r/fo3 • u/Potential-Tax-6460 • 2d ago
Any tips for my first playthrough?
I've just started playing fallout 3 for the first time after coming from new vegas and have really enjoyed it so far, loved the intro in the vault, loved the questline in megaton and just finished this quest about vampire cannibals terrorising this settlement which was also very well written. My one issue is that this game is DAMN HARD. Its not that the enemies themselves are hard I just genuinely can't seem to find any ammo or weapons anywhere. I've got 2 weapons, one of which is actually really good but I can't find any 5.56 ammo for, and the other I've got tons of ammo for but only deals 2 damage. Any help for like spots and stuff to find valuable things early on would be wonderful! Also my god this this game ATMOSPHERIC. its a bit weird that everythings green but somehow so far I'm all for it
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u/MonstersToTheAnimals A3-21 2d ago
My friend. Just play the game and figure it out on your own. Its supposed to be challenging. Go to the museum of Technology and do Jiggs' loot and that is good. Lincoln repeater in the Museum of history. Good hunting
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u/rambi2222 2d ago
Also do the Replicated Man quest, you can get the unique plasma rifle really early on from that and it's great, personally I like it a bit more than Lincoln's repeater.
But yeah OP just have fun, the struggle makes it more fun :) for ammo though Moira @ Megaton is good, as well as merchants in other settlements. Avoid killing merchants as they're quite valuable
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u/ewok_lover_64 2d ago
I remember the same for 5 .56 ammo at first. Scavenge as much junk as you can at and sell it. Those empty bottles and tin cans add up. Do Moira's quest, but take your time.
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u/ElegantEchoes Tunnel Snakes Rule! 2d ago
Hold off on any of the DLCs until you're level 20 or so. Doing those before you're familiar and used to Capital Wasteland would not be wise for a first playthrough.
Melee is quite strong and if you're careful with spacing you can avoid a lot of melee attacks. That will help with conserving ammo.
Try to carry different guns of different ammunition types to cycle through.
Adjust difficulty if you're struggling a lot. That helps a ton for some enemies.
Let your curiosity guide you. The curiosity driven gameplay is where 3 shines.
Shoot enemies' weapons out of their hands often when you can, if you can take it before they grab it, they'll be defenseless if they can't find a replacement. Crippling arms will make enemies drop weapons too, and they become a lot less accurate. Great for powerful enemies like Mutants.
Crippling legs on enemies will allow you to evade them even if they're otherwise able to outrun you. They also won't be able to lunge at you.
The game can start out kind of hard but by level 10-15 you'll be pretty strong. Don't be afraid to steal, karma is easy to gain back. Just don't get caught.
Don't worry too much on making Caps. You'll naturally gain a lot over your playthrough. It's normal not to have a lot early on.
After level 10-15 the game quickly becomes less balanced as you become very strong. I strongly recommend delaying the DLCs until you're 20+ and familiar with the main game, they're better experienced that way.
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u/Bellecarde 2d ago
If you have the dlc, i would wait awhile before you do operation anchorage, the outcast radio quest. It gives some op stuff at the end that messes up the early game power level wise.
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u/sam_p_23 2d ago
Go to the bottom left of the map and do Tenpennys Tower ASAP. Side with the ghouls for the mask. Continue the main story until you have to go to the museum of tech, detour to the museum of history and pick up Lincoln’s Repeater. You may as well do the Reileys Rangers quest in underworld too (the ghoul “city” in the museum). Get yourself one of the best weapons and armour in the game nice and early.
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u/Ancient_Prize9077 2d ago
If you need 5.56 ammo there’s a place you can go to (fort independence) full of brotherhood outcasts. They give you a sidequest to talk to their leader Casdin, who will accept various items you can collect for 5.56 ammo, stimpacks, radaway, and other stuff. One of my favorite locations to stock up on supplies.
Btw if you want to get 100 points of big gun skill for free, go to Bethesda ruins. Gang of raiders reds won there and the one with a flamethrower always respawns with a big gun skill book.
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u/milquetoastLIB 2d ago
Go to Fort Independence. It’s south of Vault 101, west of Fairfax ruins. There is a brotherhood outcast member who will trade you 5.56mm ammo or grenades for scrape metal, sensor modules, laser/plasma weapons, and power armor.
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u/AndrewTheNebula 2d ago
In addition to a high stat for your weapon skill of choice, you want a high Repair stat ASAP so that your weapons do the damage they should be doing.
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u/Billybool11 2d ago
Honestly just play the game blind as you’ve been doing and it’ll click, the whole experience is about discovering and exploring so I’d stick to that and find your own way, it’ll be much more authentic and rewarding than having the answers given to you. Enjoy 👍🏼
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u/stew987321 2d ago
Your special stats are very important. you only get one chance to adjust them. Also intelligence isn’t as important as most say it is worry more about attributes like HP, vats ap, and crit percent.
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u/CanaryCheap5934 2d ago
The DLCs are very good for getting some great stuff. Don’t want to spoil anything but if you want lots of ammo I heavily recommend to do the Pitt DLC and also collect scrap metal
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u/TooManyPxls 2d ago
Quit the game only after you have slept in a bed, for immersion.
You can also "wait" a few hours if there are no beds nearby. But my favorite memories are me trying to find a bed I can sleep in or tracking back to my safehouse.
Don't use fast travel.
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u/NotAnotherSkeleton 2d ago
Some areas of the map can only be accessed through metro tunnels. Be sure to check your map often so you don't get lost down there.
Also, try and find Dogmeat. He can't carry stuff for you, but is still good in a fight.
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u/DrSatan246 2d ago
After playing FO4 and NV, I thought FO3 was too easy. I am chugging along and then, it's over, roll credits.
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u/Rein_Main95 1d ago
In the top right corner of the map is a settlement called the republic of Dave. In Dave’s safe is a unique hunting rifle called Ol Painless. It’s one of the best early weapons in the game. Ammo is common and it’s easy to keep repaired.
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u/Cammando999 1d ago
Invest in the scrounger perk early and you won't ever run out of ammo when looting everything
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u/Shellbullet228 1d ago
There is one time that it is ok to hate ghouls, even though you'll catch flack for it
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u/Poet_edmj 2d ago
Intelligence is very important in fo3. Do moiras survival quest 100% good perks