The Survivor’s Guide to the Wasteland

While almost getting murdered by a giant mutated luminous mole rat did suck, killing Glowie and his family netted me a lot of exp and pushed me to just over level 13. Putting two points into Endurance allowed me to max out that stat. My health rose from 165 to 220, a whopping 25% increase. I put two of my remaining three points into Lifegiver I and II. The two levels of Lifegiver added another 40 points to my H.P. pool and increased me to 260.

Thinking about how many bullets it took me to kill Glowie, I decided to put my remaining point into the second level of Rifleman. Rifleman II gave all my non-automatic rifles a 20% damage boost, so I should need fewer shots to kill an enemy. The bonus of ignoring 15% of armor is also a welcome change. Mirelurks are essentially pure armor, and as much as I hate to think about it, I'll have to fight humans who know how to use protection sooner or later as well. This is what my stats looked like after the new changes.

Pulling my map back up, I made sure the arrow representing me was pointed South-East towards Concord and resumed my journey. Now that I had maxed out Endurance, I had to consider my next step. Should I focus on survival perks as I originally planned, or should I focus more on combat-related abilities? The fight with Glowie proved that having a lot of health doesn't matter if a 300 lb hairless rat nails me to the ground and chews through my neck.

I pulled up the perk chart to weigh my options. The reason behind me wanting Endurance maxed out was so that I could start working on Solar Powered and Ghoulish. Solar Powered required 10 Endurance, and the first tier gave a +2 in Endurance and strength between 6:00 am and 6:00 pm. The second upgrade provides 4 radiation/seconds of healing under sunlight, and the third rank regenerated 0.5% of my health every 20 seconds.

Ghoulish allows me to heal from radiation poisoning but does not cure the damage until the last rank. The first rank gave 50% healing of any radiation damage. So if I got a dose of 10 rad damage, I would receive healing of 5hp. This effect grows by 50% until the 4th level, at which point you gain the ability to heal radiation damage passively. All Radiation damage healed would also be regained as health points.

Both these perks require level 50 to unlock the last tier. There are seven ranks between the two, meaning 7 of my following 37 points have to be dedicated to investing in these two perks. While this is a hard pill, I think it will be worth it. The maxed-out combination of the two perks gives me the superpower of healing entirely from any damage within a day.

I should also prioritize my 20th point towards Lifegiver's final rank, which gives me not only another +20 health but also the same regeneration as Solar Powered's last rank. Sure, the perk doesn't allow healing while in combat but combined with Solar Powered, I can go from the brink of death to tip-top shape in just thirty minutes.

Having decided on the bare minimum survival perks I need by level 50, I started perusing the more combat and quality of life focused perks. The immediate standouts are Nuclear Physicist, Hacker, Locksmith, Action Boy, and V.A.N.S. Hacker and Locksmith are necessary because I need them to access higher-ranked terminals and locks. Action points in this world should be the equivalent of stamina, so maxing out Action Boy will allow me to recover my energy faster.

Last but not least is V.A.N.S. While the description only says it will guide in V.A.T.S. I believe there is a greater purpose for this perk. I still haven't gotten the classic V.A.T.S. system to work yet. I've tried looking for an option in the Pip-Boy, mentally thinking about engaging V.A.T.S.; I even yelled out loud, "V.A.T.S." activate, which was hugely embarrassing when it didn't work. Having tried everything, my only option now is to unlock a V.A.T.S. related skill and see if that allows me to access the ability.

Now that I had a more detailed plan for my foreseeable levels, I mentally commanded the perk chart to go away and refocused on my journey. I enjoyed the peaceful road and monotony until I saw the edge of the remnants of Concord about an hour later.

The city is comprised of dozens of various buildings. The center had most of the taller structures, probably apartments or businesses that could afford the real estate. The surrounding areas then thinned out and mainly comprised individual housing, creating small sections of suburbs. At a glance, it almost seemed like a city that people still lived in, but upon closer inspection, I could see the little details indicating its abandoned status. Cracks in the roads, fallen lamp posts, caved-in roofs, and rampant vegetation was a stark reminder that the world is now mostly deserted.

Just as I was lost in thought about the differences between the pre and post-war world, a gunshot jolted me out of my dazed state. Looking toward the city's center, that single gunshot escalated to constant fire from multiple firearms. Eventually, a loud explosion occurred, and the fighting stopped. The silence was excruciating, but a few seconds later, supersonic cracks could be heard again. Instinctively I wanted to get as far away from the action as possible. Only a crazy person goes looking for a gunfight. 

But what if a raider group ambushed innocent traders? Maybe settlers are fighting off waves of mutants. If I turned away now, I would be sentencing the poor souls to their doom. As long as there is a chance that I can save people, I owe it to them to try. Worst-case scenario, I make a break for it if it's clear my participation wouldn't change the fight's outcome. Having made up my mind, I tightened the grip on my combat rifle and began to sprint toward the city.