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Fallout 4 Tips - Weapons, Armour and Power Armour
Here are five tips for making the most of weapons, armour and power armour mods!
If nothing else, Fallout 4 is the most combat-heavy game in the series to-date. Well, in the sense that you can choose to play it either in real-time or through the pause-and-choose-which-body-part-to-shoot VATS system -- with both options looking and feeling great. So with the bulk of your time playing Fallout 4 spent in combat, Bethesda made the wise decision that Fallout 4 would feature more guns, armour, and modification possibilities than any other Fallout game ever. The choices at times, feel limitless.
This means that accessing the Weapons Workbench after you start your first settlement in Sanctuary can be a little overwhelming. Mainly because you’ll instantly be able to see the hundreds of weapon mod possibilities and what materials and perks you’ll need, with little explanation given as to what it all means. The same goes for the Armor Workbench. And the Power Armor Station. So before you throw your hands up in the air and say something along the lines of “to hell with all of this, I’m going to sit here with my trusty Pipe Pistol and perfect my Wild Brahmin Steak in Light Tato Sauce recipe”, which, although sounds delicious, is a sure-fire way to get yourself turned into Molerat food in no time, we’re here to lend a hand in offering you a few tips to working with weapons, armour and power armour.
Start Simple and Stick with What You Know
That damage value
© Kosta Andreadis
There are a lot of weapons in Fallout 4, and when you take into account the number of modifications on offer and the Legendary abilities that some carry, there’s hundreds to choose from. Of course, you’ll need to find them first. So what to carry? What’s the best type of weapon? Thankfully this all comes down to preference, and with your skill with pistols, rifles, heavy, and automatic weapons tied to four separate perks you’re better off sticking with no more than two different styles of weaponry for the most part. Pistols and pistol ammo are plentiful during the early parts of the game so putting some points in the Gunslinger perk early will give you that extra stopping power and increase their base damage numbers for your pistol arsenal. If you prefer using rifles or automatic weapons, then putting points in the Commando or Rifleman perks will serve the same outcome. So even though your choices in what weapon to use may seem a little overwhelming put points in what works for you, and sell everything else. Or, break them down for parts.
Tip: Weapons can fall into multiple categories. For example, the damage a 10mm Pistol does is based on the Gunslinger perk whereas the damage of a 10mm Automatic Pistol is based on the Commando perk. Shotguns are a little trickier, Automatic Shotguns fall under the Commando perk, regular shotguns the Rifleman, and sawn-off one-handed shotguns the Gunslinger perk. Yikes! Thankfully for the most part you can use the weapon’s title to work out which category it falls under.
Tip: Stockpiling weapons early to sell or break-down later on is a sound strategy, so be sure to use your companion as a pack mule for any weapon you’re not currently using and be sure to offload them at one of your settlements. In fact, one of the best ways to manage inventory early on is to fast-travel as soon as it fills up, dump everything into a container, then fast-travel back to where you left off.
Mod City, Make it Personal
Styling in the wasteland
© Kosta Andreadis
The number of weapon modifications you can craft in Fallout 4 is reliant on perks like Gun Nut and Science!, so it’s best to invest in at least one of those, depending on your firearm of choice. Ballistic, or Pew! Pew! Modifications themselves require materials to build, which can be found just about everywhere throughout the wasteland. Going through and looking at some of the modifications on offer and tagging materials for search early on is great way to get a leg up on what’s worth salvaging and what’s better off left to the raiders and molerats. Above all else, be sure to keep a keen eye out for any adhesive you come across. Just about every weapon mod in the game needs the stuff. As for the mods themselves choose ones that suit how you play the game. If you prefer to snipe enemies from a distance, then big scopes are a must. They not only let you see what you’re shooting at up close, but they vastly improve a weapons range.
Tip: Okay, so it turns out you don’t really need to max out the Gun Nut and Science! perks. Instead, make sure you modify any advanced weapon you intend to salvage and replace each part with its most basic equivalent. So, swap out that ‘Quick Eject Drum Mag’ with a ‘Standard Magazine’. What this does is put the high level weapon mod into your inventory, ready to use on any other weapon. And all without the need for knowledge in advanced crafting!
Tip: Adhesive, the sticky glue and bane of any Fallout 4 weaponsmith can be in short supply. But, you can quickly turn any settlement into an adhesive factory. Simply grow excess Tato, Corn, and Mutfruit and purify more Water than you need. Then remember to go back and create any adhesive you need at the nearest Cooking Station.
Nice Duds, Bro
Sweet Power Armour collection
© Kosta Andreadis
Armor in Fallout 4 is a little different than what we’ve seen before. Turns out that you can don a base layer of clothing, say a jumpsuit, and then equip bits of additional armour to your arms, legs, and chest. It’s a modular approach that adds a lot of variety to what you can equip and makes the full one piece bits of armour you come across (stuff like outfits, which for some reason you can’t stick a metallic shoulder pad on) kind of pointless. Once added all up together, these modular bits of armour provide significantly more protection than just about every one-piece get-up in the entire game. Excluding of course, the giant metallic beast we all know as Power Armor. Which has a distinct lack of letting you wear both a pointy sea captain hat and shades.
Tip: Wearing the right hat for the right occasion not only makes sense in terms of etiquette, but is also a must when shopping for ammo or scouring the wasteland. A hat with a Charisma boost means better prices when bartering, and a hat with a Perception or Endurance boost means better weapon accuracy or overall health. There’s no such thing as a hat for all seasons, and in Fallout 4 there’s a different hat for just about every activity.
Tip: Each bit of armour you equip can have its own ability. Now these can be found on armour you come across or can be added to any existing piece you own. Two handy abilities are the Dense modification for chest pieces, which results in you not dying every time a mine or grenade goes off, and Deep Pocketed for just about everything else. Which, if you modify every piece, can result in a carry weight similar to that of Power Armor.
Power Armor 101
Up, up and away
© Kosta Andreadis
You know that bit in the introduction where you’re given a suit of Power Armor right away. And how you were like, “What! This stuff was so rare in the earlier games, this is silly.” Well, turns out that the Power Armour you got there is basically junk and should be left to collect even more rust as soon as you get it back to Sanctuary. The real stuff, the true Power Armor, you’ll need to work for. Stockpile Fusion Cores, collect a tonne of crafting materials, and invest in both the Science! and Armorer perks. Power Armor in Fallout 4 works along similar lines to that of regular armour, all you need is a Power Armor Frame which you can then affix different pieces. They come in a variety of visual styles and flavours, and the modification possibilities are just about as endless as those for weapons.
Tip: Sprinting in Power Armor drains Fusion Cores like nobody’s business, so be sure not to sprint. What’s the rush? Simply walk around like a giant metallic god of war. This means that trekking long distances in Power Armor requires a lot of resources. Instead, use Power Armor sparingly, and for those locations that are chock full of enemies.
Tip: Like regular armour each piece of your Power Armour suit can not only be upgraded to drastically improve its defence rating, but it can also be modified with a special enhancement. Some of the enhancements you may want to check out are Motion-Assist Servos for increased Strength, Core Assemblies for increased Action Point refresh, and Jet Packs. For, err, Jet Packs!
Looking Good in that Legendary Gear
Just showing off my bobblehead collection
© Kosta Andreadis
Legendary armour and weaponry is a brilliant addition to the Fallout series. Outside of the natural feeling of ‘loot!’ when you find a legendary weapon, be sure to pay close attention to its legendary ability, which can range from increased damage to certain types of enemies to improved accuracy and other neat effects. The same goes for legendary armour, where some of the effects can also replicate high-level perks like Nerd Rage, making them a must for any serious wastelander. Seriously, you should definitely hold onto the legendary gear you find. Even if it doesn’t seem all that powerful at first, you can modify any piece of legendary gear in the game to make it even more legendary. Where’s the best place to find legendary gear? Well, there’s not really an easy answer to that. But, every legendary enemy you come across will drop a random bit of legendary gear. Which gives those tough battles, a nice juicy reward.
Tip: Okay so you’ve spent hours playing the game, built up an arsenal of your favourite weapons, but you still feel a little incomplete. Well, that’s because you haven’t given your shotgun a name! That’s right, in Fallout 4 you can give each weapon in your inventory its own name, which makes killing hordes of Super Mutants just that much more fun.
Tip: In addition to the legendary weapons that drop and ones that you find through your journey, there’s also a select group of special named weapons to get your hands on. The best of the bunch? Well that would be the Gauss Rifle called The Last Minute, sold by Ronnie Shaw at The Castle after you complete the Minutemen quest Old Guns. Sure it may be expensive, but it packs one hell of a punch. A laser punch.
