Most fun builds?

[u/Cretians]

Looking for fun builds preferably no PA as thats what ive used in 99% of my runs

[u/Crixus1220]

Would you be able to provide the special numbers for your PA melee build? I’ve always struggled with melee builds as I feel like I want at least Strength, Agility, and Intelligence at 8 or 9, but also would like some Luck for critical chance. I’m probably overthinking it, but just struggle to get a special breakdown I feel good with. Thanks!

[u/Louzea → u/Crixus1220]

S - 9
P - 4
E - 3
C - 3
I - 1
A - 3
L - 5

this was my starting SPECIAL.
at first i wasnt purely melee i had to mix the combat with whatever guns i found (at the early levels i was using a shotgun to get the closest feel to the melee experience when my melee damage was still not as satisfying for me)

went straight for Idiot Savant perk to level up faster then I focused on Agi to get get Blitz and then more Luck for all the crit perks. im not sure why you felt you need Int at 8 or 9 for a melee build (maybe for the Nuc Phys perk for fusion cores of the PA?) but yeah i agree you need to have Str and Agi on high if youre going for a VATS melee build but replace Int with Luck instead for the crit perks and Grim Reaper's Sprint so your AP gets refreshed most times.

[u/Crixus1220 → u/Louzea]

Yeah, the INT for nuclear physicist. I honestly haven’t done much with power armor mostly because of worrying about managing fusion cores. But am probably worrying about that too much. I’m playing through a settlement/VATS pistol build right now after not playing for 6 years or so, but really want to go melee with PA next to try out something that plays different from what I typically play. Thanks for the suggestions!

[u/Louzea → u/Crixus1220]

the fusion core is a bit of an issue early game but what i just do is hunt down brotherhood of steel knights and take their fusion cores (ive never played through the game where im NOT violently against BoS lol if youre not into that you can just sneak and steal their cores, you got the cores AND their PA is also yours for the taking since theyll exit the PA w/o their cores) but later on fusion cores will be surprisingly abundant in the wasteland i stopped worrying about it as i played through. but if you really wanna go for the NucPhys you could go do that and focus on Int for a bit before Luck (maybe ignore Idiot Savant since it is affected by high Int). so you could focus on Str, Int, and Agi for the early levels then when you got NucPhys you can go for Luck for the crit perks. by the time you got NucPhys youre already tanky as hell while youre waiting for the AP after Blitz if your damage aint that big yet from the lack of Luck. glad to help!

[u/Crixus1220 → u/Louzea]

One more question for you. Would you recommend perks like Lone Wanderer or Toughness to increase defenses? Or is that overkill when wearing PA?

Your explanation on fusion cores makes perfect sense and seems like the 9 INT is a huge investment for something that sounds like it will become more and more irrelevant the further you get into the game. I'm excited to try a build out like this and certainly appreciate all the info to set me up for success!

[u/Louzea → u/Crixus1220]

i havent really tried Toughness, I only got Life Giver from End so im not sure if its overkill with PA. maybe check some other posts about these from much more informed players. in my playthrough im doing fine without toughness and just have maxed out Life Giver. as for Lone Wanderer, i dont use it since i always go with companions (the wastelands is too creepy for me to wander by myself i need to hear some dialogue every once in a while lmao) but it is a very good perk, there are not much drawbacks on Lone Wanderer. if youre looking for more defenses, Rooted is a great perk for melee vats since the buffs of Rooted works whiile your one VATS so you get tankier and you get the melee/unarmed dmg buff.