NV Hardcore mode advice (spoilers likely)

Belthan · Post by **Belthan** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 4:39 am

First play through of New Vegas in Hardcore mode, and wow, significant difference. Managing food, water & sleep is more realistic, less of a hassle than I thought it might be, and adds a new layer of strategy that's pretty cool. Never thought I'd do a fist pump when finding a cache of Cram & Fancy Lads Snack Cakes :laugh:. HP regeneration implant is actually worth the ridiculous price when stimpaks & sleep don't heal you instantly. When an hour of sleep would cure everything, the difference between raw ingredients and what you could turn them into over a campfire didn't seem to be worth the Survival skill points that could be better spent on combat skills or Lockpicking; now it can be a lifesaver. Biggest downside so far is having to micromanage your companions so they don't get killed.

Anyway, my question for anybody who's played all the way through in Hardcore mode: are there any branches of the main quest line that are significantly easier or harder than the others in Hardcore mode? I've finished the main quest in Normal mode at least once for each of the factions so I have some ideas, but considering how different the game has been just getting to The Strip, I'm a bit concerned that there may be tactical difficulties later on that I haven't anticipated.

Among the things I have anticipated: (Minor spoilers)

Spoiler

since stimpaks don't heal you immediately, destroying the Brotherhood bunker seems like a suicide mission, and stand-up fights against the Legion don't seem much better, so I'm leaning toward helping Yes Man and keeping my reputation with everybody else at least neutral for as long as possible.

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arsiwash · Post by **arsiwash** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 6:47 pm

Hardcore, I did a restart once to try it without Hardcore, and I just started over again.

There is so much food and water in the game, that it is never really any effort to get any. I just got my survival up to 25 just to make Gecko steaks to start me off...

There are only 2 real pains with hardcore, ammo weight and companions dying. But in my opinion your campanions should be able to die.

Even stimpacks not healing quickly is not a major factor. You can generally find a place to hide a bit to heal up with food.

Though I kind of wish that when I cut my finger in real life if I grabbed a candy bar it would heal my finger.:laugh:

Belthan · Post by **Belthan** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 2:15 am

I was already warned about the ammo weight thing, so my first time through hardcore I'm playing a ninja type melee & unarmed specialist. Agree that companions dying is the biggest pain. Especially since I bailed on Perception cause I was planning on getting ED-E. After the first few "ED-E is Dead" messages, I realized I had to be really gentle. Would it be cheesy to just tell it "wait here" in my hotel room, and keep the benefits of the perk without risking its life?

Enwah · Post by **Enwah** » Sat Feb 12, 2011 6:31 pm

Yea, ED-E is a sh!t disturber.
Care to share some campfire recipe's ?
One of my favorites is Desert Salad. (1) Barrel Cactus, (1) Pinyon Nuts, (1) Brahmin Steak 14hp(15sec) and only weighs 0.20lbs

Belthan · Post by **Belthan** » Wed Feb 16, 2011 3:32 am

I'm partial to Bloatfly Sliders, particularly at low level. The survival skill requirement is low (20), the ingredients (bloatfly meat and prickly pear fruit) are fairly easy to come by, and they help both dehydration and starvation.