Well, i'm on my... probably 5-6th restart of NV, and why I don't know. I just keep finding stuff that makes me hate my current build, etc, and now I have to slug through the slow start of the game. So i'm going to just post my basic build here now, and hopefully it comes out with some helpful tips.

The build I was going for at first was small guns, sneak and repair. But after 5-6 hours of playing, I notice it hasn't been working out to well for me. Realizing my character may not of been far enough in level to be to great early on, I still scraqed it. But i'm picky I suppose. I came across a and used it. Needless to say I was so overjoyed...then I found out it's affected by Energy Weapons /goes emo. This instantly made me want to restart, however I hate energy weapons with all my life. But I have two builds I want to post and was looking for feedback on how well they would be. (Sorry for any lousy typing or spell, I have no feeling in 3/4 of my right hand, so this is rather difficult).

Tough as nails:
( I get 40 special points in this if I remember correctly, right?)
S - 7
P - 6
E - 7
C - 3
I - 7
A - 4
L - 6

Energy Weapons, Small guns, Explosives (if I get a 4th tag skill, then repair I suppose)

I got no idea what I would pick for the 2 skills at the start.
Perks I don't even really know what 90% of them are.


Is someone shooting at us?:
S - 7
P - 6
E - 2
C - 3
I - 6
A - 9
L - 7

Small Guns, Sneak and no idea what to do for tag or a third.

No idea what to pick for those 2 skills at the start.
No idea what 90% of the perks are still lol.


How do these sound, and any suggestions on them?

Tough As Nails.
Why go with three combat skills?

Well I haven't run into much in the way of energy weapons yet, and in the first game, the energy weapons were so over powered. Plus, i'd like to be able to snipe and such ;0;

Energy Weapons are kinda meh in this game. The nest patch will supposedly beef it up.

I wouldnt recomment tagging three combat skills. Some non combat skills are very important, like Speech. Repair is good also. And Medicine if you play on hardcoe.

Currently EW's svcks unless you get a -DT mod for the PC.
And you'll be able to get a lot of energy weapons once you hit Vegas which is real easy: Follow the road.
And snipe, you'll get Gauss Rifle later on or you can get scope mod for the Laser Rifle so really, you only need one skill. :shrug:
It's better IMO to have one combat skill and the rest support skills like lockpick, speech, repair, medicine and maybe sneak.
But oh well, just remember to pick all combat perks for the weapons as well if you go for triple-combat skill.

triple combat skill? No idea what your refering to xD

And are explosives good without the points into them? Mainly I will probably use them to start clearing out rooms when I see them with my perception.

Energy Weapons // Lock Pick // Repair
Energy Weapons // Lock Pick // Speech
Energy Weapons // Locl Pick // Explosives

which do you think?

"Tough As Nails Energy Weapons, Small guns, Explosives (if I get a 4th tag skill, then repair I suppose."
Triple-combat skill.

Explosives are erm.... Not good against high DT enemies...
If you're going to use them on low DT enemies who run in groups like Gecko's then I suppose GMG or a couple of hand-grenades could be useful even with a low skill.

And I'd go with Energy Weapons // Lock Pick // Speech as starting skills then as a fourth skill, Repair.
EW for combat.
Lockpick for not being locked out of interesting places and good loot.
And speech for quests.

"Lockpick for not being locked out of interesting places" lmao. epic arguement (:
also.
What do you suggest for the... trait skills i think they are?

Traits?
I dunno, most of them are useless and don't really have much of a importance.
WW is crap.
That Born To Destroy or whatever is good I guess if you have Raul as a companion since it evens out with him.
Trigger Discipline is good for sniper characters.
Dunno what Fast Shot means when it says +20% speed, so I can't comment on that one.
The one that makes your limb fragile in exchange for +1 AGI is useless. (Small Frame)
Four Eyes is useless too I guess but it wouldn't hurt to take it.
If you're not going full out on explosives then don't pick the one which makes stuff you throw go longer. (Loose Cannon)
Good Natured is good, if you have one combat skill and two support skills which you tagged then you basically get +5 skill points with this one, might not seem like much but it's a good trait.
Heavy Handed, unless you're going to focus on Unarmed and/or Melee then it's worthless.
Kamikazee, don't see how this one is any good at all.

Sooooo... Good Natured and Trigger Discipline I guess.

I'm disappointed in the traits though, none of them seems to hit my unfulfilled spot.

Ya they all seem useless lol. Any mods which add better ones?

http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloads/search.php
Nexus should have some, not a PC user myself so don't know any off the top of my head.

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http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=36194
Addictionism - 75% addiction chance, 1.33 addiction duration.
Fat Backpack - +40 max carry weight, 80% equip speed.
Gourmet Chef - Cooked food gives 25% more health, raw ingredients give 33% more health, only 66% health from stimpaks and super stimpaks
Ready For Battle - 150% weapon draw speed, 75% reload speed
Refresh-o-man - +20 AP, 120% AP cost, 120% AP regen
Trader - 80% buy price, 80% experience gain
======================================================================
http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=35841
Bloody Mess; Enables Bloody Mess / Enables Bloody Mess.

Bruiser; +2 Strength / Melee Attacks are 20% slower.

Cautious; 20% Weapon Range / -10% penalty to hit.
(A combination of the Cautious Nature Perk and the Red Scare Trait)

Chem Reliant; 50% Addiction Duration / 2x Addiction chance.

*Chem Resistant; 50% Addiction Chance / 50% Positive Effect Duration.

Family History; +15% Limb resistance / -10 Speech
(Once I heard that line from Doc Mitchell, I had to make it.)

Fast Metabolism; +10% Healing bonus / -10% Radiation and Poison Resistance.
(Fast Metabolsim perk became Medic)

Feral Child; +5 Survival, Sneak, Guns, Melee, and Unarmed / -5 Barter, Speech, Science, Energy Weapons, and Repair.
(Another one from Van Buren)

*Finesse; +10 Critical Chance / -25% damage.
(Finesse perk replaced with More Criticals)

Gifted; +1 to all stats / -5 to all skills, -2 skill points at level up.

*NightPerson; +1 to both Intelligence and Perception at night / -1 during the day.

One Hander; +20% to hit with One Handed Weapons / -40% to hit with Two-Handers

One in a Million; An extremely rare chance to gain a guaranteed Critical Hit that deals devastating Critical Damage. / It is an extremely rare chance.
(Short version: On the frame Critical Hit Chance/Damage is rolled, you have a 1% chance to deal 500x critical damage.)

Skilled; +5 to all Skills, +2 Skill Points at level Up / -20% XP gained.
# +5 to all Skills, +2 Skill Points at level Up / -30% XP gained.
NVSE +5 to all Skills, +2 Skill Points at level Up / Increase Perk Rate by 1
======================================================================
http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=37167
bloodymess - more violent death animations

bruiser - +2str -25action points

chemreliant - 50% more chance to get addicted 50% faster

recovery form addiction

chemresistant - 50% less chance of addiction, chem
duration -50%

fastmetabolism - +2healing rate, -10% rad and poison resist

finesse - +10% critt chance -30% dmg

gifted - +1 to each special -10% to all skills -5 skill points per level

jinxed - less luck for everyone !

nightperson - +2 per int during the night -2 int per during the day

onehander - +20% chance to hit with 1 hand pistols -40% chance to hit with 2 handed guns
======================================================================
http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=35712
One Hander - replaces perk Gunslinger. You have -40% to hit with two-handed weapons, and +20% to hit with weapons that only require one hand.

Night Person - replaces perk Night Person. You get a -1 modifier to intelligence and perception from the hours of 6:01 AM to 6:00 PM. You get a +1 modifier to these statistics from the hours of 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM.

Chem Resistant - replaces perk Chem Resistant. Chemicals only affect you half as long as normal, but your chance to be addicted is also only 50% of normal.

Bruiser - Your Strength is +2, but you lose 20 action points.

Gifted - All seven stats have a +1 modifier. You receive 3 less skill points per level.

Red Scare - You are paranoid in the extreme and think that everyone around you may be trying to do you in. Your effective PE is +2 for purposes of determining sight range, but your shaky nerves in combat give you a -25 penalty to hit chance.

Bloody Mess - replaces perk Bloody Mess. By some strange twist of fate, people around you die violently. You always see the worst way a person can die.

Cannibal - Now Cannibal is trait.

Finesse - replaces perk Finesse. Your attacks show a lot of finesse. You don't do as much damage, but you cause more critical hits. All of your attacks do -30% damage. Your critical chance is increased by 10%.
======================================================================
http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=36370
This mod adds 15 new traits to the game. The code for each trait is listed beside the title. The list of traits includes:

Baysplosions! (xx004182)
You live in a very, very flammable and explosive world. The radius of all explosions is now double the normal value.

Brawny (xx000AE1)
Requires: Strength < 9
You're as strong as a brahmin and just about as slow. Your Strength is increased by 2 points but you gain 25 fewer action points due to your massive bulk.

Cyborg (xx004187)
You're part man, part machine. The machine in you increases your attack speed and Damage Threshold by 10%. Unfortunately, it also halves the duration of all positive chems and the effect of all healing items.

Deadly World (xx004181)
You live in a deadlier world than most. All damage thresholds are half their normal value - you and your enemies will do much more damage.

Enlightened (xx0021D7)
Requires: Charisma, Intelligence, and Perception < 10
You are an enlightened and noble soul, seeking to solve your problems with speech and intellect over violence. You gain a +1 bonus to Charisma, Intelligence, and Perception but all action point costs are increased by 50% due to your combat paralysis.

Ghoulish Vigor (xx002796)
You've been exposed to so much radiation that you're now more ghoul than human. You gain 50% radiation resistance but healing items only have 75% of the normal effect.

Human Fish (xx002d66)
You have gills! You can breath water and you take no radiation when drinking from irradiated water sources but your poison resistance is 10% lower, due to your unique physiology.

Junkie (xx004183)
You really love your chems. The duration of all chems is doubled but you're twice as likely to become addicted.

Skilled (xx001EF2)
You take pride in your own skill, shunning the use of mechanical aid in combat. You gain 3 additional skill points per level but regain action points at half the normal speed.

Strange Luck (xx0024B7)
Requires: Luck 8-
Your luck tends to run to extremes, both good and bad. You gain a +2 bonus to Luck but your enemies have a 10% greater critical hit chance.

Sturdy Frame (xx0021D8)
You really drank your milk as a youngster - you have strong bones and a sturdy frame. All limb damage is reduced by 50% but you suffer a -1 penalty to Agility due to stiff joints and ligaments.

Superior Physique (xx001EF8)
Requires: Agility, Endurance, and Strength < 10
You're built like a professional athlete and you rarely get sick. You gain a +1 bonus to Agility, Endurance, and Strength but your superior immune system halves the duration of all beneficial chems - even stimpacks!

Swift (xx002D68)
You have the build of a long-distance runner, which is great for cross country treks but lousy for weapon play. Your run speed is increased by 20% but all weapon Strength requirements are increased by one.

Thief (xx004185)
You're a thief born and bred - and everyone in the wasteland knows it. Your Lockpick and Sneak skills are increased by 15 points but the price of all items is increased by 25%, as most merchants don't want to fence your stolen goods.

True Grit (xx002D5B)
You can shrug off minor wounds with nothing but a grimace and a snarled curse word. You gain +5 to overall Damage Threshold but your action points are reduced by 25 due to your stalwart stance and nature.
======================================================================

wow... lots of traits lol

I can give you a very powerful and fun build.
It almost seems like FO:NV was made with this build in mind.

Guns
Sneak
Repair
Science
Lockpick
Speech
(in order of importance)

S-5
P-5
E-5
C-1
I-9(+1)
A-6(+2)
L-9(+1)

Traits:
Small Frame

Perks (Important ones):
Educated
Bloody Mess
Toughness
Jurry Rigging
Hand Loader
Silent Running
Better Criticals

It's basically a sniper build, but it works with pistols aswell.
If you go all out pistols take The Professional and you'll be invincible.

Traits Good natured if you plan on only using one weapon skill, as you will lose 5 points but gain 6 if you raise the primary stat to 7, then you gain a boost of 5 to all / most of those skills that come in handy.

Small frame, limb damage is a pain early, but a good character has a doc from the start, merchants to trade occasional doctors bags, and the +1 skill point allows you to tune your S.P.E.C.I.A.l more.

EW don't svck, you just need to follow the MQ early on and tag science to get the full experience, Lockpick is more a waste in this game as he best stashes have keys, and most containers don't have great stuff anyway.
Plus books such as lads life will raise any skill by 10 or 20 points with comprehension.

In NV boost your main weapon skill to 100 asap, and dex, int, are of less or different use in NV.
V.A.T.s is weaker and if you plan on melee. h2h, or EW reload speed is of less importance.
Skill points are of less use as many / most quests have alternative routes meaning what ever you take is likely to work some way, so you really only need 100 in weapons and 60 - 80 in as a few as 3.

All this is just my experience though, and you may not find any use here.