Fallout 2/Tactics

This is the section that gives information about general combat tactics.

Armor
Consider combat armor, which has a damage threshold of 8 hit points and a damage resistance of 60% against laser attacks. (8 hp/60%)

The way armor works is like this: if you are wearing combat armor and somebody hits you with a laser rifle, you will receive x amount less. Say that if you're wearing the Vault 13 jumper, which has no protection whatsoever, and the enemy uses the laser rifle and hits you for 42 hit points of damage.

Take the same situation with combat armor on. The armor will naturally deflect 8 hit points of damage because of the damage threshold. Now only 34 hit points remain. The armor can resist 60% of that damage. Multiplying 34 by 60% will give you 20.4, and rounding that down will give you 20. Subtract this 20 from the 34 points that got past the damage threshold and you get 14. So you'll only take 14 hit points of damage with the armor instead of 42.

Ammo
The type of ammunition used will change the amount of damage dealt to the target. JHP is always the superior choice, followed by FMJ. Forget AP ammo. AP is, in the first place, more expensive, and although it does penetrate a bit more than JHP ammo, it deals very little damage. It's useless against anything - JHP is always superior. Shotgun Shells deal good damage regardless of the target used, and FMJ is like 'neutral' ammo - it works okay on both armored and non-armored targets. It doesn't suffer nearly the damage penalty of AP ammo, but it penetrates far better than JHP. 7.62mm and .45 caliber ammo are effective only on lightly armored targets. Caseless ammo is generally pretty good in penetration but quality degrades as the armor is stronger; the EC ammo used in Gauss weapons has excellent penetration. Generally speaking, even the strongest "normal" weapons deal little damage to heavily armored targets, with the notable exceptions being the Bozar and guns that run on either caseless or EC ammo.

As for energy weapons, their real effectiveness depends on the type of weapon used. For instance, laser weapons aren't as effective as plasma weapons on armored targets. Plasma is good against anything except for Tesla armor. The pulse weapons use a different technology and are very effective against every type of armor - in the game engine, I think no type of armor can effectively block this type of attack.

In addition, for burst weapons, armor modifiers are added to each bullet. I.e, if you use the burst mode on an SMG to fire 10 rounds, the armor will absorb damage from each bullet and then will add up the unabsorbed damage to give the total damage dealt, as opposed to the total damage being calculated and then being reduced.

General Tactics

 * You can cripple your foe at five points if you score a critical while aiming at their legs, arms, or eyes. If you cripple your foe's legs, he or she will have a hard time walking around. If you cripple one of the enemy's arms, then he or she won't be able to use two-handed weapons (and of course, if you cripple both of them, then the enemy will have to resort to unarmed attacks). If you cripple your opponent's eyes, then he or she will suffer from reduced Perception levels.
 * Aiming for the eyes usually gives a high critical chance and does gobs of damage. Also, on male NPCs, hitting them in the groin makes them fall down.
 * Always use the right weapon for the job. For lightly armored targets, you should attack unarmed or with a melee weapon that doesn't consume ammo. For "regular" targets (i.e., most humans and super mutants) use regular shots, and use targeted and/or burst shots if possible and if effective. For armored humans and critters, use powerful weapons that have good penetration (like the PPK12/M72, G11(e), Vindicator, Plasma Rifles, and the YK42B ).
 * Also use the right ammo for the job as well. AP ammo might seem to be better than JHP ammo while hitting armored targets, but the game engine always gives lots of negative modifiers to damage with AP ammo. AP ammo penetrates better than JHP ammo, but always use JHP. It's the best type. FMJ isn't that bad either. The only exceptions to the rule seem to be AP and Explosive rockets, which to me seem to deal about the same amount of damage.

Burst Weapon Tactics
X (you) |    / \    / | \   / ||| \  / ||||| \ / ||||||| \ Area of effect
 * You can give your shots "up close and personal." This works well for most targets. With regular-strength burst weapons, like the M3A1 or MP9, you should get about 60-70 hit points of damage, while the G11(e), you should get about 150 plus hit points of damage.
 * Burst shots have a wide area of effect. If an ally is in the middle, you might want to not do a burst shot. Here is an example of the "burst cone:"
 * This is why giving the shots "up close and personal" deals gobs of damage. The shots saturate the target with bullets, dealing an immense amount of damage. If you attack multiple characters at range with a burst shot, then both will get hit.
 * If the target is heavily armored, don't use burst shots. You will see this happen to you when you get Power Armor and the Enclave guards are showering you with bullets from Gatling Lasers, Avenger Miniguns, and Vindicators.

Sniper Tactics

 * The Hunting Rifle is a sniping weapon that you'll encounter early on. It's not terribly bad in the beginning but it will be easily outgunned by other weapons. The FN-FAL with night sight as well as the Assault Rifle (extended magazine) make for decent midrange weapons. The Sniper Rifle, however, is an excellent sniping weapon - long-range coupled with extremely good accuracy. At the endgame, the M72 is an absolute bastard.
 * When you go to Sierra Army Depot, get the Sniper Rifle from there. It's in one of the corpses. And in the Enclave, get the M72.


 * You can use the burst Shotguns for short-distance sniping, such as fighting unarmed or melee-weapon using mutants or humans. It is the best weapon for mid-armored targets, and is excellent for short range control. It works well in conjunction with Power Armor and is effective against many critters.
 * A Pancor Jackhammer, Combat Shotgun, or H&K CAWS work pretty nicely and deal good damage with targeted shots.


 * If you have a high energy weapons skill, get a Plasma Rifle. No armor can withstand Plasma damage well. I got 132 hp on an eye shot on a Deathclaw once. The Turbo Plasma Rifle only costs 4 AP for a single shot!
 * Even better, get a Pulse Rifle. This type of attack is literally unstoppable and deals about 70 damage to, yes, Armored Enclave troopers! Just imagine how it would be with targeted shots!


 * If you have good guns skill, then go for aimed shots if possible. You'll deal more damage from the shot.
 * If you use long-range weapons, you'll get a negative modifier if you are attacking critters at really close range. This is an issue with the Fallout combat engine.

Melee Tactics

 * If you have a sledgehammer, use the weapon against unarmed critters. Aim for the legs. After they have been crippled, you can score aimed shots to the head and eyes easily. Rippers work just as well.
 * A Super Sledgehammer in conjunction with Power Armor can literally kill anything (before the Enclave, though). Aimed shots will routinely deal about 60 hit points to humans and super mutants; to the armored aliens it will deal about 35 or so.

NPC Tactics / General Info

 * Give NPC's the right weapon as well as good armor. Also, do not let them have the best weapons (unless you're deficient in any skills) - e.g. keep the M72 for yourself and give shotguns to Vic and Cassidy.
 * Be careful about letting NPCs burst. Sometimes their shots can hurt you as well.
 * At the endgame, NPCs are really not required and are not recommended to have (they pose problems at Navarro as well as the Enclave). Also, some NPCs (like Marcus, Skynet, Goris, the dogs) cannot wear armor and thus are susceptible to major damage in the endgame.
 * If you are going to Navarro and Enclave (and are going to walk around the base), you must give your NPC some form of Power Armor. Here is a laydown of where you can get Power Armor (4 sets!):
 * You:    Advanced Power Armor at Navarro
 * Sulik:  Power Armor at Military Base
 * Vic:    Power Armor at the Brotherhood bunker in San Francisco
 * Cassidy: Power Armor at Flying Dragon 8 (absurdly expensive)
 * If you have NPC's during the endgame, Sulik, Vic, and Cassidy should be in your party. Give Vic and Cassidy hardened versions of Power Armor and let Sulik have your old suit of Advanced Power Armor once you find the Advanced Power Armor MK-II variant. Also, be sure to give Sulik the G11e SMG and give Vic and Cassidy M72 rifles.