I was just wondering whether a Melee or Unarmed based-character was any good in Fallout, since almost everyone is into Energy/Ammo weapons
Wanted to try out a Melee guy but the melee weapons available early in the game wasn't very good

Has anyone tried it out before? If so, mind sharing some tips?

I was never a fan of melee builds as I it seemed that guns were better. However, there is a special knife that can be found early in the game (like right away) that changed all of that for me. Do a search on a knife named 'Chances'. That may be a spoiler so I don't want to say anything else at this point.

Unarmed is easily the most powerful build unless you want to take on Deathclaw and Cazadors early. Melee is weaker but still powerful compare to other combat skills.

Don't forget power attacks doubles your damage.

Geckos can be a problem if you haven't got a hang of it, but once you learn how to dodge n' counter and using their number against each other, you would found how little healing you need.....

I can't say I've ever done a full on melee or unarmed build but I usually keep a lead pipe or set of spiked knuckles as a "fly swatter" to save on ammunition and wear and tear on my more expensive ranged weapons. Even with base skill there are a lot of critters you can kill if you get the knack of sliding in quick, hitting them once or twice, then sliding back out of their reach before they can land a punch of their own. This obviously works best if you stick to clothing and Light Armor as Medium and Heavy armor slows you down quite a bit.

Humanoids armed with ranged weapons can be pretty easy as well if you can lure them in close by ducking behind a wall or a rock. Just keep hammering on these guys so they're staggered and can't fire.

Remember that, outside of VATS, you can target specific parts of the body with melee/unarmed weapons by keeping your cross hairs on that part. Sometimes easier said than done but head shots with melee/unarmed work just as well that way as they do with sniper rifles.

Melee/unarmed weapons don't get any mods to boost their performance but, with high enough Survival skill, you can make poisons that are pretty potent. Down side to poisons is they only work for one attack and they all require Cazador poison glands which are pretty tough critters to kill at lower levels.

"Democracy is the worst form of government... except for every other that has ever been tried."
Winston Churchill.

Unarmed is better than Energy Weapons at least.

Nah. Gauss + Plasma Caster vs Ballistic Fist + Pushy? Energy wins in the end.

I'll post what I posted in the other subject about this:

Another nice thing about melee is the added throwing weapons that fall under the melee skill. Unfortunately, throwing spears are curiously unable to be crafted and can only be found on dead Legion. I've found 1 throwing knife and never a throwing hatchet, and since all thrown weapons disappear for some reason after use, they end up being pretty much a novelty.

Also, if you use VATS with your sledge, you'll find that it places you in kissing distance of your target (no matter where you activate it) making you swing the handle through the enemy's body. Also due probably to another oversight ... there is a complete lack of weapon impact -i.e., they just collapse straight to the ground no matter how hard you strike them with your pneumatically powered block of death. Kind of peaceful, the way they just seem to fall asleep, but incredibly boring and anti-climactic if you use VATS (unarmed does not have these problems). I quit my melee build after 60 hours of this stuff because of the above, I just didn't find it fun.

Also, there's a bug with super slam. I was using a supersledge and if I went into VATS and used the special melee attack (mauler) it knocked the target down 100% of the time, although usually by making them fly literally 20 feet straight up in the air (like they were standing still, not being thrown) before they fell down. Bear in mind you may not want to be invincible with this combination. I was able to kill deathclaws in melee with no outside help this way and it took the fun out of it.

Those are my findings with the drawbacks of melee. Damage, as others have said, does not seem to be a problem.

Unarmed and melee are actually the best weapons in the game without a doubt. They don't use ammo, have lots of item health, can be poisoned, with the right perks they can ignore DT (piercing strike), and keep people knocked down locked (super slam), not to mention some melee weapons (thermic Lance, chainsaw) can one shot death claws with scrap heap, some melee weapons can also auto knockdown with a vats move, there are two unarmed special moves in this game, one's a knockdown the other is a lunge that does better damage.

Unarmed/Melee
Guns
Energy weapons
Explosives

Don't forget these jems...

-Ranger Takedown
-Khans' Move
-Legion Unarmed Attack
-Slayer Perk

You forgot about Legion Assault, Scribe Counter and Ranger Tackle.

Depending how you use VATS for your unarmed all those moves & perk are rather useless, my unarmed on hardcoe always did 1-2 punch kill in VATS, plenty enough of AP to clear an area full of Deathclaws.

Unarmed VATS for newbs. :celebration:

just kidding.

But seriously, What unarmed person USES VATS?

I do, because it's incredibly boring to watch your fist extend in and out in the same fashion 1000 times in a row while you slide around an enemy like you're on ice skates. The original Super Mario Brothers has more dynamic and engaging gameplay than that. VATS offers some interesting views and new moves and at least a bit of a cinematic twist to what is normally just a left mouse button click fest. The same goes for melee in/out of VATS.

Power moves > VATS

That may be, but my preference is for VATS. Dealing ridiculous amounts of damage in this game is not hard at all (unless you're an energy weapons user who'll get owned by a boatfly) so the power moves aren't really necessary.

Wins at what? An Unarmed and/or Melee build destroys an EW build on so many levels.

I've tried both, and a modded Plasma Caster with Max Charged ammo is INSANE. The only problem is that the weapon tears itself apart in like no time at all.

Unarmed = better for playing through the game as a whole with little grief.
Energy Weapons = better for surviving "that fight" (Legendary Deathclaw, etc.)

I preferred Unarmed overall, but if I had to do a single crazy hard fight as 100 EW with a fully repaired modded P-Caster or 100 UA with a Ballistic Fist and all the right perks I'd take EW hands down.

Just play an energy + unarmed character and notice how you instinctively switch to Multiplas or Gauss when a Deathclaw is charging at you.

I like the fire axe

Sure. I have a melee/guns character right now and you can flat out pwn with melee with the right build, weapons and perks.

Tip, go to the Nightstalkers lair by Jacobstown (a jacobstown quest will send you there) and pick up "Oh Baby". You're be curb stomping deathclaws at the higher levels.

I wouldn't say the gameplay mechanics for unarmed or melee are all that great in Fallout, but they're still pretty satisfying.

And effective. You do develop a slightly more "cover-seeking at a distance-then rushing right into their face" style of course, but it's amazing what a little sidestepping will get you. I already took the Superslam perk this build, so I didn't notice much improvement with the Ranger Takedown and Scribe Counter, or maybe I'm just using them wrong. Superslam is great... or overpowered, depending on how you see it. Put a Deathclaw on the ground and beat it 'til your arm gets tired...

Love and Hate, Pushy, the Humble Cudgel, and Oh Baby are all fun, as are the Fire Axe, Machete Gladius, and even Chopper.

The Humble makes that lovely lead pipe sound: CLONGK!

Still haven't tried a Thermic Lance.... hmm, one shot a Deathclaw, eh?