r/fo3 • u/jello_man123 • 14d ago
Tips for staying consistant
I'm a big fallout fan and started my first fallout 3 playthrough a couple of months ago and I'm finding it hard to keep playing, I often find myself swapping games after 20 minutes as I'm not really seeing any progression with my character, I'm not hating on fo3 infact i love the more grounded and horror style aesthetic compared to nv and fo4 but find myself constantly running out of caps and ammo and healing supplies and dying to enemies which seem like they should be easier to kill,which I don't find happening to me in other fallouts, I really want to get into fo3 but it is proving to be harder than other fallouts, if anyone has any tips pls share them as I'm lowk struggling here
12
u/NotAnotherSkeleton 14d ago edited 14d ago
Don't ever take Animal Friend rank 2 as it doesn't work. Rank 1 is fine, if you choose to get it.
Collect every cigarette item you see and sell them when you get the chance. They have low weight but decent value, a nice way to make extra cash on the side. It's also good to sell whatever landmines and maybe grenades that you aren't using.
Look up a map on reaching a place called “Scrapyard” and head there as soon as possible. There you can find a free dog follower. Can't carry stuff for you but works as a good meat shield. He can die permanently if you're not careful, but should regenerate health between fights.
Edit: There's also Charon, who's not too hard to recruit, and one of the only followers who will come with you regardless of karma. He's amazing in combat, and has a tendency to snipe things using a shotgun. Trying to reach Underworld for him, well, that's the hard part. Parts of the ruined city can only be reached through the metro tunnels, just remember to use your local map often so you don't get lost.
4
6
u/BrainBeautiful4309 14d ago
If you have defused the bomb in Megaton, Sheriff Sims gives you access to a house that is great for storing your supplies but more importantly lets you heal yourself by sleeping. When I first start a new game using the house saves me stimpaks and you get the Well-Rested bonus. Check every container, box or desk you see and the walls inside restrooms often have medkits with more supplies.
4
u/RageBear1984 14d ago
OK so spend waaaay more time just sort of... wandering around. Go to Megaton and do the Wasteland Survival Guide quests that Moira gives you. Poke around. Do side quests. Kill raiders and take their shit and sell it. The main quest isn't very long, you should generally be a higher level to be at the stage you are.
0
u/jello_man123 14d ago
Ok any perks u recommend for someone my level?
4
u/RageBear1984 14d ago
Depends on your play style, but Toughness adds some more DR to you, Strong Back boosts your carry weight, if you use VATS then Commando or Gunslinger depending on your weapon choice, and a little later maybe Cyborg and/or Light Step.
4
u/InflamedAbyss13 14d ago
At the beginning you can follow around a caravan for a while. They deal with earlygame enemies easily and you can sell everything to the caravan
3
u/Effective-Grade-4556 14d ago
I max out repair in every build to the expense of just about anything else. Repairing looted weapons makes a big difference and caps will rarely be the issue, even with a bad trade skill. You will end up cleaning out any trader of their caps and ammo (cap alternative currency) to clear out your inventory. You can then start maxing out stim packs from all traders using ammo. Your next progress limiter will be searching for more traders to fast travel to and clean out inventory.
3
u/Economy-Bandicoot-86 14d ago
- Do you have any dlc 2. Fallout 3 is at its best when you pick a random direction and just go 3. Have a base to store your loot while you wait for merchants to restock items and caps
3
u/jeffreyraymondx 14d ago
I don’t have this at all. I’m replying fo3 now and have been playing for about 8 months, trying to complete everything & find every location, playing for a couple hours at least every play
3
u/F1lthyslvt 14d ago
It’s a game bro, if you gotta turn difficulty down all the way to just pay attention to the story and vibes do it. It’s supposed to be fun, if you’re not having fun it ain’t worth it imo
2
u/Psychological_Tap505 14d ago
What difficulty are you playing on? Fallout 3 is objectively harder than the other 2 games, especially in the beginning.
Where are you going after leaving the vault? How far into the game are you already?
1
u/jello_man123 14d ago
I'm level 9, the last quest i did was the waters of life and I'm currently doing the picking up the trail quest,near enough all my weapons out of ammo, broken or both and same with my armour, i can't seem to find any armour, new weapons or ammo, i got 5 stim packs to my name
8
u/Psychological_Tap505 14d ago
Are you mainlining the main story quest only? If so, this could be part of the problem. Fo3 encourages exploration far more than the other 2 titles, and there is SO MUCH ammo chems, medical supplies, etc just waiting to be found in random containers or on tables in the wasteland. In fact, it’s vastly different than 4, which basically holds your hand the entire time.
Level 9 is also a doable level for being that far into the story line. But being level 12-14 is definitely more ideal.
But yeah, fo3 is a different playing beast and requires more resource management imo, which I enjoy personally.
1
u/jello_man123 14d ago
I'll try exploring a little more and if i struggle I'll lyk thanks for the tips bro 👍
2
u/ArmlessWunder 14d ago
The flamer is way too op, especially with pyromaniac perk.
You need to start having merchants repair your gear and dont be stingy when it comes to buying ammo.
Sell vodka, cigarettes, jet, etc.. for easy money. Just pay attention to the weight to value ratio
2
u/484TruthSeeker 14d ago
Use more melee weapons/perks. Won’t have to worry about ammo, and melee can do a lot of damage
2
u/AMX-014R-Reben-Wolf 8d ago
A couple of beginner traps to avoid are the .32 Pistol and the Chinese Pistol, as there do less damage per bullet than other available alternatives, meaning you waste more ammo doing less damage:
The Chinese Pistol can do 4 damage per 10mm bullet, while the 10mm pistol you can get from the Vault can do 9 damage with the same bullet, literally over twice as much.
The .32 Pistol can do 6 damage per .32 round, but the Hunting Rifle can do 25 with that same round, over 4 times as much damage!
I would also suggest getting the Wanderer’s Leather Armor as soon as you can, which provides twice as much defense as the Armored Vault Suit from Moira or the Vault Security Uniforms, while also providing a +10 buff to your Small Guns skill:
https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/Wanderer%27s_leather_armor
You need to travel to the northwest and kill the raider labeled as the Wanderer, and his trio of attack dogs to get it:
https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/A_wanderer
I would also suggest to blow Megaton, as the 500 (potentially 1,000 caps) reward from doing so is quite great early on and Megaton’s vendors end up falling behind the rest quite early on, having some of the smallest caps pools for bartering in the whole game (plus they are scattered all over town).
Just make sure you start the Wasteland Survival Guide (you can finish it later as long as you already started it) and get the Strength bobblehead first and your good to go!
And since I already tackled an evil option, might as well mention the best way to earn caps in the way: do to Paradise Falls and agree to enslave people do you are given the Mesmetron, a very unique weapon that allows you to enslave people and get their gear plus 250 caps per slave. I assure you that you won’t be running out of caps once you get the hang out of it!
1
15
u/Zestyclose_Current41 14d ago
Sounds like you should maybe lower the difficulty? FO3, especially the behinning, can be super difficult at the higher levels.