I'm brand new to New Vegas (played the heck out of Fallout 3) and I'm looking to make the game as hard as possible and as "real" as possible at the same time. I am also trying to read as few spoilers as possible in my quest to build my first character. I don't plan on playing the game with multiple characters as I find the content of just about any video game a little boring after I've seen it the first time. When I played Fallout 3 I played on the highest difficulty level and it was waaaaaaaaay to easy. I tried to restart with a character that didn't take any combat related perks, and who also had an en endurance of just 1. I liked the game play, but I couldn't rehash the same old content. So I quit, played Elder Scrolls 4 for awhile (didn't like it nearly as much as Fallout 3,) quit that and played Red Dead Redemption. I finally finished Red Dead (loved that game but loved Fallout 3 even more btw) and now I'm ready to leap head first into New Vegas! OK, that's my brief Fallout related background.

So... I was thinking of playing at Very Hard difficulty, using the hardcoe setting and starting with an Endurance of 1 (keeping it at 1 as well.) I was hoping I could get some advice here on going this route, as well as help with character building as I level up. I would like to come close to a more "realistic" combat system wherein one well placed shot by an enemy kills me and one well placed shot by me kills my enemy. HOWEVER... I do love me some VATS, so I would like to gain as much AP as possible. Time to go chart style since I sometimes start rambling in my posts...

- I am playing on a PS3: No cool mods for me.
- hardcoe mode: I definitely want to do this. I wish they had this in Fallout 3.
- Only 1 point in endurance: I like the idea of keeping my hit points very low. I can't stand getting shot a bunch and surviving, or being smacked around by a Super Mutant only to shrug it off and beat his ass with ease. My concerns on only having a 1 in endurance is how that would relate to playing in hardcoe mode, and how it would relate to playing on Very Hard difficulty. For instance, if I take a very minor amount of radition will I just keel over if my endurance is only 1? I don't care too much about how many implants I can have btw.
- Very Hard Difficulty: The highest difficulty level in Fallout 3 just didn't seem that difficult, however the highest difficulty in Elder Scrolls 4 warped the gameplay too much. Having to shoot a Raider 5 times in the face just to take them down is silly. If I set the difficulty to Very Hard can I overcome a silly amount of damage needed to kill my enemies by selecting certain combat Perks, or is "realism" a lost cause on Very Hard?
- Perks: Is there anything I should absolutely avoid to make sure I don't "break" comabt and make it to easy?
- Perks: Are there any non-combat related perks that add a significant amount of fun factor to the game?
- Traits: I was thinking of taking Fast Shot and Kamakazi. I like VATS and wasting ammo. I don't like having a ridiculously high % to hit while in VATS and I also like the idea of have a few less points in Damage Threshold. Good idea or bad idea here?

My main concern is trying to find the right balance of difficulty and realism in combat. I want to avoid as much of the game content as possible, and as many spoilers as possible in my endeavor to build my first, and probably only character. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Might be that endurance plays a part in how much poison damage you take, and also getting maimed limbs so you might wanna keep that in mind (or confirm if it seems to).
I would suggest you limit vats use as it will really make it a bit tougher well starting out. I would not go cold turkey heh but try to say limit it to once an hour of gameplay or something . As with it you can make a really nasty sniper even with your set limitations.

S=10
P=10
E=1
C=10
I=1
A=7
L=1

Traits: Small Frame, Good Natured.

-Don't use any followers at all. Not even for their perks.
-Never wear any armor. DT should never be above zero.
-Always pick the most useless perks. Like "Here and Now" for example.
-Max all non-combat skills at 100 before adding a single point into a fighting skill. *Skill Books are exempt*


That should keep your reloading often on VH/HC setting.

VATS is far less useful in NV.


In Fallout 3, if someone shot a rocket at you, you could literally time VATS so that you enter it just as the rocket hits you. You weren't even concerned about actually hitting your enemy in VATS there, but rather using it to reduce that rocket damage by like 60%. Here VATS has no damage reduction and your opponents are slowed down far less. They all effectively get their "turn" to attack between your hits. You'll find yourself using free fire a lot more.

And with Endurance one, the difficulty should be just right, as long as you don't mind dying. I think deathclaws would one-shot you, as would two particular enemies from the Honest Hearts DLC. You might be reloading often with this build though, as long as you don't mind.


Lemme put it this way:

I recently made a character that I thought embodied the NCR and one that embodied Caesar's Legion. Without giving you too many spoilers or info, the NCR character had 3 Endurance because the NCR never utilizes the Endurance-related skills, and the Legion character had 10 Endurance (because the Legion utilizes ALL Endurance skills). Something else you should know about the Legion is that they forbid ALL chems, including Stimpacks, meaning that on my Legion character, I heal a LOT slower in combat. Furthermore, simply because it's an old habit, I was playing dead-is-dead, meaning that if a character ever died, I stop playing him.

Guess which one lived longer? The NCR guy died to a single headshot critical from a random NPC at level 7. Totally annoying, cause all it took was bad luck and I was at FULL HEALTH. The Legion character is still going at level 22, and with it I've stormed, attacked and killed some enemy areas that are particularly hard to take over.

In short, you'll basically be getting what you want. A random crit or a random headshot will be the death of you. I would NOT suggest what the above poster said and get "Small Frame." I'm pretty sure that when I died, it was also because that hit crippled my head. I think a hit that cripples a target will do more damage, and with Small Frame and one endurance, enemies would be crippling your limbs nonstop. That would be very realistic perhaps, but you'd be dying almost nonstop. If you're interested, you could also try doing the Legion playthrough I described above and allow yourself high endurance, but no medicine. Just because I'm still alive on it doesn't mean it's not difficult or challenging. Some of the closest battles I've ever had were on that character.

Thanks for all the great info everyone. This is very helpful. I should probably clarify that I don't WANT to die constantly, I just want to take the game slow and respond a bit more realistically to combat situations. For instance... in Fallout 3 I had no problem with rushing into a group of enemies and start blasting away at close range. If I was some badass post-apocalyptic road warrior type guy I might charge into close range at a single enemy, maybe even two enemies, but 4 or 5 or more... it just wouldn't make any sense.

I don't have to play at Very Hard difficulty, and I don't have to play with only 1 in Endurance. I'd just like to find a nice balance that offers the closest thing to realism as possible.

Oh, one more thing, I had planned on only having a 1 in Perception. I had an 8 in Perception in Fallout 3 and it just made things a bit too easy imho.

I've been looking at the Wiki Perks and Traits lists (and trying not to look at anything else) and this is what I'm thinking of so far...


The Fragile Courier
S: 10
P: 1
E: 1
C: 8
I: 10
A: 9
L: 1

Traits
- Fast Shot: More AP, more bullet spraying, keeps my maximum VATS accuracy to 76%
- Kamakaze: More AP, less Damage Threshold

Perks
- Heave, Ho!: Increases thrown weapon effectiveness without raising damage (I absolutely loved throwing grenades in VATS)
- Rapid Reload: More bullets!
- Run n' Gun: I like using pistols.
-

In my opinion, Endurance at 3 or below is where things get dangerous. You'd definitely feel the hurt more at 1 (you'd have 120 Hit points initially compared to 5 endurance's 200 or 10 endurance's 300), but if you find one too hard, then don't be afraid to restart and try with 3.

As for perception, again, without giving away too many spoilers, Perception is, in my opinion, the most worthless SPECIAL in the Mojave. It still has very nice perks tied to it so I wouldn't actually call it worthless, but let's just say you can get a certain setup where something increases your range of sight so much that raw Perception is completely obsolete.

As for your traits, Fast shot is actually pretty awesome. No one wants to be inaccurate, so the description is initially scary, but if you look into HOW it decreases your accuracy, you realize it's not a huge disadvantage at all. Fast shot is also quite useful since your VATS accuracy beyond a certain distance is going to svck balls anyways.

Thanks for all the great info everyone. This is very helpful. I should probably clarify that I don't WANT to die constantly, I just want to take the game slow and respond a bit more realistically to combat situations. For instance... in Fallout 3 I had no problem with rushing into a group of enemies and start blasting away at close range. If I was some badass post-apocalyptic road warrior type guy I might charge into close range at a single enemy, maybe even two enemies, but 4 or 5 or more... it just wouldn't make any sense.

I don't have to play at Very Hard difficulty, and I don't have to play with only 1 in Endurance. I'd just like to find a nice balance that offers the closest thing to realism as possible.

Oh, one more thing, I had planned on only having a 1 in Perception. I had an 8 in Perception in Fallout 3 and it just made things a bit too easy imho.

I've been looking at the Wiki Perks and Traits lists (and trying not to look at anything else) and this is what I'm thinking of so far...


The Fragile Courier
S: 10
P: 1
E: 1
C: 8
I: 10
A: 9
L: 1

Traits
- Fast Shot: More AP, more bullet spraying, keeps my maximum VATS accuracy to 76%
- Kamakaze: More AP, less Damage Threshold

Perks
- Heave, Ho!: Increases thrown weapon effectiveness without raising damage (I absolutely loved throwing grenades in VATS)
- Rapid Reload: More bullets!
- Run n' Gun: I like using pistols. Would this boost the potential max accuracy past 76%? If so I'd skip this.
- Travel Light: I'll probably need this due to being so frail.
- Hand Loader: More ammo!
- Vigilant Recycler: More ammo!
- Pack Rat: Because I am one.
- Quick Draw: More shoot'n time.
- Math Wrath: More AP.
- Hit the Deck: This would be the one defensive Perk I'd consider. I tend to be explosive happy.
- Silent Running: I do like to sneak and snipe.
- Splash Damage: Can you tell that I like explosives?
- Chemist: Not sure on this one. Perhaps it would be a good choice if I only have a 1 in Endurance?
- Jury Rigging: Just seems useful.
- Action Boy: More AP.
- Grim Reaper Sprint: More AP.
- Nuka Chemist: You get the idea.
- Nerves of Steel: MORE AP!!!
*** I'd have to drop three of these Perks (only one with exanpansion) right?

So lots of AP, some explosive boosts, some extra ammo and extra carry Perks, but nothing that would increase damage or make my character any tougher (except for Hit the Deck.)

Please chop this apart for glaring newbness.

edit to add: Oops, sorry for the repost.