War, War Never Changes.

Fallout 4 is as deadly a game as any. With the new legendary creatures, deadlier goons and enemies carrying modified weapons, the Wasteland has become more deadly than before. So here’s a list with 10 Tips To Survive Combat In Fallout 4. With these, soon even the most difficult fights become a little more manageable.

 

 

10) A companion

No longer are companions just walking backpacks that have the nice (or annoying) tendency to soak up bullets. With Fallout 4, companions have special abilities that make them useful in various ways. For example: Dogmeat sometimes finds you items, you may or may not have missed ranging from a small pipe pistol to the feared Fat Man. On the other hand, Piper is capable of grabbing your foes by their feet, and upturning them. This leaves them vulnerable for a while as they need to get up, making them prime targets for a few bullets, or perhaps whatever melee weapon you happen to carry.

9) Modded weapons

Weapon modding, one of the primary points of advertisement for the game is truly one useful game mechanic. Be it a new reflex scope for your 10mm pistol, or a heavy receiver for your pipe revolver rifle, modifications generally give you an edge over your enemies. But be careful, as your human enemies are just as likely to carry modified weapons as you are! A good idea is to loot any modified weapons you find, as the modifications can be removed (Given you have a suitable replacement, stock components being cheap to make if you don’t) allowing you to put them on your own gun. This way, you don’t need the perks and expensive components to mod your weapon.

8) A good set (or sets) of armor

The new armor system in Fallout 4 is almost just as varied as the weapon system, so it’s important to not overlook it. While armor previously countered both physical and energy damage, it is separate in this latest installment. Typically armor with good radiation resistance is also good at resisting energy weapons, so when your foe is carrying a laser rifle, your vault suit may be a better bet than that raider’s armor you picked up along the way. Another good thing to know is that armor can be modified just like weapons, though not every suit is able to. For example, your vault suit can be insulated to provide 5 more damage resistance to energy weapons, and further mods will only improve this. Get out there, and find yourself some moddable armor!

7) Don’t forget the new perk system!

The new perk system may be getting used to for both new and old time players. When you level up, you can go to your Pip-Boy and then press the T button by default to access it. From there you can both improve your S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats, and give yourself perks like Science!, giving you the ability to make better mods for your energy weapons. Thanks to the unlimited leveling system, combined with skill-less gameplay means that you don’t have to worry about your build, as you can theoretically get every single perk and perk rank out there if you play long enough.

6) Grenades.

With the new combat system comes a very welcome addition: A quick button for your grenades! With the need to switch out your gun for explosives gone, you can just chuck grenades at your enemies while your gun remains in hand. This improvement to versatility on the battlefield is very useful when used right, as a well thrown grenade can blow apart a group of tightly packed enemies to meaty chunks, or give you a short break from that dreadful deathclaw you’re fighting.

5) A well-stocked first-aid kit

It’s always good to keep some stimpacks at hand, just like in previous games their capability to rapidly heal you on the fly is invaluable. But it’s not the only thing your first-aid kit should contain either! Some RadAway easily crafted with the chemistry station is highly effective at cleansing some of that radiation. Meanwhile a Glowing Blood Pack acts as cheap Rad-X and Psycho Jet effectively turns you into a demigod for a short while.

4) Start from a distance, but be prepared to fight up close and personal.

Thanks to the large changes in elevation of Fallout 4’s terrain, either due to geography or architecture, long range weapons like a sniper rifle have become excellent weapons to start your fight with. However, sometimes your foes will be quite adept at closing in on you, or they manage to get the jump on you instead. For those cases, be absolutely sure you have a short-range weapon like a pistol or shotgun on you, as well as a melee weapon. For if you don’t, be prepared to be quickly taught that lesson the hard way when bull-rushed by various denizens of the wasteland.

3) Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System, or V.A.T.S.

V.A.T.S., no longer the time-stopping magical contraption that it was in previous games, is still an excellent utility in any chaotic fight. Not only does it slow time to a crawl to allow you to respond quickly, it also allows you to lay down some more accurate and deadly fire in certain situations. Especially in a chaotic battle with multiple agile foes like Blood Bugs V.A.T.S. comes in handy. Especially combined with certain perks like Commando, V.A.T.S. becomes an attractive game mechanic, especially when your aim isn’t that steady.

2) Dismemberment

Never underestimate the utility of shooting your foe’s leg off.
Some more agile enemies are extremely difficult to shoot, make them legendary and they will be tough as nails to boot. It’s thus important to remember that you can cripple, or even shoot off their legs or wings to slow them down. While some enemies will instantly die at having a limb shot off, ghouls, robots and some other creatures will still continue on, crawling with their arms. Nonetheless, this does slow them down to allow you to focus on other enemies first, or permit you to get out of their attack range and take them down at your leisure.

1) Your health bar

Fallout 4’s health bar is slightly different from that of the previous games. While radiation used to be completely different, it is now displayed in the same bar as this red blemish, literally pushing away your health. The more radiation you absorb, the less your maximal health becomes. It’s thus important to stay in tip-top shape radiation-wise, and it’s highly recommend to occasionally purge yourself with some RadAway, or let a doctor take care of it. If you don’t, that one Radroach’s bite might just prove fatal.