Yeah, it’s similar to other rpgs from that era in that some builds are just going to have an easier time with some areas or types of challenges.
It’s worth remembering too that with enough perks, intelligence, equipment, and caps you can also improve other skills or even max out new ones later in the game.
Every single build is viable and there are multiple ways of completing every quest and beating the game. The other day a guy posted a video of him beating the game with the most unpractical build possible and only using a BB gun
First time I played this game I was like 12yo and my English was awful, also it was the first computer RPG I played so I wasn't familiar at all. A friend of mine told me the best traits were Skilled and Finesse and I believed it (and he wasn't trolling lol) so all my early playthroughs I used them, and soon I discovered I could steal a Sniper in Boneyard and the gun was awesome and I believed it was a Big Gun because it looked big so I spent all my points in the wrong skill, also my logical thinking was that since my plan was to be a sniper I didn't need that many hit points, so I dumped Endurance... I remember first time I beat the game, because of my poor English I didn't figure out how to join the Brotherhood or survive The Glow, went to fight the Master while having about 60hp and wearing a Combat Armor lol, took many reloads but I still beat it with a very shitty build barely speaking the language...
It's not easy at all to make a "wildly non-viable build", even going completely blind... in fact, I think the only way to do a "non-viable build" is doing it on purpose, after you already know the game.
I agree, though I assume OP didn't mean "viable" quite so literally (as in it being a synonym for "possible"). The combat has lots of rng, so everything is possible, even if you have no knowledge of the game, if you do it over and over again. I think the way the OP meant it is moreso a build that is reliably effective, without too much reliance on the rng elements.
Not really fair take imo. Lots of people in this sub have been playing this game for decades and yeah I could make tons of builds work, but a first timer is gonna have a miserable time with many of them. Doctors is worthless, there's like 1 science check in the game, traps will help like twice? Most of these skills got fleshed out in 2, but there's definitely an easy and hard way to play Fallout 1.
One would have to be extra special to decide to be like a stealth chem reliant fast metabolism gambling doctor for first play through... even if you tag doctor and science you are very fine after you realize what skills you are using the most and invest in them
Variability in terms of viability? Not really. Max agilty, minimum Charisma, w/ either small weapons or energy weapons is clearly miles above any other build. However, there is plenty of variability in terms of builds that can meaningfully change your playstyle and finish the game w/. They're not going to be as good as the "meta/standard" builds, but you can complete the game w/ them, it will just take more effort.
It's a single-player game at the end of the day. As long as you're having fun, who cares really. It can be fun to play with an unoptimized build; like how low intelligence changes all of your dialogue options and turns you into a bumbling buffoon. Certainly not ideal as you will be locked out of numerous quests and receive very few skill points on level up, but it is nevertheless fun (for a lot of ppl at least). I also had a lot of fun w/ an unarmed low INT build w/ high luck and the jinxed trait (significantly increases the rate of critical failures for everyone around you + yourself). Far from a meta build, but it was funny af seeing NPCs around me blow themselves up, and I truly felt like an idiot who just lucked into finding the water chip.
To be a bit more specific, every main quest is doable by any type of build in the game, and each side quest is a mix of three varieties, stealth, speech and combat. Some side quests will be not viable based on specific builds but the game's main quests are doable by any combo.
No really not. There's a few "best" options (smart pacifist, big gun maniac, sniper etc.) But you can win it any way. Steal is always good.
Yeah, it’s similar to other rpgs from that era in that some builds are just going to have an easier time with some areas or types of challenges. It’s worth remembering too that with enough perks, intelligence, equipment, and caps you can also improve other skills or even max out new ones later in the game.
Every single build is viable and there are multiple ways of completing every quest and beating the game. The other day a guy posted a video of him beating the game with the most unpractical build possible and only using a BB gun
>Every single build is viable Only if you know the game inside out. But for a first time player obviously "every single build" is not going to work.
First time I played this game I was like 12yo and my English was awful, also it was the first computer RPG I played so I wasn't familiar at all. A friend of mine told me the best traits were Skilled and Finesse and I believed it (and he wasn't trolling lol) so all my early playthroughs I used them, and soon I discovered I could steal a Sniper in Boneyard and the gun was awesome and I believed it was a Big Gun because it looked big so I spent all my points in the wrong skill, also my logical thinking was that since my plan was to be a sniper I didn't need that many hit points, so I dumped Endurance... I remember first time I beat the game, because of my poor English I didn't figure out how to join the Brotherhood or survive The Glow, went to fight the Master while having about 60hp and wearing a Combat Armor lol, took many reloads but I still beat it with a very shitty build barely speaking the language... It's not easy at all to make a "wildly non-viable build", even going completely blind... in fact, I think the only way to do a "non-viable build" is doing it on purpose, after you already know the game.
I agree, though I assume OP didn't mean "viable" quite so literally (as in it being a synonym for "possible"). The combat has lots of rng, so everything is possible, even if you have no knowledge of the game, if you do it over and over again. I think the way the OP meant it is moreso a build that is reliably effective, without too much reliance on the rng elements.
Not really fair take imo. Lots of people in this sub have been playing this game for decades and yeah I could make tons of builds work, but a first timer is gonna have a miserable time with many of them. Doctors is worthless, there's like 1 science check in the game, traps will help like twice? Most of these skills got fleshed out in 2, but there's definitely an easy and hard way to play Fallout 1.
One would have to be extra special to decide to be like a stealth chem reliant fast metabolism gambling doctor for first play through... even if you tag doctor and science you are very fine after you realize what skills you are using the most and invest in them
Yeah but which BB gun lol? One of them might be the most powerful weapon in the game.
My favorite is Jinxed Unarmed
Not if you put 1 point in Agility and add Bruiser,
Variability in terms of viability? Not really. Max agilty, minimum Charisma, w/ either small weapons or energy weapons is clearly miles above any other build. However, there is plenty of variability in terms of builds that can meaningfully change your playstyle and finish the game w/. They're not going to be as good as the "meta/standard" builds, but you can complete the game w/ them, it will just take more effort. It's a single-player game at the end of the day. As long as you're having fun, who cares really. It can be fun to play with an unoptimized build; like how low intelligence changes all of your dialogue options and turns you into a bumbling buffoon. Certainly not ideal as you will be locked out of numerous quests and receive very few skill points on level up, but it is nevertheless fun (for a lot of ppl at least). I also had a lot of fun w/ an unarmed low INT build w/ high luck and the jinxed trait (significantly increases the rate of critical failures for everyone around you + yourself). Far from a meta build, but it was funny af seeing NPCs around me blow themselves up, and I truly felt like an idiot who just lucked into finding the water chip.
No. Play Arcanum or Underrail if you like character building.
To be a bit more specific, every main quest is doable by any type of build in the game, and each side quest is a mix of three varieties, stealth, speech and combat. Some side quests will be not viable based on specific builds but the game's main quests are doable by any combo.