The Place Where Fallout Purists Whine

[SeanDMan]

Yeah, the armor, ammo, and weapon values have been reworked from their previous standards in Fallout 3. There is a much less logical weapon progression and, sadly, no Combat Shotgun/Pancor Jackhammer. They are SADLY missed, especially if you want to take the drunkard with you.

[EWB's Best Poster.]

Theres combat shotguns Sean. Or do you mean a named one?

[SeanDMan]

There's the Riot Shotgun, but no Combat Shotguns.

Where are there Combat Shotguns?

[SeanDMan]

Yeah, checked the Wiki, the Riot Shotgun is the top level shotgun, and it's semi-automatic. No burst fire auto shotguns in New Vegas; no Combat Shotgun, no Pancor Jackhammer.

[EWB's Best Poster.]

Ah fair enough, I was thinking Riot. Still, its semi auto and with that surgeon perk is the best way to get your shot gun jollies.

[SeanDMan]

I haven't actually gotten a Riot Shotgun yet (haven't been able to play the game for a few weeks) so I had no way of knowing it's rate of fire. Either way, it's not the same.

[EWB's Best Poster.]

Oh its pretty brutal. Slightly slower than a 9mm Id say, and reloads like butter. I theres a few you can buy and find but get used to paying to have it repaired.

[SeanDMan]

Also, just for clarity, the named Combat Shotgun is The Terrible Shotgun. The Pancor Jackhammer is not in Fallout 3, but could have been in New Vegas thanks to the change of setting.

[OctoberRaven]

I think they took out the combat shotgun because it was too much of a win button.

Still, I would think if people demand it enough it'll be released in DLC.

The Ripper is a badass melee weapon in this game. It's special move does an obscene amount of damage; most humans get one-shotted by it. I'm talking metal armored ones.

[OctoberRaven]

Oh, and DMN? When you try to hunt some Deathclaws, you pretty much need a sniper rifle. Using anything else is all but suicidal.

Antimaterial Rifle is even better, but problematic if you're low STR because it and it's ammo are very very heavy.

[SeanDMan]

I think they took out the combat shotgun because it was too much of a win button.

Yeah, pretty much. It was like a buckshot chainsaw in Fallout 3. Way too powerful, could even shred Power Armor. Once they get working armor ratios down, I imagine it'll be back.

[OctoberRaven]

Yeah. In fact I think they might have overcompensated by making shotguns almost useless against anyone with leather or better armor.

Maybe with Shotgun Surgeon, but I haven't tried that yet.

Sniper Rifles are the win button in FO:NV it seems. If it weren't for the weight of the antimaterial rifle I'd call the damn thing broken.

[SeanDMan]

The weight and the relative scarcity (and weight) of the ammunition are supposed to be it's drawbacks. It's based on an actual weapon and performs fairly realistically, except that as with all sniper rifles, you can fire them from the hip in New Vegas when, in reality, no sniper would ever do that.

[OctoberRaven]

I'm well aware of that. Scarcity isn't much of a problem if you're NCR aligned, though, as the guy at Camp McCarran sells you more than you could ever need. Cost, OTOH, is an issue. I think he sells them at 7 caps per round.

Another drawback it has is that you can't mod it... though again, giving it carbon fiber parts or silencers would make it waaaaay too fucking deadly.

The 5mm LMG can be beastly too with the drum, I find it a good short-to-mid-range option for a firearms-heavy character.

BTW, DMN, if you get a good repair score you can get an SMG for free really early on; Doc Mitchell has a broken one in his shack and like everything else in it he doesn't care if you take it.

[DMN in the House]

How do I get two companions? I want to see what Veronica brings to the table, but why the fuck would I get rid of Boone (and our matching NCR armor, including berets and sunglasses!), other than the fact that he's a KSing whore?

[OctoberRaven]

You can't have Boone + Veronica.

You CAN have two companions, but only one humanoid and one non-humanoid.

Your options for the latter are ED-E (obtainable back in Primm, needs 65 repair, and can make a quite deadly combination with Boone and sniper-fu) and Rex (who I don't care for personally).

Seriously though, Boone and ED-E's bonus perks can turn you into a fucking god of death once you obtain a sniper rifle and enough AP ammo. And once you complete Boone's sidequest, Boone becomes even MORE badass.

EDIT- Veronica is a KSing bitch too, btw.

Edited January 14, 2011 by OctoberRavenO

[DMN in the House]

That sucks, my repair isn't that high. IIRC, I can fix him with science as well, right? Does it make a difference?

I have a hard time imagining anyone being a worse KSer than Boone. I'll be walking along, scanning for trouble, and be all like 'oh, [insert enemy]!' hit VATS, and they're gone. Fucker.

I just hit the actual Vegas area, and I'm level 11. I think I need to explore more. I was doing that earlier, but once I got to Novac I just started doing storyline instead. Love my service rifle, though.

[SeanDMan]

If you have it on console, you're stuck, but on PC you can easily toggle the companion limit.

[EWB's Best Poster.]

You can in fact use science on Ed-E first DMN. It will allow you to not need any repair parts to fix him and a MUCH lower repair skill. If you have a science boosting book and the perk you KNOW you should take right away, its a higher diff level but gets you a great companion.

[Toe]

I'm really liking the Marksman Carbine.

Also, Vault 34 is a pain in the ass.