Hello readers! Just like with Elder Scrolls, I have a good idea of what I like when it comes to playing Fallout. That’s why I’m excited to share with you all my first Fallout 4 build which I had an absolute blast with. It might not have some of the amazing synergy we’ll probably get from some future builds, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless!
The Technician
As a veteran military technician in the US Army, you’ve worked on and tinkered with all sorts of hardware - from a simple sidearm to the mighty suits of Power Armour employed in the years before the bombs fell. You left that life behind when you retired from the military to start a family, but after the Great War, everything changed. You’ll be damned if you don't put your skills to use to track down those who took your son and restore some semblance of order to the Wasteland.
As the Technician you focus on using a variety of rifles and automatic weapons to overcome enemies, bringing 3 or 4 different firearms customised to tackle different situations and ranges. At higher levels you also employ advanced suits of Power Armour to stand up to the Wasteland’s most dangerous challenges. Good friends are hard to find in the Commonwealth but you won’t regret bringing one along for companionship and their invaluable combat support.
S.P.E.C.I.A.L
Being a firearms based character, the Technician’s starting SPECIAL focus primarily on mental stats.
Strength (3): Typically melee is avoided, but 3 points of Strength gives access to the Armourer perk.
Perception (5): Essential for some basic perks like Rifleman and Locksmith. The improved VATS accuracy is invaluable in close quarters to make up for your low health.
Endurance (3): 3 ranks at character creation stops you from being completely shredded by the dangers of the Commonwealth, and gives access to the Life Giver perk, which provides regeneration outside of combat.
Charisma (6): An above average Charisma gives you access to some important dialogue options, and, more importantly, the Local Leader perk.
Intelligence (6): Intelligence is the Technician’s primary statistic, and a starting score of 6 gives access to Science, Scrapper, Hacker and Gun Nut.
Agility (4): Agility is started off below average, used early on only for the Commando perk.
Luck (1): Who needs luck when you’ve personally crafted the best equipment available and have the skills to use it?
The Technician's workshop - where the magic happens
Advancement
While adventuring through the Commonwealth from level 1 to 66, I found my playthrough as the Technician could be broken up into 4 fairly distinct stages, marked primarily by new ranks in crafting perks - Armourer, Gun Nut and Science. In this section I’ll outline the most important as well as suggested perk and SPECIAL advancements for each stage, as well as my favoured equipment. Click here if you'd like the full perk sheet from my playthrough.
My arsenal typically consisted of 4 weapons - a sniper weapon for long range, a battle rifle for medium range, an automatic pistol or carbine for close range and a shotgun for point blank. Each stage features a new iteration of each of these weapon types, keeping combat nice and interesting throughout. Rather than posting a full list of weapon modifications here, I’ll link to an in-game screenshot listing them.
The first stage (from levels 1-12) is all about the essentials. This means the Technician’s basic crafting perks (Armourer, Gun Nut, Scrapper and Science 1), weapon skills (Rifleman and Commando 1) and exploration skills (Hacker and Locksmith 2). At this stage no extra points are required in SPECIAL stats, but you have a bit left over to spend anywhere you like - or save them for stage 2. On the topic of SPECIAL however, getting a good outfit together can be a real help. I used the Minuteman outfit (+1 PER and AGI) along with a Military Cap and Sunglasses (+1 PER each). Combining these with a mix of Metal and Leather armour provided an excellent mix of ballistic and energy resistances. Try to avoid using Power Armour except for the most difficult of fights, as the T-45 suit is very inefficient!
Even with basic equipment, the Technician's training pulls him through the Commonwealth's many challenges
Once you’re up to stage 2 (level 13-25), continue increasing your basic skills and look at investing into other useful perks, like Local Leader (if you’re doing settlement building), Inspirational (improved companions and removed friendly fire - requires a Charisma investment), Medic and Life Giver (passive regeneration at rank 3). As for equipment, I managed to get my hands on some Military Fatigues (+2 AGI with Energy resistance) and the white and orange Brotherhood of Steel uniform (Improved resistances). From here onwards simply use the best suit of Combat Armour upgraded to Fiberglass with Pocketed/Deep Pocketed, providing the best balance of looks and stats (in my opinion). Don’t be afraid to use any exciting Legendaries you come across though - Synth legendaries are fairly common and go well with Combat Armour. I was lucky enough to find a Martyr’s Left Arm. The BoS uniform looks fantastic in combination with a Synth Field Helmet, though you sacrifice some SPECIAL boosts.
Always keep your eyes open and your gun ready when exploring Boston...
In Stage 3 (level 26-41), continue improving your crafting and weapon skills and starting investing more heavily in Intelligence - Nuclear Physicist is the target here. Once you start getting ranks in it and find a good suit of Power Armour (T-60 or better) don’t be afraid to start taking it along when you think you’ll need it. Try and pick up a Brotherhood Knight Uniform (the darker green one) - it goes great with your Combat Armor, Sunglasses and Military Cap.
The Overseer's Guardian - a truly formidable weapon when properly upgraded
Stage 4 is where the real fun begins. By now, you should have been able to piece together most of a suit of X-01 Power Armour (if you’re have trouble, I would recommend the Big Dig quest and the military shelter in the Glowing Sea). The X-01 suit is the most power efficient suit in the Commonwealth and has the best protective abilities and upgrades too. See the diagram below for my modifications of choice.
From here on, you’ll pretty much be in your Power Armour all the time - I actually gained Fusion Cores over the course of my playthrough after this point. Once you max out your core skills, it’s really up to you where you go from here. I grabbed little helpful things like Nerd Rage (combos nicely with Curie's perk and a Martyr item), Demolition Expert, and Awareness as well as Scrounger and Cap Collector to keep up with ammunition for ammo-hungry weapons via finding and buying ammo. Another good investment is points in Agility and Action Boy/Girl to power your jetpack.
Having reached the peak of his art, the Technician is ready for anything
Gameplay/Video
When playing the Technician, the key to maximizing your effectiveness is picking the right weapon for the situation. As you’ll see in my video, my battle rifle is my go-to weapon, but opening with a couple of sniper shots while sneaking and switching to a more suitable weapon in close corners ensures you’re almost always at an advantage.
Compared to some other characters, you’re relatively flimsy out of Power Armour. I tried to avoid close quarters when up against a superior force, but a dose of Jet or a companion can help you out here. Bringing a companion along helps you avoid damage while they draw fire and dish out damage of their own.
When you’re in Power Armour, you can adopt a much more aggressive combat style, using your added protection and jetpack to reach the best firing positions available for the situation. I preferred to move to close range if I could get there without taking too many hits - this is where you can be most effective in Power Armour. The Explosive Vent is really the cornerstone of close combat here, staggering enemies and dealing no small amount of damage, allowing for free follow-up shots from a close range weapon.
Taking to the skies can open many new combat opportunities
I rarely had to use consumables apart from cooked food early on to keep my health up. Later in the game you can mostly rely on Life Giver 3 and the occasional Stimpak to stay alive.
Here’s a video I took showing off some gameplay with and without Power Armour. My character is level 65 at this point, and I’m playing on Very Hard.
Roleplaying
The Technician is really defined by his past in the military, valuing order and loyalty as he strives to achieve peace and safety throughout the Commonwealth. This makes for a ‘good guy’ approach to dealing with everyday people, with options to use your Charisma to resolve things peacefully or to go in guns blazing. An interest in technology and science from before the war means that the clear faction choice here is the militaristic and technologically advanced Brotherhood of Steel, though the Minutemen and Institute are also reasonable choices. I didn’t focus too heavily on settlement building, but I built a few well-defended strongholds throughout the Commonwealth.
The Technician’s values work well with any of the ‘good’ companions - Paladin Danse and Curie were my favourites, but others like Preston, Piper and Nick work well too.
Closing Remarks
Thanks for reading my first Fallout 4 build! It’s overall concept is fairly basic but I had a lot of fun with this character and I think other people can too. It really accentuates some of the best parts of Fallout 4, like the weapon customisation, shooting mechanics and Power Armour system. I’ve already started my next playthrough, and I’m keen to start investigating the exciting possibilities we have on our hands with perk synergies and the like!
Hello readers! Just like with Elder Scrolls, I have a good idea of what I like when it comes to playing Fallout. That’s why I’m excited to share with you all my first Fallout 4 build which I had an absolute blast with. It might not have some of the amazing synergy we’ll probably get from some future builds, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless!
The Technician
As a veteran military technician in the US Army, you’ve worked on and tinkered with all sorts of hardware - from a simple sidearm to the mighty suits of Power Armour employed in the years before the bombs fell. You left that life behind when you retired from the military to start a family, but after the Great War, everything changed. You’ll be damned if you don't put your skills to use to track down those who took your son and restore some semblance of order to the Wasteland.
As the Technician you focus on using a variety of rifles and automatic weapons to overcome enemies, bringing 3 or 4 different firearms customised to tackle different situations and ranges. At higher levels you also employ advanced suits of Power Armour to stand up to the Wasteland’s most dangerous challenges. Good friends are hard to find in the Commonwealth but you won’t regret bringing one along for companionship and their invaluable combat support.
S.P.E.C.I.A.L
Being a firearms based character, the Technician’s starting SPECIAL focus primarily on mental stats.
Strength (3): Typically melee is avoided, but 3 points of Strength gives access to the Armourer perk.
Perception (5): Essential for some basic perks like Rifleman and Locksmith. The improved VATS accuracy is invaluable in close quarters to make up for your low health.
Endurance (3): 3 ranks at character creation stops you from being completely shredded by the dangers of the Commonwealth, and gives access to the Life Giver perk, which provides regeneration outside of combat.
Charisma (6): An above average Charisma gives you access to some important dialogue options, and, more importantly, the Local Leader perk.
Intelligence (6): Intelligence is the Technician’s primary statistic, and a starting score of 6 gives access to Science, Scrapper, Hacker and Gun Nut.
Agility (4): Agility is started off below average, used early on only for the Commando perk.
Luck (1): Who needs luck when you’ve personally crafted the best equipment available and have the skills to use it?
The Technician's workshop - where the magic happens
Advancement
While adventuring through the Commonwealth from level 1 to 66, I found my playthrough as the Technician could be broken up into 4 fairly distinct stages, marked primarily by new ranks in crafting perks - Armourer, Gun Nut and Science. In this section I’ll outline the most important as well as suggested perk and SPECIAL advancements for each stage, as well as my favoured equipment. Click here if you'd like the full perk sheet from my playthrough.
My arsenal typically consisted of 4 weapons - a sniper weapon for long range, a battle rifle for medium range, an automatic pistol or carbine for close range and a shotgun for point blank. Each stage features a new iteration of each of these weapon types, keeping combat nice and interesting throughout. Rather than posting a full list of weapon modifications here, I’ll link to an in-game screenshot listing them.
The first stage (from levels 1-12) is all about the essentials. This means the Technician’s basic crafting perks (Armourer, Gun Nut, Scrapper and Science 1), weapon skills (Rifleman and Commando 1) and exploration skills (Hacker and Locksmith 2). At this stage no extra points are required in SPECIAL stats, but you have a bit left over to spend anywhere you like - or save them for stage 2. On the topic of SPECIAL however, getting a good outfit together can be a real help. I used the Minuteman outfit (+1 PER and AGI) along with a Military Cap and Sunglasses (+1 PER each). Combining these with a mix of Metal and Leather armour provided an excellent mix of ballistic and energy resistances. Try to avoid using Power Armour except for the most difficult of fights, as the T-45 suit is very inefficient!
Even with basic equipment, the Technician's training pulls him through the Commonwealth's many challenges
Once you’re up to stage 2 (level 13-25), continue increasing your basic skills and look at investing into other useful perks, like Local Leader (if you’re doing settlement building), Inspirational (improved companions and removed friendly fire - requires a Charisma investment), Medic and Life Giver (passive regeneration at rank 3). As for equipment, I managed to get my hands on some Military Fatigues (+2 AGI with Energy resistance) and the white and orange Brotherhood of Steel uniform (Improved resistances). From here onwards simply use the best suit of Combat Armour upgraded to Fiberglass with Pocketed/Deep Pocketed, providing the best balance of looks and stats (in my opinion). Don’t be afraid to use any exciting Legendaries you come across though - Synth legendaries are fairly common and go well with Combat Armour. I was lucky enough to find a Martyr’s Left Arm. The BoS uniform looks fantastic in combination with a Synth Field Helmet, though you sacrifice some SPECIAL boosts.
Always keep your eyes open and your gun ready when exploring Boston...
In Stage 3 (level 26-41), continue improving your crafting and weapon skills and starting investing more heavily in Intelligence - Nuclear Physicist is the target here. Once you start getting ranks in it and find a good suit of Power Armour (T-60 or better) don’t be afraid to start taking it along when you think you’ll need it. Try and pick up a Brotherhood Knight Uniform (the darker green one) - it goes great with your Combat Armor, Sunglasses and Military Cap.
The Overseer's Guardian - a truly formidable weapon when properly upgraded
Stage 4 is where the real fun begins. By now, you should have been able to piece together most of a suit of X-01 Power Armour (if you’re have trouble, I would recommend the Big Dig quest and the military shelter in the Glowing Sea). The X-01 suit is the most power efficient suit in the Commonwealth and has the best protective abilities and upgrades too. See the diagram below for my modifications of choice.
From here on, you’ll pretty much be in your Power Armour all the time - I actually gained Fusion Cores over the course of my playthrough after this point. Once you max out your core skills, it’s really up to you where you go from here. I grabbed little helpful things like Nerd Rage (combos nicely with Curie's perk and a Martyr item), Demolition Expert, and Awareness as well as Scrounger and Cap Collector to keep up with ammunition for ammo-hungry weapons via finding and buying ammo. Another good investment is points in Agility and Action Boy/Girl to power your jetpack.
Having reached the peak of his art, the Technician is ready for anything
Gameplay/Video
When playing the Technician, the key to maximizing your effectiveness is picking the right weapon for the situation. As you’ll see in my video, my battle rifle is my go-to weapon, but opening with a couple of sniper shots while sneaking and switching to a more suitable weapon in close corners ensures you’re almost always at an advantage.
Compared to some other characters, you’re relatively flimsy out of Power Armour. I tried to avoid close quarters when up against a superior force, but a dose of Jet or a companion can help you out here. Bringing a companion along helps you avoid damage while they draw fire and dish out damage of their own.
When you’re in Power Armour, you can adopt a much more aggressive combat style, using your added protection and jetpack to reach the best firing positions available for the situation. I preferred to move to close range if I could get there without taking too many hits - this is where you can be most effective in Power Armour. The Explosive Vent is really the cornerstone of close combat here, staggering enemies and dealing no small amount of damage, allowing for free follow-up shots from a close range weapon.
Taking to the skies can open many new combat opportunities
I rarely had to use consumables apart from cooked food early on to keep my health up. Later in the game you can mostly rely on Life Giver 3 and the occasional Stimpak to stay alive.
Here’s a video I took showing off some gameplay with and without Power Armour. My character is level 65 at this point, and I’m playing on Very Hard.
Roleplaying
The Technician is really defined by his past in the military, valuing order and loyalty as he strives to achieve peace and safety throughout the Commonwealth. This makes for a ‘good guy’ approach to dealing with everyday people, with options to use your Charisma to resolve things peacefully or to go in guns blazing. An interest in technology and science from before the war means that the clear faction choice here is the militaristic and technologically advanced Brotherhood of Steel, though the Minutemen and Institute are also reasonable choices. I didn’t focus too heavily on settlement building, but I built a few well-defended strongholds throughout the Commonwealth.
The Technician’s values work well with any of the ‘good’ companions - Paladin Danse and Curie were my favourites, but others like Preston, Piper and Nick work well too.
Closing Remarks
Thanks for reading my first Fallout 4 build! It’s overall concept is fairly basic but I had a lot of fun with this character and I think other people can too. It really accentuates some of the best parts of Fallout 4, like the weapon customisation, shooting mechanics and Power Armour system. I’ve already started my next playthrough, and I’m keen to start investigating the exciting possibilities we have on our hands with perk synergies and the like!
You can just take a pic of your Perks? Or just make them in this site: http://www.rpg-gaming.com/fo4.html
You can just take a pic of your Perks? Or just make them in this site: http://www.rpg-gaming.com/fo4.html
This was pretty much my first character going in blind into FO4. I was fortunate enough to get the Gun Nut, Armorer, and Science perks right off the bat without knowing anything about what perks my SPECIAL stats gave me, so I pretty much lucked out lol.
This was pretty much my first character going in blind into FO4. I was fortunate enough to get the Gun Nut, Armorer, and Science perks right off the bat without knowing anything about what perks my SPECIAL stats gave me, so I pretty much lucked out lol.
Hi Gabriel, glad to see you're interested! I've mentioned all the essentials as well as some other recommendations in the build but I can do up something in that builder you linked if you like. Any particular level range you're after?
Hi Gabriel, glad to see you're interested! I've mentioned all the essentials as well as some other recommendations in the build but I can do up something in that builder you linked if you like. Any particular level range you're after?
Thanks! I'm quite surprised there's only two FO4 builds around more than a month after the game was released. Was kinda worried someone would have already used my idea (not overly complex as you said) but obviously I didn't have too much to worry about, lol.
Thanks! I'm quite surprised there's only two FO4 builds around more than a month after the game was released. Was kinda worried someone would have already used my idea (not overly complex as you said) but obviously I didn't have too much to worry about, lol.
Same here, I was amazed how spot on my SPECIALs were. 6 INT, 6 CHA and 3 STR pretty much gave me access to all the stuff I was after straight off the bat.
Same here, I was amazed how spot on my SPECIALs were. 6 INT, 6 CHA and 3 STR pretty much gave me access to all the stuff I was after straight off the bat.