Fallout Character Building » Discussions


Event Build: The Pack Alpha (FO4)

Tags: #Motty Build  #Fallout 4 Build  #Character Build Commando  #Character Build Grenadier  #Event:Secret Origins 
  • Member
    May 7, 2017

    I’ve tried 3 times to build a commando style character. I never quite felt like I had something unique to say. Until now. My entry into the Secret Origins Event plays with the much-maligned Endurance stat and takes on significant roleplay courtesy of The Pack from Nuka World DLC (as such, it shouldn’t be attempted without it). She’s highly charismatic, controlling animals at will and can sprint across the Wasteland almost endlessly. Read on for the ultimate run-n-gun commando pack alpha prankster!

    Backstory

    I’ve taken some inspiration from the character called “The Savage” out of Aldous Huxley’s dystopian masterpiece “A Brave New World.” For the unfamiliar, John the Savage is the only person in this brave new world to be born from a human mother, as opposed to being cultured in a factory. He also lives on a reservation, away from modern society. With that as a backdrop…

    The Institute’s scientists knew they would need one special specimen for their vault experiments. The post-apocalyptic world would no doubt be run by the best and brightest minds in science…how else would mankind possibly survive? But for a group bent on testing all variables, one question remained: how would a savage respond to this brave new institutional world?

    Vault-tec’s Cryogenic Vault 111 provided the perfect opportunity to test their hypothesis. Once it was obvious that harvesting Shaun’s un-spoiled DNA was a success, Nora became just another experiment. She was re-programmed using the Institute’s experimental dream sequencing protocol, a superior version of the technology found in Dr. Amari’s lab.

    They harvested DNA from a "Vicious Alpha Mongrel" dog captured by their top-side merc, Kellogg. Using gene sequencing, they isolated the traits needed for the study, and then got to work encrypting the data into the dream machine connected to Nora's cryo chamber. 

    They wanted to see what would happen when a true savage was released into the Wasteland. The Project was dubbed, The Pack Alpha. The variables the scientists were most interested in studying were those found in primal nature. As such, she was given instincts similar to those observed in dogs and wolves. Dominance, Endurance, Aggressive forms of Play, and necessary survival skill boosts in combat and charisma were all neuro-programmed for observation upon release.

    All that was left was to do was see how she would respond.

    Manipulate and Observe…

    SPECIAL

    Start: S -2 P – 4 E – 5 C – 7 I – 1 A – 6 L – 3

    End: S -3 P – 5 E – 6 C – 10 I – 1 A – 7 L – 3

    Special notes: Special Book in CHR, Bobbleheads in STR, PER, END, AGI, Investment and Bobblehead in CHR. 

    Perks:

    Commando – Automatic rifles are the focus of this build

    Demolition Expert – lobbing explosives, planting mines and double dipping damage early with Spray-n-Pray

    Lone Wanderer – The leader of the pack has only dog followers, thus utilizing the glitch

    Attack Dog – Under-rated perk, dogmeat gets quite a nice boost when you fully invest.

    Inspirational – Paired with attack dog, Dogmeat can hold foes while you blow them up without hurting him

    Animal Friend / Wasteland Whisperer / Intimidation – Roleplay, as the pack tames their beasts, this also allows you to build beta-wave tuners in settlements to keep animals as pets.

    Bloody Mess – just one rank makes the blood feel right

    Action Girl – Keeping the AP fresh for long haul sprints and lone-wolf hunting runs

    Moving Target – Ranks 3 lessens the AP drain on sprinting and keeps with the run-n-gun vibe rolling.

    Armorer* – Ballistic weave in the Corset (mod required), (*Optional)

    Black Widow – Roleplay your dominance

    Local Leader - (optional for Settlement Development)

    Character Customization

    Look: Tribal or Diamond Eye Face Paint, War Eagle Neck Tattoo

    Gear: Early - Corset (Cait), Gray knit hat, Leather Armor; Late – Armored Corset, Pack bracers, Freefall Legs or Sprinter’s Legs, Yao Guai Necklace, Pack Beanie, Fashionable Sunglasses (See MODS notes on layering armor, Vanilla go with Colorful Undergarments and Pack Armor)

    Weapons: Spray n Pray, Overseer’s Guardian, Problem Solver / Splatter Cannon

    Accessory Weaponry: – Explosives, Predator Grenades

    Companion: Dogmeat

    Faction: The Pack

    Getting Started and Gearing Up

    Priorities are a decent automatic gun (Spray-n-Pray) and some .45 ammo, the Corset (from Cait), Freefall Armor and leveling up to 30 ASAP. The main downside of a Nuka World style build is the level 30 engagement. But, by running a lot of miscellaneous missions and crafting regularly, it worked out pretty well for me. Track down Cricket at either Bunker Hill or Vault 81 and grab your gun. Go ahead and proceed through Unlikely Valentine as the goons in Vault 114 carry tons of .45 ammo.

    Grab all of their submachine guns (load up Dogmeat too) and trade for even more .45 ammo. Roll over to the Combat Zone, free Cait and relieve her of her outfit. Head to Mass Fusion and clear the Gunners. Grab a trashcan and levitate to your Free-Fall reward (See instructional Video). Start tracking down Bobbleheads and take your favorite route to level 30! Overseer’s Guardian is a beast of an automatic weapon to bridge the gap until getting to Nuka World. Join the Pack, grab the Problem Solver (Mason) and/or Splattercannon (Aaron, Nuka Town Market) and power up the park for your new pack mates.

    Roleplay

    The Pack are arguably one of the most interesting groups in FO4. Here are a few of their pack codes:

    - Survival of the Fittest

    - Use pranks, bright colors and outlandish looks to stand out and display dominance

    - Mark your territory

    “If you ain’t standing out…you ain’t worth looking at.”

    “You’re either a sheep or a wolf…and the pack only runs with wolves." 

    With guidelines like that, The Pack Alpha sets about to conquer, not only the Wasteland, but earn her place atop her new crew. Now, in reality you can’t really take over for Mason. But you can intimidate him right from the first meeting. When you meet with him, choose the right-sided dialogue options (with your high CHR) and he’ll give you The Problem Solver straight up. Good start! You can also wow your mates by commanding and controlling animals and creatures as well as death-defying leaps from tall buildings (Free-Fall Armor).

    Combat Style

    A super fast, run-n-gun, blow everything up - prankster. She uses tricks like being able to fall / jump from great heights without dying and commanding animals and creatures at will to wow her fellow pack mates and rise to the top of the crowd. Planting mines and luring foes into them is an integral component to her punky combat style. Or flip the script and use Predator Grenades to draw more beasts to command against your prey.

    But most of all, she loves to squeeze the full auto trigger and let bullets fly! Engage your primal desire to light everything up! This is made extremely deadly with them combination of gun choice (Problem Solver or Splattercannon) and Commando which stacks damage on consecutive bullet hits. Little to no VATS or sneaking required!

    Best of all, with high endurance, light armor and accelerated AP regeneration and reduced AP drain while sprinting, you can fly across the Wasteland at light-speed. Like a long-range wolf on the hunt, you never tire! 

    One of the things I think people overlook is how effective Dogmeat can be as a companion with this setup. When you perk Attack Dog all the way, you get an invincible pack-mate with buffed offense and defense who can and will hold opponents (and make them bleed out). Plus, the 4th rank grants you 10% damage resistance at all times. He also becomes immune to your attacks so you can lob explosives at whoever he’s terrorizing or simply unload your clip into anything and everything. Combined with Lone Wanderer, you’re a light-weight tank with moves like lightning. Pretty badass!

    MOD Suggestions

    Armorer (Ballistic Weave Unlock) – she’s not a joiner, so using the RR for Ballistic Weave didn’t feel right. Use a MOD that not only unlocks Ballistic Weave, but allows you to layer armor over the Armored Corset so you can wear the Yao Guai necklace as your chest piece. If you can find one that adds the ability to put BW into pack undergarments, that’s a bonus (I’m on PS4 and so far haven’t found the right combo yet, so that’s why I recommend the Corset). Plus, it looks so awesome J

    Nuka World Settlements – This one is a bit prickly. There’s some code that has interfered with Modders ability to make a nice neat settlement add-on for Nuka World. But, if you really get into it, I’d give it a try and setup a show for your Pack-Mates. 

    Closing Notes 
    If you’ve found yourself bored of the main quest, The Pack Alpha offers a super fun way to zoom all over the map, fire a lot of bullets, blow a lot of things up, jump from high places and run with the wolves. All in all, a pretty fun day in the Wasteland!  

    Check out all of my Fallout 4 builds using the ”Motty Build Tag. “

  • Member
    May 8, 2017

    I love it, Motty! :) A great run n' gun build with some cheerful colors and a few pranks. Awesome.

  • May 8, 2017

    Ha! This looks like a lot of fun to play Motty and the backstory was a hoot to read. 

  • May 8, 2017

    Right off the start, anyone that incorporates "Brave New World" in the inspiration for their build gets a thumbs up from me. My favorite dystopian novel.

    But the build itself is fantastic!

    I have dabbled a bit with Animal Friend / Wasteland Whisperer a bit, but never to this extent.

    I wish i had known about the free fall legs before i read this. They would have been perfect for a melee - psychojet build i have been working on.

    One thing I have never figured out was the Predator Grenades. I just haven't had much luck with them. I had four of them in the aforementioned build; I summonend a vicious mongrel once, and the other three times I got a "could not summon" message.

    Overall, looks like a blast to play. Great Job.

     

  • Member
    May 8, 2017

    Thanks everyone!

    @Daryl - yeah a long time favorite book of mine too :D So I didn't use the Predator Nades that much, but yes, they are inconsistent. Basically it seems like an animal has to be within a certain range to work, and often times enemies are alerted...so they're not amazing but I liked the RP aspect.

    She's a lot of fun :)

  • Member
    May 10, 2017

    I'm bookmarking this for a later thorough read! :D Please send me screenshot with what you want for your comic story or let me know if you want me to come up with it.

  • Member
    May 10, 2017

    Noodles said:

    I'm bookmarking this for a later thorough read! :D Please send me screenshot with what you want for your comic story or let me know if you want me to come up with it.

    cool - yeah I was thinking like a shot of the scientists in the background hunched over computers or lab work with her in the foreground in the cryo-vault and then out running in the wild like a pack of wolves. let me see if I have something

  • Member
    May 11, 2017

    The pack in my opinion is the most interesting raider gang! love the character aesthetic :) wait..is the dogmeat and lone wanderer perks working together a glitch?! I always thought that was done on purpose

  • Member
    May 11, 2017
    I think you're right that it was done on purpose based on the other perks (attack dog) in the CHR tree, but imo it's a glitch. He is a companion. Thanks man!
  • Member
    May 12, 2017

    Hahaha I love it! Recently finished a commando character myself, and I agree that it is exhilarating. I love the use of animal control and dogmeat; both fits perfectly with the theme and proves to be effective I see! The Pack are my favorite raider group, and you represented them well, I might have to try something similar to this down the road, but with a different Pack outfit combination(since they have some of the coolest options)  (using freefall legs is very clever) :D also, the backstory is genius if you ask me. I dig it