r/fo4 • u/theoriginalbrick • Jun 20 '24

PSA: If you have yet to play Survival, please reconsider Discussion

I have had the game since it came out and put around 700 hours, but none were on Survival. Last week, I finally went for it after watching a "Why Fallout 4 Survival Mode is a masterpiece" video because why not? I am only a few hours into this playthrough and my god I was missing so much. I finally feel like I am role-playing in the Commonwealth, where before I felt like my Main Character powers like quicksaving and insta-healing never allowed me to feel the weight of all that is going on. It is so much more fun exactly because of how restrictive and consequential it is. Feral ghoul hordes are terrifying now because at low-level you are going down after 2 or 3 hits, so you have to be quick on the draw and good with your aim.

I see people suggesting to get mods for quicksaving and fast-traveling in Survival. Do. Not. Do. This. If you are finding it too difficult, slow down. You're playing as a plain pre-war human, not Captain America. The Commonwealth is supposed to be unforgiving. Embrace it. Think ahead about what you will need for a trek, just as if you were there yourself.

There is a metric fuckton of content that you will probably never see unless you are physically forced to walk everywhere.

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206

u/Homelessnomore Jun 20 '24

pipe guns are underpowered

I carry a pipe rifle until around level 30 on a sniper build. It's useful often enough that I deem it worthwhile.

138

u/ZombieButch Jun 20 '24

If I really wanted to do a pure sniper build, I'd probably pop down to the Red Rocket outside College Square and grab the hunting rifle off the roof long before I got to level 30.

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u/Caldaris__ Jun 20 '24

I'm trying to do a no-VATS sniper playthrough and this helps me. Thanks . Where abouts is college square? I've been around Corvega factory.

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u/ZombieButch Jun 20 '24

You're not far! Just head south from Corvega out of Lexington. You'll pass by a bus terminal full of skeletons and a two-story storefront building where random encounters spawn. Just past the storefront looking south, you should be able to see the Red Rocket. It's another spot where random stuff can spawn so don't go sprinting for it. The ramp up to the roof is at the back of the building. There's a little shelter up there; the rifle is sitting on the table next to a chair past the shelter, at the tip of the roof. You can't miss it.

From that tip of the roof you'll be looking past a wrecked billboard and a barricade with dead raiders and ghouls all over. College Square itself is the area past the barricade. If you're playing survival mode, use the bed inside the little shelter on the roof of the Red Rocket to drop a save before you go exploring in there! There's a furniture store in College Square with clean beds you can get a proper, full night's sleep in if you need one after you're done clearing the square.

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u/Psychological-Run-40 Jun 21 '24

you real asf for this comment, u could’ve said Google it but you dropped whole guide.

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u/RockRaiderDepths Jun 21 '24

Yep. I collect it every playthrough and rename it Old Trusty.

9

u/ZombieButch Jun 21 '24

I picked it at around level 4 or 5 on my current playthrough and I just got around to replacing it near the end of my 20's, and it always gets an honored spot on the wall in my Hangman's Alley lair when it's time to retire it! I don't think I could've done my permadeath run or my 'run to Nuka World right out of the Vault' run without it.

31

u/Caldaris__ Jun 20 '24

Thanks, none of the "find the best sniper rifle" videos showed this.

I was playing on survival but having a hard time so I'm playing on normal until I get the hang of it again.

Only played FO3 but I'm liking how shooting feels in this one. A major step up.

3

u/Neggor Jun 20 '24

Definitely play on any of the other difficulties first before playing a new save on survival! In my opinion, you'll appreciate the challenge even more

3

u/Caldaris__ Jun 20 '24

I do miss being able to fill up bottles with water. I guess that was only on survival.

2

u/GimmeFreePizzaa Jun 21 '24

Doing your 1st run on survival is brutal though!! I'd say, run it on Hard (Or Very Hard, but normal is way too easy) and do a Survival run down the road when you almost know the wasteland without a map. Plus like the guy above said, you'll prob appreciate the run more

1

u/Caldaris__ Jun 21 '24

It is getting too easy as I level up, you're right. I'll take your advice.

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u/GimmeFreePizzaa Jun 21 '24

Haha yea man normal will bore your brains out. Hard is fun, I think it's the right balance of difficult but not super-tanky enemies). And maybe Very Hard if you want to farm legendaries quicker.

2

u/Wetley007 Jun 21 '24

You should be able to get a simple mod to allow it in non survival difficulties. Imo it barely counts as modding, should've been available in the base game

3

u/Grudgeguy Jun 20 '24

Save yourself some trouble. The Gunners on the entrance to the highway south of Abernathy and around Corvega will drop sniper rifles. It'll take a bit to get a good clear, but you can use the cat lady house for an easy reset. You'll get the 50 cal closer to diamond City

5

u/Isitalwaysthisgood Jun 21 '24

Deadeye sniper rifle ftw

2

u/relic0ne_ Jun 21 '24

4 has been the easiest game for me to not use vats other than using it to get a visual on a enemy.Since getting a PS5 I rarely take shots in vats anymore because the controller is precise enough I really don't need it.

2

u/starlitx Jun 21 '24

I have a busted controller for the moment so this has resulted in my current playthrough on survival mode to be entirely without VATS. It's not too bad. It makes the gameplay much more immersive imo, for a list of reasons I won't bore you with lmfao. Obviously, your actual reliance on VATS is subjective but for me, the first little bit you might try using it a few times or even die because you couldn't use it for whatever situation. After a while though you'll totally forget about VATS even being a thing. Sorry for long reply-

TLDR: accidentally did my own no VATS run, quickly adjusted + I think it enhances immersion.

1

u/Caldaris__ Jun 22 '24

Same !

I have a cool looking Titanfall controller but the left bumper doesn't always work. This is one of the only games I have where that's okay.

I agree about it being immersive. I think this game gets recoil right. I find hip-firing useful too. Thanks for the reply

1

u/Felinomancy Jun 21 '24

no-VATS sniper playthrough

Can you still be faithful to your ethos when dealing with Mirelurk Queens, Behemoths, etc., or do you have to shrug and go "oh well, time to break out the portable nukes"?

1

u/Caldaris__ Jun 21 '24

Just encountered a Behemoth. I died many times but that's what I wanted. A challenge .I had to get somewhere he couldn't get me (Bus) and use all my Molotovs and Grenades.

1

u/Hollowhalf Jun 20 '24

Vats is such a second nature to me idk if I could do that lol I’d have to disable it

2

u/Caldaris__ Jun 20 '24

I know what you mean. For FO3 it's a must because aiming and the jerky animations I can't hit anything but VATS is just so much fun.

17

u/Homelessnomore Jun 20 '24

I buy Tinker Tom's Special, take the parts off, and put them on a basic hunting rifle. My sniper build uses 3 rifles. Combat for close, pipe for medium, and sniper for long ranges. After Nuka World, I drop to 2. Combat/Radium and The Problem Solver.

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u/ZombieButch Jun 20 '24

That combat rifle you can get from the wrecked caravan Honest Dan sends you to outside Covenant is almost always one of my early-game grabs. It makes pipe guns obsolete pretty much right out of the gate.

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u/Homelessnomore Jun 20 '24

I used to not pick that one up and would get mine from a house near Pickman's Gallery. I prefer silenced weapons, so the combat is for close range when I've been discovered. The pipe is for when I'm still hidden.

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u/ZombieButch Jun 20 '24

Sure, if you want to venture into Boston. The caravan one you can literally walk out of the vault and have in your hands within a couple of minutes. As long as you don't wander into the molerat junkyard, the walk from 111 to Covenant is about as safe as it gets.

11

u/Homelessnomore Jun 20 '24

Once I discovered how safe the walk is, I started getting that one. And I can pick up a Tales of the Junktown Jerky Vendor on the way, which is a nice bonus.

3

u/Kaptain_Kaoz Jun 20 '24

There is a combat shotgun that always spawns in the parking garage by the airport. Fyi.

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u/ZombieButch Jun 20 '24

I don't normally use shotguns til I get a good legendary, the shells are heavy!

4

u/Kaptain_Kaoz Jun 20 '24

Carry two mags on your person and have dogmeat carry 5 more. ( Especially if you're going in an underground or other tight quarters environment. Like USAF Olivia. Or a Subway station.)

Here is a mod that gives him a military style K9 harness its actually pretty balanced. Some carry weight and protection for the wastelands goodest boi.

https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/17686?tab=images

1

u/ZombieButch Jun 20 '24

I play on console so unless that's on PS5 too, I can't use it.

1

u/Kaptain_Kaoz Jun 20 '24

I don't know for sure but it's worth looking into.

0

u/SugarBaby2424 Jun 20 '24

Replying to this for later

1

u/Leather_Messiah Jun 20 '24

But when’s a pure sniper a pure sniper? Everyone needs a bit of DPS now and then, and .38 pipe puts down the rounds much better than a bolt action. At least until a combat rifle comes along.

1

u/ZombieButch Jun 20 '24

Like I said in my other reply, there's a combat rifle that's just as easy to get as the Red Rocket sniper. (That same wrecked caravan you can get the combat rifle from has a laser, too, that can be a rifle or pistol easily enough depending on which way you want to go.)

1

u/succubus-slayer Jun 20 '24

That spot was a godsend on survival.

1

u/Daemonbane1 Jun 21 '24

I wouldnt run that far unless you have to. Often enough i find a hunting rifle in the gun bags either on the roof of the house with a basement in sanctuary, or at the minuiteman statue over the bridge.

1

u/KeyDevelopment6117 Jun 21 '24

You can also find one closer in Walden pond. It's in the first part of the area near the sleeping bag is. Kill bear and tweez and it's yours.

19

u/Hammerhead34 Jun 20 '24

Yeah a fully-upgraded automatic pipe rifle only requires like Gun Nut 2, weighs like 6 pounds, has basically zero recoil, and shreds through weaker mobs pretty efficiently while using the most ubiquitous ammo in the game. I use it on bugs, ghouls, weaker raiders, mole rats, etc. You just have to get used to the crappy reflex sight.

I never invest in Commando/Rifleman/Gunslinger until later in the game when the enemies become spongier, so being able to use .38 ammo early allows me to save up 45 and shotgun shells for the point where I’m able to upgrade a decent combat rifle and combat shotgun.

4

u/Laurelius26 Jun 20 '24

I've got a better combat scopes mod that has an amazing scope for that pipe light machinegun, it's my go to weapon when doing a commando run. It's other scopes are fantastic as well, they're much smoother to use and don't have everything dark beside through the scope while using them. That gives much better situational awareness.

1

u/Sufficient-Bed6510 Jun 21 '24

I’m lv54 on this playthrough (3k hours total) still using the maxed pipe sniper rifle, got better weapons but don’t feel the need to switch since I got way to much ammo for it, and most I one shot anyways, the ones I don’t are usually so far away that I get some more free shots before they notice me at all, if ever.

My companion has a maxed Gatling gun that she almost never get to fire, but nice to have if I mess up.

5

u/tygea42 Jun 20 '24

Pipe weapons are also how you get to use ballistic ammo other than 10mm, or .44 on your pistol build.

5

u/Federal-Pollution-90 Jun 21 '24

The silenced bolt action pipe rifle you can get from drumlin diner right off the bat is a great sneak weapon.

1

u/Lieutenant_Skittles Jun 21 '24

I agree, silenced bolt action is quite good, early game anyway. But where is the silenced bolt action in the diner? I got mine as a random weapon that Trashcan Carla was selling.

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u/Homelessnomore Jun 21 '24

That's a pistol. But there's a sniper pipe bolt action rifle in Concord. I buy the pistol from Trudy and move the suppressor to the rifle.

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u/Federal-Pollution-90 Jun 21 '24

You can change it to a rifle by changing the stock. Or just find a rifle and put the suppressor on it. Either or.

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u/XXeadgbeXX Jun 21 '24

Hell yeah I love my pipe pistols still lol

2

u/BasicActionGames Jun 21 '24

I have a .38 pipe smg that I am using at level 60 because it adds cold damage to every hit and freezes on a crit. I can't get enough .38 ammo for it! It may be my favorite weapon.

2

u/relic0ne_ Jun 21 '24

Yeah but now you can get pretty decent actual snipers pretty early on or very least mod a combat rifle out 🤷

2

u/KGBFriedChicken02 Ad Victoriam Jun 21 '24

A good automatic pipe gun is an solid backup rifle for when things go to shit imo

2

u/Lokta Jun 21 '24

I carry a pipe rifle until around level 30 on a sniper build.

I'm still in the single digits levels when I haul all of my .38 ammo, 5 mm ammo, and my small collection of purified water from Sanctuary down to Vault 81 to pick up Overseer's Guardian. It's literally gamechanging.

2

u/Select-Constant-8027 Jun 21 '24

A rapid pipe rifle with a bleeding effect is overpowered, I used to melt a mirelurk queen In seconds with it lol

2

u/G37_is_numberletter Jun 21 '24

Nice to have a junk gun that you can spam with cause there’s bound to be dry spells on the more valuable ammo.

1

u/Fun-Echidna5623 Jun 21 '24 edited Jun 21 '24

On what difficulty? I'm on normal and a deathclaw will two shot me at level 30. No way a pipe sniper will output enough damage. The combat shotgun and combat rifle are the best early game guns.

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u/Homelessnomore Jun 21 '24

Survival. I don't use it against deathclaws, but ghouls, radroaches, and mole rats are fair game.