Fallout

• As soon as you start the game, you can go back into the vault for some minor quests that will net you some early experience.

• Allies are very helpful in the early to mid-game, but don't ever give them burst weapons if you value your health.

• Stealing can net you some very nice stuff if you've put points into it, but make sure to save first as you don't want to anger towns.

• Always try to alternate methods of solving problems. Not only will talking people into things save your life early on, you'll often get more xp for it than shooting them in the face would have earned you.

• If you can pull off the shot, the best place to aim is usually the eyes.

Character Creation

• Agility is a key stat as it gives you more actions per round. Perception and Intelligence are important too. Some Strength and Endurance is good to have. 6 Luck is required for the powerful Better Criticals perk. Charisma is largely useless unless going for specific builds.

• Gifted is an extremely strong trait as attributes are much harder to increase than skills. This also applies to the sequel.

• Tagging Small Guns and Speech lets you deal with both combat and dialogue more easily throughout the game. Popular choices for the third tag include Lockpicking or Energy Weapons - there's no shortage of locks, and Energy Weapons make for the best endgame weapons.