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by Lizard_King 11/02/2010, 10:00am PDT |
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Fortinbras wrote:
#1 - Survival. Maybe two skill-checks the entire game, and plus you can cook yourself a bunch of food. I guess this is more useful in hardcore mode?
#2 - Sneak. Need to sneak? Use a Stealthboy! 100% stealth, no repercussions or withdrawal symptoms.
#3 - Lockpicking. I hate lockpicking. Not to go all Jerry Whorebach but why do I need to unlock a door that is half-blown off its hinges and the drywall is collapsing right next to it? I mean safes, ok (and usually there's a computer right next to it that'll do the job), but for everything else I cheat and use the console to unlock when I encounter a door that the wind could knock over.
Also, Explosives as a far #4. Only two important skillchecks in the game, and the weapons that it covers really are too rare and/or crappy to care about. This isn't the Capital Wasteland where every fifth asshole I met had a rocket launcher two shots away from being a worthless piece of junk. Maybe they should have stuck with separating Big Guns/Small Guns? (See also: Moving Flamers/Incinerators into the Energy Weapon category)
#1 is useless in the sense of the actual meaning of the word, in that there's very little need for you to make use of it and all of the useful items can be found on bodies and in containers anyway.
#2 is useful with virtually any character build, and even characters who suck at sneaking should be using it to avoid Sudden Deathclaw Syndrome (eg as a HUD danger indicator). That it can be supplanted by a relatively rare item is not a defect with sneaking, but rather an indication that the skill is so vitally useful that they needed to include a gamebreaking way of employing it even for chumps with no points in it to ensure that in case of emergencies they'd be able to use it. That's not useless, especially when coupled with the critical hit probability boost.
#3 is universally employed across the wasteland for even trivial tasks, and is the easiest non-cheat way to get through doors that also have that piece of shit hacking minigame as an option (especially now with the new delay making reloads more efficient than backing out after three and re-attempting). Any problem it doesn't solve, it makes easier. Failing that, it typically adds bonus rewards to every explorable area in the game. Since the shitty doors and containers present an insurmountable obstacle otherwise, I would say lockpicking is useful to the point of being essential, Obsidian's clumsy efforts to throw in mandatory key doors and the like notwithstanding.
It seems to me that each of those belongs in its own list, and only one actually meets the standard you laid out. Unlike, say, FO3 where big guns, Melee, Unarmed, Medicine and so many other skills were vying for that most useless slot, especially after the millionth skill book made it clear you were going to have to max out even the skills you hated because you had nowhere else to put those points. Progress! |
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Game of the Year. NT by Fortinbras 10/30/2010, 12:32pm PDT 
Top 3 useless skills by Fortinbras 10/31/2010, 3:26pm PDT
Re: Top 3 useless skills by up with pod people 10/31/2010, 4:02pm PDT
Re: Top 3 useless skills by Entropy Stew 11/01/2010, 11:03am PDT
Your list is confusing by Lizard_King 11/02/2010, 10:00am PDT
I have always preferred hacking to lockpicking since Deus Ex by Fortinbras 11/02/2010, 12:30pm PDT
Sure, it's useful. But if I have a choice for a given obstacle by Lizard_King 11/02/2010, 8:39pm PDT
Kinda hoping they fix the clipping issue soonish by laudablepuss 11/02/2010, 9:03am PDT
One thing I do hate: The Neverwinter Nights 2 method of companion development by Fortinbras 11/02/2010, 6:29pm PDT
Re: Game of the Year. by Ice Cream Jonsey 11/02/2010, 8:36pm PDT
Don't coddle Fortinbras about the Rangers by motherfuckerfoodeater 11/03/2010, 12:23am PDT
He's a little better than a Yankee fan. by Ice Cream Jonsey 11/06/2010, 3:32pm PDT
The only score that mattered this week: 239-188 NT by Fortinbras 11/06/2010, 10:06pm PDT
Mass Effect 2 is the best so far by jeep 11/09/2010, 10:56pm PST
This game gave me a fucking upper eye twitch that won't go away by Fortinbras 11/10/2010, 8:44pm PST
Re: Game of the Year. by Arbit 07/19/2011, 11:35pm PDT
Apparently all the bugs are fixed, they're announcing DLC. NT by Souffle of Pain 11/17/2010, 11:14am PST
XBOX360-only. FUCK YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU NT by Fortinbras 11/17/2010, 11:28am PST
I hate video games. NT by Souffle of Pain 11/17/2010, 12:00pm PST
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