Pistols / Homemade weapons..whats the point?

[Poacher886]

This is not a rant, but just an observation after closing in on 200hrs play.

 

I have approx 70 mods, but i would guess this still applies to the original game (does anyone honestly play Vanilla?).

 

Basically as the title suggests, pistols and Homemade weapons are redundant as far i can see.... With Pistols and SMG's being largely of similar weight, why would you ever choose to use a pistol over the generally more powerful, certainly faster firing and absolutely higher mag volume of the SMG??

 

Also, Homemade weapons like rifles / pistols / SMG's etc, are always less potent than their professional counterparts, thus why would you ever want to make one??

 

 

As someone who likes to play Hardcore mode...slowly...and carry a campfire / bedroll with me, the idea of having to source materials and manufacture you own weapons appeals very much...but why bother when, a simple stroll down the road means i can loot far more effective hardware with ease!

Given the post apocalyptic scenario of the game, all / most 'good' weapons would be scarce, they should have made 'good weapons' rare and very expensive, and forced both you and NPC to manufacture your own.

This would have really brought the survivalist situation to the game and made good use sourcing materials and repair skills, including maintaining your weapons being more important, and forcing you to source the materials to do so!

 

You could argue, that you can opt to make your own, in keeping with the survivalist attitude, but honestly, its not really an option when the NPC's are wielding serious hardware.

For me its a missed opportunity to create a more realistic and rewarding environment, how much better the reward using a Homemade weapon to kill....but again i reiterate the redundant need to manufacture your own weapons..i mean..seriously....when do you EVER find yourself without a weapon and need to manufacture one!!??

 

I would hope this is changed for Fallout 4, but sadly i think most would complain about lack of super-guns and / or recognisable weapons

[vendetta616]

I agree completely, but it's kind of fun to change up your play a little bit by switching to a pistol or homemade weapon every now and again regardless of your level or the damage of the weapon

[Poacher886]

A good way to force the point would be to make ammo scarcer, but have the ability to make home-made weapons in a calibre of your choice, thus if you had a load of 9mil and not much else or indeed no 9mil weapon, then it would make sense to manufacture a home-made weapon for that calibre to use it.

Thus all weapons would be available but the ammo availability would force you craft weapons to use what you got!

[bben46]

My own guess is in the original concept good weapons were much harder to acquire. That would make creating your own a viable game mechanic. Then the early testers didn't like the no good weapons and convinced the person in charge of this to increase the available weapons by enough for the masses who are not interested in that aspect of the game. Possibly this was intended for the hardcore setting?

[Poacher886]

I would suggest your probably right. Infact you raise a very good point, the Hardcore mode could be used to change the current dynamics of the game far more than just eat / drink / sleep, but involve the importance of crafting / savaging to survive and arm yourself. Certainly in the first half of the game before your acquire enough wealth and contacts to source 'quality hardware'...here's hoping for a fallout4 with this in mind!

 

Another thought would be to have some interesting weapons, that can ONLY be acquired via crafting..i think there is a nail gun (not had the option for It yet) that is useful and needs to be crafted?..so yea, give some interesting weapons that have to be crafted, and then you have a viable reason to do so..

Edited June 30, 2013 by Poacher886

[bben46]

Checkout the slingshot channel for some interesting possibilities - http://www.youtube.com/user/JoergSprave

[luthienanarion]

I just hate automatic weapons and only pick them up to sell for exorbitant amounts of caps. Pistols and rifles all the way!

[Groogo]

I use weapons that I like to use and then consider what damage they can do. A couple of my personal preferences then would sound odd to the OP as I much prefer a pistol to a SMG and I also prefer the .308 chambered sniper rifle to the .50 Cal anti-material rifle. Weapons that do adequate damage are just fine with me which means that I do not have to use a weapon that I don't care much for just because it does max damage for its class.

 

In real-life I use a model 1911 .45 acp as my favorite side arm shooter and a Ruger mini-14 and/or mini-30 as my main shooting rifles. So I often find my character in the game arming himself in a similar fashion without a thought given to carrying a weapon model based on maximum damage. Weapons that do adequate damage that one feels comfertable with due to handeling, experiance or a number of different reasons is often superior to a more powerful weapon that would do more damage. It's just a matter of player (or personal) preference.

[wolfpack91]

I just hate automatic weapons and only pick them up to sell for exorbitant amounts of caps. Pistols and rifles all the way!

 

Amen to that im a pistol Guy myself. give me a mouse pistol and vats quick scope i can snipe people with a pistol from ranges that are difficult with Medium range scoped rifles. i use Millenia's Beretta and run the whole game with it because it has every thing i need. silencer for casinos and extended mags, its also in a very common caliber. before that gun i made a starter box mod for myself that had an ammo box with respawning .45 auto and a chest with an honest hearts .45 pistol and all mods and ran that through the whole game. it a familiar gun for me as my RL everyday side arm is a Colt M1911 .45acp.