee-heavy builds using the higher damage melee weapons as their go-to. Early on the Sole Survivor is heavily gear-dependant, changing quickly after 42nd level as they're able to build anything and everything (or very nearly so), and build it very well.
Grape Mentats are Your Best Friend even at CHA 6 (11 CHA, plus possible bumps from beer/booze while they're in your system), I recommend making these early and often as materials and opportunity permit. If you go with Chemist 4 and install a bio-comm mesh in your chest armor, 15 second chems last 67 seconds and 2 minute chems last 8 minutes, positively nasty and incredibly chem-resource efficient.
Final thought on Survival 2.0 - the syringer rifle should now be a viable primary long-range stealth weapon. I'll eventually test this theory when I get in on the beta 2-vival, but that won't be until after this coming weekend unless my current evil plans unfold the way I'm hoping that they will.
~hugs my 80 pounds of food, water, and other assorted "aid" items~ My pretties! My pretties!
~grins~ Let us not forget that weapons and armor also weigh a lot. I had to cut down on my 8+ guns down to 4(?) and 8 grenades and 8 molotovs. I am now wearing the lightest leather and am REALLY looking foreward to armorweave.
Lead Belly 3 should allow you to live off the land a bit more. Sadly, Bethesda has still not told us how Chem Resistant or Lead Belly or Party Boy or any of the other perks affect Survival 2.0.
Chemist 1 will be my perk # 1. You can't craft antibiotics without it. I am sure that Medic # 1 will also be useful in that regard.
You can now fill empty bottles with dirty / clean water now.
Note - I have not verified this, but I will ASAP. Milk and beer bottles just became VERY useful if this is true. So does razor grain.
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Bethesda's Survival Mode Beta homepage. I figured it would be nice to get our info from the horse's mouth.
I'm less enthused that the DLC has a level minimum. I preferred the approach of 3 and NV with giving access from 1 and letting you decide when to hop in.
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I did Lonesome Road ten levels below the recommendation, the fools obviously didn't realize I'd max out explosives and lock picking and walk in there packing serious heat.
I'm less enthused that the DLC has a level minimum. I preferred the approach of 3 and NV with giving access from 1 and letting you decide when to hop in.
Honestly, I kinda like that. It prevents you from rushing a level scaling area and getting the DLC gear at the beginning of the game. Fallout has always had that problem.
Bethesda's Survival Mode Beta homepage. I figured it would be nice to get our info from the horse's mouth.
Man - the back-and-forth fighting going on over "No Fast Travel" and "Save on Sleep" only debates!
Always fascinates me the way people argue. Especially when it's: "I'm asking to have the option!" and gets answered with: "If you don't like it, don't play it!"
I understand the developers' intentions, and can respect that. And it is equally valid to say: "I'd like most of these features, but not all of them, and would really like to have the option to implement them or not. If I wind up using all of them great! I appreciate you providing them! If not, what difference does that make to anyone but me?"
Ah well... pretty clear which camp I'm in. :)
edit: AND there are all sorts of new mechanics added, like the ability to fill bottles with water! Do I really have to lose out on things that really could have been in the basic game simply because I'm not willing to do "HARDCORE SURVIVAL MODE!"?
Latest Poll on Bethesda.net shows that those who want the option to toggle Survival features outnumber those who don't want any toggles by 2:1. (With only 52 votes recorded so far.)
Hopefully, that will hold, and Bethesda will pay attention.
I did Lonesome Road ten levels below the recommendation, the fools obviously didn't realize I'd max out explosives and lock picking and walk in there packing serious heat.
I always started it early, just so I could get some gear, and the Dean's electronics.
My go to though was Honest Hearts. I'd start that as early as 2.
After playing a bit more, I have to say that maybe it is a little much as it stands now. Between enemy grenades, traps, and legendary enemies (especially ghouls), I sometimes feel like my life is out of my hands. If I don't catch the trap, I start over. Surprised by ghouls, I start over. It was enjoyable at first, but on the fifth time trying to make it to diamond city, it has become frustration devoid of entertainment.
I think making the mode an extra layer on top of difficulty (like New Vegas) might be the best bet. I love these mechanics, but locking them at the tip top of the difficulty curve is making it somewhat unfun for me. And this was the reason I bought the game.
I've already bought this game for both consoles, now I'm making regular will saves to avoid buying it for PC just so I can play with the survival mode beta. Must. Not. Spend. Another. Fifty. Dollars. On. Fallout. 4.
I've already bought this game for both consoles, now I'm making regular will saves to avoid buying it for PC just so I can play with the survival mode beta. Must. Not. Spend. Another. Fifty. Dollars. On. Fallout. 4.
It was on sale on Steam this past week IIRC for $40... ;)
I did Lonesome Road ten levels below the recommendation, the fools obviously didn't realize I'd max out explosives and lock picking and walk in there packing serious heat.I always started it early, just so I could get some gear, and the Dean's electronics.
My go to though was Honest Hearts. I'd start that as early as 2.
How do you get all the way to the cave by level 2. Am I just too distractable.
It is possible to make it to New Vegas by level one. I just made sure to avoid killing enemies (sometimes getting shot a bit) and discovering locations.
You probably liked blowing stuff up too much to get their that fast.
Blowing stuff up in a Fallout game, and liking the act of doing it is a good problem to have.
Speaking of Fallout 4 sales, I was able to get the Deluxe Edition (Season Pass included) on the Xbox One Spring Sale for $65. Figured it couldn't get much better than 40% off.
How do you get all the way to the cave by level 2. Am I just too distractable.I did Lonesome Road ten levels below the recommendation, the fools obviously didn't realize I'd max out explosives and lock picking and walk in there packing serious heat.I always started it early, just so I could get some gear, and the Dean's electronics.
My go to though was Honest Hearts. I'd start that as early as 2.
Duck through the pass south of Primm (not the one with the Deathclaw, the one with the scavenger hideout), follow road up through Novac, all the way north. I only get to level 2 because I like to clear out the scavenger hideout.
Yeah - I've made it to New Vegas at level 1 before. Tricky, but it can be done.
And then you find that you're so far below level-appropriate that you're very challenged until you gain about 10 levels.
After playing a bit more, I have to say that maybe it is a little much as it stands now. Between enemy grenades, traps, and legendary enemies (especially ghouls), I sometimes feel like my life is out of my hands. If I don't catch the trap, I start over. Surprised by ghouls, I start over. It was enjoyable at first, but on the fifth time trying to make it to diamond city, it has become frustration devoid of entertainment.
I think making the mode an extra layer on top of difficulty (like New Vegas) might be the best bet. I love these mechanics, but locking them at the tip top of the difficulty curve is making it somewhat unfun for me. And this was the reason I bought the game.
The Steam Beta discussion forum on Bethesda.net still shows about 2:1 people who favor making the new features available at all levels, and making Hard Mode/Survival Mode its own thing.
I was hoping to see the features New Vegas had as part of the vanilla game, and was disappointed when they weren't. Even more disappointed in the "bullet sponge" approach to difficulty. So when this came forward, I really got excited. But not with ALL the features they've thrown together - mainly the No Fast Travel and No Save except at a Bed. I understand the intention, but many of us do have limited windows to play and want to make the best use of them. Slogging over the same territory "for realism" is just too costly in terms of my free time.
Here's hoping Bethesda gives us the option!
After playing a bit more, I have to say that maybe it is a little much as it stands now. Between enemy grenades, traps, and legendary enemies (especially ghouls), I sometimes feel like my life is out of my hands. If I don't catch the trap, I start over. Surprised by ghouls, I start over. It was enjoyable at first, but on the fifth time trying to make it to diamond city, it has become frustration devoid of entertainment.
I think making the mode an extra layer on top of difficulty (like New Vegas) might be the best bet. I love these mechanics, but locking them at the tip top of the difficulty curve is making it somewhat unfun for me. And this was the reason I bought the game.
The Steam Beta discussion forum on Bethesda.net still shows about 2:1 people who favor making the new features available at all levels, and making Hard Mode/Survival Mode its own thing.
I was hoping to see the features New Vegas had as part of the vanilla game, and was disappointed when they weren't. Even more disappointed in the "bullet sponge" approach to difficulty. So when this came forward, I really got excited. But not with ALL the features they've thrown together - mainly the No Fast Travel and No Save except at a Bed. I understand the intention, but many of us do have limited windows to play and want to make the best use of them. Slogging over the same territory "for realism" is just too costly in terms of my free time.
Here's hoping Bethesda gives us the option!
If they don't/won't, the GECK comes out sometime in April last I heard. I'm guessing that should provide a relatively easy fix. :)
It's funny to read the "Survival Mode purists" arguments because of that very fact.
"Survival mode should not allow ANY toggles! Anyone who doesn't want to play it the way Bethesda intends shouldn't use it!"
Unless the mode excludes all mods in its official release (which would be unpopular), there will be no "true Survival mode". So all those who are so fervently arguing against the ability to customize it with toggles are foolishly adhering to the notion that "Survival mode" will mean the same thing to everybody, and that everyone who plays at that level will be doing so under the same conditions..