Fallout Character Building » Discussions


Character Build: Domino (FO4)

Tags: #Fallout 4 Build  #Character Build Sharpshooter  #Character Build Infiltrator  #Character Build VATS 
  • Member
    January 30, 2016

    What started as a sexy female sniper class escalated into a character that just seemed to become more and more interesting the longer I kept playing. For this build I attempted to breathe a little more action into this ranged stereotype by combining two of my favourite statistics and combining them to create an effect that is truly formidable.

    Domino

    Domino grew up in a fairly disadvantaged area outside of Boston and although poorly educated still managed to find her talents in the more creative arts and was a regional archery, ballet and gymnastics champion.

    Domino spent her early days working as a freelance bounty hunter in and around Boston until her success record eventually caught the attention of the Boston PD. Despite having no apparent leadership qualities her superiors quickly noted her ability to make calculated combat decisions while under extreme stress. She was transferred to the Special Operations Unit where she earned her infamous codename for her ability to drop multiple assailants in rapid succession and neutralising hostile situations.

    Now with over ten years of military experience Domino excels at search and rescue, infiltration, determining the position of hostages or hostage takers, anti-terrorism, bomb disposal and of course, long ranged sniping.

     

    The Build

    High perception snipers are definitely an enjoyable feature in Fallout 4 and I was keen to see how effective the system could be pushed inside and outside of VATS, my only issue with snipers is that they can become one-trick ponies and I really wanted to be able to get a little more intimate with my victims without sacrificing power.

    To cut a long story short, the golden moment came when I began looking at some of the damage and accuracy bonus’s that could be achieved by combining specific perks together, notably Concentrated Fire and Gun Fu...

    Each of these perks work together tremendously, Gun Fu provides a huge raw damage bonus but only if you can actually hit your targets efficiently, Concentrated Fire on the other hand allows you to reliably hit your targets but doesn’t grant bonus damage until much later in the game. It’s a match made in heaven.

    Then an unexpected bonus...

    United We Stand grants an additional 20% damage while engaging more than three enemies at once; it’s basically a poor man’s Gun Fu. Combining United we Stand with Gun Fu during multi enemy combat results in...

    20% damage bonus to your very first VATS target.
    45% damage bonus to your second.
    70% damage bonus to your third.
    Instant Critical to all targets thereafter.

    A Domino effect...

    SPECIAL

    Strength 2

    Strength has little bearing for this character; she needs none of the perks here and only carries a select range of weaponry into combat. At present mods from armor are all interchangeable and very cheap to buy from merchants, it’s uncertain if this is intentional or if it’s due to be patched. Therefore I thought it best to safeguard this build by making Armorer available once the bobblehead is found.

    Perception 8 (9)

    You can do all the damage in the world but if you can’t actually land a shot it’s pointless. High perception unlocks key perks like Sniper and Concentrated Fire. We’re going to add in the bobblehead here and the Special book to grant 10 in perception straight off the bat. Add in a Military Cap and some Wraparound Goggles and we’ll permanently have 12 in this statistic, at night this will be increased to 15 thanks to the Night Person perk and Orange Mentats will extend this to a very nice round 20.

    Endurance 3

    No perks are selected or needed in this stat but some survivability is still important on higher difficulties.

    Charisma 1

    Domino is antisocial and takes Orange Mentats so frequently that this stat will often be at 0.

    Intelligence 1

    This is an autistic Idiot Savant build, and I like to see the effect hit home frequently, therefore I don’t even collect the bobblehead for this stat. At night she will have 4 intelligence and improved sniping capability which I found thematic to her class.

    Agility 8

    With rifles consuming so many action points it’s very beneficial to start high here and puts the Gun Fu perk in easy range once the bobblehead is collected. Strong perks like Ninja can also be taken early.

    Luck 5

    First perk of the game goes straight into Idiot Savant, so we start at five here. We’ll be investing two additional points and swimming out for the bobblehead to select Grim Reapers sprint.

     

    Primary Skills

    Primary Skills make up the bare bones of this character and should always be prioritized as they come available. Domino uses no crafting skills so she has a higher number of damage dealing skills than most builds.

    Rifleman

    A staple damage skill for this character providing armor penetration and limb crippling to each shot. Always place perks here when they come available as it provides the base damage that determines all other effects.

    Concentrated Fire

    Concentrated Fire rank 2 is currently bugged and does absolutely nothing. Luckily enough rank 1 is more than powerful enough to make a big difference in combat when it comes to striking enemies vital spots. Only select the second rank once the 3rd rank becomes available at level 50.

    Gun Fu

    Provides a huge damage bonus when confronted with multiple enemies and can be used in conjunction with Ninja and Sandman bonus’s to devastating effect.

    Idiot Savant

    One of the games most powerful perks when it comes to levelling a character faster. There’s currently a little confusion and debate on taking the third rank of this perk interfering with the second but on a character that revels on multi-killing in rapid succession the third perk is definitely worth it here.

    Sniper

    Without investing perks into armorer I’ve not been able to find the Stabilized mod in venders so the first perk here is very valuable, the second is overpowered and provides a very good chance for a knockdown which works very well with a combat rifle. The third rank is the charm and provides a 25% bonus to headshot accuracy in VATS.

    Sneak

    Sneak is an amazing skill in Fallout 4, not only is it powerful at keeping you undetected by nearby enemies but the ability to render hostile explosives and traps useless is highly desirable and fits this characters history as a bomb disposal expert.

    Action Girl

    Action point regeneration is useful on all builds but I found it especially important with this one due to the AP demand of scoped rifles, a good back up when Grim Reapers doesn’t activate on time.

    Ninja

    Ninja is vital for keeping sneak damage high and devastating when combined with her other abilities.

    Grim Reapers Sprint

    This perk is more important than Better Criticals and Critical Banker for this build in my opinion. Work your way up the luck tree and make a start on this ability before moving back down to take the other perks.

     

    Secondary Skills

    These skills are still important but don’t need to be prioritized quite as quickly.

    Demolition Expert

    An amazing skill; especially when combined with a good stealth character where the ability to set up traps and choke points becomes so much easier. Demolition Expert is the gift that keeps on giving, the more you learn about the layout of Fallout 4 and where enemies are most likely to spawn the more effective you can become with explosives. A nice bonus with demolition expert is the fact that it increases the damage of the Fat Man and Missile Launcher without having to invest in strength or heavy gunner which gives you some...creative options.

    Night Person

    An extra 3 points in perception provides a noticeable increase in accuracy and the night vision is a great bonus when you don’t want to risk using the pip boy light. The bonus intelligence means that Idiot Savant has slightly less chance of activating from 6pm to 6am but when it does the EXP will be very nice.

    Penetrating Fire

    Want to hit a mirelurks head straight through its shell? Then this is the perk for you. Penetrating Fire not only allows you to shoot through the occasional wall but also allows you to target enemy’s weakest points such as a Deathclaws stomach with no decrease in accuracy. It also lets you shoot through targets and hit things behind them so if you find a grouping of enemies targeting the one at the back will occasionally kill the ones in front.

    Better Criticals

    A critical hit in the hands of a stealth sniper is a very deadly thing indeed and these perks just make it even more brutal. Remember that at rank 3 Gun Fu will be capable of instantly landing criticals so points in this perk are definitely going to be worth it.

    Critical Banker

    With such a high luck stat it’s easy to build up your critical meter and having multiple strikes grants a huge advantage when taking on tougher enemies that can’t be downed in one hit. It’s also great in emergencies when you get caught off guard and lose the advantage of a sneak attack.

    Mister Sandman

    A big damage bonus when using suppressed weapons. Mister Sandman is a double edged sword; on the one hand you can remain hidden easier while using a suppressor but your weapon will lose a chunk of its ranged potential. Is it still worth taking? Definitely.

    Level 50 Perks

    Gameplay and Roleplay

    Domino is a bit of a blunt instrument and should certainly be played like one. She enjoys simply being aimed at an enemy like a bloodhound and respects authority figures so factions like the Brotherhood of Steel are going to appeal to her most although her skills would also suit the Railroad even if their cause doesn’t make much sense to her. She can complete search and retrieve missions very efficiently using her stealth and one hit kill potential and in turn capitalize on the rewards thanks to Idiot Savant.

    Being placed into the position of ‘General’ for the Minutemen is out of her comfort zone and she finds interaction with settlers awkward. She’ll help where she can but isn’t the type to share stories around a campfire or bring in a crop of corn.

    Combat is conducted with fairly typical sniper behaviour, assessing an area for threats and thinning the ranks if needed, then heading in with gun fu. Domino's favorite vice is a pack of Orange Mentats, she'll use this whenever she's expecting more resistance than usual and has been addicted to them for as long as she can remember.


    Armor and Weapons

    Domino can’t create her own weaponry or armor and will have to either find or purchase her items in order to survive. She’ll typically wear shadowed leather or combat armor (or a combination of the two) depending on her mood. Power players are going to want Military Fatigues for the +2 in agility and add ballistic weave to them, for me though it had to be the BOS Officer Uniform.

    You should keep an eye out for items that carry the muffled, shadowed and lead lined mods. Adding two instances of the muffled mod to your legs seems to grant 100% muffle but verification may be needed. Adding lead lining to both arms dropped radiation damage from +10 to just +2 when swimming (80% reduction....? Nice.).

    Once you have a full set they can simply be swapped out as you find better armor. Armor mods are incredibly cheap to buy from venders and to be honest I’d grown tired of not having any real use for my caps on my previous characters, just spend the money.

    The BioComm Mesh can be purchased from Myrna in Diamond City as part of the Wastelanders Chest Piece and also grants a rather nice +1 to agility and perception which is a good bonus during the early levels for a mere 1000ish caps. Once you find a sturdy or heavy leather chest piece you can remove the mesh and swap it over.

    The nice thing about this approach is that whenever you find a decent legendary armor piece you’ll be ready to swap over your mods quickly and it’ll all match the characters look. Combat armor and leather armor both look great on female characters; even the heavy combat armor looks great...

    When it comes to weaponry Domino is pretty select, favouring the classic weapons that she became most skilled with from before the war and has them customized both to increase damage and spread ammo cost.

    .45 Reflex Combat Rifle

    The standard combat rifle makes for an excellent travelling companion, ammunition is common and its ease of use and high clip size make it dependable for close encounters. The reflex dot sight keeps VATS cost low enabling multiple strikes.

    Ideal Prefix: Two Shot, Lucky, Explosive, VATS Enhanced, Wounding.

     

    .308 Scoped Combat Rifle

    Adding a scope and a deadly .308 receiver to her favourite gun activates Domino’s deadly Sniper perks. Ammo is a little rarer for this weapon but on the other hand not much can get back up after a couple of shots.

    Ideal Prefix: Instigating, Two Shot, VATS Enhanced, Nocturnal.

     

    .50 Recon Sniper Rifle

    Domino’s longest range weapon is useful for scouting hostile terrain and tagging enemy locations in preparation for infiltration. The .50 hunting rifle hits like a truck and is most useful when something unsavoury has to die in the most efficient way possible from outside VATS.

    Ideal Prefix: Instigating, Two Shot, Nocturnal, Enraging.

    All in all, Domino has been a hugely entertaining character. Hope you guys give her a go or maybe just use a little of her in future builds. I’ll be glamming this page up a little over the next few days and I should have a video of her antics up shortly.

  • Member
    January 30, 2016

    Awesome work, as always Mason. Why does the woman in some of the pictures seem familiar?

  • Member
    January 30, 2016

    Dunno mate, maybe you knobbed her at some point? :-)

  • Member
    January 30, 2016
    Nice work as always. I love the stacking perks and making it an interesting sniper. My next play through was going to be sniper & it looks like this is a great way to go. Also love the addition of "ideal prefix" to weapon details. Great stuff.
  • Member
    January 30, 2016

    Heh, this build is sending some MGSV Quiet vibes through me. Glad to see you back to building, and hope to see more

  • Member
    January 30, 2016

    Dude! 

    This girl looks like one sexy badass mofo! Loving the synergy here, those companion perks are really something. The presentation style is great, loving the darker atmosphere.

    Did you consider Overseer's Guardian for any of those rifles? That thing comes with Two-Shot, and you can easily mod it considering how available combat rifle mods are. Tinker Tom's Special could also be a good investment at earlier levels - it comes surpressed and with the Stalker augment, so more accuracy in sneak attacks before you've got all those fancy perks. The extra AP cost could be a bit of a problem though, and it likely wouldn't synergise well with Gun Fu if you're wanting those multiple sneak shots.

    +1

    EDIT: And no Black Widow? Surely this build is perfect for it!

  • Member
    January 30, 2016

    Aye, or Sniper Wolf -whistles- I had a crush on her even when she was just 16bit...it's the revealing army fatigues and pyramid breasts that do it for me. Lol..

  • Member
    January 30, 2016

    Hah, I actually never played the PS1 MGS, even though i had a PS1. I'll pick up the Legacy Collection, which even has the NES games. Crying Wolf was hot too, at least, I think it was Crying Wolf

  • Member
    January 30, 2016

    Yeah I'm beginning to think it's a little unhelpful to present a built with specific legendary weapons due to the PITA drop system. Figured just including some suggestions would work better.

  • Member
    January 30, 2016

    Bought overseers straight away with this character...that's 1 out of her 3 guns sorted.

    There's a little trick you can pull with a Minigun, if you drop it for a raider they will tend to pick it up and they randomly get 500 5mm rounds added to their inventory...do this a couple of times and you have so much 5mm ammo that you can trade for most things. This works on Ack Ack and her raiders up at Olivia anyway, not sure if it works everywhere...potential for a Minigun only build there...

    Tinker Tom Special could be a good option but I just didn't need the additional VATS accuracy and didn't feel the need to place Sandman perks as early as I have with other sniper builds. I ended up with a Lucky Sniper Rifle which I use mainly for recon, a VATS enhanced combat rifle for normal use (amazing) and my Overseers for dropping things that needed dropping.

    Black Widow would definitely be an option if taken past level 50, I'd go Black Widow/Bloody Mess/Lone Wanderer.....should take it to level 60ish.