Scout,

I have played a ridiculous fucking amount of this game. Ridiculously ridiculous, I'm telling you. If I were to list what I'd done no doubt I'd break The Internets. I got to the strip today for the first time. Yes, and I bought the game on launch. Okay, I'm a dawdler compared to most, but still. There is so much on the periphery... I mean, it's just astounding. Or I just play games way too fucking slow. Undecided there.

FNV has forced me to use my caps to purchase supplies more frequently than Fallout 3 did. It keeps me on my toes. Radiation can be a serious threat ... RadAway is freaking gold, if you find that shit: take take take or buy buy buy. It goes without saying then that Rad-X is also very important, you'll just consume less of it.

I haven't used a single Stealth Boy ... I don't know if they're useless in all situations or if I'm just not a stealthy player. Most situations don't beg me to sneak around and break into places. And I'm trying to be smart, when I've been offered break-and-enter type quests I often say "no thanks."

Most oft used skills? Definitely speech ... I use it in almost every other conversation it seems. Barter has never been too important to me, as the caps will flow somehow, whether its loot whoring or gambling. Learn how to play Caravan early on; it seems complicated but its not. Rather than reading the explanation in the in-game note you're given just go look it up on the Fallout Wiki. I've won thousands of caps through Caravan, and it's kind of enjoyable to play too.

Next most useful skills? Not a lot different from Fallout 3 to be honest: you'll want your guns and energy weapons skills very high (at least 75+ by level 15) unless you're going mêlée, which no one ever does on the first go-round. Repair should be decent enough to keep your gear in working order. Science I personally find very useful because you can hack a lot of doors (per usual) and also impress folk with your knowledge and save quite a bit of small time questing.

Skills I haven't touched or left very low: unarmed, mêlée, medicine (though I should spruce it up), barter, explosives (again, like medicine, this is quite useful and it's simply my preference to favour other skills) and survival. Lockpick and Sneak are somewhere in the middle. I suspect if you played on Hardcore mode that the survival and medicine skills would have emphasized importance.

Don't be too quick to get on the bad side of any factions. Now, nothing is ever set in stone, and opinions can be changed, but man I'm telling you I've had some interesting gameplay choices because I've left myself open to all sides ... playing everyone a bit, no real loyalty. The only people who "hate" me are the Powder Gangers, but even they eased up after I freed a couple of them from some Legionaries.

Spike, you're right. I appreciate your reassuring words.  🙂

Scout, once you grab a companion just unload most of your guns onto them and keep the few that you plan to use very regularly. I've got rocket launchers, grenade launchers, sniper rifles, assault carbines, dynamite, you name it; and strangely I'm finding the most powerful gun is one you should find relatively early: the 10mm sub-machine gun. Keep one of those in pristine condition and always on the ready for when you get in a heated battle. They tear everything apart.

Re: Caravan, it's one of those things that is totally alien...until the moment you fully grasp it (which will come) and from then on it's like a card game you've always known. But I'll give you a brief rundown of how I understand it to work, and you should start winning games regularly.

The three piles (or six, counting your opponent's): they appear daunting, but it's understandable enough once you know the winning conditions to the game. And those are as follows: all 3 piles, columns, or caravans-- as they are called in the game-- must have a card value total between 21 and 26 from at least one player. 20 is too low and will not force an end, 27 is high and likewise will not end the game. What you need to do is have at least two piles won of the three. To win a pile, simply have a higher total than your opponent, while being over 20 and under 27; hence 26 is the ideal value to secure a win. It's almost like a more complicated version of Blackjack.

Example endgame:

Caravan One - Scout has 24, Ringo has 25

Caravan Two - Scout has 22, Ringo has 16

Caravan Three - Scout has 21, Ringo has 27

Winner: Scout

The game ended because all three caravans had a card within the endgame range (21-26).

I find the basic strategy is this: make your three lead cards either have a low value (2, 3) or a high value (8, 9, 10). Then work in the opposite direction. The way it works it that you can only move upwards or downwards, although placing a Queen on one of your cards will reverse the direction at that card upon which it is placed. So if you have several Queens dealt out of your deck, it stands that you could start your piles with a middle value and still have success. If you get dealt several 10s and Kings you can win a game very quickly by getting your piles all doubled up to 20, because you can win with almost any card at that point (anything from Ace to 6 would put you in a good spot). Oh Aces, by the way, seem to always be a value of 1. But I may have missed an alternate use for them; I've forgotten that too!

From memory I believe the face cards do the following.

King - doubles the value of the card on which it is placed (i.e. place a King beside a 10, and that 10 is now essentially a 20)

Queen - reverses the direction of the caravan (i.e. you had, in descending order: 8, 7, 5, 4; Queen placed on 4, direction now reverses upwards, so instead of a 3 or 2 being your next play, a 9 or 10 would be, to follow the 8)

Jack - removes the card it is placed beside (self explanatory)

If Jokers are allowed in the game (I can't remember) I don't know what they do, I've not used one.

Hope that helps, Scout (and anyone else playing) and wasn't too garbled.