New Vegas, for my sins

[Enoch]

Curse you, Raithe, I didn't even pay attention until you brought it up and now I keep checking. lol In other news, Old World Blues has been a lot of fun. I have no idea how far I am from finishing, but i can say that there are few really awesome weapons. I especially like the Elijah (or whatever his name is) LAER. That thing puts mobs the hell DOWN. I also like Chistine's (ditto) silenced sniper solution. Great stuff. So good, in fact, that I think I can get to bed before three am tonight and without drinking a couple of bottles of wine first. lol Damn, this DLC is actually pretty good stuff!

 

I've just run through OWB for the 2nd time, and yeah, that LAER is nice. (The previous character I did it with didn't use energy weapons.) It's nice to have a high-DAM energy weapon that doesn't weigh a ton-- I was previously using the Q-35 for this role, and it doesn't quite have the same punch. The catch is that its condition degrades incredibly fast. The only economical way to keep it going is to periodically stockpile ingredients to make Weapon Repair Kits.

 

I've moved on to Dead Money, which is my favorite of the expansions I've played. (Finally getting around to Lonesome Road is the main goal of this little campaign.) I'm also nearing the Sawyer-mod level cap (30) and getting neurotic about making sure that I spend my last few skillpoints and perks in the "right" way.

[Cantousent]

Yeah, I've been making and storing a lot of extra weapon repair kits. This run, I've decided to go with the max skill philosophy, not because I think it's the best but because I wanted to be able to do and use everything as best as possible. So my sneak, guns, energy weapons, repair, science, and speech are all super high... like between 90-100. Medicine is also quite high. My stats are sky-high. Like I said, you're better off taking other perks, but this is a normal difficulty run and I'm just having fun with it.

[Raithe]

I have to say "Freeside Open" and "The Strip Open" are damn nice to put in for a fresh game...

[Cantousent]

All done with Old World Blues. Honest Hearts was the serious dlc, and it was excellent for that reason. Old World Blues is campy and goofy and it excelled because of it. In terms of a moving personal story, Honest Hearts has it hands down so far. In terms of a huge fun area to explore, OWB has it. I have to say that they serve different purposes, so I don't know which one I like more, but i think it's on to Lonesome Road or Dead Money. I think those are the last two, right? HH, OWB, LR, and DM?

[Raithe]

I think chronologically speaking, Lonesome Road should be played last..

 

I went through Honest Hearts, Dead Money, then Old World Blues.. am going to go for Lonesome Road next..

[WDeranged]

I did the DLC in chronological order, the only one that didn't hook me was Lonesome Road, I just couldn't get along with the idea that my courier had helped to create...

 

 

a technologically advanced wonderland of peace and harmony

 

 

The world design was excellent though, somewhat linear but there was loads of fun stuff to find and do.

Edited October 18, 2012 by WDeranged

[Raithe]

So the other important question.. is it a good idea to actually finish the main games story before doing Lonesome Road? How much effect does it have on Lonesome Road's ending if you start it before the 2nd Battle of Hoover Dam?

[Lexx]

If you finish the main game story, the game ends and you have to reload an earlier savegame. So you have to finish LR before. It won't have any influence on the ending. The only thing - afaik - that matters for LR is your reputation with the main factions in the game.

Edited October 18, 2012 by Lexx

[Raithe]

Heh, that lets you know how long it's been since i last played a complete game of FONV...

[Raithe]

Must admit to getting a little annoyed with one bit.

It is now impossible for me to go to the Gap n Gulp, without a squad of Legion Assassin's spawning and killing Fitz.

No matter which direction I try to arrive in, whether I fast travel or not, They spawn, Fitz is in the wrong place, they open fire, and he's dead before I can even shoot one of the bloody bunch.

[Cantousent]

Walk to the location and, somewhere a safe distance before you actually arrive, tell Fitz to wait. Of course, I'm assuming he's a companion. I don't remember Fitz, so maybe he's a guy in one of the dlc? ...Or maybe I just don't remember him from the main story. Anyhow, If you can have him wait back a ways, go in, trigger the attack, and then mop the floor with Legion mooks. You can walk back and get him after it's all done.

[Starwars]

There are other "spawn locations" for the Legion squads (though I can't remember exactly where, I seem to remember them attacking fairly close by Vault 11 and also somewhere between Red Rock Canyon and Bonnie Springs). If you can spawn them there, Fitz will be safe until the next time they attack at least.

 

But really... who gives a damn about Fitz?

[Raithe]

I do, I need to talk to him about sorting out supplies for Fort McCarron.

 

And Fitz is the proprietor of the Grub n Gulp, or whatever that place is called.

[AGX-17]

If you finish the main game story, the game ends and you have to reload an earlier savegame. So you have to finish LR before. It won't have any influence on the ending. The only thing - afaik - that matters for LR is your reputation with the main factions in the game.

 

Yeah, I don't know what MCA was thinking with Lonesome Road. It was a great gameplay experience, but a mediocre narrative outing, especially from him. It basically railroads the Courier's history and locks out any possible imagined past from the player beyond "native citizen of the NCR" and decides that he/she is a dimwit or some sort of mental deficient to have traveled through some place, built a mighty new model of civilization there, destroyed it and never remember any of it. And it's been clearly stated by JSawyer on Formspring that the Courier has no form of amnesia whatsoever from the gunshot.

 

And on the game design front, if you can nuke the world all over again but not have it accounted for in the rest of the game? Come on. Avellone must have been drinking too much when writing it.

Edited October 18, 2012 by AGX-17

[Lexx]

I don't think think the location was *that* big when the courier arrived. Ulysses just saw it being build up and therefore had a different view on it. At least that's what I think... no idea.

 

What I find worse is that everyone is telling you that you can just go away and if you don't, it is your fault what happens, because you had the choice. But that means, your choice is pretty much to play Lonesome Road or don't, which I find to be not a choice at all. If you want to play, you are railroaded into it. Not really optimal for a game that talks so much about choice, imo.

[Cantousent]

I was going to say that I didn't like Lonesome Road as much as the first two so far. That's still true, but I do enjoy the interaction with ED-E quite a bit. I'm playing on normal and the fights have been easy, but that was my choice. I could increase the difficulty, but I kind of like smoking Deathclaws with a couple of sneak critical headshots.

 

I tend to agree with Lexx and AGX in that the story just seems too full. It's weird, because I've enjoyed a lot of Avellone's writing, but I find this dlc a little too self-important and :Cant's gasping icon: I wasn't particularly into Keira in KotOR2. I did love PS:T altogether and I thought he did a great job with Gann. Still, I have enjoyed playing Lonesome Road, but it doesn't have the personal impact of Honest Hearts and it doesn't have the fun and campy feel of Old World Blues. Of course, I didn't know Avellone did this dlc until I read AGX's post, so for all I know he did HH and OWB also, in which case, he nailed the first two and the third is still fun.

[WDeranged]

Avellone was in charge of all but Honest Hearts as far as I recall, Sawyer was in charge of that and a fine job he did too

[pmp10]

It basically railroads the Courier's history and locks out any possible imagined past from the player beyond "native citizen of the NCR" and decides that he/she is a dimwit or some sort of mental deficient to have traveled through some place, built a mighty new model of civilization there, destroyed it and never remember any of it.

The explanation was that there was no reason to connect another routine delivery with the destruction that happened at the divide.

Apparently there was also no reason for courier to even remember the place at all.

That of course makes the whole Ulysses 'blame' argumentation nonsense as he aims to punish the courier for something that was done unwittingly.

I agree that it's not terribly convincing but at least MCA didn't pull a 'Kotor 2' on this.

[LadyCrimson]

I have forgotten ... is there a "recommended" clvl for the DLC's? My memory seems to believe you could do HH fairly early if you wanted but DM was more for lvl20's and above or some such? The others?

[sorophx]

I remember reading somewhere that the earlier you enter Old World Blues the better, because of level scaling. I was lv 30 when I did, and it's been brutal. can't be bothered to finish it because I'm tired of reloading my quicksave every 5 minutes

 

EDIT: I don't use VATS, so that could be the reason I'm having trouble, so it may not be that bad for you

Edited October 19, 2012 by sorophx

[LadyCrimson]

I don't use VATS either, so....I guess I shall attempt it with a lower level chr.

Was thinking I could use old chrs. to at least run through the DLC's, even if I don't have the game-stamina for an entire replay.

[Lexx]

I have forgotten ... is there a "recommended" clvl for the DLC's? My memory seems to believe you could do HH fairly early if you wanted but DM was more for lvl20's and above or some such? The others?

 

If you want to start them, a popup shows up and tells you the suggested level. Doesn't mean you have to do it with that one then, though.

 

I personally like to do Honest Hearts with at least lvl 14 / 15, because then the White Legs are running around with Brush Guns and Anti-Materiel Rifles. Feels cool. :>

Playing Old World Blues with level 30 right now and it is hard, but not *that* hard. I am doing fine right now.

 

 

[sorophx]

I'm playing on Hardcore, so not sure if that makes a difference in combat, but could be the reason

[Cantousent]

I didn't think hardcore made much difference in combat other than the way stimpacks work, but if you're playing hardcore and the highest difficulty (I think there are only three levels, but I can't remember) then combat can be tough. I hear things about a Sawyer created mod that makes combat bragworthy, which I might use next time. So... firing up the game, I have to say that the sound in the divide itself is truly awesome. I don't have music playing so I can hear the sound, and there's this one lonely bell that rings. It's a deep-throated and sorrowful sounding bell that really sets the tone for the whole area. I don't like the dialogue with Ulysses, but I do enjoy his journals. Makes me hate the legion even more than I do. I haven't reached the end, but I figure I have to be halfway through by now. After this, Dead Money, baby!

[Raithe]

Hm, I've just lost a companion somehow. Was in the Thorn with Arcade, engaged a couple of matches, left the Thorn and fast travelled somewhere.. only to find my companion wasn't with me. I still had the perk and all that.. but no companion. Went back to the Thorn, he wasn't there.

Used the "Companion Dismissal" terminal that's supposed to send companiosn back to their home, and I can't find him at either the Lucky 38 or the Old Mormon Fort...