[Bethesda] Fallout 76

[Max Peck]

Ive read that I can ignore eating and drinking. Is that true? Ive been eating and drinking as Im always finding that stuff anyways. But if it really does nothing Id be happy to ignore it.

As I understand it food/drink provide buffs, but there is no debuff for being hungry/thirsty. I have a friend who is always hopped up on cranberry relish (XP buff) and steamed fever blossom tea (AP regen), for example, but there is no actual penalty for ignoring it other than the opportunity cost.

[Daehawk]

Takes a while to get anywhere. If I sprint my stam just drops fast and I get about 20 feet ..little more in power armor. Guess its meant to make the world feel big.

I wasn't worried with ammo in the beginning. I have a nice 10mm pistol, a pump shotgun, and a laser pistol. I had like 80 shotgun shells and 160 10mm. But Ive slowly began using it up. I seem to loot what I shoot..use a 10mm get some 10mm off the corpse most times. But its never as much as I expend killing it. So Im very slowly starting to get low and worry about it. Im not sure how to craft more or where to find more. Im starting to conserve more and more now and trying to use other types of guns that use different ammo. Of course they dont work as well so I use more of their ammo type lol.

Also Im guessing its a SPECIAL stat but my aim sucks at time. I can crouch,not be moving, have the crosshair at its smallest size...fire on target...and the bullet will make its own mind up where it wants to go and go whizzing off way right or left or down..grrrrr...go straight ya damn piece of metal!

EDIT: One last gripe..so many things are buried in the menus..just make it more simple and streamlined...Like to repair a wep I have to find it, click some modify button then repair , then am I sure ..yes..just let me click the gun and press R..thats all I need.

Oh one more one more..the quick wep wheel..I want my pistol in slot 2 my laser 3 and my shotgun 4...but for some reason I cant see my laser pistol after first slotting in in 4..I can make 2 and 3 my 10mm but I cant see my laser anymore to move it...so now I have pistol 2 shotgun 3 and laser 4. I think it must be a bug this far in release that wont let me see my laser pistols in my inv while trying to add it to my quick select wheel. I can see it in my normal inv..just not when I am trying to slot it.; Its like it doesn't exist there.

[Blackhawk]

Ive read that I can ignore eating and drinking. Is that true? Ive been eating and drinking as Im always finding that stuff anyways. But if it really does nothing Id be happy to ignore it.

Sort of. They removed the penalties for not eating and drinking, but they still have benefits if you do eat and drink. If you're fully fed and fully hydrated you will get a nice buff. In addition, various foods will give you additional buffs. Early on I'd recommend grabbing all of the soot flowers you see, then mixing it with boiled water for tea. A good early option food is to grab a few corn while you're out, and then plant it in your camp. When you start, pick some corn, grab some water, and make corn soup. It fills both the food and water bars.

Later on you'll find some better recipes. The best thing to do is usually to fill your food and water bars up with multiple foods, so that you're stacking multiple buffs.

Be aware that food does spoil over time. And be on the lookout for spoiled food in your food/drink inventory - it can weigh you down. Stick it in your stash, then use a chemistry bench to turn it into fertilizer.

Two other free (and substantial) buffs that I mentioned earlier are the one for sleeping and the one for playing an instrument. Just sleep/play until you hear a sound and get a Vault Boy pop-up.

Some other quick early tips:

~Concerning perks: Don't actively spend your choices on the 'Find Extra' perks. If you get them and have extra points feel free to equip them, but you'll generally find more than enough of everything without them.
~Don't plan on having the lockpicking/hacking perks equipped on your actual build. That would take 6 SPECIAL points. What most people do is get the perks, but leave them unequipped (or only equip one) until they actually need it, as you can change your perks on the fly. In other words, you come up on a lock/terminal, unequip one of your combat perks, and equip lockpicking. You pick said lock, then put your combat perk back on. (Personally, I dumped my first legendary perk on the one that gives you 3/3 so that I don't have to worry about it anymore.)
~Particularly good perks: Blocker, Concentrated Fire, Fireproof, Lone Wanderer (a must if you're solo), Scrapper, Gunsmith (keep it equipped for the reduced wear and tear), Action Boy (unless you're avoid VATS entirely.) At the end game, Starched Genes and Class Freak are a must.
~Until you max Starched Genes and Class Freak, don't keep any mutations (RadAway removes them.) The downsides are pretty heavy. Once you have those perks, though, you can keep the mutations without the penalties.
~You'll generally want to specialize in a single weapon. You can carry as many as you want, and you can fire them, but you'll only have enough perks to really make one of them fully effective (in my current build, I have 12 perk points out of a max of 15 in Perception dedicated just to rifles.)
~At level 25 you'll get access to a card machine that will let you save multiple builds and change your SPECIALs at will. I have separate builds for combat and a generic 'crafting' build that's for both CAMP building and crafting. If I make another, it will either be a farming build or a power armor build.
~The soft cap is level 50. After that you'll keep leveling, but you'll only get perks, not SPECIALS. You also gain access to an alternate 'Legendary Perks' set, one choice every 25 levels starting at 50.
~An excellent build planner. Once you have a build, the leveling roadmap button on there is invaluable.
~My current build. Note that this is a single shot weapon/stealth/no power armor build. It isn't the most effective build in the game (if you wanted to make it more effective, you'd switch the single shot perks for Commando.) I find the game easy enough that I don't feel the need to optimize, however.
~My crafting build. Yes, it's got more perks than points. I swap the perks I'm not using for the ones I am using (IE - if I'm working on energy weapons, I swap out something else for the energy weapon perks.)
~Keep your eye out for train stations. They have vendor NPCs (whose stock is almost always over-priced), they always have a crafting bench and a legendary exchange. It's a machine that lets you turn old legendaries into a special scrip. Save that scrip until the endgame - you can turn it in for new, on-level legendaries then.
~You learn attachments for weapons by scrapping the same sort of weapon. What you get is random, and what you get slows down over time (it doesn't remove what you already learn from the pool of options, and getting one you already know just results in not learning anything.)
~A convoluted, but very useful tool for determining prices and rarity for items you find.
~If you do set up a shop, note that most legendaries do not sell unless they're priced low and people are buying them for turning into scrip. Pretty much all ammo sells for 1 cap per.
~Weapons and armor have levels, rounded to 5 (IE - you can find level 5 pipe pistols, level 20s, level 35s, level 50s, etc.) You'll want to make sure that you don't let your gear fall behind - it's easy to have a weapon that you love, say a combat rifle, keep scrapping the combat rifles you find later, only to realize that you're level 40, the combat rifle you're using is level 15, and you've been scrapping the level 40s. Or that you're wearing an armor piece that's 20 levels below you. During the leveling, it's expected that you'll recreate the same gun every few levels.
~You start with a low-level backpack with +5 carry weight. You can craft new backpacks at an armor bench every 10 levels (10, 20, etc), all the way up to a level 50 backpack. Each upgrade increases the carry weight by +5.
~You can craft with the materials in your stash. Store all junk.
~Weight warning: Scrap your junk before you store it. Unscrapped junk takes up a ton of Stash space. You might want to check to make sure you haven't deposited any junk already. Scrapping it is easy - any workbench (except a brewing station) will have an option for 'scrap.' Once you hit it, you'll have an option for 'scrap all junk.' Just hit that, walk up to your stash, and you'll have a button for 'deposit all junk.'

[Daehawk]

Now you're starting to make the game sound like work. I dont like work as well as I like game

I haven't found a way to sleep yet. Ive found some sleeping bags in my travels but the option to sleep is always greyed out at the bottom in the text. So haven't slept in days.

Keep in mind Im just playing for fun right now. Im not playing to be a hard core do all win all survivalist to end game whatever that is. Im just here to live in the world, see the sights, do the fun stuff, and enjoy the journey....just like Im doing in ESO. I want to explore and feel the world around me . Meet new folks and do odd things. Walk slow and poke & prod everything. See whats in that house, in that box, in that ruin. Hey that thing there is more colorful than the stuff around it. It must be important or have something useful.

[Blackhawk]

Takes a while to get anywhere. If I sprint my stam just drops fast and I get about 20 feet ..little more in power armor. Guess its meant to make the world feel big.

The full water buff increases your AP (Action Points - used for both sprinting and VATS) regen by 35%.

Also Im guessing its a SPECIAL stat but my aim sucks at time. I can crouch,not be moving, have the crosshair at its smallest size...fire on target...and the bullet will make its own mind up where it wants to go and go whizzing off way right or left or down..grrrrr...go straight ya damn piece of metal!

That's partially the stats, but its more about the weapon and the associated upgrades. Some weapons aren't meant to be accurate.

EDIT: One last gripe..so many things are buried in the menus..just make it more simple and streamlined...Like to repair a wep I have to find it, click some modify button then repair , then am I sure ..yes..just let me click the gun and press R..thats all I need.

In the broader sense, that's because they took a single-player game (FO4) and shoehorned multiplayer into it. And just like with GTA Online, that means that they didn't have the menus that they needed, so they just kept adding other menus. In your specific case, I'm guessing that they arranged the repair options specifically to encourage people to use repair kits (which are premium items) rather than repairing normally. Also: Repairing normally seems to take the same amount of resources whether it is at 90% of 5%. So wait until something is close to breaking before you repair it, especially while leveling.

Oh one more one more..the quick wep wheel..I want my pistol in slot 2 my laser 3 and my shotgun 4...but for some reason I cant see my laser pistol after first slotting in in 4..I can make 2 and 3 my 10mm but I cant see my laser anymore to move it...so now I have pistol 2 shotgun 3 and laser 4. I think it must be a bug this far in release that wont let me see my laser pistols in my inv while trying to add it to my quick select wheel. I can see it in my normal inv..just not when I am trying to slot it.; Its like it doesn't exist there.

In 20 years, Bethesda still hasn't come up with a good way to assign gear to hotkeys/wheels, something that every other company solved in the 90s. Each item can only be assigned to a single slot, and the idiotic way they set it up is that it can only be assigned if it isn't already. That means that if your pistol is in slot 3 and you want it in 2, you have to assign something else to slot 3, which removes the pistol, then assign the pistol (I usually use a food or drink for clearing spaces.) Note also that if you favorite any item, it automatically assigns it to the first available slot, and if you unfavorite it, it removes it. So an alternate way is to unfavorite all of your weapons, then favorite #1, then #2, then #3, etc.

Just make sure that you maintain that. So if you're replacing weapon #3, unfavorite the old one first (removes it from 3), and then favorite the new one (places it in 3, assuming that 1 and 2 are already full.)

It's just pure Bethesda jankiness and laziness. They designed a terrible system that confuses everyone, is hard to use, and everyone has spoken out about - but fixing it doesn't make them more money, so they just don't bother.

[Daehawk]

I dont use VATS or plan to...or know how to.

EDIT:

In 20 years, Bethesda still hasn't come up with a good way to assign gear to hotkeys/wheels, something that every other company solved in the 90s. Each item can only be assigned to a single slot, and the idiotic way they set it up is that it can only be assigned if it isn't already. That means that if your pistol is in slot 3 and you want it in 2, you have to assign something else to slot 3, which removes the pistol, then assign the pistol (I usually use a food or drink for clearing spaces.) Note also that if you favorite any item, it automatically assigns it to the first available slot, and if you unfavorite it, it removes it. So an alternate way is to unfavorite all of your weapons, then favorite #1, then #2, then #3, etc.

Dang'it thats right! I forgot about that. Thank you. DOH. Typical Bethsoft stuff from other games.

[Blackhawk]

Now you're starting to make the game sound like work. I dont like work as well as I like game

I haven't found a way to sleep yet. Ive found some sleeping bags in my travels but the option to sleep is always greyed out at the bottom in the text. So haven't slept in days.

Keep in mind Im just playing for fun right now. Im not playing to be a hard core do all win all survivalist to end game whatever that is. Im just here to live in the world, see the sights, do the fun stuff, and enjoy the journey....just like Im doing in ESO. I want to explore and feel the world around me . Meet new folks and do odd things.

Nah, just explaining how the system works, since they don't do a good job of explaining it. It's not work you have to do, just the answers to questions you're likely to have as you make your way through it. Tips and tricks. What to look for, what to avoid. I'm sure you could do the same thing with ESO if you were introducing me to it.

Sleeping bags on the ground, FWIW, are dangerous. You can catch disease that way. Just toss down a bed in your CAMP. There's no penalty for not sleeping, but like food, you get a buff.

[Blackhawk]

I dont use VATS or plan to...or know how to.

No problem. One of my character doesn't use it at all. My other does.

In case you're curious (or for other people who read this - I always post assuming that other people may want the information later), here's how it works. Since it's multiplayer, they can't pause the world (like FO3/NV), nor can they slow it down (like 4.) Instead, it is like an aim-bot, auto-targeting your enemy for as long as your AP lasts. With a point into concentrated fire, you can use the mouse wheel to target specific parts. As you do damage in VATS, you build up a critical bar that you can hit space to activate to do bonus damage. By itself it isn't great, but with certain perks it can be very, very powerful. It's also great for people who don't play a lot of shooters, since it removes the hassle of trying to, say, land a headshot on a moving enemy.

[Daehawk]

These are all good things to know. Thank you.

[Blackhawk]

These are all good things to know. Thank you.

Please just take it as that. I probably dropped too much info if it came across as overwhelming, but don't take it as "You must do all this right now!", just as a bunch of tips for when you want them.

Last tip: Check your daily and weekly challenges (map/z/challenges.) The provide points on the scoreboard to unlock stuff - some of it is pretty good.

[Daehawk]

Did not know that one. These days of all digital downloads and no paper manuals are still strange to me of cavemen days where I could take my manual to the loo and read all about everything before I even installed the game.

[Blackhawk]

Did not know that one. These days of all digital downloads and no paper manuals are still strange to me of cavemen days where I could take my manual to the loo and read all about everything before I even installed the game.

I used to write those manuals (and sometimes feel like I'm doing so again when I provide tips, which are an awful lot like the notes I used to make before writing a strategy guide), but I'm not going into the bathroom with you.

[Daehawk]

Did not know that one. These days of all digital downloads and no paper manuals are still strange to me of cavemen days where I could take my manual to the loo and read all about everything before I even installed the game.

I used to write those manuals (and sometimes feel like I'm doing so again when I provide tips, which are an awful lot like the notes I used to make before writing a strategy guide), but I'm not going into the bathroom with you.

Thats ok, my dog does.

[Blackhawk]

Ah. Print out the tips and tape them to the dog.

[Blackhawk]

Quick tip on what not to ignore when looting. The stuff you always want to grab (or the things that scrap into these):

~Aluminum
~Screws
~Adhesive
~Lead
~Acid
~Ballistic Fiber
~Springs

[Daehawk]

Nice. Id been grabbing screws and duct tape. I wasn't sure on those merry go round horsey parts I find.I stopping grabbing that junk a while back. Seems no use. And theres many loots of it around.

[Daehawk]

I really like the feeling of being in that world. But a little ease of use would be nice.

Show me how much of a type of ammo I have on me when Im looking at it in the store menu.

Show the total cost I have to pay as I increase the amount of ammo I want to get. Dont make me do it in my head.

[Daehawk]

BTW.BH....if you try to talk to me in game...I can hear you but I cannot reply..I dont have a mic these days..yet...another thing to get. Also online says to tap INSERT to type chat...doesn't work for me...and I see no binding for a way to type chat.

[Sudy]

There is no text chat, I'm curious what that would be referring to. There's a mod you can install for text chat but not everyone uses it and on the Xbox Gamepass PC version you can't use it at all.

[Daehawk]

Ill have to get a mic.

Im trying to open new fast travel spots on my map as I explore. So tonight Ive ben going around the newbie area circle I call it..morgantown top the north and flatwoods to the south. Around that mountain / hill area. I did my first random reset quest..Back on the Beat where you activate A patrol protectron then escort him around the block of town and make sure he doesn't take too much damage from spawning ghouls. Gave me some helpful stuff for completing it . Wasn't sure I should try it alone but it went fine. Had its moments lol.

[Daehawk]

I mined some gold and coal in a mine but not sure what its good for.

EDIT: F ME..I just saw Mothman. Scared the crap outta me. I remember that movie with Richard Gere.

[Blackhawk]

Put the ore in your stash for now. It can be smelted at a chemistry bench (I gave you a plan for them earlier.)

I'd only smelt them when you actually need them. The acid can be hard to get early on, and you may really need it for something else.

[Daehawk]

Sleepy. Done all I can tonight. I claimed the junkyard for myself and fended off a mole rat attack there and got some rewards and black ore or something. Fun. Lots to see. Biggest decision is should I wear the beret, the chef hat, or the pink miners hard hat and be a Village People fan. Tomorrow awaits in the lands of hills and smokey mountains...aka my back yard.

[Blackhawk]

If you ever get curious, I have a whole box of other cosmetic head pieces for you to work through.

[Daehawk]

A collector eh? I always collect one item in these Fallout games. Not decided on what yet. The little Red Rocket toy is cool and the Alien. Not sure yet though.

Also I feel its coming time I decided on one weapon type to make ammo carrying easier. Im not really happy with the 3 I use now. Its why I carry three. Shotgun is powerful but a little slow and has no range. The 10mm I love and have always used one in these games but it lacks power and isn';t totally accurate. The laser pistol is the best as its powerful and accurate. But that sound it makes really gets repetitive after a bit.

I think what I need is an assault rifle. Something not semi automatic and has power and range. Not seen one yet. Maybe a sniper rifle for range.

As for my special points Im not sure like I usually am. Im kinda spreading them out here and there. Last night the cards finally fell into place for me and I was suddenly able to sort them and choose the ones I wanted. That menu is not clear.

As for action points is there a use without VATS? Do they affect my stam regen or something?

[Blackhawk]

(Note: Because I'm an inconsiderate bastard, I keep using 'skill', 'perk' and 'card' interchangeably. They all mean the same thing.)

A collector eh? I always collect one item in these Fallout games. Not decided on what yet. The little Red Rocket toy is cool and the Alien. Not sure yet though.

Nope. I keep a few for myself, but most of them I stick on my vendor to sell to other players (at a below-market price that's more about making it available than making a profit.) Take a look here. I don't have everything (or even close to it), but I have a lot of the more common stuff. If you see some stuff you like and I have it, I'll gladly pass it on.

Also I feel its coming time I decided on one weapon type to make ammo carrying easier. Im not really happy with the 3 I use now. Its why I carry three. Shotgun is powerful but a little slow and has no range. The 10mm I love and have always used one in these games but it lacks power and isn';t totally accurate. The laser pistol is the best as its powerful and accurate. But that sound it makes really gets repetitive after a bit.

The basic weapon types are (with only minor variations):

Melee
Pistols
Rifles (semi-auto)
Rifles (auto)
Heavy Weapons
Bows/Crossbows

You want to specialize in one. Semi-auto really only works with stealth builds (as with what I'm running.) Auto and heavy are considered the 'go to' builds.

But you do not want to limit yourself to one gun. I am built for semi-auto rifles, and I carry four: Two short range (reflex sights, some hipfire accuracy, fire rate), and two long range (high damage, sighted accuracy, etc.) Why two of each? Because there are two main damage types: Energy and ballistic. Each is good against different enemies.

The trick is that energy and ballistic weapons are the same skill, and most weapons can be modded to any of the weapon types.

So, say I find a laser pistol. It is a pistol (pistol skill applies) that does energy damage.
I mod it with a longer stock. It is now a single shot rifle that does energy damage.
I mod it with an automatic barrel. It is now an automatic rifle that does energy damage.
I mod it with a beam splitter. It is now a shotgun that does energy damage.

So I carry two ballistic weapons (up close, long range) and two energy weapons (up close, long range.) That's also three ammo types (cells for the up-close laser rifle, 2mm for the gauss long range energy rifle, and .45 for my two ballistic weapons. It's easier to carry fewer ammo types, but it screws you if you run low. It's best two plan on at least two or three ammo types, especially early on when getting large amounts ammo is a challenge (doubly so if you go automatic.)

If you're going auto, it can be worth it to grab the star's worth of the Ammosmith perk, which lets you craft more ammo for the resources.

If you do buy ammo, buy it only from player camps (they're visible on the map), and never, ever pay more than one cap per round. Even missiles normally sell for a cap.

tl;dr - most weapons can be used with multiple skill types depending on how you mod them, and it's best to carry both energy and ballistic.

I think what I need is an assault rifle. Something not semi automatic and has power and range. Not seen one yet. Maybe a sniper rifle for range.

For the prior, keep your eye out for a Handmade, although a Fixer isn't bad. For the latter, a lever action is great, but anything will work. But be careful - the assault rifle will use one skill set (the Commando line), while a sniper rifle will use a different skill (the Rifleman line.) Early on you can get away with it. But later on you won't be able to effectively use both, as you won't be able to equip the perks to use both.

----------------------------

Short version of the card/perk/stat system in case you missed the nuances:

Every card has stars on it. They all start at one star. If you get two of the same card, you can merge them to create a much stronger two-star version. Each additional card you merge adds one star, up to the card's limit (most cap at 1-3 stars, but some go as high as 5.)

The cost in perk points to equip a card is the number of stars on that card. (There are a very few that cost a little more, but I'm ignoring those for now for simplicity.) So a one-star Charisma skill requires one Charisma to equip. A one star Strength card and a two star Strength card require 3 Strength to equip both.

Every time you level up, you gain one stat point and one card that you get to pick from those available at your level (access to the card is based on player level, not stats.) Every five levels (5, 10, 15, etc) you get an additional pack of cards. (Tip: When you level up and pick a stat, you can pick any card from your level or below from any stat. Look at the bottom of the screen for the buttons to change the filter. It defaults to the stat you just picked, but you can choose anything, so you can add one Perception, then pick an Agility card.)

When you hit level 50, you stop gaining stat points, but continue to gain cards forever (I've seen level 2000+ characters running around.) (Side note - there is another perk mechanic that kicks in at 50 that will give you a use for your unneeded cards.)

Also, each stat is capped at 15. You will only ever be able to put 15 points worth of cards onto any stat, regardless of your level.

-------------------------

So, back to the weapon thing. My single-shot build requires two general rifle perks (Concentrated Fire and Tank Killer) that cost 6 Perception, and apply to any rifle (semi- or full-auto.) The semi-auto specific perks are three cards (Rifleman, Expert Rifleman, and Master Rifleman), all of which are three stars. 3+3+3+3+3=15. Just equipping my weapon skills takes 15 points of Perception, the max I can have. If I wanted to fire a full-auto rifle, I would be doing without any of the associated perks, unless I unequipped all of my semi-auto perks. Bows, crossbows, explosives, and shotguns also all have perks that require Perception. That means that I can't run a semi-auto build and also carry any of those without running them without perks (which makes a big difference.)

I could probably come up with some way of having a second weapon half-viable, but it would be at the cost of any utility perks.

I posted this earlier, but here is my current build. It's a non-power armor stealth based build (which isn't your thing), but if you take off the stealth perks and swap the three Rifleman cards for the three Commando cards, it would be a solid start (Something like this.)

As for action points is there a use without VATS? Do they affect my stam regen or something?

They don't affect your stamina regen - they are your stamina. It was that way in FO3/NV and 4, too. The bar on screen that drains when you run is your Action Points, used for running, jumping, and VATS.

[Daehawk]

Action points - Oh. Might need to up that. Ive put a little into STR to carry more, PER to shoot better , INT for some reason I cant recall, and strangely I find myself focusing on LUCK..I usually dont but in here it seems handy and fun. A useful skill.

For weps Ive decided against sniper rifles then after reading your post. I think an assault rifle of some type and a shotgun for power up close and personal should do...maybe with a pistol as backup. I really like pistols in these games for some reason. Im drawn to the size and look of them and the stopping power is good not great and you can scope them too.

[Blackhawk]

Action points - Oh. Might need to up that. Ive put a little into STR to carry more, PER to shoot better , INT for some reason I cant recall, and strangely I find myself focusing on LUCK..I usually dont but in here it seems handy and fun. A useful skill.

Don't use stats to increase abilities (IE - this is a completely different system than FO3/NV/4.) They do so, but don't do so very effectively. Agility is worth it for AP if you're using VATS, and INT gives you some extra XP if you're desperate for it, but you generally want to think of your cards as your character, and think of the stats just as the requirements for equipping cards.

Luck in Fallout 76, for instance? It increases the condition of weapons you find (how damaged they are), and it increases how fast you earn critical hits in VATS. That's it.


For AP, look for buffs. Fully Hydrated (your water bar is near full) gives you +35% AP regen. Well Tuned (play an instrument for 30 seconds - I stuck one in your camp) gives you another 5% for an hour. Beyond that, you need to look at food buffs. Corn Soup is incredibly easy to make (one ingredient you can grow in your camp + water) and gives +3% AP regen. Tato juice (another simple recipe) gives +10 max AP. The buffs stack (as long as it isn't the same exact food) and last 15 minutes to an hour. So, keep yourself properly hydrated, kids. Every time you're in camp play the instrument and sleep in a bed for 30 seconds each (again, it'll notify you.) And carry several different foods/drinks with you and stack them (so if you need to fill your thirst and food bars, have one corn soup, one tato juice, one sootflower tea, etc, rather than a whole bunch of one.)

For carrying capacity, sort each section by stack weight and see what's weighing you down. Personally, I don't carry more than a dozen stimpacks and purified water each. Fusion cores are heavy. Keep your junk section empty. To improve your carrying capacity, look at perks. Pack Rat (reduces junk weight) and Sturdy Frame (reduces armor weight if not using power armor) are probably the two best. The others (reduced chem weight, reduced food weight, etc) aren't all that good - you're better off just keeping your inventory trimmed and using the perk slots for something more useful. In the late game, if you plan ahead (see the Starched Genes and Class Freak feats when they're maximized), you will find much, much better ways to carry more.

For weps Ive decided against sniper rifles then after reading your post. I think an assault rifle of some type and a shotgun for power up close and personal should do...maybe with a pistol as backup. I really like pistols in these games for some reason. Im drawn to the size and look of them and the stopping power is good not great and you can scope them too.

Just don't plan on using the shotgun for too long. Get an automatic with lots of accuracy and a scope of some sort for long range, and an automatic with basic sights for shorter range. Once you're getting nearly double damage with the assault rifle from perks, the shotgun will feel very, very weak.

[Daehawk]

I've learned to keep myself full and hydrated or else I end up in a building carrying just a hair too much and Im suddenly overloaded and walking instead of running. Eat a biscuit drink a little water and Im good to go..pick up more useless stuff and FT back to camp.

[Daehawk]

I expected to be in bed by 1am but here it is 3:30am and Im just headed to bed. Theres always that 'just one more place to see' thing in this game. I found a house with a clue that lead me to Riverside Manor. What I found there after investigating was fun and neat. Ill put it in spoilers.

Spoiler:

Its like the female version of Batman with its own version of a batcave and sidekicks and gadgets and such. And the way you find it with a clue and a secret panel / door is neat. Loved it all.

[Daehawk]

Ive noticed the game seems to be semi instanced for the solo player.

A lot of times Ill see another player out of the corner of my eye or run past me or a doorway and just disappear..ghosted away into their own server world I reckon. Like they crossed a server barrier.

Other times like last night Ill be clearing out a location and a quest will just pop up on me. I checked a corpse last night and found the usual junk on it. I exited the room and could still see the corpse and opened my map to see if there was something nearby to do and low and behold it showed one at my current location . Check the corpse...I closed my map and that same corpse now had a quest marker on it. I opened its loot and there were now new items on it that led me on a fun little quest sequence.

Another time I went to a town to open its fast travel icon and nothing was there. I looked at my map and suddenly it showed 3 quest circles..turn on jukeboxes. So suddenly Im looking through ruined buildings to turn on 3 jukeboxes.

I actually really like that kind of stuff. Keeps me doing different stuff and from becoming bored simply running from icon to icon to open the map up to travel. I never know what Ill find to do when I get some place. And the map is a LOT bigger than I first thought it was going to be.

On a side note Ive learned that the animal icons aren't places like farms or anything. They seem to be on the map just for graphics fun. Would be at least a bit interesting if they were like the Far Crap ones on map and that type of animal would be in the area marked on the map.

Last note.....I find a lot of food but little water. I seem to be on the edge of out of water all the time. Thanks to BH though I can travel to my camp and get some purified water. Just not much out in the world. Also Im gonna need to learn stimpak and ammo making soon. I still have plenty for now but I use that stuff the most. I encountered some Molotov tossing hooligans lol. Those guys are damn accurate with those things and have a serious pitchers arm for range. I actually found myself in a few brutally realistic fights with Molotov tossers of all things. Especially when theres like 5 or 6 of them grouped up chasing you. I dont see a way to put myself out once lit on fire other than to wait. Maybe nearby water when there is some.

[Daehawk]

Gotta wonder about those npc settlers. I was cleaning out a ruined house of ghouls when I go up to the second floor and theres an npc settler there hammering away at a giant hole to the outside while jabbering to himself. Ill call him Steve. Im like "Steve my man! You're hammer'n at a stadium sized hole and I only got one piece of wood for ya and all the while theres ghouls on your first floor! Ghouls Steve! And some of them are armed!" its like he doesn't hear them muttering their nonsense and shooting off their pipe guns. No, he has to poke at that hole in the wall. Wall..more like just a hole I left Steve there to hammer his heart away and walked down the street a ways. Went into a store to see if I could find some food and when I exited I ran head first into who else...Steve! Damn near shot him thinking he was a ghoul. Guess he got tired of that hole and figured he wasn't gonna close it up in one night and went out for a stroll....down the street..the ghoul infested street. Damn Steve...he is a odd one.

[Daehawk]

I like Biv the robot in the secret college brewery quest basement. His talking to himself stuff is funny. I wish I could take him along with me on the road. I can imagine him aiming for a ghoul, missing, and hitting a super mutant. The super mutant thinks the ghoul shot him so he attacks and kills the ghoul and I get the exp. Biv is all "I got him!*hic*"

[Daehawk]

What is it with ghouls..or whatever 76 calls them..ragers...ravagers, R something or is it C something. Oh well. Come up to a house with no gun toting undead out front..walk in and BAM 4 ghouls jump ya. What are they...attracted to houses like moths to light? "OH theres a house! Better get in it."

[Blackhawk]

What is it with ghouls..or whatever 76 calls them..ragers...ravagers, R something or is it C something.

Scorched. They're something entirely different from ghouls (which it also has.)

[Max Peck]

And, of course, finding out "What's with the Scorched?" is core to the OG storyline of the game.

[Blackhawk]

The storywhat now?

[Max Peck]

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Daehawk]

haha I came across the Nuke Cola Carnival. Its interesting. Wish it had more to do. I gotta say I LOVE Bruno haha.

[Blackhawk]

haha I came across the Nuke Cola Carnival. Its interesting. Wish it had more to do. I gotta say I LOVE Bruno haha.

There are a ton of events centered around it.

Make sure you're checking out events from time to time - even it is just the 'public events' shown at the lower left of the map. Click them for and choose 'join', and you'll get free fast travel to the event. The recommended level isn't a required level - I was doing level 50 stuff when I was 20-something. Just be willing to die a couple of times (and dying during events doesn't involve any penalties or cause you to drop anything), and you'll get tons of XP, loot, and rewards.