Now boasting a shiny (and surprisingly genuine) TV adaptation, Fallout is the discuss of the city once more—not unhealthy for a collection that started off as a distinct segment turn-based isometric RPG from the ’90s. Whereas Fallout 4 and 76 are most likely higher recognized nowadays, most longtime collection followers nonetheless sing the praises of Fallout: New Vegas and its vastly reactive, freeform story. At the very least, they suggest it extra strongly than another sport within the collection, simply with some meeting required. You’ll have to do a little bit of legwork except you occur to take pleasure in bugs and crashes, even after New Vegas acquired some official patches and a spherical of (wonderful) DLC.
Years of devoted group efforts have culminated in New Vegas being a greater sport than ever (and arguably probably the greatest RPGs ever made), however provided that you’re keen to go that further mile via the Mojave to assemble all of the elements wanted and cobble all of them collectively at a crafting bench. So right here’s a crash course on how you can get probably the most out of Fallout: New Vegas in 2024. Get all of it completed, and your pals will likely be atomic-green with envy.
Set up this one
What’s the most effective model of Fallout: New Vegas?
There are a couple of locations you possibly can decide up Fallout: New Vegas, however you’ll need the Final Version from both Steam, GOG or Epic should you plan on modding the sport, which you will completely wish to do. Additionally should you’re unlucky sufficient to have the German model, you’ll have to comply with some further steps—see the Viva New Vegas information under.
The total model of the sport is generally $20, however New Vegas goes on sale a number of instances per yr, so savvy customers can typically snag it for beneath $5. The Final Version contains 4 prolonged expansions that almost all bugfix packs require. The remainder of this information will assume you personal this model of the sport.
You’ll most likely wish to skip on the Sport Move or Microsoft Retailer variations, as a result of they don’t play properly with the Script Extender utilized by many mods.
First steps
Earlier than you do anything
New Vegas is technically playable straight from the leap, however if you wish to play the sport at its finest, you’ll wish to undergo a couple of steps earlier than anything:
1. Set up the sport, after which run it not less than as soon as. This may create the directories in your PC to carry your saves and INI recordsdata. In case you’ve acquired a PC from any time up to now six years, you’ll be wonderful cranking each graphics setting as much as most too.
2. Make an account on Nexus Mods. You received’t be capable of obtain the important thing mods and fan-made patches till you do that. Don’t fear about Nexus’s premium subscription factor—it’s totally non-compulsory and solely value it should you’re very impatient.
The PC Gaming Wiki—a perennial tech-advice hub—has suggestions for how one can pressure greater body charges, repair field-of-view for ultrawide resolutions and ambient occlusion. However apart from the Ambient Occlusion repair, you need to maintain off on doing something, as a result of we’re diving into the deep finish with a number of heavy adjustments.
Use these mods
Important mods for the latest New Vegas doable (The Best Approach)
A pair years in the past, this course of was a bit simpler, because of a group mod pack named Viva New Vegas, which you possibly can routinely set up by way of Wabbajack, a time-saving app that downloaded mods for you, arrange the right load orders and dealt with all of the finicky elements for you. Sadly, the maintainers of Viva New Vegas felt that updating the Wabbajack model of it regularly was extra effort than it was value, and so that you’ll need to comply with a information to assemble it your self.
Viva New Vegas remains to be your best path to a smoother, extra steady New Vegas, however now it’s within the type of a step-by-step information to comply with right here.
As with the earlier iteration, there’s various ranges of modded-ness you possibly can decide from, with the default setup information simply focusing completely on patches, fixes and a few quality-of-life fixes.
When you ought to comply with the information to put in them (most of which you’ll be slotting into place utilizing Mod Organizer 2), the important thing mods of probably the most primary set up embody:
However there’s lots extra, together with a separate information on optimizing and tuning the sport on your {hardware}. The extra you add from the preliminary setup checklist, the smoother and extra steady the sport will grow to be. You’re restoring the sport’s basis right here, reasonably than constructing a wobbly Jenga tower of add-ons.
For these wanting to begin on that tower and construct up a richer, meatier New Vegas expertise, the VNV Prolonged part of the Viva New Vegas information is the place you wish to go. Cut up up into UI, Gameplay, Overhauls, Content material, Visuals and Ending Touches, you’re free to select and select what modules you employ.
I personally suggest Vigor, from the Overhauls part, a further-refined model of the ‘JSawyer’ mod, which rebalanced the sport to suit the private preferences of New Vegas’ personal growth lead, Joshua Sawyer, making the sport a bit more durable and fewer loot-centric, but additionally buffing a bunch of lesser-used gadgets to make extra playstyles viable.
I’ve returned to New Vegas each couple years for the previous decade, and this has given me probably the most strong, polished and coherent model of the sport I’ve performed but. It runs flawlessly on my new 3440×1440, 120hz ultrawide monitor.
Extra New Vegas mods
Further mods for a wilder Wasteland
New Vegas wasn’t an particularly good-looking manufacturing even when it first launched. Partly as a result of sacrifices needed to be made to get the sport operating on the PS3 and Xbox 360, consoles with tight RAM limitations, and partly as a result of Obsidian is a studio that all the time appears to be working with a shoestring price range.
One huge price range shortfall of the sport is the voice appearing. Whereas respectable, there’s far too few actors to voice all of the solid, and a number of characters find yourself sounding nearly similar. Repair that with:
Courageous New World (beforehand featured on PC Gamer): Re-voices hundreds of strains of dialogue with a a lot bigger solid. They left the most effective performances intact, however a number of minor NPCs are given a recent lease of life. The voice-only model of BNW may be paired with New Vegas Redesigned 2 Revised to present nearly all NPCs a makeover, too.
There’s additionally a handful of expansion-scale mods for New Vegas, not excellent if that is your first time enjoying, however attention-grabbing additions:
Fallout: New California: Provides your character a years-long origin story, beginning out as a lowly vault dweller earlier than getting caught up in a full-scale navy battle, finally dovetailing again into the start of New Vegas. Our personal Andy Kelly had nothing however reward for it, regardless of a couple of tough edges.
Fallout – The Frontier: A extra guarded advice for this mod. It stands as probably the most formidable mod for New Vegas, greater than any of the official DLCs, and it’s a really completely different beast from the primary sport. Its three largely-linear storylines take a extra ‘cinematic’ method that results in some attention-grabbing however awkward vehicular sections and a questionable assault on an area station. Stability can be geared in the direction of a high-powered fight character. Flawed, however if you would like extra New Vegas, it is a big chunk of it.
Autumn Leaves: Much less formidable, however a greater match for the unique sport. A single massive narrative-heavy quest with a number of options and a ton of latest voiced dialogue throughout a solid of quirky robots that you just’ll discover in a long-abandoned new facility. A full playthrough will take most gamers round 4-6 hours, making it roughly similar to New Vegas’ personal DLC, albeit a bit extra self-contained.
It’s additionally value noting that there are different New Vegas mod packs for Wabbajack, most of them centered across the huge Story Of Two Wastelands mod, which mixes the campaigns of Fallout 3 and New Vegas right into a single sport. You’ll want each FO3 and New Vegas put in for it to perform, however should you actually wish to go massive and work on that atomic tan, these will make the method of welding the 2 video games collectively a comparatively painless course of.
Time to begin enjoying
Wasteland survival suggestions & tips
In contrast to Fallout 3 and 4, New Vegas is a bit more old fashioned in its construction. The second you’re out of the character creation sequence, you’re largely free to go wherever you want and do as you please. In fact, this being a harsh post-apocalyptic warzone, a number of choices will result in near-certain demise. Save early, save typically and don’t be afraid to experiment. There’s nobody proper method to play, and New Vegas is famously replayable, supporting dozens of approaches.
Throughout Viva New Vegas character creation, you’ll be given the choice to allow Wild Wasteland mode unbiased of another possibility, and with out overriding one other of your beginning traits. Do not disable it except the concept of foolish easter eggs and alien encounters upsets you.
⭐Within the early sport, use Goodsprings as a protected haven—discover, scavenge what you possibly can then fast-travel again for some relaxation. Take a while to completely discover the city and discuss to all of the NPCs. There’s one within the saloon that’ll provide to show you some survival abilities, together with the fundamentals of marksmanship and crafting. Properly value doing for each the XP and free ammo.
⭐There are a couple of early threats to be particularly conscious of. Cazadors (monsters that appear to be big home flies with vivid orange wings) are extraordinarily quick, aggressive and highly effective and can destroy most lower-level characters. In case you see them, run, and preserve a word of the place they have been.
⭐Deathclaws (big humanoid lizards with coincidentally big, lethal claws) are one other critter that are typically positioned as a wall to dissuade lower-level characters from persevering with. With sufficient explosives and perhaps some armor-piercing ammo, you possibly can brute pressure your method via, nevertheless it’s simpler to run previous them than Cazadors.
⭐Ammo sorts are vital, particularly early on once you’re largely utilizing scavenged gear. The default hotkey to modify between ammo sorts is (reasonably unintuitively) ‘2’ and it’s effectively value experimenting with what you’ve acquired. Use low cost bullets and bulk vitality cells when preventing low-level critters like molerats or coyotes, and change to the premium gun-food when you must serve up a feast.
⭐Spend money on not less than somewhat little bit of Restore ability, and ensure you decide up weapons similar to no matter you’re utilizing. The janky, low-quality gear that raiders drop can simply be stripped for elements to enhance the standard of your normal gear. Search for the immediate to restore in your stock menu.
⭐Even with the JSawyer mod (or its descendants) making issues somewhat extra intense, Hardcore mode isn’t fairly as scary because it sounds, and a few gamers discover having to maintain a cursory eye on starvation, thirst and different detrimental results provides to the expertise. No one will decide you for simply enjoying on Regular although.
⭐Maintain an eye fixed open for escalating hostilities. New Vegas does stage scaling in a enjoyable method, with the struggle between the NCR and Caesar’s Legions stepping up as you grow to be extra highly effective. Maintain an ear open for NPCs speaking about new enemy sorts coming into the fray, particularly round navy bases.
New Vegas is constructed to be replayed. There are an unlimited variety of dialogue branches, endings, a number of main factions you could throw your lot in with, go to struggle in opposition to or ignore completely, and the sport remembers a stunning quantity. Even when your actions don’t instantly return to hang-out you, the ending monologues will most likely acknowledge any acts of heroism (or crimes in opposition to humanity) you carried out alongside the way in which.
Do not miss
Sights to see and people to go to in New Vegas
When you’ve acquired a couple of ranges beneath your belt, you’ll wish to make some pals. Firstly as a result of New Vegas’ companions are excellently written with their very own morally advanced questlines, but additionally as a result of they’ll absorb a powerful quantity of lead for you in fight. You’re allowed one human and one non-human buddy with you at any given time, so right here’s considered one of every to get you began:
⭐The simplest companion to get is the floating drone Ed-E, discovered within the city of Primm simply barely south of Goodsprings. You’ll want to repair him up nevertheless it’s not a tough quest.
⭐As for a steadfast human pal, should you’ve acquired optimistic Karma (she solely hangs out with heroes), Cass is a hard-drinking, hard-brawling kind down on her luck. You will discover her on the NCR Mojave Outpost far to the west and somewhat south of Nipton. Speaking along with her will begin a quest chain that’ll want you to speak her into promoting her caravan, requiring both good Barter or Speech abilities to clear, however she’ll finally discover her method into your occasion.
As for the remainder of the buddies to search for, they’re unfold fairly skinny and much, nevertheless it’s effectively value assembly all of them. Every brings one thing helpful to the occasion, and every has a private quest-line to comply with that fills in additional of their backstory. Right here’s a listing of all of them on the Fallout Wiki, however I’d personally simply suggest exploring.
⭐When you’re feeling assured, it’s time to go north to the Vegas strip correct. It’s a hub of iniquity, inequality and intrigue, in addition to another phrases starting with ‘in’. It’s additionally the place you’ll discover a lot of the huge plot hooks of the sport. Examine what’s up with that on line casino chip that you just practically acquired killed over, and ensure you grill the native NCR forces on what they’re doing within the area.
⭐When you’re in Vegas, it’s extremely advisable you do some investigating (see, one other in-word) into the three households operating the strip. To not spoil an excessive amount of, however the White Glove Society are hooked up to considered one of New Vegas’ most reactive and freeform quests, with many doable branches and endings relying on what sort of character you’re enjoying.
⭐ If you wish to see the primary story of New Vegas to its finish, you’re going to have to select your poison. There’s three factions preventing for energy right here. Mr Home (in his huge on line casino penthouse) is attempting to carve out a capitalist hotspot right here, and you’ll comply with his questline within the questline The Home At all times Wins.
⭐ The democratic NCR are attempting to ascertain American enterprise as normal, and can attempt to recruit you fairly actively when you’ve made a reputation for your self, so simply swing by the NCR embassy on the strip to enroll. Lastly, Caesar’s Legion are a bunch of historical Roman larpers, slavers and raiders, good for evil characters or individuals who comply with too many ‘trad historical past’ Twitter accounts with marble statue avatars. Start the misadventure with Render Unto Caesar at Caesar’s camp Northeast of Hoover Dam.
⭐ The DLC is extraordinarily worthwhile. Arguably the most effective expansions the Fallout collection has ever seen, and starting from survival horror in Useless Cash to screwball super-science comedy in Previous World Blues. They construct in your private story, filling out the The Courier’s historical past, and are finest performed in launch order (Useless Cash, Trustworthy Hearts, Previous World Blues after which Lonesome Street), ideally when you’re above stage 20. Begin your private side-story once you decide up a radio sign main you to the Sierra Madre on line casino, by way of an deserted Brotherhood Of Metal bunker far off within the east.
That needs to be sufficient to begin you in your wasteland wandering. Exploring and discovering stuff for your self is half the enjoyment of the sport half the enjoyment of an RPG like that is carving your personal path via its world. So off you go, Courier—you’ve acquired deliveries to make. Attempt to keep away from any glowing barrels and preserve some huge iron in your hip.
