Fallout 3 DLC Broken Steel out Today!

[GreasyDogMeat]

I've got it installed, but unfortunately don't have my saves any more so I've started a new character, so it will be quite some time before I can see the new quests that take place after the game ends.

 

I'm pleased they are altering the ending a bit and increasing the level cap to 30. The first notification I received after getting the DLC was that my level cap had been raised to 30.

 

First level up I scanned down to check out the new perks and decided I would post them here.

 

22 Deep Sleep: No matter what bed you sleep in, you will receive the well rested +10% xp status. Probably the most useless perk yet... especially considering it's level 22 requirement.

22 Puppies!: If Dogmeat dies one of his offspring will be waiting at the entrance to Vault 101.

22 Quantum Chemist: Every 10 Nuka Colas in your inventory will be converted to a Nuka Cola Quantum. Excellent for those who don't want to hunt down all the hidden Quantum for a certain quest.

24 Devil's Highway: Immediatly sets Karma to very evil. I'll do it the old fashioned way by eating babies and kicking puppies. Not Dogmeat's though.

24 Escalator to Heaven: See Devil's Highway, except for good.

24 Karmic Rebalance: See Devil's Highway, except for neutral.

24 No Weakness: Any stat below 5 is raised to 5. Rendered moot by a higher level perk.

26 AGL 7 Nerves of Steel: Action Points are regenerated much faster. For those who love Vats.

26 END 7 Rad Tolerance: Minor radiation poisoning (200-399 rads) no longer has any negative effect.

26 INT 7 Warmonger: You learn all the custom weapon schematics without having to find them.

28 Party Boy/Girl: You no longer suffer any negative effects from alcohol withdrawal.

28 END 7 Rad Absorption: Radiation slowly lowers over time.

30 Almost Perfect: Any stat below 9 is raised to 9.

30 Nuclear Anomaly: Any time your health is lowered to 20 or less you will cause a nuclear explosion damaging both friend or foe. I'm certain this one will be the most contraversial.

[Slowtrain]

Those are some pretty awful perks.

 

Awful? No, perhaps unimaginative.

 

Bethesda really seems to have creative issues. In other words, they're not.

 

edit: also, is there any point to 30 levels? 30? I didn't feel like there was much point to anything past the first 10.

Edited May 6, 2009 by CrashGirl

[cronicler]

I know you are going to hate me but... Aren't these perks... Well silly? I mean 9 in all stats + bobble head... Reincarnating dogmeat... I see only "26 AGL 7 Nerves of Steel: Action Points are regenerated much faster." that actually changes something in the game play. the others just feel... random fillers...

[Enoch]

Yeah, I've got to agree with CG. Rather unimaginative stuff.

 

And if they had any balls they'd take one or two of the overpowered existing perks (Grim Reaper's Sprint?) away from us and put it back in at level 28 or so.

 

 

Edit: The point to the higher levels is so that you continue to hear the "cha-ching" sound when XP is earned above the game's original cap.

Edited May 6, 2009 by Enoch

[Slowtrain]

New Bethesda perk: God. All skills and stats are set to max and you take no damage froma anything ever. Additionally everything on the screen simply explodes when you press mouse 1.

[TwinkieGorilla]

this is the most ultimately embarrassing thing Bethie has done to date. this entire DLC is based on the idea that all kids want these days are big guns, over-powered leveling (the perks are not only painfully uninspired but also just completely antithetical to the spirit of the genre) and A'SPOSHUNS, A'SPLOSHUNS, A'SPLOSHUNS!!!!

 

and as if the content of the DLC's aren't a big enough transgression toward the franchise, Bethesda and their bedfellows...GFWL have gone and screwed teh pooch on EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. of their DLC release dates. epic fail, and epic lulz (it would be epic tears if i wasn't so damn used to it by now).

[cronicler]

GFWL actually offers the most stable and minimalist networking platform for games out there. It's just that you need to get ok on every single data change (patch hotfix whatever) and it takes about 2 weeks for 2 megs or 2 gigs of patch to be given green light at least. Not to mention the whole crap feels ro unnecessary for single player games and all the other usual whines and spirits.

[TwinkieGorilla]

hey, i could care less about the logistics. all i know is that Bethesda have created "poop"-storms three times in a row now.

[Azure79]

How much is it for PC?

 

Oh wait, I formatted my hard drive and I don't want to start the game from scratch. I don't think I could take the tedium. It was very fun the first time though.

[Syraxis]

BethSoft's decision to get Obsidian into the picture is a blessing in disguise, for them. Especially after reading that list. I read it as "pay the extra $10, receive god-mode in bits and pieces."

[Cl_Flushentityhero]

Not to nitpick, but I thought Bethesda's perk design was pretty lame in the first place, so the Broken Steel ones don't come as much of a surprise.

[GreasyDogMeat]

What are you guys talking about? This is great stuff! Its so... so... ahhhh! You are all right!

 

Pretty disapointing stuff. I do like the Dogmeat perk though.

 

The change to the ending is worth it alone for me.

[TwinkieGorilla]

I do like the Dogmeat perk though.

 

pointless on two counts:

 

1) in FO1 you actually had to TRY to keep Dogmeat alive. getting through even half the damn game with him alive was a great feeling.

 

2) instead of actually having to use strategy in your battles and remember to heal Dogmeat like in the original games, Dogmeat HEALS himself after every encounter in FO3 making anybody who actually lets Dogmeat die in FO3 a complete console-tool who should never, ever own a pet...IRL or otherwise.

 

seriously, it's just plain stupid. Bethesda does NOT want even the most retarded and incapable people with a joystick to lose in their happy little fantasytard world.

[Tigranes]

24 Devil's Highway: Immediatly sets Karma to very evil. I'll do it the old fashioned way by eating babies and kicking puppies. Not Dogmeat's though.

24 Escalator to Heaven: See Devil's Highway, except for good.

24 Karmic Rebalance: See Devil's Highway, except for neutral.

 

How metagame and anti-C&C can you get? These perks are basically cheat toggles that let you flip debug switches in the world to keep yourself interested. >.<

 

30 Almost Perfect: Any stat below 9 is raised to 9.

30 Nuclear Anomaly: Any time your health is lowered to 20 or less you will cause a nuclear explosion damaging both friend or foe.

 

I would rail about how moronic this is, except that by the time you're level 15 you're already a God anyway.

 

This is what happens when you do too much audience research and have no principles guiding your design.

[Cl_Flushentityhero]

I should qualify my earlier statement by saying that I actually think BS will be fun, it just won't be remarkable.

[TwinkieGorilla]

This is what happens when you do too much audience research and have no principles guiding your design.

 

audience research? maybe. but have you seen interviews with teh Toddster? i don't think his gaming-mind has developed much beyond "Hey, make it a'splode again, loL!"

Edited May 6, 2009 by TwinkieGorilla

[Hurlshort]

Man, I'm a fan of Fallout 3, but that is a pretty disappointing list. The Dogmeat one is ok I suppose, if you go through a lot of dogs.

 

Hopefully Obsidian will implement some creative ones.

[GreasyDogMeat]

Hopefully the actual new quest(s) will make up for the lackluster new perks.

[mkreku]

Let's hope Fallout: New Vegas doesn't have a level 30 cap.. Not with that list at least. Very bad perks.

[GreasyDogMeat]

Don't mind a 30 cap... just need better perk options. That deep sleep sounds like a level one perk. I didn't even realize you needed a good bed to get the well rested status.

 

I don't mind the one that sets all stats to 9. It requires a very high level to get and could be considered an 'epic' perk.

[Tagaziel]

1) in FO1 you actually had to TRY to keep Dogmeat alive. getting through even half the damn game with him alive was a great feeling.

 

2) instead of actually having to use strategy in your battles and remember to heal Dogmeat like in the original games, Dogmeat HEALS himself after every encounter in FO3 making anybody who actually lets Dogmeat die in FO3 a complete console-tool who should never, ever own a pet...IRL or otherwise

 

I was surprised that Dogmeat's heart survived fighting alongside me, as in the LA Vault and Mariposa I had him on a steady diet of Super Stimpaks, Buffout and Psycho.

Edited May 6, 2009 by Mikael Grizzly

[GreasyDogMeat]

I don't think I ever beat Fallout 1 with Dogmeat dying. Meant a hell of a lot of stimpak usage though...

[Tagaziel]

I've even managed to keep two or three Followers of the Apocalypse alive during the Cathedral assault.

 

Man, was that awesome.

[Aristes]

I hadn't planned on getting any of the DLC products, and this list has not encouraged me to change my mind. I just prefer full games rather than mini-games. An xpac is fine, as long as it adds sufficient content to make it worth my while. In fact, I'd rather pay more for more content that's polished than pay less for a small amount of inferior content. As for the permutations, I'm still figuring that out.

[HoonDing]

Party Girl seems a good perk since my characters constantly swill booze. Makes the addiction totally redundant, though.