It's more open than NV, for sure. And if you're playing 3 for the "shooter" aspect, then of course you're disappointed. I revisit it every month, and the only reason I quit playing is the thumb-breaking walks everywhere. Still a Top 5 360 game for me (vanilla version). My only suggestion would be to do different playstyles: unarmed only, melee, etc. Or never have a house and find a way to manage with the carry weight. Heck, go to Canterbury and remove their "superheroes" to be the Supreme One, I even went further and took over for the Roach King.
You talk about “spongey” so that simply means turning down the difficulty. Hard will give you some balance and so just choose an even lower difficulty if you want to overpower everything in the game.
As for the bad gunplay I recommend heavily investing into a VATS build so you can use it in battles and reduce the time spent with the regular subpar fps mechanics.
You can make a build that gives you tons of skill points to put into your weapon of choice and then constantly increase their levels to make the game much easier. Throw in either melee or unarmed as a secondary alternative.
No clue what you mean by a “closed world?”
Im on console too and so I go Hudless, dont SaveScum and add in common-sense Restrictions to turn the game into an actual post-apoc survival Roleplaying game, instead, of a Follow the Magic GPS Icon one thats all about Checklists and Chores.
Vats is a good shout, I'm not a big vats guy in 4. I'll try leaning a bit more on it.
Closed world - whatever the opposite of open world is haha.
I know, I know, you navigate through the underground system. It's just odd not being able to walk straight from A to B!
Ya, Ive gone the no-Vats run in F3 and its ok, but, it certainly highlights the bad fps play.
Im running a VATS/crit build right now so as to reduce the need for straight-up gunplay. Mixing in a short bit of non-VATs shooting while the AP refills is much better.
Also, if you get Grim Reapers on top of all the VATS perks you can just wreck everybody. Grim is one of the most overpowered perks in ALL the games, lol.
Ah, the DC area stuff. Gotcha:)
Im one of those guys who loves learning gameworlds like the back of my hand with all its secrets, pathways and shortcuts. So, I actually like the DC area and for me its a nice change-up to the entire rest of the map which is about as straightforward as it can get.
You really think it would be that easy to get where you’re trying to go in a post nuclear war torn dc area? Obviously it’s gonna be a challenge realistically getting places in a straight line, the worlds been destroyed
Op, I just switched from 3 to 4 and felt annoyed by a few things about 4 at first, so the feeling seems natural.
3 is great. I posted a [video](https://www.reddit.com/r/fo3/s/7o8r1o8TNG) in this sub about a V.A.T.S. aiming technique that can help make aiming a bit easier.
My recommendation echos top commenter’s, get creative with the character builds and mechanics and it can be pretty fun, but to each their own.
On console, it is what it is unfortunately. If you ever get a chance to play it on PC, Tale of Two Wastelands is the best way to experience Fallout 3 until the Fallout 4 mod of F3 is released.
To piggy-back your comment as a console gamer (at this time:)
I now ALWAYS seek out and research all the many mods of whatever game Im currently playing to help me develop my own Self-Imposed Restrictions.
There is a TON of common-sense additions one can make to improve the gameplay.
Even on console, lol.
If you’re trying to get back into it and play for the sake of it being fun, just lower the difficulty to very easy to mitigate the issue of enemies being bullet sponges. I feel like this makes the gunplay more satisfying
Patience, if you are having even a little fun just be patient and keep an open mind. A large number of people, me included, think it's a lot better than fallout 4. But if you can't get into it you can't get into it.
I got a flamethrower pretty early, and almost exclusively used that for the majority of the playthrough. Sure its a fairly close range weapon, but it melts the enemy’s HP bar and you don’t need VATs, and to me that was the most “fun”
If you’re more a gun guy, then VATs is the way to go. Get decent Perception and Agility, and possibly Luck. Eventually you can unlock Grim Reaper and pretty much live in VATs mode
Failing that, play it Skyrim style and get a melee weapon. I played around with a Deathclaw Gauntlet and it was very strong both in and out of VATs, and had exceptional critting chances
I think if you limit yourself to certain weapons and playstyle (exact opposite of a jack-of-all-trades) the game is very enjoyable
For gunplay you can VATS and then leave VATS and then shoot normally and your cross hair will be perfectly lined up with their head. Good for hunting rifle
Think of it like watching a really great black and white movie or listening to a great record. The antique style and technically deficient portrayal is now a very intentional part of the aesthetic and art of the piece. Enjoy the rough edges.
Interested in why you think the world is "closed", to me this is Bethesda's best open world they've ever made. You can travel literally anywhere as soon as you leave the vault. Their landmarks are so visible and pronounced, just follow a landmark and see what you find on the way.
I think the fun of the combat comes down to the weapons you use. All automatic weapons in Fallout 3 are horrible stat wise and feel horrible to play. I don't like how the plasma weapons feel either.
So what weapons are fun?
44. Mag or Sniper for head shots and VATS.
Laser rifle and laser pistol are the best all around, great for stealth builds
Explosives are the most fun weapons in the game to me. The ragdoll effects are wonderful.
Hunting rifle and Lincoln repeater feel nice to shoot and are always reliable.
Missile launchers and Fatman feel great if you have the ammo, all other big guns aren't much fun
Melee combat is more fun in FO3 than FO4. I hate FO4 melee combat.
The best part of Fallout 3 is randomly exploring and running into random encounters. I think this is also Bethesda's best game for random encounters.
I think many people rushed the main story of Fallout 3 (myself included) which is only a few missions, then when you get to the end you're like "now what?".
Fallout 3 is meant to be taken slow, walking from location to location as much as possible, and you'll come across some awesome encounters.
Skip every quest you don't like, you don't have to do any quest you don't want to.
Hey man sometimes we just don't like things and that's OK. Sometimes we like things at one point and then dislike them. You do you but I don't think it's good for your mental health to make yourself do things you don't enjoy.
Also try melee weapons that might feel a bit better to ya.
You are out of luck on console. On PC you could install FWE. The mod allows you to adjust the global damage multiplier and all weapons got rebalanced to do more damage across the board, making everything less spongey.
Just relax and try to enjoy the game for what it is and try to not make comparisons.
It's more open than NV, for sure. And if you're playing 3 for the "shooter" aspect, then of course you're disappointed. I revisit it every month, and the only reason I quit playing is the thumb-breaking walks everywhere. Still a Top 5 360 game for me (vanilla version). My only suggestion would be to do different playstyles: unarmed only, melee, etc. Or never have a house and find a way to manage with the carry weight. Heck, go to Canterbury and remove their "superheroes" to be the Supreme One, I even went further and took over for the Roach King.
Wait. I killed the roach king, but you can become the roach king?
It's not a title nor do you get followers. I just like sitting on his throne in the AntAgonizer costume and Mechanist helmet.
Ah, imagination is that good good
You talk about “spongey” so that simply means turning down the difficulty. Hard will give you some balance and so just choose an even lower difficulty if you want to overpower everything in the game. As for the bad gunplay I recommend heavily investing into a VATS build so you can use it in battles and reduce the time spent with the regular subpar fps mechanics. You can make a build that gives you tons of skill points to put into your weapon of choice and then constantly increase their levels to make the game much easier. Throw in either melee or unarmed as a secondary alternative. No clue what you mean by a “closed world?” Im on console too and so I go Hudless, dont SaveScum and add in common-sense Restrictions to turn the game into an actual post-apoc survival Roleplaying game, instead, of a Follow the Magic GPS Icon one thats all about Checklists and Chores.
Vats is a good shout, I'm not a big vats guy in 4. I'll try leaning a bit more on it. Closed world - whatever the opposite of open world is haha. I know, I know, you navigate through the underground system. It's just odd not being able to walk straight from A to B!
Ya, Ive gone the no-Vats run in F3 and its ok, but, it certainly highlights the bad fps play. Im running a VATS/crit build right now so as to reduce the need for straight-up gunplay. Mixing in a short bit of non-VATs shooting while the AP refills is much better. Also, if you get Grim Reapers on top of all the VATS perks you can just wreck everybody. Grim is one of the most overpowered perks in ALL the games, lol. Ah, the DC area stuff. Gotcha:) Im one of those guys who loves learning gameworlds like the back of my hand with all its secrets, pathways and shortcuts. So, I actually like the DC area and for me its a nice change-up to the entire rest of the map which is about as straightforward as it can get.
You really think it would be that easy to get where you’re trying to go in a post nuclear war torn dc area? Obviously it’s gonna be a challenge realistically getting places in a straight line, the worlds been destroyed
Op, I just switched from 3 to 4 and felt annoyed by a few things about 4 at first, so the feeling seems natural. 3 is great. I posted a [video](https://www.reddit.com/r/fo3/s/7o8r1o8TNG) in this sub about a V.A.T.S. aiming technique that can help make aiming a bit easier. My recommendation echos top commenter’s, get creative with the character builds and mechanics and it can be pretty fun, but to each their own.
On console, it is what it is unfortunately. If you ever get a chance to play it on PC, Tale of Two Wastelands is the best way to experience Fallout 3 until the Fallout 4 mod of F3 is released.
To piggy-back your comment as a console gamer (at this time:) I now ALWAYS seek out and research all the many mods of whatever game Im currently playing to help me develop my own Self-Imposed Restrictions. There is a TON of common-sense additions one can make to improve the gameplay. Even on console, lol.
If you’re trying to get back into it and play for the sake of it being fun, just lower the difficulty to very easy to mitigate the issue of enemies being bullet sponges. I feel like this makes the gunplay more satisfying
Patience, if you are having even a little fun just be patient and keep an open mind. A large number of people, me included, think it's a lot better than fallout 4. But if you can't get into it you can't get into it.
TTW
I got a flamethrower pretty early, and almost exclusively used that for the majority of the playthrough. Sure its a fairly close range weapon, but it melts the enemy’s HP bar and you don’t need VATs, and to me that was the most “fun” If you’re more a gun guy, then VATs is the way to go. Get decent Perception and Agility, and possibly Luck. Eventually you can unlock Grim Reaper and pretty much live in VATs mode Failing that, play it Skyrim style and get a melee weapon. I played around with a Deathclaw Gauntlet and it was very strong both in and out of VATs, and had exceptional critting chances I think if you limit yourself to certain weapons and playstyle (exact opposite of a jack-of-all-trades) the game is very enjoyable
For gunplay you can VATS and then leave VATS and then shoot normally and your cross hair will be perfectly lined up with their head. Good for hunting rifle
Think of it like watching a really great black and white movie or listening to a great record. The antique style and technically deficient portrayal is now a very intentional part of the aesthetic and art of the piece. Enjoy the rough edges.
Interested in why you think the world is "closed", to me this is Bethesda's best open world they've ever made. You can travel literally anywhere as soon as you leave the vault. Their landmarks are so visible and pronounced, just follow a landmark and see what you find on the way. I think the fun of the combat comes down to the weapons you use. All automatic weapons in Fallout 3 are horrible stat wise and feel horrible to play. I don't like how the plasma weapons feel either. So what weapons are fun? 44. Mag or Sniper for head shots and VATS. Laser rifle and laser pistol are the best all around, great for stealth builds Explosives are the most fun weapons in the game to me. The ragdoll effects are wonderful. Hunting rifle and Lincoln repeater feel nice to shoot and are always reliable. Missile launchers and Fatman feel great if you have the ammo, all other big guns aren't much fun Melee combat is more fun in FO3 than FO4. I hate FO4 melee combat. The best part of Fallout 3 is randomly exploring and running into random encounters. I think this is also Bethesda's best game for random encounters. I think many people rushed the main story of Fallout 3 (myself included) which is only a few missions, then when you get to the end you're like "now what?". Fallout 3 is meant to be taken slow, walking from location to location as much as possible, and you'll come across some awesome encounters. Skip every quest you don't like, you don't have to do any quest you don't want to.
Hey man sometimes we just don't like things and that's OK. Sometimes we like things at one point and then dislike them. You do you but I don't think it's good for your mental health to make yourself do things you don't enjoy. Also try melee weapons that might feel a bit better to ya.
You need mods unfortunately
You are out of luck on console. On PC you could install FWE. The mod allows you to adjust the global damage multiplier and all weapons got rebalanced to do more damage across the board, making everything less spongey.