help - perks for hth tank

[ninjaijk]

Hello,
im a new player and first of all i want to say this is a great server. i really liked the original fallout games, and i am very impressed on how good is this online experience. as i unerstood, a shard wipe is on his way to make things even better - very well!
That being said, here is my question:
i made my character to be a melee tank. here is the build so far:

ST   10
PE    1
EN   10
CH    1
IN    2
AG   10
LU    5

bonehead and heavy handed

perks: bonus hth dmg, thougnes, even thouger, action boy x2, bonus hth attack

pretty linear: i charge my enemy and punch him to death, possibly with him laying helpless on the ground.maybe its not the proest of all build, but i can make a decent living. actually is pretty easy to kill melee critters - centaurus floaters aliens etc - without them even fight back. its more difficult against armed opponents. by the time i reach them in melee im alredy reduced to a form of swiss chees 
now im lvl 20. so my question is:what perk should i take next? what will increase most my chance of surving? 2xlifegiver, adrenaline rush, man of steel? i cant decide. i would like to be able to do some pvm, as well as not being a total joke in pvp (my only experience in "pvp" consists in being chased an liquefied by a gang of fully armed guys with me being in metal armor holding a spiked knukles and fighting geckos lol. btw i love this game.
Thanks all

[Henry]

Welcome. Melee is so much fun.

Next time i recommend ST 7 and plan to use Buffout/Nuka Cola + Psycho/beer for ST 10 and much higher defense. That frees up 3 SPECIAL points for use elsewhere, like Luck or Intelligence. (I'm so glad you did not choose Bruiser).

As for this guy now, you already see the best choices: 2xLG or more defense. It's up to you. You know, it's even possible to go with IN 1 and make Luck 9 (hope for a Luck implant some day for perfect Luck), so you can choose 2 crit perks.

In Your Face is great perk but mainly for pure boxing ring guy against other melee so good choice not taking that one. I'm also curious what skills you tagged...?

[ninjaijk]

Thanks for the reply.

Next time i recommend ST 7 and plan to use Buffout/Nuka Cola + Psycho/beer for ST 10 and much higher defense. That frees up 3 SPECIAL points for use elsewhere, like Luck or Intelligence.

yes - psycho + beer is a great combo.  im always on beer anyway, and psycho when i find some. i could have done at least st 9 (leaving open the option for jet maybe?). i was scared by the cost of the drugs - and the addiction problem. not that now im all that rich. i guess by endgame st 7-9 is more optimal. anyway i was not planning to reach endgame due to the upcoming wipe - and not planning using implants either. and yes 2 int sucks. aside from skill points, many npc and bartenders and quest givers treat you like "go away you dumb idiot". great source of lol, thou.
is luck really needed? hh give you a big malus on critical roll? i dont went luck 1 just because i dont want the power fist to explode in my hands.

As for this guy now, you already see the best choices: 2xLG or more defense. It's up to you. You know, it's even possible to go with IN 1 and make Luck 9 (hope for a Luck implant some day for perfect Luck), so you can choose 2 crit perks.

I will go with man of steel then. i really hate those nasty criticals. this leaves one slot open. is adrenaline rush all that usefull? i mean, i dont want to run around that much with low healt right? usually when health drops too low i activate first aid - healing powder - what stimpack im carring. i have limite game experience thou. what is your thought on adrenaline rush? Thanks again

I'm also curious what skills you tagged...?

I tagged close combat, first aid, and doctor. He is big, he is dumb, and he stays alive. no time for refinements lol.

[Henry]

I say Adrenaline Rush, but it only kicks in if the enemy's first blast does not kill you. When you run around at full HP, having Adrenaline Rush is like having only 7 perks since it's not doing anything until you get hurt. It's one of my favs though because even effective enemies rarely kill me on first burst.

Tagging Doctor is logical but i suggest tagging OD next time. Doc seems to work fine at 100 which is easy to reach without tagging it. Meanwhile it's great to have high OD - faster travel and opt-out of most encounters. With OD tagged and reading 10 Scout books, you can have OD 130 at level 1. Nearly every single char i have has OD tagged or otherwise at 150. Even my PvP fighters have OD 150 so i can return to fights quickly.

A Pro Tip: set up hot keys for your healing meds so you can take them quickly.

Higher Luck is supposed to mean higher resistance to critical bypass. IN 2 + Mentats is minimum for getting most quests. About wipe...it could be 6 months maybe. Who knows. As Kilgore once said something similar, play like wipe is nowhere near.

[ninjaijk]

Thanks - you have been very helpful.