This is a collection of articles I wrote about Fallout 4. It was a freelance gig that pretty much paid enough for me to the buy the game on launch. I subsequently ruined the game for myself by having to complete it in one week in order to write the requisite articles. Well done me.
1.1. Exit Vault 111
The room you find yourself in is full of cryogenic pods. Walk forward and open your wife’s pod. She appears to be dead. When you interact with her you’ll vow to find your son, and you are given her wedding ring.
Now exit the room. As you explore the rest of the vault you’re going to find a few rooms with some insignificant loot in them and more dead vault dwellers. You will soon come across some radroaches and the game will introduce you to the combat system.
The final room is the Overseer’s Office – easy to identify with its big round desk. On the desk are a 10mm pistol, ammunition and stimpaks. Take these.
In the far corner of the room is a cage. In here you get some more ammo for your pistol and you’ll see the Cryolater on the wall. When you interact with it, your character will tell you that he’ll be coming back for that later – at the moment your lockpicking abilities are far too low.
The terminal on the desk is full of information about Vault 111 and its purpose. Once you’ve read these entries, select ‘Open Evacuation Tunnel.’ The door in front of you will now open. Go through it and you will be taught about stealth and combat as you fight a few more roaches.
Continue until you reach the room with the raised walkway and vault exit. Go up to the body lying by the control panel and take its Pip-Boy.
Now activate the control panel and open the exit.
Step onto the now rusted elevator. You’ll be asked whether you want to adjust your appearance or attributes. When you’re happy, select ‘Finished – Exit the Vault.’
1.2 Go Home
You emerge from the vault to find a desolated Boston. Right next to the elevator is a control booth. Go in there to get some supplies and then follow your compass back down to your old street. There you will find your trust robot servant: Codsworth.
1.3 Talk to Codsworth
When you talk to Codsworth there will be a variety of dialogue options. He has some interesting information, but this exchange is mainly character driven. Depending on your charisma level, he may breakdown emotionally and tell you of his loneliness. He will then give you a holotape of your partner and Shaun. You can listen to this with your Pip-Boy.
1.4 Search the Neighborhood with Codsworth
You can find a selection of loot in the surrounding houses and you’ll have your first encounter with bloatflys. Codsworth will probably make short work of them, but you need to keep your wits about you.
In your house, make sure to grab the ‘What Makes You Special’ book from Shaun’s room. This will allow you to add an extra point to one of your attributes. There is also a copy of ‘Grognak the Barbarian on the kitchen counter. Pick this up too – reading it will unlock the barbarian perk.
Once you’re finished looting, Codsworth will talk to you and tell you about a nearby town called Concorde.
1.5 Investigate Concord
On your way to Concorde you will find the Red Rocket truck stop. There, on the forecourt, is a dog. If you ask him to come along with you, he becomes your dog. In the truck stop is a terminal you can hack, and a few supplies.
Round the back of the truck stop is a workshop – this will be the first workshop you unlock in the game.
Soon after you meet the dog, the truck stop will be attacked by mole rats who erupt out of the ground. Finish them off and then continue on your way to Concord.
When you arrive, head down the main street. There will be some Raiders here, kill them and approach the Museum of Freedom.
Quest Completed
Zone: Greater Boston
Location: CIT, The Commonwealth, Greenetech
Genetics Building
Objective: Kill the courser
Important Items: Courser
Chip (the Courser’s corpse), Courser Uniform (the Courser’s corpse)
Walk-through:
As you will have
gathered by now, you’re going to have to kill a Courser – the Institute’s
answer to the terminator. We would therefore recommend that you stock up on
your weapon and ammo of choice. CIT is close to Diamond City, so a pit-stop
there would be advised. Also, as always, we recommend that you take a companion
with you because they’re always useful in a fight, even if you only employ them
as a bullet sponge.
2. Tune to the Courser’s radio frequency
Open your Pip-Boy, go
to the radio section, and tune to the Courser’s signal. Close the Pip-Boy. Now,
as you walk around, you will constantly be updated on the strength of the
signal in your heads’ up display and by and increasingly rapid beeping sound.
The stronger the signal, the closer you are. The Courser is inside the Greenetech Genetics Building and is not moving, so don’t
worry about it leaping out at you in the streets of Boston.
3. Kill the Courser
Once inside the Greenetech Genetics Building, your objectives will tell you
to kill the Courser. This is a little
misleading, because you’ve still got quite a way to go before you reach the
murderous synth. The building is filled with members of the Gunners gang, who
are apparently engaged in combat with the Courser. They are heavily armed with missile
launchers and mines all over the place, so watch your step. The Courser is in a
separate area to the main building so, again, don’t be worried that it is about
to leap out of the shadows at you. Proceed up all three floors, eliminating the
Gunners as you go.
4. Recover the Courser Chip
When you have killed
it, search the body of the Courser to find what you came for: the Courser Chip.
We also recommend that you take the Courser’s uniform as, not only does it look
bad ass, it’s got pretty good stats too. You will now have some dialogue with
the synth that the Courser was tracking, and that will bring an end to the
quest.
Zone: The Institute
Location: The Institute
Objective: Find out what happened to Shaun
Important Item: n/a
Walk-through:
Prepare yourself mentally for the following quest. It may be emotionally difficult to deal with, just like the beginning.
1.
Enter the elevator
Step into the elevator and let it take you down into the belly of The Institute. When it reaches the bottom, follow the corridors to a second elevator, which you should also enter.
2.
Meet the division leaders
Follow your Pip-Boy to the various heads of division scattered across the Institute’s interior. Each will greet you, tell you about their work, and may ask whether you have decided to join up permanently. We recommend that you just follow the circular perimeter of the Institute, greeting each leader as you enter their division.
3.
Use the Network Scanner Holotape
There are many terminals available for you to use in The Institute. Boot one up and put your ‘Network Scanner’ holotape in it. This will help you track down ‘The Patriot.’
Congratulations.
Zone: The Commonwealth
Location: Diamond City, the commonwealth
Objective: Reach Diamond City and try and find some
information about Shaun
Important Items: Various guns and armour. Newspaper.
Walk-through:
1. Go to Diamond
City
The trek to Diamond City can be a treacherous one. You’ve got to brave
the dangers of the Commonwealth. Along the way, you’ll come across raiders,
ghouls and supermutants, so make sure you stock up on
ammo and stimpaks before you set out from Sanctuary.
There will also be a lot of sidequests to unlock and
places to explore. We recommend that you take these opportunities to level up
before you get to the Jewel of the Commonwealth itself.
Once you’ve used your map and compass to navigate to the vicinity of
Diamond City, you’ll start seeing graffiti signs pointing you in the right
direction. Beware, there’s a reason that it’s so fortified – there are gangs of
supermutants all over this part of town.
Once you find the big entrance signs to Diamond City, be wary of what you
shoot at. Up until this point every turret you’ve met has been hostile but
there are some guarding the gates to Diamond City that you’ve got to avoid
instinctually blasting to smithereens.
Once you walk past the turrets, there will be a gun merchant – she has a
good selection of guns and armour. Make sure you don’t blow all your caps though;
there are plenty of places to spend them once you’re inside. Directly outside
the entrance itself you’ll find plucky reporter Piper standing at the city
gates. She’s your ticket in. Just start a conversation and Piper will do the
rest.
2. Find information
about Shaun
Depending on your charisma and whether you support her in her argument
with the Mayor, Piper may well be the way to find out information about Shaun.
In the conversation, you might learn about Nick Valentine, a local detective
who will be able to help you out.
Now it’s time to explore Diamond City. Your first stop should be to get a
newspaper on your way in. At the newspaper stand you can get the lowdown on
synths. If you go into the office behind the paper stand, you’ll find Piper’s
terminal, which has some interesting and entertaining information on it.
Continue exploring and talking to whoever you can find. Eventually, if you
haven’t already been told, you’ll hear about the local detective: Nick
Valentine.
Follow the neon signs and you’ll soon find the office of the aforementioned detective. Go in and talk to his secretary.
The next quest is likely to involve quite a lot of fighting, so levelling up by
doing the various Diamond City sidequests is
recommended.
Zone: The Commonwealth
Location: Diamond City, Fort Hagen, Command Centre
Objective: Find Kellogg
Important Items: Freeze 10mm Pistol (Legendary Radstag), Kellogg’s pistol and outfit, Kellogg’s Brain Augmenter (Kellogg’s corpse) Energy Weapons Bobblehead (Fort Hagen)
Walk-through:
1. Follow Dogmeat and search
for clues
You and Nick need to follow Dogmeat out of Diamond City as he tracks Kellogg’s scent. He’ll take you to Kellogg clues across the Commonwealth. You’ll be attacked by various animals along the way – mole rats, yao gui, radscorpions etc. so keep your wits about you.
Whenever Dogmeat stops and barks, you will be told to search for clues. The first time this happens you’ll find another cigar on a table by the pond. Show this to Dogmeat and then continue following him.
The next time, Dogmeat will stop at the bottom of a flight of steps leading to a road. Follow him down and ahead of you will be a doorway, where a bloody rag will be hanging from a pipe. Examine the rag and show it to Dogmeat to continue.
The third time Dogmeat will stop is in the mouth of a tunnel. There’s a beer bottle on a table there which is the same brand as those found in Kellogg’s shack. Show this to Dogmeat.
Dogmeat’s now going to stop by a wire fence. The clue is a bloody rag hanging from it. There will be a Legenday Radstag nearby. Hunt him down to get a Freeze 10mm Pistol – it seems appropriate that you would have a cryo gun after your experiences in Vault 111.
Dogmeat will now take you up to Fort Hagen.
2.
Find a way into Fort Hagen
Take out the turrets on the roof of the fort and enter through the hatch located on the roof. The best route to take is ound the back of the fort and up the scaffolding.
3.
Search Fort Hagen
Fort Hagen is crawling with Synths armed with Institute Pistols and Rifles. It’s going to be a tough fight. Try and get hold of an Institute Rifle as soon as possible. They’re powerful guns and work well against their owners. Be wary of laser turrets in the ceiling, they’re harder to spot than standard turrets and can do a lot more damage.
Once you get to the Fort Hagen Command Centre you will find the sleeping quarters. In a room off here you can find the Energy Weapons Bobblehead on a desk.
Carry on searching and you’ll soon find the man you came for.
4. Confront
Kellogg
Once you find Kellogg, talk with him. No matter what you say, you’re going to have to fight Kellogg and his synths. Kellogg will turn himself invisible, which is very frustrating. Deal with the synths first and then focus on Kellogg. Nick is good at spotting Kellogg, so follow his lead and do as much damage you can until Kellogg’s cloaking fails. Now kill him.
Retrieve everything from Kellogg’s corpse. His clothes and pistol are both pretty good and the neural implants you find on his corpse are going to be very important in your next quest.
5.
Discuss your findings
Nick will now suggest you go and discuss
what happened with Piper back in Diamond City. When you exit the fort, don’t instantly
fast travel or you’ll miss the Bortherhood of Steel’s
spectacular entrance….
Zone: The Glowing Sea
Location: The Memory Den, Diamond City, The Glowing Sea,
Rocky Cave
Objective: Find Virgil’s hideaway in the Glowing Sea
Important Items: Power Armour, Rad-X, Radaway,
Fusion Core
Walk-through:
1. Talk to Nick
Go upstairs from Dr
Amari’s basement office and talk to Nick. You’re going to have to decide
whether you want to take Nick with you to the Glowing Sea, or if you’re going
to take a different companion. Nick seems like the obvious choice as, being a
synth, the radiation won’t affect him. This isn’t the case though. You’re not
going to have to get a second set of power armour or a second radiation suit
for your partner as they can’t be struck down by radiation poisoning.
2. Find Virgil in the Glowing Sea
Before you head out into the epicentre of
radiation that is the Glowing Sea, you need to decide on your tactics. As Dr
Amari explains to you, you either need to stock up on Rad-X and Radaway, or get yourself a suit of power armour.
We recommend that you
go down the power armour route because there are many dangerous animals and
insects waiting for you. If you’re a wealthy wastelander,
you may already have a fully charged suit ready to go. Chances are, the suit
that you got in the ‘When Freedom Calls’ quest is the only one you have
available to you. You will probably have acquired enough loot and caps at this
point to buy yourself a new fusion core at the Diamond City Market.
Now, without your power
armour, head in the direction of The Glowing Sea. There will be many
settlements and buildings along the way. When you reach the border of the
Glowing Sea, fast travel back to the location of your power armour, put it on,
and then fast travel back to a settlement on the border of the Glowing Sea. This
will save you wasting your fusion core on the journey to the Glowing Sea.
From bloatflys to deathclaws, you’ll
find every level of irradiated life in the Glowing Sea. If you’re following your
compass, you will probably also find the Children of Atom on your journey. They
are essentially harmless. This is a handy place to do a bit of trading.
Soon after the Children
of Atom, you’ll find the cliff side hiding the entrance to Virgil’s cave. Tread
carefully, there is a deathclaw sleeping in front of
it. Unless you have a ninja level of sneak abilities, you’re not going to get
by without waking it up, so be prepared to fight.
Once you’ve killed it,
scared it off, or sprinted past it, you can enter Rocky Cave. Inside you’ll
find Virgil, although he might not be exactly what you were expecting.
Zone: The Commonwealth
Location: Godneighbour, the Memory Den, Boston Common, Old North
Church
Objective: Use the Courser Chip to find your way into the
Institute
Important Item:
Walk-through:
1. Have the Courser Chip analysed
Head back to Goodneighbour and follow your compass back to the Memory
Den. Talk to Dr Amari at the back of the den. She’ll tell you that she can’t
analyze the chip, but will suggest that you find the mysterious underground
anti-Institute organization: the Railroad.
2. Find the Railroad
Dr Amari gives you a
clue to finding the Railroad: Follow the Freedom trail. This will give you a
map marker at Boston Common – the start of the Freedom Trail. Follow your
Pip-Boy there. The protectron tour guide there will
give you a bit more info on the background of the freedom trail.
Take heed of the clue
leaned up against the fountain: “At Journey’s End, follow Freedom’s lantern.” Now
follow the red brick road. Along the way you’ll find various landmarks and
plaques. Read the plaques and keep a note of the clues. You can go in the
landmarks if you want to, but it’s not necessary. The landmarks and the
surrounding area are full of Raiders, Supermutants,
and Feral Ghouls.
The last plaque is
outside the front of Old North Church. Read the clue and then go inside,
following the lanterns. The place is crawling with Feral Ghouls, so shoot any
bodies you see on the floor. Now, go to the basement and find the plaque on the
wall. You can turn it clockwise and anti-clockwise, as well as pressing down
the centre of it.
Use the clues you’ve
collected along the way to solve the code. It’s not too challenging, but if
you’re struggling, you need to dial it like an old fashioned phone so that it
spells out ‘RAILROAD.’ Once you’ve done this, the wall will open and you’ll
walk in to find the Railroad’s welcome party.
3. Talk with Desdemona
Start a conversation
with the Railroad’s leader: Desdemona. She’ll let you into the Railroad’s HQ
and will try and strike a bargain with you about decoding the Courser Chip. As
long as you agree to let the Railroad keep the chip once they give you the code,
they’ll take a look at it for you. Now talk to Tinker
Tom and he will decode the chip at lightning speed.
4. Return to Virgil
Fast travel back to
Virgil’s cave in the Glowing Sea. He’ll design a teleportation device for you,
but you’re going to have to get some help.
5. Get some help
Now you can either get
help from the Railroad, the Minutemen, or the Brotherhood of Steel. You need to
ally yourself with your chosen faction and play through their opening missions
before they agree to help you.
Location: Diamond City, Vault 114, New Park Station
Objective: Find
the detective Nick Valentine
Important Items: Submachine gun (Triggermen corpses), Speech Bobblehead (Overseer’s
Desk)
Walk-through:
1. Find Nick
Valentine
It’s time to try and find Nick Valentine. This mission is going to involve a fair amount of combat, so make sure that you’re stocked up on ammo. We also recommend taking Piper along as your companion, or failing that, making sure you have a companion of some kind with you.
Now head out of Diamond City and follow your compass to Park Street Station.
We recommend that, once you’ve found the station, you enter it with stealth. This isn’t just a tactical decision. If you sneak around you’ll be able to overhear the amusing and enlightening conversations of the Triggermen - the gangsters who inhabit the station.
Clear the tunnels of triggermen and loot what you can. There’s your standard selection of bottlecaps, stimpaks, etc. We recommend taking a submachine gun from the dead Triggermen.
Now head down to the station platform – there are a lot of gangsters down here, so take your time and keep in cover whenever possible.
Now continue down the tunnel, following the rails. There will be a few more Triggermen along the way. Deal with them, and you’ll arrive at the distinctive gear shaped door of a vault. Climb the stairs and activate the control panel to open it.
When you enter the vault, go into the door to your right first. You’ll find some loot and also a terminal which will tell you about the nature of Vault 114’s experiments. Now return to the first room and take the door to the left, this will take you deeper into the vault. You’ll now carry on through the enclosed tunnels of the vault and find some more enemies along the way.
Eventually you will emerge in a big open space at the centre of the vault. The Overseer’s office is at the very top – that’s where you’ll find Nick Valentine. If you’ve got a sniper rifle, now would be the time to use it. There are Triggermen on various levels and they need dispatching.
When you’ve cleaned up the gangsters, you can climb to the top level and head for the Overseer’s office. Search the body of the Triggerman closest to the door to find the password to his terminal, use the terminal to open the door, and say hello to Mr Valentine.
2. Talk to and follow
Nick
Once you’ve finished talking to Nick, grab the Speech Bobblehead from the overseer’s desk. Follow Nick, as he’ll now lead you out of the vault. There are plenty more Triggermen to face along the way, so deal with them as you see fit. Then you’ll come across the mob boss and his new flame. Whatever happens, this altercation is ending in a firefight, so be ready. After that, your quest is complete.
Zone: The Commonwealth
Location: The Commonwealth, Goodneighbour, The Memory Den, Kellogg’s Memories
Objective: Find information about Shaun and the Institue in Kellogg’s memories
Important Items: n/a
Walk-through:
1.
Talk to Doctor Amari
Follow your compass to the town of Goodneighour, a short distance from Diamond City. As always, keep your wits about you as there are gangs of raiders and supermutants roaming the city.
Goodneighbour is a volatile town, so do your best to keep the peace in any conversations you have.
Now follow your compass to the Memory Den. Inside
you will find Nick Valentine and, down in the basement ,
Doctor Amari. Start a conversation with Doctor and it will soon become apparent that you and Nick
will need to enter the memory loungers together in order to explore Kellogg’s memories.
2. Sit in the memory lounger
As soon as you’re ready, take a seat in the lounger. There’s no reason to delay as you will nt need or be able to use any items or armour inside the
memory lounger.
3. Explore Kellogg's Memories
You will now take a
journey through the memories of the man who murdered your partner. There’s a lot of information and story to be gleaned
from each scene. Interact with all the available characters and items to hear
Kellogg’s internal monologue as he
reminisces about the scene you're
watching.
When you reach the end
of your journey and you've learned about The
Institute's rogue scientist Virgil,
the TV in the room will light up with a familiar ‘Stand By’ display. You can go back
and re-explore the memories if you missed anything. Once you’re done , interact
with the television to exit the twisted mind of the deceased Kellogg.
4. Talk to Doctor Amari
It’s time to discuss your findings with Doctor Amari. She will give you
some advice about your inevitable exploration of the radioactive Glowing Sea.
This conversation brings you to the end of ‘Dangerous Minds’ and will start ‘The Glowing Sea.’
Zone: The Commonwealth
Location: Diamond City, Valentine’s Detective Agency, Kellogg’s house, The Mayor’s Office
Objective: Find some clues about the mysterious Kellogg and what he’s done with Shaun
Important Item: Cigars (in the secret room, on the table)
Walk-through:
1. Go
to Valentine’s Detective Agency
Make your way to Valentine’s offices. Either trek back through the Commonwealth, or use fast travel to get you back to Diamond City’s market.
2.
Talk to Ellie
Talk to Valentine’s lovely assistant Ellie and, as long as you’re suitably courteous, she’ll suggest you join the agency and reward you with some caps, a battered fedora and a faded trench coat.
3.
Sit down
Sit down opposite the detective.
4.
Tell Nick your story
Tell your new synthetic friend about Shaun’s abduction. Mention the facial scar of the mercenary and Nick will instantly recognize him. This conversation will end with Nick suggesting that you check out the last known address of a man called Kellogg.
5.
Follow Nick
Nick will now lead the way to Kellogg’s Diamond City pad. Nick will try and pick the lock and won’t succeed. Chances are that you won’t either, as it’s a master-level lock. This means that you need the key if you’re going to get inside.
6.
Get the key to Kellogg’s home
Nick will now tell you that the mayor probably has a spare key and that you need to go and see him if you want it.
Once you get up to the Mayor’s office, there are a number of ways of getting the key. The Mayor will initially be unwilling to help you, but depending on your wealth and your persuade level, you may be able to change his mind with a handsome bribe. Alternatively, you could pick pocket him. If you’re being a real maniac, you could just kill him. The best, least bloody way of getting the key is to accept the Mayor’s refusal to help and then approach his wife. If you give her your sob story, she’ll tell you that she’s going to ‘accidentally’ leave Kellogg’s key on her desk.
Now return to Kellogg’s house.
7. Investigate
Kellogg’s house
Enter the building and investigate. Nick will point you in the right direction if you’re struggling to find clues. Crouch down and look behind Kellogg’s desk, there is a red button hidden there. Activate this and the wall of the shack will slide open, revealing a hidden room.
Walk into the newly revealed room and have a look round. There’s a standard selection of ammo and stimpaks lying around. On the table by the chair, is an ashtray. Examine the cigars beside it and then talk to Nick. Agree with him when he suggests using Dogmeat to track the scent.
8.
Show dogmeat the cigar
Once you leave Kellogg’s house, Dogmeat will be waiting for you. Show him the cigar and the quest ‘Reunions’ will begin.
If you’re new to the Fallout universe, the variety of stats and attributes can be a little daunting. To a newcomer, it can seem over reliant on numbers and Pip-Boy screens. Do not fear, we at Fallout Guide are here to help. Once you understand how it works, you’ll realise just how much choice it offers you as a player.
Levelling Up
The Levelling up system in Fallout 4 is fairly standard. Although faster than Fallout 3 it follows the same experience points style. You get XP points for most things you do – killing, crafting, persuading, intimidating, hacking, lockpicking – and when you get a certain amount of XP points, you can level up. Unlike previous games, you can level up infinitely.
The S.P.E.C.I.A.L
stats:
At the start of the game you’ll be asked to select S.P.E.C.I.A.L points for your character. This stands for:
Strength
Perception
Endurance
Charisma
Intelligence
Agility
Luck
Each stat can go as high as 10, and you have 28 points to use up. There are opportunities to gain more S.P.E.C.I.A.L points and to max them all out later in the game, but it is nowhere near as frequent as levelling up.
These stats will dictate what perks your character will be able to unlock, as well as other attributes your character will have.
How you pick your S.P.E.C.I.A.L stats is important and will change the way you play the game. Don’t worry though, you will get a second chance to set them if you’re not pleased with your early choices.
How the perk system
works in Fallout 4:
Perks are a key part of what makes your character tick. If you’ve watched Bethesda’s S.P.E.C.I.A.L videos you may have seen the chart that comes up at the end of each episode – this is the perk chart. Perks are abilities you can choose for your character. For example, the Hacker perk will give you the ability to hack into computer terminals in the game. This will allow you to obtain useful information or disable / enable systems like gun turrets or electronic locks. Every time you level up, you will get to pick a new perk for your character.
Perk and
S.P.E.C.I.A.L relationship:
Which perks you can pick are based on what your S.P.E.C.I.A.L stats are. To get the Hacker perk you need to have at least four Intelligence points. You can have up to 10 points for each S.P.E.C.I.A.L attribute and there’s a corresponding perk for each attribute at each level. The effects the perks have correspond with the attribute they are related to. For example, the level six strength perk is Strong Back, which allows you to carry more items in your inventory. This clearly requires strength.
Perk Ranks:
Some perks have ranks. This means that each level, rather than pick a new perk for your character, you can upgrade to the next rank of a perk you already have. For example, the Gun Nut perk has four ranks. You must already have all the preceding ranks to upgrade to a higher rank perk, so to get rank 3 Gun Nut, you must already have ranks 1 and 2. The ranks increase the potency of a perk. Some are purely stats based – the Gun Nut ranks just allow you to work with higher level guns. Other perk ranks develop your abilities further. Rank 1 of Intimidation lets you attempt to pacify any human opponent of a lower level than you by pointing your gun at them. Rank 2 lets you incite anyone you pacify to attack a target of your choosing, and rank 3 lets you give specific commands to anyone you pacify.
Extra Perks:
There are additional perks that aren’t featured on the chart. One way of obtaining these is by collecting and reading magazines you find in the Wasteland. For example, you can get the Barbarian perk by scouring the wasteland for copies of the comic book ‘Grognak the Barbarian.’ Every time you find and read an issue of the comic, you will gain a rank in the Barbarian perk. There are ten to collect. The Barbarian perk raises the critical damage of your melee attacks.
Getting to grips with
it all:
The best way to really learn the system is to play with it.
If you read about it, follow this guide, and then play Fallout 4, you’ll quickly see what an intuitive and useful system
it is.
For months now Bethseda have been stoking Fallout fans’ frenzy of anticipation with the weekly releases of their ‘What makes you S.P.E.C.I.A.L’ Youtube series. The videos see the Fallout series’ mascot Vault-boy illustrating the game’s attributes and perks system – the S.P.E.C.I.A.L system that will be familiar to players of earlier titles in the series. This allows the player the freedom to build a unique character with their own abilities that suit the way that each individual wants to play the game. These range all the way from the tiny things about the amount of radiation a character can endure without getting sick, to whether they want the ability to eat human flesh.
The videos show that many of the familiar perks are still
there, but that there are also exciting new additions. The game appears to be
hitting that perfect balance between familiarity and innovation. As the
charming old school animations explain, there are still the standard
S.P.E.C.I.A.L attributes of strength, perception, endurance, charisma, intelligence,
agility and luck, which all unlock various abilities and perks. The skills system of the previous games, is now gone.
Players will get to pick one perk every time they level up, and the
availability of perks depends on your S.P.E.C.I.A.L scores. Levelling up will
also be quicker, there is no level cap, and the game has been re-balanced to
ensure that it still presents a challenge when you reach the higher levels. Fans
have been working to cobble together all the information from the promo videos
to create a perk chart that you can see here: http://orcz.com/Fallout_4:_Perk_Chart
Fallout 4 is shaping up to be one of the most customisable RPGs out there, with a vast selection of crafting options as well as an in game Minecraft inspired settlement builder. Character builds are a core part of your customisation of the game. They’re also one of the most controversial. Everyone’s got their own way to play, their own standard build that they swear by. But where do you start? You wish you could just max them all out and be the baddest ass in the wasteland. You can’t though. You’ve got to make some tough decisions. Jack of all trades is boring because you’re just mediocre at it all, you don’t get any of the coolest perks. Perhaps you’ve got a character build style you want to continue from Fallout 3 and New Vegas, perhaps you want to change things up and play in a completely different way. You can do anything. Here’s our idea for a kooky character build:
Neo
Who better to model your play through on than Neo from The Matrix? After the Vault 122 shenanigans in Fallout 3 it’s clear that the designers would approve. There’s a pleasing irony to the idea that you’re becoming Neo when entering a computer generated world.
So, here are Neo’s starting stats:
Strength: 3 – Strength allows you to carry more stuff, and Neo needs to carry a fair amount if the lobby scene is anything to go by. Having a small amount of strength is always useful – even if it just means that you don’t have to constantly sacrifice items in your inventory to make way for new finds. There’s no point in taking strength much further because its Level 10 perk ‘Locomotive’ looks like fun, but is ultimately a gimmick as it just lets you run at people and knock them over. Not really Neo’s style.
Perception: 3 – Neo’s perception is constantly increasing, but he only starts with a small amount. I mean, he doesn’t even realise that he’s in the Matrix until it’s pointed out to him. In Fallout 4, higher perception means better VATS stats, which is the closest you’ll get to the bullet time fighting of The Matrix.
Endurance: 1 – To begin with, Neo doesn’t have much endurance when he’s unplugged. He’s this weak baby-man with no hair who can’t see properly. Endurance allows you to eat more adventurous and dangerous foods. As we see in The Matrix, all the crew of Nebuchadnezzar eat is a weird goop that ‘contains all the vitamins and minerals the body needs’ so there’s no need to try and eat mole rat meat.
Charisma: 1 – Keanu’s performance as Neo isn’t usually heralded as being particularly... expressive. I’m giving Neo the bare minimum of charisma, because who needs the gift of the gab when you know every martial art known to man? The less charisma you have, the more action scenes you’ll create in your Fallout 4 play through – which is just what you want from a Neo character build.
Intelligence: 4 – Neo’s a bit of a nerd. He is a computer programmer after all. So much extra material in the Fallout games can be found by hacking various terminals, and intelligence will allow you to do that. As well as story benefits, hacking offers many extra options with combat. Sometimes, being able to activate a turret from a terminal will clear a hall way full of super mutants, saving you ammo, time, and health.
Agility: 5 – Agile is an understatement. Neo moves like nothing you’ve ever seen before, and agility is key to that. Agility will allow you to sneak around and surprise your enemies like a ninja, or like Neo. A healthy balance of stealth and violence will give you a varied play through which is tactically advantageous and should make for a more enjoyable game.
Luck: 10 – Dodging bullets? Neo is one lucky guy! In the wasteland, a healthy dose of luck is always going to be useful. It also unlocks the ultimate Neo perk, as I’ll explain below.
Skills have been removed from Fallout 4 so we’ll move straight onto perks. Neo will be gaining one perk for every level:
Level 1: Hacker (INT: 4) – This will let you hack and craft terminals. An essential skill for your Neo play through.
Level 2: Awareness (PER: 3) – This perk gives you more details about enemies when you aim at them with VATS. Neo gets this pretty early on, as he starts to become more aware of the world around him. This will improve your bullet time VATS fighting – adding yet another string to your bow when it comes to combat.
Level 3: Untouchable (LUCK: 10) – For every rank of this perk, you get harder and harder to hit. This is the ultimate realisation of Neo’s bullet dodging. “What are you trying to tell me? That I can dodge bullets?” “No, Neo. I'm trying to tell you that when you're ready, you won't have to.”
Level 4: Life giver (END: 3) – The image for this is a little Vault-boy Jesus and the perk will give you increased health. We all know about the Neo = Jesus thing, and he does bring Trinity back to life. It’s a good perk to have in any character build, because no one like constantly dying.
The levelling up continues to infinity in Fallout 4, and if you keeping following the path of the One, you’ll go far in the wasteland. This is a good starting build for Fallout 4 because it has a balance of different attributes, with a combination of brains and brawn, which still takes at least one attribute to 10. Neo represents a combination of gun slinging and hacking that will give you a fun variety of options as you make your way through Boston.
One of the most exciting new features of Fallout 4 is the building system. Not only will it allow players to fully customize their weapons and power armour, but it will also allow them to build their own settlements. You want to be king of the wasteland? What is a king without a castle? This character build unlock all the necessary skills and abilities to become the Handiest Man in the Wastes, the Builder of Boston, and the Apocalyptic Architect. Here’s our Character Build for Builders:
Starting attributes:
Strength: 6
Perception: 2
Endurance: 2
Charisma: 6
Intelligence: 8
Agility: 2
Luck: 2
Perks:
Gun Nut (INT 3) – This unlocks all the gun modding abilities that wowed the audience at E3. With 50 base weapons and over 700 possible modifications, this perk really does unlock a whole world of possibilities. Each of the four ranks unlocks higher level mods and guns.
Weaponsmith (STR 4) – This perk will let you modify melee weapons. As a master craftsman, you need to be able to modify any weapon you want, so this is an obvious choice.
Hacker (INT 4) – Not only does this grant you the skill of hacking terminals, but it lets you craft them too! It looks like terminals are going to become a very versatile and interesting tool when it comes to settlement building.
Ammo Crafting (INT 5) – Not much is known about this perk at the moment, but as another crafting option it is clearly compulsory for our Builder Build.
Strong Back (STR 6) – A perk familiar to players of the previous games, this will expand your inventory, allowing you to carry more items. A builder is going to need plenty of room for all the different components they’re going to be carrying around with them, so Strong Back is a must. There’s nothing more frustrating than having to throw away an item that you just know would have come in handy somewhere down the line.
Local Leader Rank 1 (CHR 6) – Local Leader lets you establish supply lines between your various settlements. If your settlements are going to survive you need to be able to trade, and once they’re all interconnected you can legitimately start calling it an empire.
Local Leader Rank 2 (CHR 6) – Rank 2 allows you to build trading stands in your settlements. This will put you on the Wasteland map and give you quick access to the resources you need.
Science (INT 6) – You’re not going to get bored of all the fun that Gun Nut has brought to your play through, so why not get the Science perk and add energy weapon mods to your repertoire? Much like Gun Nut, each rank lets you modify higher level weapons.
Robotics Expert (INT 8) – You’ve got trading, terminals, and more guns than you can shake a stick at. You know what your settlement needs now? A robot, and this perk will let you build one.
This build is for players who are interested in customisation and enjoy the creative elements of Fallout. It’s aimed at those who play Fallout for its RPG traits, and is not recommended for those who play it as an FPS.
Pros:
This build is going to make you the ruler of your own Wasteland kingdom. In previous Fallout games, your actions have left a mark on the wasteland. Now you can leave your own mark, in the shape of monuments to your own achievements.
Cons:
This may be a difficult build to start the game with. It focuses on skills that you will develop later on in your play through. Be prepared to struggle early on. It will be worth it.
Tips:
Make the most of this build as soon as possible. You need to always be using the most advanced weapons you have the level to use and can find, afford, or steal. There’s no point in specialising in crafting if you’re behind the times.
Carefully consider what kind of karma you’re going to have with this character build. Neutral isn’t going to work very well. A crafting specialist is the kind of build that’s going to work well in a team, so either ally yourself through kindness and courtesy, or intimidate your followers into obedience. Either way, you’ll also need someone to live in your settlement.
Be a hoarder. Every item in Fallout 4 can be used for some kind of build. With this build, you’ll be able to craft items from anything you come across, so hang on to any rare or interesting items you find. This is another great reason to have companions – they can carry stuff for you.
Practise makes perfect. With your companions potentially taking on a lot of the combat, you’re going to want to keep earning experience so you can level up. Do this by taking any opportunity to use your skills. If there are any terminals, hack them. If you could craft anther weapon but don’t need to, do it anyway. This will give the experience points you need to carry on levelling up.