INTRODUCTION
I wonder how many times you’ve gone through the pre-war section of Fallout 4? So much so that you almost don’t hear the dialogue that you’ve heard sooooo many times before.
And so when Nate grabs his cup of coffee from Codsworth, ambles over to the counter, spots a comic book and muses ‘Grognak the Barbarian and the Jungle of the Bat Babes…. my favourite!'; then it probably barely even registers.
But what if that seemingly throwaway line isn’t a throwaway line at all, but rather a sign that Nate is, in truth, the world’s biggest comic book geek? What if his marriage to Nora meant that his childhood dreams of owning his very own comic book store had to be put to one side because his new wife wanted him to ‘do the right thing’ and join the military? What if he emerges from Vault 101 and thinks ‘screw all this, I’m going to do what I always wanted to do before marriage and kids and war and death’?
This is a build that doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s about one man’s quest to find meaning in the wreckage of the world that he knew. With his wife dead, and his son almost certainly dead, all that’s left is his precious comic books. With the real world broken beyond repair, all that is left is to take solace in the imaginary world of comic book heroes…
CHARACTER
The Comic Book Guy might have rejected his pre-war life – but one thing that he can’t deny is that his army training has left him buffed! But his many hours spent in the gym have left him with BIG muscles! You’re going into the wasteland with high strength and agility. Whatever you think of comic books, don’t stand in this guy’s path – as a punch in the mush will be the likely result!
This dude doesn’t want to tote a gun. Look what guns did for the world around him! In fact, this build will never so much as fire a gun in anger. This is a no-weapon, unarmed build. You’re going to be punching Raiders, lashing out at robots and laying the Hulk-smash on Deathclaws!
I built my CBG as the largest and bulkiest character I could in the Character Creation. In my mind, despite his gargantuan strength, he soon lets himself go in the Commonwealth. His rippling muscles are soon turning to rolls of fat as he spends evenings sitting on his butt reading comics and chugging Gwinnet beer.
For gear, I started with simple Road Leathers until I got the Silver Shroud outfit. What better gear could there be for a Comic Book Guy? Well, I suppose Grognak’s Outfit is the other option. I always thought it looked a bit goofy – but feel free to go with that outfit if you prefer…
FACTIONS, QUESTS and COMPANIONS
The Comic Book Guy is repulsed by the factions he discovers in the Commonwealth. He finds the Minute Men to be hopeless idealists and the Brotherhood to be a bunch of self-important ass clowns. He doesn’t even want to bother finding the Railroad – and everything he hears about the Institute disgusts him.
Instead, he is a lone wolf, an independent contractor of sorts. He lacks social skills and doesn’t trust people so he simply steers clear of any humanoid companions. If he takes a companion at all, it’s going to be Dogmeat or Codsworth. Later on, he considers Strong as an annoying – but worthy – companion. Yes, he spends a lot of time wittering about ‘milk’ but he’s the nearest thing to the Hulk that he finds. And he likes punching things!
He’s going to avoid factions, but anything that comes by way of side quest is welcome. The Silver Shroud is an absolute must, but there are many others around that can be picked up.
Unfortunately, the game somewhat forces the player into factions – and certainly if one wants to locate all of the comic books. From a role playing point of view, the rationalisation is that whilst you don’t want to join factions, and reject their viewpoints out of hand, you will necessarily join a faction and stick with it up to the point where you can collect the comic book – but then absolutely no further.
GAMEPLAY
There’s not a lot of sophistication about this build. Essentially you are going around looking for comic books for your collection. If people get in your path, then they get punched. Hard.
Perks reflect that style of game play. You’re investing in Iron Fist as soon as you can. Blitz is used to close the gaps between whatever you are smashing; Rooted stacks the punching power. Idiot Savant helps with the levelling.
By the time you get to mid-game you are basically running out of perks. At that point I went for buffing Luck and investing in things like Critical Banker, Grim Reaper Sprint and Four Leaf Clover – by which point you are becoming god-like. One punch kills on a Deathclaw anyone?
As for unarmed weapons, pick up a set of brass knuckles early – you usually find one on a Raider in Concord, and use Blacksmith to upgrade it. That will get you to Level 10-12 with little bother. You can then start thinking about a Deathclaw Gauntlet or – even better – Swans Fist. I got Swan’s Fist at Level 13 with careful tactics around Boston Commons – and from that point forward you don’t need to worry any enemy so long as you don’t get overwhelmed by sheer numbers.
ROLE PLAYING
Bear in mind that each comic gives you a perk bonus, some of which significantly buff the unarmed gameplay:
FINALLY…
So there you have it. The Comic Book Guy might not be the most technically clever build on this site, but it is a fast-paced, fast-levelling fun build that is a ton of fun to play. The awesomeness of punching the head clean off a Deathclaw simply cannot be beaten!
INTRODUCTION
I wonder how many times you’ve gone through the pre-war section of Fallout 4? So much so that you almost don’t hear the dialogue that you’ve heard sooooo many times before.
And so when Nate grabs his cup of coffee from Codsworth, ambles over to the counter, spots a comic book and muses ‘Grognak the Barbarian and the Jungle of the Bat Babes…. my favourite!'; then it probably barely even registers.
But what if that seemingly throwaway line isn’t a throwaway line at all, but rather a sign that Nate is, in truth, the world’s biggest comic book geek? What if his marriage to Nora meant that his childhood dreams of owning his very own comic book store had to be put to one side because his new wife wanted him to ‘do the right thing’ and join the military? What if he emerges from Vault 101 and thinks ‘screw all this, I’m going to do what I always wanted to do before marriage and kids and war and death’?
This is a build that doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s about one man’s quest to find meaning in the wreckage of the world that he knew. With his wife dead, and his son almost certainly dead, all that’s left is his precious comic books. With the real world broken beyond repair, all that is left is to take solace in the imaginary world of comic book heroes…
CHARACTER
The Comic Book Guy might have rejected his pre-war life – but one thing that he can’t deny is that his army training has left him buffed! But his many hours spent in the gym have left him with BIG muscles! You’re going into the wasteland with high strength and agility. Whatever you think of comic books, don’t stand in this guy’s path – as a punch in the mush will be the likely result!
This dude doesn’t want to tote a gun. Look what guns did for the world around him! In fact, this build will never so much as fire a gun in anger. This is a no-weapon, unarmed build. You’re going to be punching Raiders, lashing out at robots and laying the Hulk-smash on Deathclaws!
I built my CBG as the largest and bulkiest character I could in the Character Creation. In my mind, despite his gargantuan strength, he soon lets himself go in the Commonwealth. His rippling muscles are soon turning to rolls of fat as he spends evenings sitting on his butt reading comics and chugging Gwinnet beer.
For gear, I started with simple Road Leathers until I got the Silver Shroud outfit. What better gear could there be for a Comic Book Guy? Well, I suppose Grognak’s Outfit is the other option. I always thought it looked a bit goofy – but feel free to go with that outfit if you prefer…
FACTIONS, QUESTS and COMPANIONS
The Comic Book Guy is repulsed by the factions he discovers in the Commonwealth. He finds the Minute Men to be hopeless idealists and the Brotherhood to be a bunch of self-important ass clowns. He doesn’t even want to bother finding the Railroad – and everything he hears about the Institute disgusts him.
Instead, he is a lone wolf, an independent contractor of sorts. He lacks social skills and doesn’t trust people so he simply steers clear of any humanoid companions. If he takes a companion at all, it’s going to be Dogmeat or Codsworth. Later on, he considers Strong as an annoying – but worthy – companion. Yes, he spends a lot of time wittering about ‘milk’ but he’s the nearest thing to the Hulk that he finds. And he likes punching things!
He’s going to avoid factions, but anything that comes by way of side quest is welcome. The Silver Shroud is an absolute must, but there are many others around that can be picked up.
Unfortunately, the game somewhat forces the player into factions – and certainly if one wants to locate all of the comic books. From a role playing point of view, the rationalisation is that whilst you don’t want to join factions, and reject their viewpoints out of hand, you will necessarily join a faction and stick with it up to the point where you can collect the comic book – but then absolutely no further.
GAMEPLAY
There’s not a lot of sophistication about this build. Essentially you are going around looking for comic books for your collection. If people get in your path, then they get punched. Hard.
Perks reflect that style of game play. You’re investing in Iron Fist as soon as you can. Blitz is used to close the gaps between whatever you are smashing; Rooted stacks the punching power. Idiot Savant helps with the levelling.
By the time you get to mid-game you are basically running out of perks. At that point I went for buffing Luck and investing in things like Critical Banker, Grim Reaper Sprint and Four Leaf Clover – by which point you are becoming god-like. One punch kills on a Deathclaw anyone?
As for unarmed weapons, pick up a set of brass knuckles early – you usually find one on a Raider in Concord, and use Blacksmith to upgrade it. That will get you to Level 10-12 with little bother. You can then start thinking about a Deathclaw Gauntlet or – even better – Swans Fist. I got Swan’s Fist at Level 13 with careful tactics around Boston Commons – and from that point forward you don’t need to worry any enemy so long as you don’t get overwhelmed by sheer numbers.
ROLE PLAYING
Bear in mind that each comic gives you a perk bonus, some of which significantly buff the unarmed gameplay:
FINALLY…
So there you have it. The Comic Book Guy might not be the most technically clever build on this site, but it is a fast-paced, fast-levelling fun build that is a ton of fun to play. The awesomeness of punching the head clean off a Deathclaw simply cannot be beaten!