Defence against Gamma Gun?

[kevkiev]

My char is getting to the "Lord of Death" level and, with ballistic weave and polymer combat armor, can survive quite a bit of damage. So it's always a bit disconcerting to run into some raggedy ass Children of Atom who can inflict some serious pain with their Gamma Guns. I get the basics of Damage Resistance (and how there's some diminishing returns when raising it), but I admit I find it a bit confusing, especially when it comes to radiation. But it seems some loading up on radiation resistance, either through perks or lead-lining might be worth it for some peace of mind against those ne'er do well atom worshippers. (I always get ambushed by at least one of 'em every, like EVERY, time I visit my Kingsport LIghthouse settlement. They spawn right inside my freaking house!) But I'm not sure it's worth going nuts and weighing myself down with lead and/or foregoing other types of protection. I'm certainly not going to be making the Hazmat Suit my go to clothing option. (Except maybe when I'm going on a specific mission to a place like Crater House.)

 

Anyways, just wondering if any of y'all have found a "sweet spot" for radiation resistance to give a reasonable amount of protection against gamma guns without sacrificing too much of other types of protection. Or does the relative infrequency of meetups with the Children of Atom make it not worth worrying about it and just making the best of the situation as it arises?

[Fonger]

radiation suit with an underlay of ballistic fibers

 

or just fast equip a rad suit when you see them

Edited February 12, 2017 by Fonger

[kevkiev]

Yeah, I was looking more for information specifically on rad-specific DR for regular armor. Don't really like carrying around clothing I don't use often anyways, and I wouldn't use the hazmat regularly even with BWeave. The hazmat clips with combat armor and, with Armorsmith Extended (or I presume it's AE), the helmet doesn't equip unless you remove headgear/ glasses and the resulting loose tubes look kinda funky. Thanks for the reply though.

[Fonger]

you could always just suck down lots of radaway during the battle

[kevkiev]

you could always just suck down lots of radaway during the battle

Played around a bit and I think that's the only solution. Just can't get enough from armor alone (lead-lined mods etc) to really make a diff.

[montky]

@kevkiev

yeah, Rads can be quite nasty in the game.

since the karma and persuasion systems don't exist in the game, all of that really incentivizes

shoot first ask questions later; let Atom sort em out, and

the best defense is a good offence.

 

critters of the wasteland, Children of Atom and Enclave use combination rad-plasma weaponry,

and it can be very deadly even in end-game stuff.

 

 

 

there are some playstyle options for avoiding rads;

-stealth and long-range engagements - take out the rad-dealing merchants of death before they know you're there. they can't hit what they can't see...

-spare Lorenzo for some Lorenzo Elixir - that + solar powered + ghoulish + paragon of virtue means you regenerate a lot of HP passively.

-lie to Virgil, then take the Super Mutant FEV serum. Now that you're a Supermutant, Rads heal you...

-hide out of line of sight and let companions or turrets take care of em

artillery grenades from your modified China Lake or Junk Jet -

carpet artillery barrage them with Yangtze-Nuke or Minutemen Artillery.

- wear the mod armor set "Protectron Disguise", it is 'rad immune', and won't aggro any enemy until you attack. You also get to role play as a stylish robot. "Tickets please" etc play as your strong attack while equipped in the Protectron Disguise, and your regular melee attack is replaced by free lazer blasts...

-wear the power-cell consuming "energy shield", it prevents Energy and Rad Damage... at the cost of Fusion Cores or Energy Cells. but muahahaha! you can cheat with the Lazer Musket cell pack trick, to have infinite energy cells per crank of the handle! good luck micromanaging your ammo levels vs shield in Survival mode... every shot you don't take is going to keep your shields up.

though, it WILL make you a lightning magnet for Rad Storms... it is also not at all stealthy, and will not be compatible with a StealthBoy, and or will insta-alert all enemies within earshot.

bullets, explosions, nukes and Plasma also goes right through the energy shield.

 

 

[dragonslayer2k12]

Get the better power armor mod that makes you totally immune to radiation and bullets until one or more pieces of your power armor are destroyed.

[kevkiev]

@kevkiev

yeah, Rads can be quite nasty in the game.

since the karma and persuasion systems don't exist in the game, all of that really incentivizes

shoot first ask questions later; let Atom sort em out, and

the best defense is a good offence.

 

critters of the wasteland, Children of Atom and Enclave use combination rad-plasma weaponry,

and it can be very deadly even in end-game stuff.

 

 

 

there are some playstyle options for avoiding rads;

-stealth and long-range engagements - take out the rad-dealing merchants of death before they know you're there. they can't hit what they can't see...

-spare Lorenzo for some Lorenzo Elixir - that + solar powered + ghoulish + paragon of virtue means you regenerate a lot of HP passively.

-lie to Virgil, then take the Super Mutant FEV serum. Now that you're a Supermutant, Rads heal you...

-hide out of line of sight and let companions or turrets take care of em

artillery grenades from your modified China Lake or Junk Jet -

carpet artillery barrage them with Yangtze-Nuke or Minutemen Artillery.

- wear the mod armor set "Protectron Disguise", it is 'rad immune', and won't aggro any enemy until you attack. You also get to role play as a stylish robot. "Tickets please" etc play as your strong attack while equipped in the Protectron Disguise, and your regular melee attack is replaced by free lazer blasts...

-wear the power-cell consuming "energy shield", it prevents Energy and Rad Damage... at the cost of Fusion Cores or Energy Cells. but muahahaha! you can cheat with the Lazer Musket cell pack trick, to have infinite energy cells per crank of the handle! good luck micromanaging your ammo levels vs shield in Survival mode... every shot you don't take is going to keep your shields up.

though, it WILL make you a lightning magnet for Rad Storms... it is also not at all stealthy, and will not be compatible with a StealthBoy, and or will insta-alert all enemies within earshot.

bullets, explosions, nukes and Plasma also goes right through the energy shield.

 

 

 

Love your enthusiasm! I finished up with Lorenzo and Virgil ages ago, opposite to the ways you've mentioned.

 

Get the better power armor mod that makes you totally immune to radiation and bullets until one or more pieces of your power armor are destroyed.

 

Actually, last time I had to go to Crater Shack or whatever it's called I went in regular power armor and it made gamma guns into nothing but minor annoyances.

 

As it is, my Kingsport Lighthouse (the main place I ran into the CoA) has bugged out into that infinite post-attack gratitude settler dialogue loop, preventing trading with anyone. (Two in-game weeks later with no change.) That coupled with the fact that every, like literally every, time I go anywhere near there a Child of Atom spawns inside my dwelling, I don't even travel to that area anymore. (Even if I'm close I'll hear the fight and feel obliged to check things out because the stupid rad brat has a knack for doing minor damage to crops/ scavenging stations etc. Even if not, I feel obliged to clean the place and toss all body parts over the balcony. Cool the first time. Mildly entertaining the second. Freaking pain in the ##s after that.)

 

Oddly enough, I don't think I've encountered a single Atomite (other than my rare trips to Kingsport) since I made that post. Well, sometimes near that random spawn place near Fallon's Dept. Store or the church by Hyde Park. They're usually up against gunners though, so I just wait it out 'til they're killed. Suits me fine. At least the guns are worth some good caps. Nonetheless, it's kinda cool that there's still humanoids that can deal significant damage even once your char gets to Lord of Death status. Still remember the first time I encountered a gamma gun. Barged in like indestructoman against what looked like some rag tag post apocalypstic hillbillies and all of a sudden "Hey, that hurt!!"

[Madcat221]

I'm on my first playthru and I had my first encounter with them and was irradiated pretty bad. I came back later when I remembered... I had a HazMat suit in my inventory. Their horrendous rad damage is reduced to scratch rad damage in that thing. Every hit only brought out a "<1 Rads" warning instead of the alarmingly huge rad hits previously. No stompy tin can required.

[dragonslayer2k12]

Well that back to the future getup doesn't stop bullets and sometimes those nutjobs have real guns thanks to mods that change leveled lists.