what would you do?

[pawzseven]

Hello folks I am about halfway through level2, mods include FWE. I have amassed quite a few weapons and dress, tucked away in my hideout, and recently crafted some power armour and tried it on indoors ( does my bum look big in this?). Thing is, if I lumber about in this, I have only about 50 weight-carrying capacity left to pick up loot, so I will be going in and out of my hideout like a fiddlers elbow, which could soon get annoying, so I am inclined to go back to metal armour or light Talon. I have loaded the Uncle Leo as Companion mod thinking he could be a useful sidekick and carrier, as was Fawkes in the main quest, but not come across him yet. It also bothers me that I picked up the Outcast armour because the wearers had been attacked and killed by raiders - so wearing it didn't help them a right lot. What would you deem the best garb to wear at my level?

 

Another question too. I recently loaded a mod called Ultimate Free Play ( or something like), and not sure I have found much difference, except perhaps seeing groups not noticed before, like mercs and Western Brotherhood. What I have seen is bizarre effects where Lucky Hariths ( not so lucky -he got killed) brahmin is wandering around Fairfax about 4 feet below ground with only its load visible, and various dead bodies left along the route taken by traders suddenly start shaking and noisily flapping body-parts at me as I pass, yuk. Some of them are buried in the road as well. This is not how it should be I say to myself. Is this due to some problem with the mod(s) or a known bug in the basic game do you think? I did have one CTD.

[Nintii]

Well to start with ... There are mods to solve your "Carry weight" problem, it's called ... Mega Weight ...

it will let you carry up to 50 000.

Obviously eliminating any need for a "follower" to carry your stuff.

 

Secondly there is also a mod to make all the four traders, Lucky Harrith etc., unkillable ... Essential

Followers and Caravans.

I also use ...Caravan tracking ... along with this to see where they are at all times.

 

As for armours, well that also depends on your character male/female ... there are a ton of good ones

out there.

The one I use most often is the ... Reinforced Chines Stealth Suit ... there are three types I think with

both stealth and unstealth versions.

 

As for bum looking big (lol), we have to see the image :laugh:

[pawzseven]

Ninti, what useful info you have given me. Thank you :smile:

 

I will look at the Mega Weight, but may not take that one up as it might make things too easy - and besides, it won't watch my back like Fawkes used to.

 

Ditto 'making traders unkillable' - I was wondering what the game does if they all get killed - regenerate fresh characters? I quite value Crow and Wolf but I could lose Dr Hoff without bothering. Forgotten who the other one is.

 

Caravan tracking sounds really useful - I shall go for that. At present I have to skip about the known locations on the map to see if they are there.

 

My character is female, like me, and I feel that at level 2 I didn't oughta have anything too advanced in armour - but if it comes my way by good fortune, I will take it.

 

Thanks again, help appreciated.

Edited December 30, 2013 by pawzseven

[7thsealord]

Flapping body parts and people buried in things does happen in the game now and then, but not as often as seems to be in your case. Might be something seriously amiss there.

 

On other subjects, there are several mods to make Companions and/or Caravan Traders essential (unkillable). Nope, if they are Non-Essential and they die, that's it. No replacements.

 

For cargo hauling, I find these two little guys extremely useful - http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/7781/?

Not only can they carry a fair bit, they are helpful in combat (without being unbalancing), are basically Essential anyhow, and have built-in Map Markers. So you can park one of them anyplace you consider interesting and wish to return to, and it will basically stake that spot out until you return.

 

Note there are also a few Backpack mods around, and some other mods for your own Pack Brahmin.

 

Regarding armor, there are any number of mods for this, depending on your own preferences. Plus there is always the option of salvaging and repairing the stuff you find.

Edited December 30, 2013 by 7thsealord

[pawzseven]

sealord, no flapping this session, happily ( I find that macabre), but a couple still buried in tarmac.

Can I make Crow and Crazywolf essential from where I am now, or must I start the game again?

I will look into the mod link you gave me - sounds very interesting. Thank you.

Backpack..mmm, will look into that. Pack Brahmin also sounds quite appealing, except I would hate for it to get wounded or killed. Doc Hoff's is wandering around limping on the bridge where he was killed. I wonder if I should put it out of its lonely misery..

Haven't made me mind up about armour yet, but not that impressed with the Outcast power armour; heavy and even in top condition it doesn't protect as well as I would have thought it should. I might go back to something lighter. I feel stealth would be a bit of a cheat at my low level.

 

Uh-oh, back to real-life and feeding critturs and husband now. The Super mutants will have to wait... :laugh:

[7thsealord]

You're welcome. You may also find this useful - http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Fallout_3_console_commands .

 

Note the section on NPC manipulation, which has ways to make NPCs Essential. You can also resurrect NPCs (other console commands can be used to T-Port dead NPCs to you for processing). Just handle with care because, if mishandled, there is stuff here that will break your game.

 

Actually, I would instead strongly recommend using one of various mods to make Traders (and possibly other NPCs) Essential, because that saves you the trouble of looking up IDs and "Essential-izing" each of them in turn. Less chance of error, too. I use this one - http://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/1385/?

 

Regarding Armor, shop around. There are a lot of good mods out there, for all tastes. Could be wrong, but it sounds to me like you are either carrying w-a-y too much other stuff and/or have VERY low Strength. Even Strength 5-6 should be enough to wear Power Armor, lug along a few decent weapons and other items - and STILL have room for a fair amount of loot.

 

Remember that old line about "You can't take it ALL with you". Everybody has their own approach - mine is to leave all Heavy Weapons (Minigun, Missile Launcher, Fat Man, etc.) at home unless I have a very good and extremely specific reason to take one along (and/or a bunch of friends to help with carrying stuff). Otherwise, I carry one Melee weapon, one short-range weapon (SMG, Shotgun or Pistol), one medium range weapon (Hunting or Assault Rifle) and one long-range weapon (Sniper Rifle).

 

Have a good Repair skill, and repair your stuff (and anything acquired) at every oppurtunity. Rather than carry six crappy-quality Hunting Rifles for eventual use or sale, use Repair to merge them into 2-3 better weapons that weigh less, are worth about the same caps in total and actually are useful in combat. Same goes for any Armors you pick up (reselling Raider Armors is one of my early sources of Caps).

Edited December 31, 2013 by 7thsealord

[pawzseven]

sealord, hello again. I have got the essentials caravan perk, and installed that, and I got Frazzle ( haven't found the other eyebot yet), but Frazzle seems to have bought it at the first skirmish with Raiders. He got knocked unconscious ( I think the message said) and though I looked around for him when it was safe - no sign - and he hasn't reappeared where I first found him. Perhaps he will pop up next time I go in ( edit - no he did not). I did not realise he would sound like Fawkes, and was peering around for Uncle Leo when I first found him - dopey me.

 

I have started again as I lost Crow, and wasn't sure if the caravan mod would resurrect him, or Hoff and Harith, who also came to sticky ends, so thought it best to start again, so here we are, all one big happy family.. My repair skills are too low as yet - I spent my skill points on small guns and luck. I expect my progress to be slow as I am not doing any quests - apart from fixing the leaking pipes in Megaton and promising to bring back scrap metal. I shall probably have to do GreyDitch ( though I dislike that one) as I can't ignore the lad's distress, but by and large I want to avoid all the quests I did when playing the game for the first time and following the plot. My aim is simply to explore the map and freeplay for now, not join factions or be obliged to do anything or go anywhere.

 

What I tend to do is accompany the traders and collect loot from skirmishes, flog the bits I don't want to the trader and then, when I have reached capacity, fast travel back home to stash the stuff I want to keep, repair where I can, and then go out with the next trader. I am trying to get to Canterbury Common, but never made it that far as yet. Seems you have much the same method, but are just better at it than me :smile:

Edited December 31, 2013 by pawzseven

[7thsealord]

When unrecruited or when told to 'Stay', Frazzle and the Sarge can always be located via their Fast Travel markers on the World Map. They are resilient (and Essential, therefore indestructible) but, like other Companions, may occasionally wander or not appear in a building you go into. One time, I thought I had lost the little guy forever (along with a bunch of loot) in Rivet City, only to have him show up a while later (WITH the loot). He should rejoin you of his own accord soon enough.

 

If you want him back quickly, there are three things that work well:

1) Wait. As in use the 'Wait' command for about 1 hour. I often have to do this when exiting Megaton via the gate instead of using Fast Travel. He usually rejoins then.

2) Fast Travel. Doesn't have to be far, could be a fast travel marker you are very literally standing on. He will almost always appear with you.

3) Change Cell. As in, there is a door that says 'Entry To George's House' or whatever. Use it, and he will very likely reappear inside with you. If not then, excellent chance he will when you use the 'Exit To The Capital Wasteland'.

 

This is just me, but level 2-3 seems too early for long-distance expeditions, even at Easy difficulty and accompanying friendlies. At around that level, I am still doing odd jobs in Megaton and occasional scav runs into Springvale (vacuum up everything possible, then sell it). My first big step is wiping out the Raiders in the Springvale School. This gives assorted items, weapons and armors to either use or sell to bankroll trips further afield.

 

But your method (tailgating the Traders) certainly is an alternative. Only problems I see here is that the Traders are not that heavily armed (at least to start with), won't help if YOU fall into difficulties, and it takes a long while for them to regenerate cash.

 

Note that the early parts of Moira's 'Wasteland Survival Quest' are an excellent way to ease into things (plus get caps and useful stuff via either loot or reward). The Arefu quest from Lucy West makes for (IMO) a very good 'graduation exercise' (and it's on the Caravan route anyway). This provides a few different things to fight at different points, plus various people and situations to deal with in varying ways. If/when you complete this quest, you should (experience-wise) be fairly good to go most places in the Wastes. From there, go to the Anchorage DLC for the rewards - lots of weaponry and cool stuff to be had when you complete this one. At which poiint, you should be fairly bad-ass.

 

Compared with other games, there really isn't any requirement to "join" any specific faction in FO3 (except maybe for the BOS late in the game). There are several that you will get more friendly with depending on which quests you complete and how you do so. But most of the groups that are going to kill you will do so regardless of your other affiliations.

 

Note too that very few quests and jobs in FO3 are time-critical. That is, most times you can pick up a quest and then ignore it until you decide to take it on. AFAIK, the only exception to this is the 'Reilly's Rangers' quest. The Grayditch quest is a bugger that should be deferred until you have serious firepower, good armor, plenty of Stimpacks and maybe a friend or two.

Edited January 1, 2014 by 7thsealord

[pawzseven]

hello again - happy new year. Thank you for the info on Frazzle, I deactivated him when he refused to show and now have a silent eye-bot companion, who doesn't carry anything. Maybe I will reactivate Frazzle and see how I get on with three eyebots following along, if Sarge ever shows up. Also got my eyes on an android. Don't much fancy a ghoul or a mirelurk tootling along behind.

 

I agree that level 2 is probably under-equipped to explore DC etc, and I don't last long if I am there on my own - that is why I want a companion or two, and why I keep up with the traders. If I survive the skirmishes I can get metal armour from pig-dogs or Talon armour, and a whizzy gun or two - though the Lewis machine gun serves me well as long as I can get the ammo, which in FWE is not as easy as in vanilla.

I have done many of the local quests in the previous game (s) when i was following the plot, including several of Moira's, but in FWE they are not so easy I think. For now I prefer to do my own thing for a bit and build up slowly to the point where I feel better equipped before entering confined spaces like the tunnels. They give me the creeps - I much prefer to be outside. There are places on the map I never found before, and quests, when ready, that I never explored first time around ( the Reilly's Ranger one for instance). I have done the fire-ants quest twice in previous games, but always I was alone. This time, when I go for it, I shall have company.... :laugh:

[7thsealord]

Like with Frazzled, you have to LOOK for Sarge and recrruit him. If you have that mod installed, his T-Port Marker should appear on your World Map. Just go there, and he should be close by. Not very far at all from where you find Frazzled, actually.

 

Yep, that is one of the great joys of FO3 - there is just so much to explore, even without mods. With certain mods (notably DCInteriors, Busworld and WEP - amongst others), that exploration space becomes.... well, not infinite but close enough.

Edited January 2, 2014 by 7thsealord