The Definitive Guide to Melee Traits in Fallout: New Vegas: Finding the Best Option
Fast answer first. Then use the tabs or video for more detail.
- Watch the video explanation below for a faster overview.
- Game mechanics may change with updates or patches.
- Use this block to get the short answer without scrolling the whole page.
- Read the FAQ section if the article has one.
- Use the table of contents to jump straight to the detailed section you need.
- Watch the video first, then skim the article for specifics.
The Mojave Wasteland in Fallout: New Vegas is a dangerous place, and if you’re looking to get up close and personal with your foes, a melee build is a rewarding but challenging path. A crucial decision you’ll face early on is selecting your starting traits. So, what’s the best melee trait in Fallout New Vegas? The answer, while seemingly straightforward, requires careful consideration of your playstyle and build goals.
The best trait for a melee build is generally considered to be Heavy Handed. This trait provides a significant boost to your melee damage, a core component of any successful melee character. However, it’s not without its drawbacks. Heavy Handed, as a major trade-off, drastically reduces critical hit damage. This makes it a high-risk, high-reward choice and is perfect for those looking to maximize consistent, raw damage output.
While other traits can be beneficial, none offer the pure offensive punch that Heavy Handed does for a dedicated melee character, especially in the early to mid-game stages, where crits aren’t as easily accessible. Let’s delve a bit deeper into why and how it fits within a melee focused build.
Understanding the Impact of Traits
Before we get into the nuances of Heavy Handed, it’s important to understand how traits work in Fallout: New Vegas. Traits are character-defining choices made during character creation, they provide both benefits and drawbacks. This balancing act forces players to think strategically about how they want their character to function. Unlike perks, which are gained during level up, traits are selected once at the start and are permanent. This adds a lot of weight to these choices.
In terms of melee, a trait should be selected to complement your playstyle and optimize your damage output. The other traits in the game, though sometimes useful, mostly support other styles of gameplay. The pure focus on melee power that Heavy Handed provides is unmatched.
Why Heavy Handed Excels for Melee Builds
Raw Damage Output
The most compelling reason to select Heavy Handed is the flat damage increase it provides. The base melee damage boost it provides is substantial and noticeable, especially in the early and mid-game stages of the game. This increase directly translates to faster kills, fewer resources used in combat (such as stimpaks), and greater success against tough opponents.
Compensating for Critical Hit Limitations
While the reduction in critical damage from Heavy Handed is a significant drawback, many melee builds will often focus on consistent damage and raw power over critical hits anyway. There is generally an inverse relationship with how often you will score criticals and how much damage you do per hit. This means that for a player who does not intend to rely on constant crits, Heavy Handed is actually an ideal choice that allows you to double down on hitting harder.
Furthermore, some players may opt to utilize specific melee weapons with high base damage, further mitigating the critical hit penalty. The damage reduction is also less noticeable at higher levels and with powerful gear.
Synergy with Other Build Choices
A build centered around Heavy Handed will often prioritize skills like melee weapons, strength, and endurance. These attributes allow your character to use a large variety of melee weapons, withstand significant damage from enemies, and optimize the raw damage boost that Heavy Handed offers. It encourages you to go all-in on being a hard-hitting melee fighter, not a finesse fighter.
Alternatives and Considerations
While Heavy Handed is the optimal choice for pure damage, other traits might appeal to different playstyles.
- Built to Destroy: This trait provides a critical hit chance boost, but the reduced weapon condition is a pain when playing melee as you’ll be using your weapons often.
- Skilled: A great option for a generalist build, Skilled provides skill points at a cost to experience gain which is bad for a melee build that is reliant on specific skills and perks.
- Good Natured: This trait adds skill points in non-combat skills, but lowers your combat skills which makes it a bad choice for a melee build.
- Small Frame: While it does boost agility, the negative drawback is that you take more limb damage which is a big issue for melee users that are in the thick of the fighting, taking a lot of hits.
- Fast Shot: The faster fire rate could be useful for melee, but it would cause you to be less accurate which will cause problems in VATS.
These traits either offer benefits that are not as impactful for a melee build, or have drawbacks that significantly hinder a dedicated melee playstyle. For example, a critical hit based build would be viable, but not as consistent as the flat raw damage that Heavy Handed provides.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Is Heavy Handed the ONLY viable trait for melee?
No, it’s not. It’s just the most direct and impactful option for maximizing damage output. There are other viable builds that revolve around crit or VATS use, however, they are not as reliable as a raw damage focused one.
2. Does Heavy Handed affect Unarmed attacks?
Yes, Heavy Handed boosts both melee and unarmed damage, making it a viable choice for an unarmed build as well.
3. How much critical damage is reduced by Heavy Handed?
Heavy Handed reduces your critical hit damage by a substantial amount, often cited as a 50% reduction.
4. Can the reduced critical hit damage be compensated with perks?
Yes, perks like Finesse and weapons with a high critical hit modifier can help offset the penalty, however, it is generally less efficient than just doing more raw damage with every hit.
5. Does strength increase melee damage?
Yes, strength increases your melee damage, making it a key SPECIAL stat for melee builds and a vital component for making the most of Heavy Handed.
6. Is agility important for a melee build?
Agility is somewhat useful for melee, primarily for VATS accuracy, but it’s not as crucial as strength or endurance. You will generally not rely heavily on VATS for a melee build, thus the agility stat can be lower.
7. Is endurance useful for melee builds?
Yes, endurance is very important for melee builds as it increases your health, which is crucial for surviving in melee combat. It is also vital for getting specific SPECIAL implants at the clinic.
8. What skills should I prioritize for a melee build?
You should focus on melee weapons, strength, and endurance along with repair for weapon upkeep.
9. Are critical hits important for melee builds?
They can be useful, but for Heavy Handed builds, they are not the primary focus. Raw consistent damage becomes more beneficial.
10. What are some good early-game melee weapons?
Early game, knives, lead pipes, and baseball bats can be found in good condition and are very effective for early-game fights.
11. What are some late-game melee weapons?
Late-game, weapons like the Oh, Baby! super sledge, blade of the west and chainsaw are some of the most powerful weapons that are amazing for melee builds.
12. Can a melee build be viable on the hardest difficulty?
Yes, a well-built melee character can be very powerful, even on the hardest difficulty settings. Proper perk and skill investments are a necessity though.
13. Should I use VATS with a melee build?
While you can, VATS isn’t necessary for a successful melee build. Manual swings can be more effective and allow you to save AP for movement.
14. Is Charisma important for a melee build?
Charisma is generally a dump stat for melee builds unless you want your companions to be very effective in combat, but you are able to get by with a single point in charisma as a melee user.
15. Can I respec my traits later in the game?
No, traits are permanent choices in Fallout: New Vegas and cannot be changed after character creation.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Heavy Handed trait is the best option for a dedicated melee build in Fallout: New Vegas, due to its substantial increase in base damage. While the reduced critical hit damage is a significant drawback, it is often less of a concern for melee characters who prioritize raw consistent damage. While other traits can be fun and useful, none offer the focused power that Heavy Handed provides, cementing its place as the premier choice for melee focused players in New Vegas. Make your choice, and go forth and dominate the wasteland with your melee prowess.