So, You downloaded the
client, installed it and read some info on the
wiki, but You have no idea on how to start? Fear not, for this guide is for You!
tl;dr -> skip to point VI if you know how to make a valid character.
I. Know Your Gun.Before You even login for the first time, You need to know what guns You will use. There are a lot of options and choosing a gun is not as simple as picking the one with best stats. Let's first look at the categories we have:
1. Hand to HandSome new players make the mistake of selecting HtH/melee for a first character - don't do that mistake. HtH weapons are cheap (like your hands - they are free, can't lose them), but they have no range at all, low damage and usually lack the bonuses that other weapons can gain from crafting. Some people prove that HtH is playable, but it is one of the hardest way to play this game.
2. ThrowingNot as bad as HtH, but still not the best choice. Throwing knifes and grenades are easy to craft and do just enough damage to bu usable. If You really, really, really want to use them You can, but there are better choices.
3. Big GunsThe bad boys in Fonline, some of the most powerful and most used guns are Big Guns. At some point You will want to use them,
but not at the start!! You would need blueprints (they cost caps), an advanced workbench (they are in dangerous places or require some time to get access to) and high quality resources (available in dangerous places or in costly private mines). There are low-tire big guns and if you're not afraid of a challenge, then you might start your Fonline adventure as a big gunner.
4. Energy WeaponsEnergy Weapons deal high damage but on the other hand most enemies (and players) have high resistance. The more powerful weapons need rare ammunition (Micro Fusion Cells) and all of them need Electronic Parts to craft - getting them is not always that simple. The extra challenge is getting a profession to craft these -you need to go to some dangerous places and you can lose your caps. Having said that - if you manage to buy the Energy Expert Profession and get some Electronic Parts then you will find the Magneto-Laser Pistols a worthy companion in the wasteland, whether your level 4 or 40.
5. Small GunsWhat ever other people say
Small Guns are the best guns for first time players. There are a lot of guns in this category, but I'm gonna focus on these few essential ones.
Combat Shotgun Learn to love this gun, it will be your friend for some 20 levels. Why is is so important?
-good damage
-can be crafted from basic resources (just as ammo)
-acceptable by most traders for a fair price
-crafting it (and its ammo) gives nice amount of experience
-single and burst mode
It's only downside is the low range, but until you gen your gun skill over 150 you will not shot targets from more then 25 hex.
Hunting Rifle Just as the Combat Shotgun it is easy to craft, but it doesn't have the damage potential of the former - what it has is range, 40 of it. It is a good sidearm for shooting far away target - if you have the perception and/or skill to shot at far away targets. Once enemies get closer, switch to the shotgun.
Once you have some High Quality resources and extra caps you can (and should!) use better guns then these two (XL70E3, Pancor Jackhammer, .223 Pistol, P90c). Don't waste your time on crappy guns, there is no excuse for using a Tommy Gun or a Mauser. Just don't.
II. Mad SkillezSo, you know what guns you should use, so tagging Small Guns on your char-gen screen is the first thing you should do. But you still have 2 more skills to tag (tagged are much easier to raise), let's see what to select:
First Aid and DoctorI put these together because they are similar and almost equally important. First Aid allows you to heal yourself and others, Doctor is for fixing broken limbs. You will lose Hit Point way more often then brake limbs, but since crafting Healing Powder is so simple and cheap you may not need high FA on low levels, but at some point first aid will be the best way to heal yourself. Tagging both of these is not a bad idea.
Science and RepairBoth skills are important if you want to do some crafting (and you want that), Repair is also quite useful on it's own. Both of these skills can be raise with books. If you don't want to make/use Energy Weapons then you might as well ignore Science, but you really should get Repair to 50 (sometimes even before putting points in your gun skill), later on getting Repair to 100 is a good idea, maxing it at some point is also recommended - both these skills max out at 125% so tagging them gives less benefits then say FA or Doc.
Outdoorsman Outdoorsman is an important skill, but You can do well with Outdoorsman as low as 100 and you can buy books to raise this skill (up to a point). With more Outdoorsman you can travel faster and avoid encounters. You don't need to tag this skill, but you need to get it to 100 ASAP.
Lockpick and TrapsMost of the time these skills are not worth the skill points invested in them ... but then again you can find some nice stuff in lockers in urban areas and these two skills are needed to open these lockers. For a first character - ignore and even if you want to use these, don't tag them, you can only raise them to 150% anyway.
Steal Nope.
BarterYou will get more caps from traders for your items, if you have any leftover skillpoint you can dump them here. Don't focus on this skill too much, merchants don't have that many caps anyway.
SneakSneaking starts working around 200-250%, so it can take a while to see any benefits from using this skill. Tag it and invest in it every level (and get the Silent Running perk) or forget it and never regret that decision - the choice is yours.
SpeechThere are benefits from owning slaves and having mercs and companions - but for a first character they only steal xp and you need to equip them and care for them - would not recommend.
III.Choose Your Destiny! (...or Traits)Just a quick look on what we have:
Bloody Mess- no real bonus
Bonehead - more resistant to headshots, -1 int. For PvP characters.
Bruiser - for HtH, don't take it.
Chem Reliant/Chem Resistant- your first toon will not use (much) drugs, don't take these.
Fast Metabolism - not worth much
Fast Shot - can't do called shots, but shoots faster - good if you have low Luck, bad if you want to snipe
Finesse - don't take it
Good Natured -not for first time players
Heavy Handed - for HtH, don't take it.
Jinxed - don't take it
Kamikaze - don't take it
Loner - not worth much, but it's something
One Hander - if you will use Combat Shotgun/Hunting Rifle then don't take this
Small Frame - a good one
Skilled - more skill points less perks, but you can have unlimited skills as long as you keep gaining levels and only a few perks (last on on lv 24). My first character (that I still play) has this trait (and I don't regret it), but I don't feel confident recommending it to others -
it will make your character weaker in the end.
IV. That SPECIAL feel...I will not recommend one build that is best, I'll just point out what is good, roll your own stat
Strength (4-5)Combat Shotgun needs 5 Strength, no need for more. With less you will have -20% hit chance, but you can live with that, you just need more gun skill. I don't recommend going lower then 4 - you will want to carry some stuff after all.
Perception (6-10)Perception is good. If you want to use cigarettes you can take 9 Perception and lose nothing. Don't go lower then 6.
Endurance (4-10) For a PvP character 10 is a must-have, your first character will not be a PvP toon. Put all the point you have left here.
Charisma 1No choice here, 1.
Intelligence (4-10)8 is a good number, you can take the Educated support perk and have 23 skill point per level. 10 is not bad for a first character, but 8 is enough in most cases.
Agility 10Take 10, 9 if you want to drink Nuka Cola all the time. 6 if you must, but really - take 10.
Luck 1 or 10If you want to make aimed shots - take 10, if not - take 1.
V. Private Parts... I mean Perks!There is a really good list here:
http://www.fonline-reloaded.net/wiki/index.php?title=Perksjust pick the perks that allow you to shoot faster and stronger, if you don't know what to take, take Toughness, Lifegiver or Action Boy. Never take Gain X and perks that give you AC, same for throwing and hth perks.
VI. Adventure Time!This isn't KansasYou start of in a hole in the ground of some sort, look around and talk to the person you see (there may be more the one). You'll get a quest - do it, most of the time it's just a matter of getting to a city and talking to someone.
Go West! No! Wait, go South!No matter where you start - go to Junktown. You will die on the way, but that means nothing, but before you leave check where you are.
If you're in NCR:GET AWARENESS!!!Buy cigarettes for Buster Pay back Mira's debt.If you're in Hub:Bring a shovel to Dan (go to a brahmin herder for a free shovel)Lift some caravan boxesIn Junktown:Bring radscorpions tails for Mark Doing these quests takes no skill at all and they will get you to level 2 and at level 2 you will get a new quest
A Tent in the Wasteland, do that quest and now you have a tent and some tools. If you can't make these quest or still don't have enough xp for level go, to into the wasteland and look for broc flowers and/or xander roots, press "F" and turn them into weak healing powder.
Set your ten half way between Junktown and the mine and start mining, but first search for some trees to upgrade your campfire and some flint and junk for a
primitive bench.
Hi-ho, hi-ho!Mine. Mine as much as you can carry, take it to your tent, turn it into metal parts and gunpowder. Take the metal parts and gunpowder to Junktown and turn them there into
10mm JHP ammo then sell them for caps. If the trader in Junktown has no caps, then take the ammo back to your tent and go mining again. Repeat until you have gain some levels, raised repair to 50 and got 1500 caps - go to Boyce in Junktown (near the workbench) and get yourself the Profession: Gunsmith (Small Guns). From now on you can make
Combat ShotgunsAmerican GunsGet some wood, mine some ore and minerals and start making Combat Shotguns big time. Make 5-6 of them and some 100-200 shells, try to sell them for caps, you need another 1500caps. Hub, Junktown or NCR is your best chance - if you get attacked shoot if you think you can win or run. You need to get to Rondo in NCR with the 1500 caps - if you have the caps but you are in Hub, then put them in the bank - you can pull them out in NCR with no risk. Why do you need to get to Rondo ? - to get
Profession: Armorer.
Ride'em Cowboy!Now you have a tent, guns and ammo and you could craft your own armor. Could if you have all the resources.
For a
Metal Armor you need metal parts and alloys - that's not a problem, fibers - get a knife, look in the wasteland for plants, and a Brahmin Hide.
Brahmin Hides can be tricky to get, look for cows around Hub first, but don't use them yet for making armors. Trade some combat shotguns for armors in NCR and use the Brahmin Hides to craft a
Folded Tent. The best place to hunt Brahmin is around Modoc and that's the place you will want to setup your second tent. Before you move there, invest all the money you have to buy scouting books in the Hub Library (market district, behind the shop, well both shops).
Sky is the limitWhatever happens next, now you always have a fast way to make new armors and guns and a place to store them. Keep putting up tents in interesting places, earn caps, do some quest for Gunrunners, buy blueprints, buy a private mine and buy/catch some slaves - play as you want, make items for your other characters, join a gang, have fun.
This works!So, here are the pictures of me fallowing my own guide, step by step:
...a few posts lower or here:
http://imgur.com/a/WGOjd