Fallout 2
- You sometimes hit encounters that says something like "You come upon Group X fending off Group Y." That's great. Let them wipe each other out, finish off the survivors, profit. Obviously, this doesn't apply to massively unfair encounters like Super Mutants v. Farmers. In that case, run like hell.
- Don't bother with other weapon skills on your first playthrough. Small Guns will carry you through the entire game.
- Don't bother spending points on unarmed - if you wait until the last city you can get it up to about 85%, then you can go back to the first city and another area to get it up to around 100 by the time you're done.
- It's possible to permanently increase your stats in-game. I won't go into how, but you can add 4 to strength, 1 to perception, 1 to charisma, 1 to intelligence, 2 to luck. Keep this in mind during character creation. Max is ten on everything.
- Use a condom in New Reno, or condoms if you're going after the whole family.
- Some accomplishments require minimum levels in one or more of your core attributes. If yours aren't high enough, use the appropriate drug(s) from your stash to boost them temporarily and try again.
- Once you've played through all (or even a good portion) of the game, start a new game and create a character with an INT score of 3 (or less). Play.
- If you want a fun gimmick build, choose Jinxed with a Luck 10 Character (this works for both games). Your luck will override the negative effects of the Perk, but all your enemies will be constantly missing,breaking their own limbs or having guns explode in their faces.
- It's perfectly possible to finish the last area without firing a single shot.
- Although Advanced Power Armour is better overall, Tesla Armour, with its 90%/80% Laser/Plasma resistance, is incredibly effective against the Enclave, as the vast majority of them use Energy Weapons.(counterpoint: a huge amount of Enclave troopers both on and off the Enclave itself use Gauss pistols or rifles. They'll go through that Tesla armor like it was tinfoil.)
- For some reason the AP Ammo doesn't work all that well, and becomes redundant if you're using aimed shots.
- If you're short of cash, the merchants in San Fran are easy to rob and usually have 5000+ chips a pop. The merchant to the East also contains several items that you can usually only get through quests (Jet Antidotes, Motion Sensors, Super-Tool Kits)
- Sulik is for some reason awesome with a .223 Pistol, while Cassidy is likewise incredibly good with the Gauss Rifle.
- If you're sick of Marcus constantly chewing through ammo and blowing away teammates, he is still reasonably effective with a Plasma Rifle.
- If you're thinking of using energy weapons at all, tag it, as you cannot increase your skill with it using other methods like you can with small guns or melee.
- Strength really needn't be higher than 7, and that's if you want to be able to handle the heaviest weapons as early as possible.
- Similarly, INT at 5 is pretty decent, though it will shut you out of a few quests. Luck is good, but Agility is tops. You can never have to many action points!
- Stealing or bartering is a good tag, from there it's Small or big guns. Small is great early on, but if you survive to the point where you can get at least a light support weapon (NCR occasionally has them), Big weapons will make you the fucking terminator. With a minigun or RPG... fuhgeddaboutit!
- Keep an eye on the clock. The entire town of Gecko was annihilated because I kept wandering around.
- Conversely, if you've got time, don't forget that you can rest to regain health! Go to your pip-boy and click the bell next to the time, and click "rest till healed"!
- Partners are also pack-mules. While Sulik may be a puss, he has a great storage capacity for fallen raiders' gear. Trade with them until you're fully stocked, then head to market.
- I'm not really sure how, but you can lose your car. Always leave town from the same direction that you entered, or it'll be lost for good.
- Giant-ass FAQ covering EVERYTHING about the game. Also spoiler-riffic!
- The game begins in a combat heavy dungeon and you're lightly armed meaning non-combat characters will have a hard time. There's a mod at No Mutants Allowed website that removes the dungeon and for good reason: it fucking blows.