Im shocked how the vats bug issue wasnt addressed in the latest patch. My character not being able to fire or defend himself in vats IS a game breaking bug to me. I was exploring a little, not saving for about an hour, then i suddenly freeze in vats, getting shot by powder gangers and eventually killed. This also happened in the sewers while facing a large group of ghouls (close to dead body with alot of loot on it) and i was killed. It also happened multiple times where i wasnt killed, but still very annoying. My question is: How can this be overlooked? shouldnt a combat related major bug be addressed immediately? How can you have fun playing this game if 10% of the time your character just stands there and gets killed in vats? Is there some work around im not aware of? I know i didnt have this problem with the completely unpatched version of the game.

I have the same problem. I thought it was related to the game freezing issue but the VATS does lock up while I'm getting pummeled by the enemy.

This will be the official fix it from Bethesda; "You may need to start a new game."

Maybe just do without using VATS at all?

I rarely ever use it, only just to center my aim from time to time, especially when things get frantic.

Besides that, it's more a disadvantage most of the time because your character is still taking full damage throughout, not a mere fraction like it was in Fallout 3. I'd rather play it more like a straight FPS, anyway. Try that.