I have been delving into the wonderful world of the Fallout series. Fallout 3 was my first experience of the universe a few years after release. I have gone back to it this year and it is still playable. It is even better on PC with its multitude of mods that you can install.
This time however, I was in search of the ultimate Fallout 3 Min/Max Build, so that by the end of level 30 all stats are near or at max. This includes the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats.
Initial Setup
Before we even get to playing the game proper you must advance through the years until you become an adult. Right before you exit the vault you can change your starting attributes so remember to save here and keep the save safe. Especially if you are going to be playing different classes down the road.
If you need help with Fallout New Vegas builds, check out this Cowboy build
First option is what gender do you want to play, either male or female? Stat-wise this makes minor difference to your play-through. Except that one of the perks is tied to gender. Black Widow (female) and Lady Killer (male) allow the player to have extra conversation options when speaking to the opposite gender. As well as dealing 5% increase in damage to the opposite gender. There are far more males in the game than there are females so it would be ideal to choose playing a female character.
S.P.E.C.I.A.L.
There is a unique perk that when used sets all your S.P.E.C.I.A.L. attributes to 9 on activation. However, to max skill your character you need to make your Intelligence attribute 9. This will enable you to get 19 skill points per level up. Once you start playing, you should aim to get the Intelligence Bobblehead as early as possible. There are 13 skills, which can be increased to 100 each. This means:
13 x Skills x 100 = 1,300 Skill Points
So, if you were able to get the intelligence bobblehead before you make it to level 2, you would end up with the below:
20 x 29 = 580 Skills
Fortunately, even though we need 1,300 skill points to maximise the build, you are automatically given base skill points. The minimum amount of skill points is 5 points per skill, which reduces the total skill requirement by 65 points. However, this base value is only possible if you have a luck skill of 1 and the relevant S.P.E.C.I.A.L attribute at 1.
| Attributes | Value |
| Strength | 5 |
| Perception | 6 |
| Endurance | 5 |
| Charisma | 3 |
| Intelligence | 9 |
| Agility | 6 |
| Luck | 6 |
Perks
For this Min/Max build there is only one mandatory perk which is Almost Perfect. Which increases all your S.P.E.C.I.A.L attributes up to 9. Any attributes with 10 points (such as intelligence) remain at 10. The only requirement for this Perk is to Level up to Level 30. Here are my preferred Perks to take and at which levels.
| Level | Perk Name | Effect | Requirements |
| 2 | Lady Killer/ Black Widow | Bonus dialogue with the opposite gender 10% damage increase to the opposite gender | Lady Killer: Male character. Black Widow: Female Character. |
| 3 | Swift Learner | Extra 10% XP when earned. | Intelligence 4 |
| 4 | Educated | + 3 Skill points every level. | Intelligence 4 |
| 5 | Comprehension | 1 extra skill point when a book is read | Intelligence 4 |
| 6 | Toughness | + 10% Damage resistance | Endurance 5 |
| 7 | Entomologist | + 50% Damage to Insects | Intelligence 4 Science 40 |
| 8 | Strong Back | + 50 Carry Weight | Strength 5 Endurance 5 |
| 9 | Rad Resistance | + 25% Permanent Rad Resistance | Endurance 5 |
| 10 | Nerd Rage | + 50% Damage resistance, and strength increased to 10 when health is <= 20% | Intelligence 5 Science 50 |
| 11 | Finesse | + 5% Critical Hit Chance | |
| 12 | Robotics Expert | + 25% damage to robots, and can shut them down by sneaking up on them. | Science 50 |
| 13 | Silent Running | + 10 points to sneak, running and armor weight no longer affect sneaking. | Agility 6 Sneak 50 |
| 14 | Cyborg | + 10% rad, poison, and damage resistance. + 10 to energy weapons. | Medicine 60 Science 60 |
| 15 | Light Step | Floor traps and mines will no longer be set off. | Perception 6 Agility 6 |
| 16 | Better Criticals | + 50% damage with critical hits | Perception 6 Luck 6 |
| 17 | Action Boy/ Girl | + 25 Action Points | Agility 6 |
| 18 | Concentrated Fire | + 5% accuracy for every VATS attack queues. | Energy Weapons 60 Small Guns 60 |
| 19 | Paralyzing Palms | 30% chance to paralyze an enemy for 30 seconds when using an unarmed attack in VATS | Unarmed 70 |
| 20 | Ninja | + 15% critical chance with melee and unarmed weapons, +25% damage with sneak attack criticals | Melee Weapons 80 Sneak 80 |
| 21 | Grim Reaper’s Sprint | A kill in VATS restores all AP | |
| 22 | Deep Sleep | Receive a well rested bonus sleeping any bed for up to 8 hours. | |
| 23 | Optional | ||
| 24 | Optional | ||
| 25 | Optional | ||
| 26 | Rad Tolerance | Minor rad poisoning has no effect. | Endurance 7 |
| 27 | Optional | ||
| 28 | Rad Absorption | -1 Rad every 20 seconds | Endurance 7 |
| 29 | Optional | ||
| 30 | Almost Perfect | All S.P.E.C.I.A.L attributes under 9 points are raised to 9. |
Skills
When choosing your Tagged skills, make sure to choose at least one weapon-based skill and either science or lockpicking, speech would be very helpful. Especially when trying to complete speech checks.
Check out this Wiki for more detailed information on skills etc.
By level 7 make sure that your Science skill is 40, then 50 before you reach level 10. At level 12/13 make sure to have Sneak skill at 50. Level 14 increase Medicine to 60 and Science to 60. Level 18 you should have Small Weapons and Energy Weapons at 60. By level 19 unarmed at 70 skills. By level 20 have Melee Weapons 80 and Sneak 80. Then use the rest of the remaining levels to get to 100 in each skill.
Playstyle
You can play this character any way you want. There are plenty of Optional Perks that you can take to refine and create the character of your dreams. However, you must get to Rivet City as soon as possible to get the Intelligence Bobblehead. Then only getting the S.P.E.C.A.L Bobbleheads when you have got the Almost Perfect perk.
Conclusion
Enjoy your new powerhouse of a character and explore the Capital Wasteland. Knowing that each and every encounter you will be more than a match.
