Fallout, then Fall Over: Guide Creation Blog 03

Part 03: Training Chapter Overview

Want to create a fearsome Wasteland warrior? Consult the Training chapter.

Delving a little deeper into the guide, and moving chronologically through the pages, we begin with the Training chapter. Over 40 pages are dedicated to preparation for surviving and thriving in the Capital Wasteland, and there’s an incredible amount of useful detail for both character generation, and general overall tactics. It all begins with the Primary Statistics; the seven S.P.E.C.I.A.L. attributes that form the basis of your avatar. As these statistics influence other skills, we reveal exactly how everything is inter-related, and the precise modifications a higher or lower statistic brings into play. Want to know what skills your Charisma influences, and by what amount? Then consult this section. Next up is a section on Derived Statistics; a set of values automatically determined when you choose your S.P.E.C.I.A.L. values. These include how much weight you can carry, your chance to inflict a critical hit, how your health is influenced, your resistance to damage, Action Points in V.A.T.S. combat, and more. Say you want the most Action Points for your takedowns; you’ll find out the statistic you need to raise, by how much, and what modifiers and Perks you can use and choose to help augment this statistic.

Next up are Skills. These 13 cool abilities get a thorough going-over, with stats aplenty, with tips on how to receive more skill points to allocate to these abilities, as well as an overview of every Skill. Need to know the related Statistic that helps your Lockpick skill? Then the information is presented here, as well, for ease of use. Naturally, there are related Perks to every skill, so we flag them, and let you know the Level your character needs to be at before you can add the Perk. Where appropriate, we add tips to each skill, so you can choose the ones that best benefit your Vault Dweller.

This is followed by a massive and meticulous section on Perks. Mining the Bethesda development team for information, I was able to reveal every single Perk, the character level the Perk is available, how many times (or “ranks”) the Perk can be chosen, and any other requirements needed to receive the Perk. Then comes the crazy part; there’s advice on whether this Perk is going to help you in gameplay situations, and how. Every Perk gets its own tactical advice where appropriate, so you end up choosing only the Perks that benefit your style of play, and you never waste points. Is “Commando” a better Perk than “Gunslinger”? You’ll know when you’ve digested this section! Oh, and the Perks section ends with a list of Perks you can only receive during specific Quests, which is handy.

Plotting out a plan for creating the very best Wasteland survivor continues with a section on Character development. Working closely with Bethesda, an overview of choosing the best combination of Statistics, Skills, and other allocations reveals the key choices that allow you to dominate throughout your adventure. Is Lockpick better than Science? Do clothes affect your conversations? What are the key skills you should never leave Vault 101 without? All of these are answered, along with some Character archetypes; including “The Quick-Handed Assassin” and “The Boxer”.

Once you’ve created an uber-survivor, there’s a set of general training instructions to further familiarize yourself with. What’s the difference in gameplay difficulty? How does Karma work? What’s the deal with experience points? What are the finer points of my Pip-Boy? What are all the Radio stations I can listen to? Next up is a thorough overview of V.A.T.S., revealing the best plans and tactics for all weapon types. Do I shoot my foes in the legs, or head? Which is better? What guarantees the squishiest of deaths? Then comes advice on the variety of traps you’ll encounter, how to Sneak, Steal, what to do when settlements go hostile, and the finer points of pickpocketing and scavenging. More revelations end this chapter, including advice on trading, healing, repairing, tinkering at work benches, when to stand around or sleep, armor, health, chems, and a good amount of information on Followers. This is finished off by instructions on making all the custom weapons, and the different types of collectibles to scour the irradiated landscape for. Ultimately, there’s a series of massive tables revealing all the important stats on every weapon (including the value, weight, damage, rate-of-fire, and rarity), armor (including whether the armor is powered, the weight, and effects), and item (again, with copious amounts of detail).

Simply put, the Training section alone gives you dozens of concrete and battle-tested pieces of advice on creating the ultimate wasteland survivor. Check back on Thursday 23rd October, when we break open the Bestiary….

If you can’t wait that long, check out both the regular edition game guide and the collector’s edition game guide.