8 –Â Stick Close to Home
The further you go from Vault 111, the tougher the enemies get. Personally, I didn’t even head to Diamond City right away on my Survival playthrough because of all the raiders, super mutants, and ghouls that will get in your way. Up until about level 10, limiting myself to staying northwest of Corvega really helped keep me alive and prepare me for the dangers of the south. Fallout 4’s map isn’t enormous, but it’s jam-packed with dungeons and quests so you should have no problem just wandering around and gaining a few levels before moving on.
9 – There are More Perks than Just the Perk Chart
While much of the perk chart is level or stat-locked, magazines and bobbleheads aren’t. If this isn’t your first playthrough, you’ll likely know of a few spots you can race to for some quick and easy bonus perks. If it is your first playthrough and you don’t want any spoilers, then just make sure everywhere you go, you search from top to bottom for these collectibles. While some might be useless like Grognak comics for non-melee characters, many offer perks that are useful for any type of wastelander. You may also be going with Lone Wanderer and that’s fine, but you should consider spending some time with companions like Piper or Deacon. Once they admire you, each companion gives you a unique perk as well. Don’t underestimate just how valuable these can be.
10 –Â Know Which Limbs to Shoot
Combat has improved significantly with this iteration of Fallout, and it’s no longer just a race to crippled heads and arms. Don’t underestimate how helpful it can be to cripple the legs of a Glowing One when he’s charging you! If you’re fighting power armour, try to take some jet and run behind them to shoot the fusion core. Minigun-wielding raider melting your health bar? Cripple his right arm. Headshots are always useful but, especially early on when you don’t have a lot of bonus to-hit chance in VATS, crippling legs and arms can be much more practical. Whenever I encountered an enemy I was having trouble with, the best solution if they were within reach nine times out of ten was to just cripple their legs and throw molotovs every few seconds when the flames die down. Threat eliminated.
